Is photography a lifestyle?

[Landrum Kelly]

<p>I know that the question sounds stupid, but they say that there are no stupid questions. . . .</p>

<p>I found "lifestyle photography" when I googled "photography as lifestyle." Not too helpful. . . . After looking at the creative flow of some of the participants on the photo forums (not least of which being the "No Words" forum), it occurred to me how much passion can go into photography, so all-consuming it can be at times (regardless of one's level of expertise). Indeed, carrying a camera most everywhere (not to mention carrying a tripod in the trunks of both cars, etc.) has impelled me to re-examine my life. Maybe I am spending too much (both time and money) on my hobby (habit?). I have never made a dime on a photo. Never tried. ("Good move," I hear some of you saying.) I am not talking here about preoccupation with gear so much as preoccupation with <strong><em>actually getting the photos.</em> </strong></p>

<p>My life has changed. I write less (for print publication). Even my social life often revolves around photo ops of one sort or another. Photography is for me now either a lifestyle or a way of life--take your pick. I stick it into the nooks and crannies of my actual profession, which is teaching. (Perhaps it is my "alternative lifestyle.")</p>

<p>I was impelled to ask this question specifically after seeing the name <a href="../photodb/user?user_id=752446">Haig Tchamitch</a> appearing darned near everywhere on the NW forum.</p>

<p>I would like to hear from the rest of you. How much has photography changed your life? Is being a photographer, amateur or pro, a way of life, a lifestyle, or something else?</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

[josephbraun]

<p>i've been doing photography since i was a kid, so i wouldn't know. I think for some folks it is a 'lifestyle' of sorts. For most others it is a passing hobby or a phase. Something to spend money on, or express themselves creatively for a while and then put down after a while. </p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Anything can be a "life style" if you're enthusiastic enough about it.</p>

<p>Some people who wouldn't otherwise have a life at all have found Star Trek, for example.</p>

<p>(chorus of "awwws...")</p>

[Landrum Kelly]

<p>Thanks, Joseph. I would be interested in knowing how photography has intersected with the rest of your life (or been integrated into your life), even with the other passions in your life, over so many years.</p>

<p>JDM, what would be the analog in "photographic culture" to being a "trekkie"? If photography is a "lifestyle" for me, it is a most curious one, because I have to compartmentalize it and rope it off from the rest of my life, since it is not a means of livelihood. Therefore it is not my "lifestyle" in the sense of being the totality of my existence. I do not think that it is too strong to say that it is something that I have to keep under control. Some people check their e-mail or their text messages. I log onto Photo.net to see what somebody has just posted to the forums, or to see what kind of shooting some old friend is doing these days. If someone mentions a photographer whom I am unacquainted with, I google the name or otherwise check the web for things, persons, ideas related to photography--but most of all for photos themselves. I enjoy the words about photography, but I feast on photos. Photography is about a way of seeing and making sense of the world, I think. Seeing other persons' photos is also part of that, as well as being a source of ideas and inspiration.</p>

<p><strong>I realized when I posted that the question implied a strict identity, and I did not mean that--but I posted it anyway as phrased. That are a lot of predicates, modifiers, that could be attached to the word "photography." Even the essence of what I am getting at could be phrased as a thousand different questions about photography--not the question as phrased.</strong></p>

<p><strong>What I really wanted people to open up about was how photography impacts their lives, how it has been a force in their lives, how it still defines any part of those things in life that they find or have found meaningful.</strong></p>

<p>I was hoping that people would wind up responding more to each other and less to me, <strong>redefining the question at will as it suited their own ways of expressing themselves</strong> .<strong> </strong> I wanted to sit back and <em>watch</em> , to see how the discussion unfolded<strong>, </strong> to appreciate the varying self-revelations.<strong><br /> </strong></p>

<p>If I had been more than half-awake when I posted the question early this morning (EDT), I am sure that I could have phrased it much better. I could even have asked the <em>carte blanche</em> question, "What does photography mean to <em>you</em> ?" without any loss of the sense of my curiosity in posting my original query.</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

[don_e]

<p>"Is being a photographer, amateur or pro, a way of life, a lifestyle, or something else?"</p>

<p>Not for me. There are lots of things more important than photography in my life. </p>

<p> </p>

[Ray House]

<p>I believe I have a lifestyle that revolves around my value system and beliefs. How I handle my everyday experiences is mostly governed by this lifestyle. Photography is a thing I do and I try to apply my lifestyle (the good parts) in how I handle myself while doing such. If photography were my lifestyle...that would be so restrictive to everyday living. This is my first post in this forum I think, you regulars are usually way over my head here but I do enjoy and respect the questions and responses.</p>

[aarkp]

 

<p >Photography has changed my lifestyle in some ways. It has got me off my butt for one. The kinds of photographs I am motivated to take require forays into hitherto unfamilair (from an awareness pov, not physical) territory -- crowded streets and lanes, slums; meeting and interacting with people outside the familiar comfort zone. Now, whenever I leave the house, I ask myself if I should take the camera along. But these lifestyle changes are incidental corollaries to the bigger change.</p>

<p > </p>

<p >In photography I have found a powerful medium of self-expression, of projecting my attitudes, values, worldview. There was a time when I was an enthusiastic photographer – seeking beauty, recording events, recording memories. But now there is motivation and a much higher, more mature level of satisfaction.</p>

<p > <br>

I guess this is also my first real posting to these forums/fora (pick what suits you!). Like Ray I have also been a keen lurker. His words resonate with me: "<em>you regulars are usually way over my head here but I do enjoy and respect the questions and responses</em>."</p>

 

[JDMvW]

<p>Hmm. What would be the analog in photography of being a "Trekkie"?</p>

<p>I'm somewhat sheepishly obliged to note that it would probably be obsessively collecting all major variants of old DDR SLRs (at least I'm not collecting <a href="http://www.praktica-collector.de/SLR_all.htm">ALL variants</a> ;[ ).</p>

<p>Maybe Argus collectors? Interesting to speculate on.</p>

[Landrum Kelly]

<p>Given that photographers lead (and have led) very different lives and lifestyles, is there anything that we can say about the lives (and lifestyles) of photographers <em>i<strong>n general</strong> </em> ? DO THEY REALLY HAVE ANYTHING IN COMMON BESIDES THE FACT THAT THEY TAKE OR HAVE TAKEN PICTURES?<br /> <strong><br /> </strong> <br /> <strong>I AM STILL SEEKING GENERALIZATIONS--BUT NOT FINDING (M)ANY.</strong> <br /> <strong><br /> </strong></p>

<p>Perhaps I should have asked: WHAT IS IT THAT IS <strong><em>UNIQUE</em> </strong> TO SOME FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPHERS? Perhaps, that is, it is their uniqueness that is much more important than any commonalities.</p>

<p>I looked up bios on a few of them: (Links to better sources would be appreciated.)</p>

<p>GALEN ROWELL: http://www.speaking.com/speakers/galenrowell.html</p>

<p>GARRY WINOGRAND: http://www.artmag.com/museums/a_greab/agblsps/agblspsc.html</p>

<p>CINDY SHERMAN: http://www.cindysherman.com/</p>

<p>IRVING PENN: http://www.photo-seminars.com/Fame/irving_penn.htm</p>

<p>EDWARD WESTON: http://www.photocollect.com/bios/weston.html</p>

<p>ALFRED EISENSTADT: http://artscenecal.com/ArticlesFile/Archive/Articles1997/Articles0397/AEisenstaedt.html</p>

<p>ANNIE LEIBOVITZ: http://fototapeta.art.pl/fti-ale.html</p>

<p>MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE: http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/bour-mar.htm</p>

<p>PAUL STRAND: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAPstrand.htm</p>

<p>ROERT CAPA: http://www.magnumphotos.com/Archive/C.aspx?VP=XSpecific_MAG.AgencyHome_VPage&pid=2K7O3R1VX08V<br /> <em> and</em> http://artscenecal.com/ArticlesFile/Archive/Articles1998/Articles0798/RCapaA.html</p>

<p>ANSEL ADAMS: http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/adams.html</p>

<p>DOROTHEA LANGE: http://www.museumca.org/global/art/collections_dorothea_lange.html</p>

<p>EADWEARD MUYBRIDGE: http://americanhistory.si.edu/muybridge/index.htm</p>

<p>NAN GOLDIN: http://metroartwork.com/nan-goldin-biography-artwork-m-82.html</p>

<p>MARK PLONSKY: http://www.mplonsky.com/photo/bio.htm<br /> and http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=351402</p>

<p>My knowledge of the history of photography is extremely limited. I was hoping that some of you whose knowledge is much greater might be able to come up with some commonalities. Barring that, perhaps you could tell us something about the unique genius and idiosyncrasies of some of these (and many other) individual photographers. I am sorry for the superficiality of the search--but there is so much out there.</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

<p> </p>

[luis_g]

<p>Photography is one of the pillars of my life. My father handed me a loaded Leica with his prized 35mm lens, prefocused (just press the button, Luis) when I was 8 years old. I remember it being so heavy and shiny in the sun.</p>

<p>You know that myth about the camera stealing the subject's soul? I shouldn't have pointed it at myself!</p>

<p>I see Fred and Lannie are asking similar questions regarding history. Maybe a new thread should be started?</p>

[Landrum Kelly]

<p>Luis, I didn't get my first SLR until I was thirty-two. It was a Miranda AE camera with a 50 f/1.4 lens. Before that it was all instamatics and others of that ilk. I shot mostly my girls growing up with it.</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

[benny_spinoza]

<p>Photography is a wonderful hobby, and for many it can be a lifestyle....that is to say, a big part of one's life. It is an art form, with a technical and analytical component. It helps me deal with stress. Some guys love to watch football on the weekend. My stress-reducer is to get out the camera, or scan negatives and print some images. Some of my fondest memories from childhood are setting up toy soldiers and tanks in the side yard, and taking pictures of the setup with my Signet 35.</p>

[aarkp]

<p>Links to some Street Photographers:</p>

<p>Robert Doisneau: <a href="http://www.robertdoisneau.com/index.htm">http://www.robertdoisneau.com/index.htm</a><br>

This website is dedicated to the life and works of French photographer Robert Doisneau </p>

<p>William Klein: <a href="http://www.designboom.com/portrait/klein_bio.html">http://www.designboom.com/portrait/klein_bio.html</a><br>

Bio with photographs</p>

<p>Helen Levitt: <a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2002/jan/levitt/020117.levitt.html">http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2002/jan/levitt/020117.levitt.html</a><br>

listen to the radio interview</p>

<p>Lisette Model: <a href="http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/showcases/model/index_e.jsp">http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/showcases/model/index_e.jsp</a><br>

pdf/audio/photographs</p>

[bmm]

<p>Little by little, even how modest one's skills are, I think it does change the way you see things, accentuate your awareness of shape, of beauty, of detail... in that respect perhaps...</p>

<p>[...though I hate the word 'lifestyle' and its connotations of adherence and limitation...]</p>

[mt4x4]

<p>Hobby - An activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure or relaxation.<br /> <br /> <br /> Just like any hobby can be a "lifestyle" so can photography. It just depends on how much time and effort you want/choose to put into it.</p>

[john_liberty]

<p>Due to the recent economic downturn I am no longer able to afford a lifestyle, but must make do w/ what I refer to as "a life". Photography is still a part of that.</p>

[sobeystudio]

<p>Landrum - I found "lifestyle photography" when I googled "photography as lifestyle"</p>

<p> "Lifestyle Photography", if you haven't been told yet, is a specific genre of commercial photography-specifically photography of people doing everyday type of things, albeit usually with models and staged. A good portion of catalogs and advertising are filled with it. Its similar to stock photography but it's usually a little more cleaned up and perfected and used for a specific client.<br>

<br /><br>

As for having a lifestyle because of photography- definitely. Just as you said, you start doing things based upon your preoccupation with photography, so..... Specifically for me as a professional, it's like any job- where you live, work, travel, how many kids you have, how you eat (delivery constantly), what kind of car you buy, your office or studio, the hours I work, the computers I own, the friends I have made in the field and therefore the parties I attend and the people and culture I am introduced to. You don't leave photography at the office- it is part of you (especially with iPhones and the like- my portfolio, website and email is ALWAYS with me- not always good) </p>

<p><br /></p>

[tomwatt]

<p>JDM Wrote:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Hmm. What would be the analog in photography of being a "Trekkie"?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That would have to be a "Clickie", right?<br>

My lifestyle was originally an artist/painter. But environmentally, that is a difficult mode of life to maintain, as it requires studio space, stability, etc. Image-making via a digital SLR suits much better in my current life. Far more portable, and really - after the initial investment - not that expensive (Belgian linen at $100 a yard and Cobalt Violet at $75 a tube is a real killer by comparison!).<br>

But the philosphy if image-making can still remain the same... just the tools and techniques are different.</p>

[mwaks]

<p>I think if photography determines everywhere you go based on anticipated photo

opportunities and places that will not allow photography are never to be visited..........then yes, photography is a part of your lifestyle. <br />

</p>

[DB_Gallery]

<blockquote>

<p>Hobby - An activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure or relaxation.<br /><br /><br />Just like any hobby can be a "lifestyle" so can photography. It just depends on how much time and effort you want/choose to put into it.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Well, yes...kind of. <br>

It can get to a level where you live photography so passionately and completely that it goes from what you would call a "Lifestyle" to a life in that no matter what you do in life on the side, photography is your life and the relaxation and passion from it all becomes so complete, that you just happen to also earn a living.</p>

<p>Then it becomes something even better than a lifestyle, it becomes "The Photographic Life":<br>

http://www.amazon.com/Sam-Abell-Photographic-Leah-Bendavid-Val/dp/0847824969<br>

<br /></p>

[michaellinder]

<p>Landrum:</p>

<p>Admittedly, my camera is not with me at all times. I don't sleep with it, I don't take it to work with me, and there are plenty of occasions on which I don't have it with me. However, this apparent lack of devotion has not prevented photography from becoming an integral component of how I perceive, and think about, the world. I catch myself looking at shadows, the interplay of lines and shapes, ordinary street scenes, beaches, animals, etc., and then playing a game with myself called "How to Construct a Photograph". (This also may apply to Fred Goldsmith's thread about intention.) And I'm confident I'm not the only one who remarks from time to time, "This would make a fantastic photograph," especially when I don't have my camera. </p>

<p>In summary, photography has invaded my consciousness. If that constitutes a lifestyle, so be it.</p>

<p>By the way, congratulations on posting such an interesting thread. It takes a philosopher to pose a question in such a way that it morphs into a conundrum. (That's a compliment.)</p>

<p>michael</p>

[marta_cajiao]

<p>I am a pathological photographer. Got my first camera (film 110) when I was fifteen and have been taking photos ever since then. Thirty-One years later I am still taking pictures. Sure, I don't take it to bed with me--hubby won't allow it--or the shower, it's not waterproof but, oddly enough I do take it everywhere else with me and although I am not always taking photos, family and friends can count on me to help them record their events; birthdays and such because, I am always ready and have extra batteries. I have integrated photography into my lifestyle or better said way of living and i feel a much better person for it. I am one of those people who can actually not say "gee, I wish i had my camera with me." Because,it's always with me.</p>

[hjoseph7]

<p>I think somebody put out a list of photography jokes on one of the Forums a few months ago. Those jokes pretty much define the photography lifestyle.</p>

[aanji]

<p>Landrum, I usually have a camara with me; my vacations are usually selected with the assumption of photo opportunities existing; I usually do something photographic daily. But the family joke is that any and all of my images could have come from my backyard. I guess it's just part of my way of seeing and trying to save what I've seen.</p>

[jtk]

<p>It may not be my "lifestyle" but I've sure invested a lot of time in it. Maybe its fair to call it one of several concurrent lives: work (self-employed), love-life, actual photography/printing, questioning/exploring...</p>