Uninspired

As I looked out the window tonight at the wonderful sunset glowing pink and red as the storm clouds peeled away

from the sky leaving a dramatic scene, I thought of going out to set up a few shots. This picturesque moment should

have been inspiring, but instead I fell flat. Let me reiterate ... I ... fell flat.

I don't know where my inspiriation went, but I know I used to have some. To me the most important question now

is ... how do I get it back? So that is what I am looking for.

 

What do you do to get your inspiration back when it is lost?

 

P.S. Please don't clog up this thread with a bunch of statments saying how wonderful you are for never losing your

inspiration. I don't really believe you, and it's not helpful.

Hi Josh, I have been that way many times, what I like to do is take another camera out, either another MF, or my speed graphic or another 35mm, Ill look at photography books by ansel adams and others, ill surf the web for images that were made with the type of camera or cameras that i have, and i like to think to myself, I can do that. and i go out and do it. good luck josh

I normally take my camera with me every where. When I find I'm no longer inspired, I take a week or two off. I find that I

start seeing photos all around, but the forced time off seems to be what makes me realize what is there. I have also tried

some other peoples suggestions of going out with an intent of trying to shoot everything I see in a new light, I found this

doesn't work for me. Then there is the work on technique instead of artistry. Normally I get bored doing this, but every once

in awhile I find that I start getting distracted from the exercise and start taking just odd photos. I hope this helps - Lex

Because you have seen thousands of sunsets in Photo.net, you probably shot some yourself, and you are more picky with your subjects.

Sunset: Shoot something else, and use its beautiful light, don't shoot the sunset itself.

I carry a camera with me as often as possible, and I allow myself not to shoot a single picture if I don't feel like it. I think feeling uninspired is perfectly normal.

What do you shoot usually ? Try to shoot at home, compose with objects and light, do something different, you might not have good pictures immediately, but you'll work on it, inspiration will follow.

I think Yann's advice is wonderful. USE the light of the sunset, don't shoot the sunset itself. Perhaps think about how to

create something with your camera rather than trying to capture something beautiful. There's nothing wrong with capturing

beauty. I'm just suggesting a different approach that might get your juices flowing. Sometimes, reading helps me get

inspired. Also, going to a live music concert is a great source of inspiration as is going to a museum and looking at great

paintings. The other night, I got to see a dress rehearsal at the San Francisco Opera, came home and did some great

photo stuff.

Hi! it happens to all of us. If inspiration and motivation could make everything then we won't need methodology and techniques to achieve things and solve problems. Sometimes it is good to lie low and depend on methodology and firm footings step by step to achieve things. Also, many times, we think we are almost "Brain-Dead" and may still do some things without being fully aware and motivated. Some of those efforts may turn out to be brilliant ones! So do rely on that "one step at a time" and you may be the genius! I am reminded of the old saying "a watched kettle never boils". Same with inspiration; it never occurs when we chase it. But with method [and madness] it will occur again and again! Cheer up! When I did my Architectural thesis the Jury Chairman told me "what you have done is all doodling...you won't graduate this year." Three weeks later in the final Jury the same Chairman ranked my thesis the topmost in the class and graduated me with Honours! Keep plugging!

Josh, when you feel flat,( what can happen to each of us) utilize the time for thinking, and look for subjects that are

interesting to you, and you think you have what to say about , and than try to work it out.there are subjects that are

used to death( like sunsets....), but if you try to go deeper in what you really want to say, there is hope ;-)) creating

is not an easy task especially in this digital era. I wish you to find your way.

I always think that "every second is different" this triggers me always whenever I lost.

This has happened to me in the past a couple of time - it can be very frustrating. I've tried taking time off for a while until I felt ready to photograph again, and that worked pretty well. I've also gotten into a rut because I was not able to get out to where the things that I really wanted to photograph were, and that can be either easy to deal with (just go there) or more difficult (too far away, too expensive, can't find these places anymore, etc.). One of the things that really helped me a lot, and has kept me fully charged for quite some time now, was figuring out what I was taking photographs of because I felt that I should, but that I had no *real* interest in photographing.

 

It may sound stupid, but it happened to me, twice. At one point in time I was heavily influenced by what other people were doing because I couldn't seem to find my own vision. I *thought* that I wanted to photograph what I was photographing, but it didn't take hold in ye olde soul if you know what I mean. The first time I though I had figured it out, but in reality I had just found something else to replace the first concept that was really just the same problem in a different form. I eventually took some amount of time off while I sought what it was that *I* really wanted to photograph. It was not as easy as it might sound - it took a lot of thinking and waiting and frustration, but in the end it was all worth it.

 

Obviously this will not be the solution to everyone else's problem of this nature, but it was mine, and I will say that it really, honestly helped me. Now, and for some time too, I have been charged up and chomping at the bit to get out and photograph because I have a personal connection to what I am doing. I really am deeply interested in what I do with my cameras and I can feel that when I am out photographing.

 

One last thing I've found along these same lines. I felt, at one time, that the solution to my problem was my gear, and I bought the hell out of all sorts of different cameras, lenses, films, developers, whatever. This went on for some time before I figured out that equipment would not provide me with the inspiration that I was seeking. You don't seem to have this problem, but it may be something to keep in mind as you go on your vision quest.

 

I don't like free advice - it's usually worth what you paid for it - but here's some anyway <wink>. Consider what it is that *you* really are moved by, and why, when you look at the work of others, both past and present. Really do this, not just think about it a little bit. Really *think* about what types of photography you are drawn to, and then consider *why* it is that you like that style of work. Don't concern yourself with anyone else's value of any work, no matter how famous or popular it is, at least for now. Focus, seriously, on *your* interest. Find out what you *really* like, and then mull it over a bit to see if perhaps this is what you really want to photograph. I cannot always completely explain *why* I feel so strongly about what moves me, but I can tell you that it does, without a doubt, and that's how I know I'm on the right path.

 

Just something to consider, or not. Don't rush your vision, it will come to you if you are patient and mindful.

 

- Randy

Turn your back to the scene and see what's behind you.

 

Conni

Those are all good suggestions. Assuming this is a hobby, not an avocation, here's a suggestion totally out of left field. I like to have interlocking hobbies -- that is more than one hobby that interlocks with another one in such a way that they both "inspire" each other. I'm an amateur landscape photographer, but I also like old cameras and like seeing what I can do with them. I am also a gamer, and taking pictures of tiny miniatures is a whole new challenge. Often I find the whole is more than the sum of the parts and that in going out with a Leica IIIf to see what I can get with it inspires me in photography too. For a hobby, it's all about having fun.

I think the key phrase in your post is that you want to get the inspiration back. So, a sunset that used to inspire you (and should inspire you again) didn't. That's ok. I think all this means is that you have reached a point where this facet of photography is no longer giving you the 'wow' factor it once did. So, you choose a different path. You know there are plenty. Try portraits, still life, abstract, macro etc etc. Whichever type of photography that interest you and gets your creative juices flowing. What you might find is that it wasn't a sunset on your hobby, that you were witnessing, but a sunrise on yet a different type and style of the hobby you love.

The answer for me was to set up a series of photographic challenges, to be called on whenever I got into a rut. Some of them went like this: In 3 hours photograph 20 wildflowers which you have never seen before; Shoot the next 20 shots (minimum) using the Sunny 16 rule...no chimping if digital; Put (specific lens focal length) on the camera and shoot for 1 hour; Sit in a duck blind for 3 hrs. and photograph whatever bird comes into close view; Shoot 15 kinds of tree bark; Shoot 36 railway related shots - but no locomotives; In one square block shoot 50 architectural features; etc, etc...It works every time.

In a similar thread I took some advice that helped me just go out and shoot for fun family event or any other event just shoot away at anything don�t worry about lighting composition subject I went out and bought 2 disposable cameras with flash and just took fun snapshots the event I used was a day at the mall with some friends

I have had this 'block' thing going on for some time. I just am not doing anything photographically. I hope I haven't burned out altogether.

I'm moving to Montana. If that doesn't get me out of my rut, nothing will.

Eat more fish, get more exercise, get more sun exposure.

 

And it's a day away from summer solstice. That's got to have a major influence on mood.

 

Just know it will pass.

Josh, this is another suggestion. You may also want to think in terms of Photography as a "means" to an end and not as an end by itself. That would detach you a little and induce you to focus on the subjects/objects of photography. Then your interest would grow in studying the various themes in the scene and in several kinds of scenarios. Yes, Sunset was one of them. There could be a host of others in the physical and social environment. Explore them and research them. It will open a whole new world.