Does Anyone Else Get Bored With Street Shooting?

[spanky]

I once read an interview with Robert Frank where he tells the

interviewer that to continue with the kind of shooting he did while

creating material that became "The Americans" didn't appeal to him

because he would just be repeating himself. Does anyone else feel

this way? I know where he's coming from because I've been feeling

lately that street shooting is becoming tiresome. By that I mean I'm

getting bored with going to the same places time and time again. For

example, I've spent most of this summer shooting around the Santa

Monica Pier and the Venice Beach area. This is mainly due to the fact

that it's cooler there then the rest of LA which has only recently

got over a heat wave. The rest of the year I shoot in downtown,

Melrose Ave, Hollywood Blvd, ect. but I just can't get excited about

going to these places anymore. What's funny is when I think about

doing something else, I feel guilty so I gather up my gear and hit

the streets and in the end I'm always glad I did because I always get

a few shots that I really like and I know I wouldn't have gotten them

if I did something else. So what do the rest of you do when you feel

like street shooting is becoming a chore? Lately there have been days

where I head out and it takes forever for me to hit my stride for

lack of a better term. By this I mean there are days where I really

feel connected to my surroundings and the shots just seem to present

themselves to me but on recent trips I walked around for hours and

found it hard to shoot anything. Why is this? How do the rest of you

remedy this? I was thinking earlier today about where I want to shoot

this weekend and the thought of doing so fills me with a kind of

dread, yet I shudder to think about what I'll miss if I don't go. LA

is the kind of city that it's easy to get interesting shots but

lately I just seem to not be that into it. I was also thinking of all

the other kinds of shooting I could have done but missed the chance.

Like, why didn't I head up to the Michael Jackson trial and get shots

of all the hard core fans? Why did I miss the Orange County Fair and

the Watermelon Festival? And where are all the anti war protests? I

always hear about such events after the fact. Even though I look

through local papers I can never find anything that appeals to me as

a way of taking a break from the streets. So I'd be interested in

reading about what the rest of you do to keep your street shooting

fresh and exciting and not the same old same old as it seems to have

gotten for me.

Regards,

Marc

[maria_s.]

no.

[ericamcdonald]

hi Marc, I don't know your work or what you are after, but it sounds to me as if you have

hit a plateau, which is a good thing in that you are at the peak of the old way of working.

Sometimes people take a lot of shots when they don't know what they want, and perhaps

now you've reached a place where you know better than to reach out just to get more of

the same. Instead you walk, watch and wait for the right thing. Sounds smart to me. When

you are moved off the plateau by a new experience, emotion or impulse, you will have

something new to say..same people, same places maybe, but with new vision. You may be

bored because you have outgrown one mode but haven't found the next. I say keep

walking, watching, and waiting until you find it.

[bhneely]

I'm not a street shooter, but I think we all get bored sometimes, with everything in our lives. My subjects tend to be old broken things and nudes, and while I seldom find the nudes boring, sometimes old broken trucks all start to look alike.

 

I shoot something different, way different. Wide landscapes are a nice break from detail shots of rusting Studebakers. Street fairs are a nice break from nudes.

 

Head up to the mountains and shoot lonely shots of trees. If it's feasible, get out to the desert and shoot there. Shoot someplace where there are no people. Then, the next time you're on Hollywood and Vine, and the next big sleazy rock band walks by, you'll be fresh and ready to get a shot of their swooning, tatooed groupies.

[spanky]

Erica you've hit the nail on the head. Finding new ways of looking at the same things is what I'm after. Lately I've tried using different lenses, different films, even exposing my film differently, but all this has accomplished is frustration in my prints not turning out as I'd like them to at least in most cases. Brians advice is exactly what the two authors (whose names escape me at the moment) of the great book "Art & Fear" suggest people do to break out of a rut. Hmmm...I'm just reminded of my dentist whom I'll be seeing for a check up next week. I was thinking of asking her once a couple years ago if she would lend me some x-rays to take into the darkroom to try to make some photograms or to somehow sandwich with some other negs. See? It's working already, LOL!

Cheers,

Marc

[travis1]

i alternate between abstracts, streets, family shots, self portraits and nature. Keeps me busy.

[j-f vergel]

Try a different camera - maybe something inexpensive from the flea market, or try a

different format, or go to your usual haunts early in the morning when no one is around -

you may see things differently there. Try shooting a story. I usually walk around with a

small digital in my hand - I live in NYC - and shoot without thinking. I shoot furtively and

from the hip, behind me, across, up and down... whatever (there's a lot to shoot here).

Digital allows me to edit as I go along and gives me the freedom to not think about the

cost of film, develloping and printing. At the same time I'm shooting images I would not

have thought of. It's nice to see what I've captured at the end of the day. It's like "Zen and

the Art of Archery". I highly recommend that book. I'm not sure if I'm making much

sense. In any case, when I get bored with one method I switch it around and try

something else, soon I find that something has changed, evolved, gone to another level.

Shooting with my regular camera becomes fun again. Just don't let it become boring.

Good luck.

[Spearhead]

I get tired of looking at the photos but I never get bored with the shooting unless the light is really suck-o.

[thomas_sullivan]

I live in the New Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia, use to be about 1 hour away, but I moved recently and now is 12 minutes. But, I'm still not living in the heart of the city, which would probably be best, but I'm closer anyhow. A better place to shoot is NYC, but that is still 2 1/2 hours away (even after moving)....

 

.....that is what I'm bored with........the travelling to and from. Once I get in the city and am in shooting mode, I'm just sailing along enjoying the heck out of myself. And sometimes I don't even care if I get good shots or not...........sometimes I get home and dont even start editting for days. shooting street is such a rush, even when the light does suck. I just like being out there.

 

And yes, there are times I dreaded the travel time so much I just didnt go........and regretted it. I just have to keep one foot in front of another, get my ass up and out of the house, get on that train, and step off in the city.........philly or nyc. Once I'm on those city streets, all is well with the world and my camera again.

[sknowles]

There are times I don't get enthusiastic about photographing during walks, but I've found it's mostly due to not be creative or imaginative, or simply not paying attention. Then I just walk and start looking again. When I go back to the same place I try to set different goals, people, doors, old stuff, storefronts, small things, shadows, different films, etc. And there are times I find a cafe and just sit and watch, and slowly the camera comes out and in use again. I agree with the other responder(s), I enjoy getting the photograph and often find reviewing slides boring and want to get out again, simply to be there and photograph. I like to see other photographers' work with streets scenes, and often find I'm missing shots by not seeing. I'm not much of a public event photographer, although I do photograph them, especially parades, I prefer the more ordinary times, such as people going to work, Sunday morning downtown, etc.

 

Good luck.

[chris_waller]

You need to 'find your subject', i.e. what it is that 'moves' you. I like to have a project in hand - like Bruce Davidson's gangs in New York.

[gary_woodard]

Have you tried switching to video games, they are big here.

[fate_faith_change_chains]

Got stuck ? You'll just have to photograph your way out of it, it could be that simple...

 

I get bored on the streets all the time, I think I need to get bored some of the time in order

to make the things I want to express look more interesting. Getting bored makes me

wanna look much harder, to find out that it actually isn't that boring afterall.

[edmo]

<I>...unless the light is really suck-o.</I>

<P>

shoot at night and the light don't matter...

<p>

no goals = no projects

<p>

no projects = no ruts

<p>

no ruts = plenty of free time

<p>

plenty of free time allows you to shoot life...

[Brad_]

I like that, Ed...

[jenna_g]

I would feel like I was in heaven if I could shoot in LA or NYC. But I guess shooting in a city of 450,000 people, I can to relate to what you're saying. Downtown is pretty small and I rarely get to shoot in large crowds so sometimes I do get frustrated here. Not any well known street photographers here!!!

[tholte]

Jenna, I think there is at least one good street-shooter in New Mexico -- you!! I love the non-big city stuff!!

[edmo]

shoot where your at...think R. Frank in Nova Scotia, it don't matter where...it's where your head is at

[Spearhead]

I'd have to get bored with what I see on the street. So far that hasn't happened...In NYC last week, I saw the light...<p>

 

<center><img src="http://www.spirer.com/fragments/images/f15.jpg"><br><i>Light, from the NYC Fragments series, Copyright 2005 Jeff Spirer</i></center>

[Nowhereman]

Really? You should get around some more.

[Spearhead]

No, Peter's right - you can only get that kind of light in NYC.

[jenna_g]

Thanks Tim!<br><br>

edmo: Yep you're right. Frank and Winogrand got some good shots in my state. I think sometimes when you see so much great work coming out of NYC (or any other area known for street photography) it's hard not to be influenced by it in some way. But I imagine those who do great work there (like yourself) would do great work anywhere. Even across the Hudson ;-)

[fate_faith_change_chains]

'' No, Peters right - you can only get this kind of light in NYC. ''

 

Agree, but please check the light out here in Belgium, it's so real it becomes surreal...

[ericamcdonald]

I've just moved to NYC a few months ago from a pretty rural area,

and what I've found is that the street shooting isn't exactly "better"

here, it's about having more opportunities, so the number of

good shots in a week in the rural area might be 2, where in NY it

might be 10.

I have to say I don't agree with the change equipment advice. I

think that only provides a distraction from the real challenge of

seeing with new eyes. Of course you'lll see differently is your

vision changes in focal length, color, or what have you. Someone

once told me "Only boring people are bored." Of course, in

reality, everyone gets bored, but the point is that we are bored

when we are allowing ourselves to be bored.

Boredom is a chance to dig deeper into the reason we do this,

and what we are trying to communicate. Since there are very few

"perfect "works out there, it seems there is always opportunity for

growth, even on the same street with the same people. Just

keep working...

[vanstar]

Street photography is a lonely way to live - being an observer.

When time and place come together - it's a thrill.

Take a break for a while.

Cheers, Rudi

My work:

www.vanstarrex.com<div></div>