feeling guilty not to photograph?

I am asking these ???'s to folks who do phtgphy as a hobby. Aside

from your daytime job, how do you manage to take pictures? Are you

travelling to photographic sites constantly every weekend? almost

every weekend? once in while? How's your phthphy activity? passive??

very active?? I am just curious to hear from all of you.

 

I have been active in photography for almost a year. Weekend is the

time i'm looking forward. Posted-notes containing phthphy-sites' zip

codes (within up to 4 hrs driving range) are all over my computer.

Friday lunch time is the time when I am punching all those numbers to

weatherchannel.com to see some good weather. After travelling almost

every weekend, I am really exhausted. Unfortunately this weekend's

weather in some sites i plan to visit is guite nice. Sunny with

clouds. ahh..I will feel guilty knowing I have the opportunity to get

some good shots but because of temporary physical exhaustion I cancel

my trip. uhh..just boring friday lunch time in the office..never mind

but anwer my ???'s in the first paragraph though. okay I guess I am

watching some football games this weekend.

Edward,

 

I work 6 days a week, 48-52 hours at a regular job. I take my equipment with me every time I leave the house. I'll take pictures late at night, early in the morning, on my lunch break - anytime. I shoot probably an average of 6-8 frames per day. Friday night I process (no digital for me) Saturday night I print the ones I like.

 

Thats what I do on a regular week. The travelling to good photo sites I plan around long weekends, or if its far away I'll plan a short vacation. I sail in the summer and ski in the winter so as you can see its a busy schedule. I just make the time.

 

David

Luckily, I am not a nature or landscape photographer. I live in an interesting city (Washington DC) and don't have to travel far to be surrounded by my favorite subjects, people. Sometimes I get tired or depressed and my shooting dwindles to a trickle, but it never dwindles due to lack of access to subjects.

 

I would think you might want to consider skipping the weather channel and going shooting in a wider variety of weather. Perhaps not in a raging downpour, but those cloudy, blustery days can yield some beautiful shots.

Give up.

I don't know what kind of area you live it, but I find plenty of interesting shots in my rural Iowa town and the surrounding area.

 

I take my dogs for walks when ever I can and almost always take along the camera and tripod. We usually go to the same 2 or 3 places....over and over and over again. But I still find interesting shots and new things to try. Some weeks I may only take 3 or 4 pictures, other weeks I'll take 3 rolls. Just depends what kind of mood I'm in and if I have extra time.

 

I guess it depends what you like to photograph. If you like photographing cities you'd be out of luck here and would be taking plenty of weekend trips

 

Alan

<i> how do you manage to take pictures? Are you travelling to photographic sites

constantly every weekend? almost every weekend? </i><p>

 

Photo sites, whatever they are, sound like big sandboxes for trite photography. (Photo

websites are another discussion entirely.) <p>

 

There's photographic possibilities every few inches ... literally. At home you can shoot

stills, friends, family, macro -- day or night. On the street there's a stream of

everchanging activity. There's the day-to-day routine of the office, of the commute,

of the chores you or your family has to do. You can shoot a visual diary, or the same

shot every day, or a shot every day taken at the same moment every day. The

opportunities are there. If we can't find subjects, the fault is not in our stars but in

ourselves. <p>

 

I shoot 2-4 rolls a week of color or b&w, depending on my whim, or what box I pull

out of the crisper drawer in the fridge. My main camera combo is a 22-year-old SLR

with a wideangle lens, which I use for street photography. But I also keep a Yashica T-

4 point-and-shoot on me wherever I go. <p>

 

<i> I am punching all those numbers to weatherchannel.com to see some good

weather. </i><p>

 

Some of the best photos I've seen or taken were in lousy weather. <p>

 

<i>okay I guess I am watching some football games this weekend </i><p>

 

Shoot a self-portrait of yourself watching the game. Consider a tableau of game

snacks as a still life. Give yourself the assignment to shoot one image inside your

house during every commercial break.

Edward<p>

 

I would strongly recommend you read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0817439897/qid=1069483735/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_2/102-4655743-1785740?v=glance&n=507846">Home Photography<a/> by Andrew Sanderson. A great little book that tells of how this respected landscape photography (working mainly in the north of England) changed his photography when required to stay at home more to look after his kids.</p>

 

The central message is that there are amazing photo opportunities inside your house if you think more creatively. His b+w images are stunning. This is not a book about technique but vision.

Writes write, photographers photograph. Photographers don't watch football games - these are not important. Time is passing, photographs are being missed. "Photograph, and be photographed" - Rodchenko.

A cardiac patient was told to exercise more. He got on one of the rowing machines which show his boat and another digitalized rower at a pace he tried to keep up with, puff,puff,more strokes, puff puff. Within a year he had a cardiac arrest on the machine. If photography gets to be a competition (even with myself) I would give it a rest and try meditation for a while. Serious photographers aren't always 'deadly' serious. Point? Darned if I know, ed!...Aloha, gerry

I set myself a project to photograph my county (Sussex, England). This gives me plenty of reasons to go out and visit new places in my region. I also travel widely for work and I always take my camera kit with me. Now that the nights are closing in I am experimenting on studio still life and similar stuff under artificial light.

 

So my weekends are taken up with my Images of Sussex project and my weeks (mornings and evenings) are taken up with other places. Oh yes, somewhere along the way I manage to spend some time with my long suffering wife...

If you are beating yourself up and feeling guilty over a "hobby", maybe it's not such a great hobby for you. Watch the football and take photos when you feel like it - the results will probably be better anyway. And if you don't feel like it - consider that at least you're not a pro who has no choice in the matter.

"Are you still working on your pasta?," asks the waitress. " Are you keeping busy" asks a good friend. We are trying to tell you something significant. Photography is incidental to life. If I look at some pictures on the gallery, I am doing photography. If I read a tutorial on lighting, I am doing photography. OK, getting to your case, here's an idea: Its tough making pilgrimages to meccas of outdoor life, with the sun just right,spilling through the clouds, and the magic of the wind in the cyprus trees. How about going to a local senior's club and ask the facilitator if they can use some photos of the folks playing chess for a newspaper article. Talk to your town association and ask if they can use your talents. Try public service photography is what I suggest as a local quick and dirty where you don't have to be Galen Rowell. OK? Do I make any sense,friend?<div></div>

Sorry I clipped a way too large photo by mistake. Moderator, please remove same.GS

Photographers photograph. I managed to haul my lazy ass from my love couch and forced myself igniting the engine. The site is Korean Friendship Bell in San Pedro, Southern California about 1 1/2 hr drive. The effort is rewarding: the most beautiful sunset overlooking Pacific. Lesson learned (learnt??) is: Don't be lazy. Oh, Kansas City Chief kicked Oakland Raiders' ass 27-24! yeah baby!<div></div>

Ng nags Ng to action. Drives into sunset. Wins award. Marries movie star under Korean bell. End credits.

Personally the weather makes little difference to my photography. If it's sunny I'll generally shoot colour and if grey I'll go for BW. If you find the preparation and travel to be too exhuasting why not just stay locally and photograph in your neighbourhood. If you generally take nature images then some urban photography might give you a boost. Ditch the tripod grab your coat and just start walking.

Certainly not ! But feeling guilty WHEN I photograph, yes, quite often. If only we could take perfect pictures all the time... Sigh...