Does anybody have a really inspiring photo project right now?

[Landrum Kelly]

<p>I ask in part because I have been rather stagnant photographically this spring, but it has recently occurred to me to make a project of getting some great shots of sunlight (and maybe moonlight) coming off sidewalks, vertical rock or brick walls, or even wood. For some reason, the thought of trying that just seems to give me some motivation to get out there and start shooting again.</p>

<p>Does anybody else have an idea for a project that suddenly inspires or motivates?</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

[Landrum Kelly]

<p><a href="/photo/17783064"><em><strong>Here</strong></em></a> is what impelled me to start this thread. I am not talking about my own photo but about the comment about light and "the silver of old wood" by Amy Helmick.</p>

<p>Light coming off such surfaces has been captured a lot better than I have done in this case, of course. I'm going to be looking for such surfaces--and the right time or day (or night) to show them to perfection. Please include some links to that kind of photo if you can think of any.</p>

<p>--Lannie<strong><br /></strong></p>

[aplumpton]

<p>Lannie, I don't know if this qualifies for your OP but I have been working continuously the last two weeks on a series of images in black and white that are portraits of the oldest houses and accompanying buildings in our area. They are all shot from a similar angle and approach, that expresses to me (at least) the essence of the simple but powerful vernacular designs from the 1680 to 1750 period. Some (but not many) of the originals work a bit better in color than when transferred to B&W, but do so outside the approach of my project, so I have simply dropped them from my project (to be used elsewhere).</p>

<p>The multi-toned rural stonework and wood shingles and other wood of these simple buildings are photographed in light at angles that also exhibit the type of reflection that makes their surfaces appear silvery and I am making the blue skies very dark tones of grey to try to evoke another time. I may call rgeseries memory, or identity, as these structures are a key part of the early cultural life of this area. By not showing the parts of the buildings that have had more recent modifications or embellishments and showing instead those parts that emphasize the originality of the structures, I am trying to get a bit into the heads of the original builders and show what they were trying to make. I am mounting about 15 or so on artist cardboard tomorrow morning and am presenting them tomorrow evening at a local event (with a side event of artists) attended by many locals. I am enjoying the immediacy and intensity (mainly in the searching of and choice of potential images) of the project and its very limited timeline.</p>

[chris_waller]

<p>For a whole host of reasons (a.k.a. excuses) I too have been somewhat in the doldrums photographically speaking for the last few months. I need to find a project but right now nothing proposes itself as a subject. I'm waiting for the Muse to return.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>I have several projects in various stages of incompletion. I'd be happy to pay an assistant twice what I make, which is nothing. Doubt I'll find any takers. The tough part is forcing myself to stop taking new photos while I organize what I have and finish some projects. But I can't pass up new opportunities.</p>

[sarah_fox]

<blockquote>

<p>For a whole host of reasons (a.k.a. excuses) I too have been somewhat in the doldrums photographically speaking for the last few months.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I resemble that! I seem to have no time or energy for personal photography these days. Right now I'm working out the details of replacing our heat pumps. Joy! Last week I was finishing off an automatic sprinkler system. After the heat pumps, we start preparing a house for sale. It never ends.</p>

<p>However, when I have free time again (HA!), I'll be picking my "We Americans" project back up -- showing who and what we are as Americans at this point in history -- slices of common, everyday life, and candid portraiture of common, everyday people. It's the ordinary that inspires me, because to other people -- people of other cultures and people of our culture from different times -- the ordinary might not be so ordinary. ;-)</p>

<p> </p>

[Landrum Kelly]

<blockquote>

<p>It's the ordinary that inspires me, because to other people -- people of other cultures and people of our culture from different times -- the ordinary might not be so ordinary. ;-)</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That is so true, Sarah. I find ordinary documentary photography (of just about anything) potentially interesting for the very same reasons. In fact, I think that I shall go back to shooting ordinary daytime scenes as realistically as possible--even if they bore me to death right now. Maybe someday (if I live long enough), I might even find them interesting myself.</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

[sknowles]

<p>I agree with Sarah, I've been absent from my photography for awhile except for short period of interest, in part because of life issues and other work which has interceded to become more interesting, one of which is more a longer term photo project to identify the photographers working in and around Mt. Rainier NP from the introduction of sheet film around 1890 to about 1910 encompassing the decades up to and after it became a NP. The work entails trying to find the collections of those photographers and see if there were any field notes for the locations of their photographs or a location can be determined from the photograph itself. The second part will be to take my 4x5 camera to the locations and shoot the image from the approximate spot. This project will never be finished but interesting none the less.</p>

[sjmurray]

<p>I've had the same "project" my whole life: documenting the interesting people/things around me. I don't set particular goals or quotas, because life can get very busy as Sarah has mentioned. I live near a beautiful woods bordering the Mississippi, where I have biked with my border collie, Lily, for years. Family and friends are wonderful subjects (especially my new granddaughter), and we also are surrounded by cats and dogs, which make great subjects. I guess I feel lucky then: the visual world is my inspiration!</p>

[noreen]

<p>For more than a year now, I have spent an hour (or more) virtually every weekday morning photographing the wildlife (mostly birds and lizards) and native plants in a tiny garden that I pass on my way to work. This started out as just a way to get some photography time into my day and an opportunity for a bit of birdwatching in a region of the US I just moved to, but it grew into the idea of a book that I hope will interest the university press. (I plan to submit a proposal later this summer.) But if not, and if it doesn't pique the interest of another press, I will publish it myself.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>A few years ago, I was finding it hard to "focus" on my photography, and I was struck by the kinds of light used in Hopper's paintings, so I did a project of trying to find photographic counterparts.</p>

<p>My long-term projects remain -- documenting American Civil War sites and the busman's holiday of photographing archaeological sites.</p>

<p>For the latter, some views are iconic to the extent that they wouldn't let you leave the park if you hadn't taken them.</p><div></div>

[Spearhead]

<p>I just accumulate projects that don't have an end point. Like women with tattoos and their suitcases.</p>

 

<center><img src="http://spirer.com/bcbnov2013/content/images/large/_P9A1829.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="467" /></center>

[Tim_Lookingbill]

<p>The passing of time while photographing what was and is now changed due to new construction, developments and restoration occurring almost every month in my small town of New Braunfels, Tx has made me realize all my shots I'ld taken of what was in the past 7 years are going to be of some value more than I'ld thought.</p>

<p>In a way it's unrealized and unexpected inspiration that's made me more motivated to canvas the town finding impending changes that aren't being communicated effectively to the public by city officials of what is and what will be from future construction and photographing it.</p>

<p>For instance my city's Parks and Recreation dept. does a poor job of promoting all the new parks being built because they only post wide angle shots from the street of plots of land covered in brush and provide only simplistic graphical top view plans that shows trails and facilities.</p>

<p>Got up this morning and biked over to one of the nearby new park (Fischer) construction sites and was blown away by the beauty of the terrain and what they are building. Google maps street view shows it as flat barren fields with two water ponds. Very tall brush conceals Google Street view of what I saw after construction cleared it to have a hilly and dynamic landscape. Biking to the top of one of the hills shows a glorious view of Texas plains to the east. I wanted to bring my camera.</p>

<p>My second inspirational photography project I'm currently processing at the moment is shots of the newly restored Comal County Courthouse. Again poorly communicated to the community what exactly it was the city was restoring which I thought was only the outside structure. NO! The interior is just unbelievably beautifully restored to the original 1800's design.</p>

<p>The shot below is of one of the main functioning courtrooms and it appears from the two afternoons I spent shooting receives very few visitors outside of a few office workers that occupy other rooms.</p><div></div>

[MathewDH]

<p>Last year, most of my photography was digital infrared. That amount of material hardened my raw developing techniques for this form--which can be difficult to get a decent image, either in color or converted to BW. I developed a sharpening technique for the b&w versions that separated the gray scale better, which I found to be useful for normal color too. Since it is a Canon I use, the issue of Adobe RAW giving the inaccurate magenta pictures was solved too. I am currently using a Canon 10D that 6.3 mgp. The upcoming T6i which might be 20 mgp will be a nice affordable upgrade to convert to IR for better images. And movies!</p>

[billangel]

I am drawn to photographing neighborhood street festivals. Even though I've photographed them many times

over the years, something or someone unexpected will present itself there as a photo op. My favorate images are

those that result from exploiting spontaneous or unexpected situations, and not from careful planning.

[michaellinder]

<p>I've had a penchant for shooting old, dilapidated, abandoned buildings. The idea I've had is for a combination of photos and poems dealing with abandonment.</p>

[dan_south]

<p>Last year, I worked on a project called City In Motion. The idea hit me by accident. I was trying to use ultra-high ISO to freeze motion in a dark setting. Later that night, I had the idea to shoot the scene at low ISO (100) and let the motion happen. I jotted down a list of potential scenes and spent the next four months working on the idea.</p>

<p>This year, among other projects, I'm trying to do more with flash. Joe McNally and Dave Black have been a big inspiration with their approach to lighting.</p>

<p>Glad you've found some motivation, and I hope that more projects come to mind soon. Keep shooting and trying new things, even things that go against the conventional wisdom. Eventually, you'll find something that inspires you, and you'll be off to the races with a new project.</p>

<p>One additional suggestion for thinking up new projects: Instead of running out and buying some new goodies (which we all love to do), see what you can do with the gear that you already have. A new lens or tool can be inspiring, but the excitement wears off quickly, and then you slow down again or you feel as though you need to buy more stuff. By using what's already in your camera bag, you'll exercise your creativity.</p>

[bob_bill]

<p> I photograph people, not their likeness, but their personality, so it is a never ending source of inspiration. In a shoot yesterday, had a mom and her 6 and 7 yr old sons. I find photoing children and observing their curiosity and lack of inhibition helps remind me to cultivate it in my photography. Took them for ice cream after the shoot and they were fascinated for 10 minutes with the underside of the table umbrella. Also, was shown my some of father's work from the late 30's, a self portrait. It gave me some inspiration in my use of fresnels which I will use with the mom in a boudoir shoot this week. My current major photo project is ending photography in Northern California and moving to a new location, Florida. Looking forward to incorporating beautiful clouds into my outdoor shots instead of 7 months of bald, cloudless skies. Of course, will have to relearn that it rains in the summer so that has to be considered. Also, warm beaches instead of our cold windy and foggy ones. Also, for my aching muscles, shorter carries making larger and heavier modifiers easier. One here was a half mile down a cliff face, but worse, coming back up near dark after sunset. </p>

[sallymack]

Projects come to me as opposed to my having ideas for projects. If I go out with an idea of what I want to photograph, I'm often disappointed--the scene doesn't exist or look the way I wanted it to, the light isn't right, access is limited, I can't get the angle I want, etc.<br>

<br>Going out with no specific purpose in mind leads to projects of varying lengths of time.  Just seeing where the road would take me one day years ago led to a 10+ year project of photographing a wetlands restoration site near my home.<br>

<br>More recently. I discovered deteriorating, bubbling mirror-film on windows in a ramshackle building. The film reflects sunlight shining on a yellow building across the empty parking lot, making wonderful golden abstracts. I've been returning to those windows for months, now, sometimes just going out to see what the windows look like at different times of the day and under different lighting conditions.  --Sally<div></div>

[mark_starr]

<p>I have been photographing Native American stone structures in my hometown of North Stonington, Conncticut. Three of four months ago I didn't even know they existed, and now I have logged over 800 sites in the woods in town. It is really thrilling to come across structures that might have been built a thousand years ago that almost nobody has seen for perhaps a few hundred years. It is amazing what I can see in a twenty minute walk in the woods from my door, and very few people even know they exist. The photo here is of an alter site at the base of a cliff that I photographed today. The alter stone itself (seen rising diagonally to the right) was probably upended from its position by a tree that grew within the enclosure and toppled over, knocking some of the stonework out of place before decaying away out of existence. Searching for these sites and photographing them is very rewarding, as I have yet to come back from a walk without having discovered new things - the kind of thing we used to dream of finding as kids. What I find so compelling is that this stony record is nearly all that is left from nearly 11,000 years of Native inhabitation in this area, and trying to figure out what they have to say has been very inspiring. If anyone finds themselves in southeastern Connecticut and wants to see some sites, drop me a line!<br>

Mark<img src="/photo/17787982" alt="" /></p>

[mark_starr]

<p>Sorry the url didn't load - a second try to post the photo for those interested -<br>

Mark</p><div></div>

[AmyHelmick]

Cool project Mark Srarr.

[nigel_farmer]

<p>Inspired by the novel "Bleeding London", the (uk) Royal Photographic Society is running a project to try and photograph every street in Greater London. I have my own project within this, to photograph every street in the City of London or "Square Mile" of which there are at least 400. Its a bit of a challenge but fascinating too and I am seeing a lot more of the city than I otherwise would,and am learning a lot too. I am doing a presentation at my local camera club in January, so need to complete the project by the end of the year. Anyone interested can check out my progress at http://bleedinglondoncity.blogspot.co.uk/</p>

[phule]

<p>I'm not sure if it's a project yet, but I've been using Chicago's new-ish bike share program (called Divvy; part of the Alta Bike Share group which runs, NYC, London, Boston, Minneapolis, etc...) to get out-and-about during lunch. Not only am I visiting and photographing in areas I wouldn't normally have an opportunity to get to during lunch, but I'm also photographing each of the bike stations I use in B&W. There's potential here for, perhaps, showing the sameness (shape, tones, arrangement) of the bikes against the diversity of the surroundings/neighborhoods. Not certain it's going to pan out photographically, but it's been great exercise.</p>

[mike dixon]

One of my more-enduring projects is photographing the wildlife in the bars and clubs around Busan, where I live. It led to a gallery exhibit last summer (focused on the music scene). Not sure what else it will lead to, but at least it keeps me off the streets . . .<div></div>