Why do you take pictures?

<p>Why do you take pictures?<br>

I’ve been taking pictures for nearly 60 years. Mostly, it has been a hobby. For a decade, it was my profession and now it is a hobby again. I do have an undergraduate major in fine art and have made my living as a technical illustrator, lawyer and CEO of a software security company.</p>

<p>I enjoy making photographs much as I do painting or sculpting. I see the camera and computer as tools, much like brushes, pigments and canvas.</p>

<p>In the past, my work was regularly published as advertising in magazines and catalogues, as well as travel periodicals (my sideline as a photojournalist). Today, they are for my enjoyment and pushed upon my family. Because I don’t sell or publish them has not diminished my enjoyment – it may have increased it. When I was a working photographer, the vision in the image was usually that of the art director and I was a means to an end. Today the vision (usually imperfectly executed) is mine.</p>

<p>While I don’t have the large inventory of equipment and studio I did when I made my living from photography, the equipment I have today and the computers (that are the darkroom) are capable of producing images I could not even dream of 40 years ago. Even so, the pleasure I derive from photography today is the same it was 50 years ago – it is the production on paper or screen of an image conceived in my mind.</p>

<p>I remember discussion in art school of whether or not you could be an artist if you never shared your work. I’m happy with the conversion of thought to tangible image. I do wonder if others think about why they enjoy photography and why they make the effort at it that they do?</p>

 

<p>gets me out of the house........</p>

<p>but seriously, was a lifelong musician that just lost interest in music so this has filled that need for a creative outlet</p>

<p>JE, I've always disliked cameras (except for long-ago view cameras and rangefinders), but have always relished the challenge that comes with giving myself an assignment or actively hunting for the image that I suspect will be there. I don't wander, hoping for luck or attributing success to occasional shots in the midst of many nothings.</p>

<p>My self-assignment or hunt can fail...that possibility is where the thrill lies. Maybe that's similar to your comment about "an image conceived in my mind." Who would want to watch a tightrope act if the performer couldn't fall?</p>

 

<p>I do think the challenge of what Ansel Adams called previsualization is where the reward is. It is certainly fun to win the lottery, but if your photography is dependent upon the chance capture of a rewarding image, it is not much fun and could be totally automated. <br>

I have a new camera (Nikon D7000), CS5 and nearly 24 TB of memory with a highend processor up front. I have been taking pictures for nearly 60 years, have used Photoshop since it first appeared and had a digital camera since I bought one of the first Nikon D1s. I feel more challenged today by the tremendous capabilities of the technical tools at my fingertips than I ever did behind a view camera back in the day. The options for producing your imagined image are almost without limit -- except for your time, effort and talent. I do love the challenge, as you pointed out.</p>

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<p>I’ve been taking pictures for nearly 60 years.</p>

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<p>Wow! Congratulations! You must have quite an archive of images!</p>

<p>There an old saying: "F<em>ishing isn't for fish. Fishing's for fishing.</em>"</p>

<p>If you are enjoying the pursuit of photography, that's reason enough. All other rewards (business, memories, etc.) are just bonuses.</p>

 

<p>Because my 'normal life' is quite dry and it is a form of creativity I enjoy<br>

Because it makes me look at things a little differently - a little longer and closer<br>

Because I like the gear and learning how to use it to achieve what I want<br>

Because I like to meet and chat with other photographers, including on this site</p>

<p>I enjoy the pursuit of photography. There is gear to buy, learn to manipulate, clean, keep in disorder. There is a technical side in capturing an image and a whole barrage of litterature to go with it. There is a philosophical side to it as well, giving us the opportunity to reflect on our passion and pursuit. There is a creative aspect, framing your photo and such. There is an opportunity to get out of the house and see stuff. There are, naturally, also the pictures we take. They are nice to look at :-) For me there's also a therapeutic angle. I enjoy the solitude of wandering with a camera in hand studying my environment.</p>

<p>Hi John,<br>

Like you I have been taking photos for many years and have made a living through processing both colour and black and white images. I love the modern technology that allows me to play with light in the way I used to especially in my B&W darkroom.<br>

Why do I take photos? Well I am constantly amazed and interested in the world around me and it gives me huge pleasure to record this world so that I can recapture moments and scenes that have moved me. I have no real talent for painting or sculpture but hopefully, with a camera, I can create images that I enjoy. I also love sharing these with friends and family and delight in, maybe, showing them new ways to see the world around them.<br>

Having looked at your portfolio I think you share my sense of the wonder and beauty surrounding us, you certainly capture it in a beautiful way.</p>

<p>Bo: I think you have something. I like the contemplation before I head out for a day with the camera. I may come back never having made an exposure, but it may still be a wonderful day on location.</p>

<p>Bo: I think you have something. I like the contemplation before I head out for a day with the camera. I may come back never having made an exposure, but it may still be a wonderful day on location.</p>

<p>My biggest reason is that artisticly, it's the only thing I can do. I can't draw a straight line without a ruler, and I have never had the paitence to learn a musical instrument. Photography kind of came to me naturaly. I'm not saying I'm perfect, and I'm still learning, but I have been told I have a gift for composition. Ovbiously these folks have never seen what goes in the trash. It's also a link to my youth, and the days when things were much easier. Gas was cheap, and film was cheaper, and wandering around the great old camera shops in NYC was wonderful. I suppose for me, it's my one great passion. Congats John on 60 years of photo, I should be there in another15 or so, good Lord willing. </p>

<p>At the end of the day, I truly enjoy 2 things about photography:</p>

<p>One, the act of creation. Two, the record of things as they exist *now*, on this day.</p>

<p>So many things come and go. Parents, teachers, friends, children, pets, possessions. My son will never be an infant again, my first motorcyle is long gone, first several girlfriends too.... But a part of them remains fixed in time in the photos I've taken and saved.</p>

<p>Look around you. All is temporary. Are you enjoying where you're at now? If so, preserve it in a photo.</p>

<p>Besides the above, my short-term memory is crap, and my drawing skills aren't equal (yet) to my photo skills. So I take pictures.</p><div></div>

<p>It's one of the few things I'm good at, and I enjoy it...double bonus.</p>

I'm basically a snoop. I like being part of the energy on the street, meeting strangers, learning something

new, etc. My cam and being out there lets me do that. Can never get enough...

<p>Really attractive people pay me.</p>

<p>At this stage of my life (I'm 64), my old friends no longer share my interests and I have failed to make new friends, my wife has her own interests, the kids live far away and have their own kids and lives, and I have only my cameras, my computer and my pickup truck.<br>

Why do I take pictures? Because I can't stop! I have boxes of negatives and prints from my film days and am filling up 500+ Gb hard drives with digital negatives every year and I cull deeply but I can't stop myself!<br>

I take pictures because I love every aspect of it, the learning, the preparation, the capture, the editing, the printing, and savoring the completed image.<br>

Am I good at it? Who knows? Who cares? I do it because I am a Photographer, and I will not stop!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Al: I'm with you. </p>

<p>Love your answer, Al...</p>

<p> Just a hobby and nothing more. I do want photos of the family to keep and the rest is just something to do. I have no big goals or anything. </p>

<p>Because it enhances my experience of the landscape. Like now, I'm sitting for about 4 hours at the edge of a wetland, feeling the breeze, watching the grasses sway, watching waterfowl move slowly across the water or suddenly take off for reasons only they "know," hearing distant birds that cannot be seen except by my mind's eye, being aware of the slow arc of the sun as it approaches the time when I will try to record small bits of all of this.</p>

<p>When my young son (now 4) was in the midst of having major surgery after surgery...I was beside myself. I was emotionally consumed with his well-being (of course, as every parent would be). My husband sensed my need to find an outlet, so he purchased me a Nikon D80 and told me to 'get out of the house' and I have been at it ever since. I find peace in photography, it's truly a personal escape. I have sense upgraded my camera/lenses and I feel I am decent at what I do, though I having not been photographing for very long~ I learn something new all the time. My family is very supportive of me, and my children love to talk to me about the art, and actually take photos with me. I found my niche (or did my husband find it). This is why I take pictures.</p>

<p>"I photograph to see what the world looks like in photographs." Garry Winogrand said that, but it sums up the matter for me.</p>

<p>"I’ve been taking pictures for nearly 60 years. Mostly, it has been a hobby"<br>

Not sure why I like taking pictures ? I guess I like taking them for the sake of taking them. Some people have a reason. They work as in the Forensic dept so they have to take pictures of dead people. Some people work in the geology dept and have to take pictures of rocks. Some people take pictures of race cars, some nudes, some nature. I heard these make the best photographers because their subject is focused. I wish I knew why I like taking pictures, it would make things allot simpler. </p>

<p>I think that we all need some kind of self-expession. For me it's photography. I enjoy photographing things that interest me and I feel great when I create a photo that I enjoy looking at. It's even better when others also enjoy my photos. I guess the key word is enjoyment. I enjoy getting out and taking photographs. I enjoy looking at a good photo that I've taken. I enjoy seeing other enjoy my photos. I enjoy feezing a moment in time. A camera may not be a De Laurean, but it is a true time machine. I even enjoy the toy aspect of the gear. Going into a camera store is like going into a candy store as a child.</p>

<p>Why all the enjoyment? I guess it's from a feeling of accomplishment and from creating something of value.</p>

<p>I really had to think about this one. I think I just really love seeing the result. I got a Polaroid Swinger for Christmas when I was a teenager and have been taking pictures ever since whenever I could lay my hands on a camera. I love capturing moments in time.</p>