p.11 #1 · Getting the photo vs the experience of getting the photo
I can understand that. But I think of the joy of that moment as having nothing to do with photography. That is to say the moment was joyful because of the weather, sights, smells, people...all those things that excited me. The fun I had taking pictures at the time (a separate joy for me) was predicated on getting good images. "oh man I can't wait to see this on my screen at home!".
p.11 #2 · Getting the photo vs the experience of getting the photo
Superscroll wrote:
I can understand that. But I think of the joy of that moment as having nothing to do with photography. That is to say the moment was joyful because of the weather, sights, smells, people...all those things that excited me. The fun I had taking pictures at the time (a separate joy for me) was predicated on getting good images. "oh man I can't wait to see this on my screen at home!".
I don’t think you are correct that the joy at the moment has nothing to do with photography. The reason I’m up before dawn and walking the streets is because of photography. The reason I’m hiking out through a rain forest getting wet is because of photography. I enjoy those aspects of venturing out to get my photos. If I did not enjoy those times, I would not be doing them.
p.11 #5 · Getting the photo vs the experience of getting the photo
tuomkok wrote:
I have so many images that I rarely care anymore The abundance of images decreases their value.
I wonder if it is so much how many photographs we make or whether we still have something to say in a new photograph that is worth saying.
I have a friend who has been a well-regarded landscape photographer for decades. He’s not young any more, and he has made many thousands of photographs, printed (and sold) many of them, but he continued* to photograph despite having made “so may” photographs, including some great ones. About this, he once said, I think I’m still getting better.
;-)
- - -
*Age catches up with everyone, and it seems to be catching up to him, and in the past year he mostly stopped making photographs and stopped teaching workshops, sadly.
p.11 #6 · Getting the photo vs the experience of getting the photo
gdanmitchell wrote:
I wonder if it is so much how many photographs we make or whether we still have something to say in a new photograph that is worth saying.
I have a friend who has been a well-regarded landscape photographer for decades. He’s not young any more, and he has made many thousands of photographs, printed (and sold) many of them, but he continued* to photograph despite having made “so may” photographs, including some great ones. About this, he once said, I think I’m still getting better.
;-)
Good point!
However, I humbly admit that there are no universal truths here. In my post I was thinking mostly my own very private photography. Memory, family, photowalks etc. In such situations a prime lens is ok, and the camera doesn't have to be the newest and most fancy. When I'm alone, I enjoy shooting on my own terms and the situation, and then tech isn't very important.
But even though I say that, I'm the photographer who takes 200 photos of every performer when documenting an event. In such situations it also doesn't occur to me that a fixed lens or other limitation would in any way improve the images or "increase creativity".
p.11 #7 · Getting the photo vs the experience of getting the photo
RoamingScott wrote:
Conflating your personal feelings for a universal experience is the usual foible.
Universal experience is a big world. I am not sure if there is a place for it in contemporary world.
However, I consider photography as art. Interesting art is always a combination of something very personal and something that we want to share with others.
p.11 #8 · Getting the photo vs the experience of getting the photo
I don't really separate the experience from getting the shot in terms of what is important to me personally. Most of my photography is oriented around travel and that is purposeful because I greatly enjoy both. So, whether a trip is focused on cities, wildlife, landscape, or something else, I place importance on the experience of being there and the joy that comes from using my gear.
While shooting, the way that the rest of the world disappears and what is in my immediate reality is of utmost importance. So, whether its using fast AF-C for wildlife or slow manual focus in some other situation, the enjoyment comes from being there, experiencing the surroundings, and using my equipment.
Years ago, I wanted to be strictly a landscape photographer and did the get up at 2 am to get to a spot thing. For me, that was awful. I know that some people are fully capable of doing that and being just fine. For me, I hated the feeling of minimal to no sleep and decided that it was just not worth it. And to add to that, while I do still do landscape photography and create good images, I find that I have better success and therefore enjoyment with other genres. This, in itself, has been a reward because it broadened my photographic interests and gave me more to enjoy.
There is also the side of learning about your own eye, your evolution in how you see, and your post-processing and how that changes over time. These are long-term reflections and I believe that they are very real in terms of what we get from our work.
On gear, I strongly feel that no one's choice is wrong. People choose what they would like to work with and that even changes over time. Different people enjoy different processes, levels of complexity, features, etc. So, whatever works for a given individual is up to them.
p.11 #9 · Getting the photo vs the experience of getting the photo
I'm really a wandering hiker with a photography problem, lol. I like to document my hikes to beautiful places. I have a small, light setup for that and compose quickly and move on. My larger setup is for when I'm not bothered by size and weight and the photo is the goal. I'm then more likely to get creative or try something new. I'm not selling any of it, so its all for the experience
p.11 #10 · Getting the photo vs the experience of getting the photo
chez wrote:
I don’t think you are correct that the joy at the moment has nothing to do with photography. The reason I’m up before dawn and walking the streets is because of photography. The reason I’m hiking out through a rain forest getting wet is because of photography. I enjoy those aspects of venturing out to get my photos. If I did not enjoy those times, I would not be doing them.
p.11 #12 · Getting the photo vs the experience of getting the photo
Abuttolph wrote:
Years ago, I wanted to be strictly a landscape photographer and did the get up at 2 am to get to a spot thing. For me, that was awful. I know that some people are fully capable of doing that and being just fine. For me, I hated the feeling of minimal to no sleep and decided that it was just not worth it. And to add to that, while I do still do landscape photography and create good images, I find that I have better success and therefore enjoyment with other genres. This, in itself, has been a reward because it broadened my photographic interests and gave me more to enjoy. ...Show more →
A couple of things.
I can relate to your feeling about the getting up way before dawn and all of that. I don’t love that part of landscape photography, and I realized years ago that this part of it is actually… work. I distinctly recall the specitic trip when that idea coalesced. (Yeah, I’m slow sometimes.) I was spending something like a week in Death Valley, working on my own, often getting up hours before dawn and driving to some pretty distant places. In the end it was and is “rewarding,” but it is also, like so many things, work. On the other hand, flocks of sandhill cranes at dawn or the sunrise light on mountains do have their rewards…
(My other life is connected with music, and at one time I performed professionally. Among musicians there is sometimes a bit of incredulity about people who imagine that it is all just fun. There most certainly are rewards, but there is also the hours of practice, the long drives to gigs, and long drives home afterwards at night, the “dues paying,” and more. I think photography can be a little like that.)
It is a matter of preference and temperament, perhaps, but I’m with you on the value of photographing more than one genre. While I think I’m mainly a landscape photographer, I’m also pretty serious about a few other things including street, travel, and night photography.
p.11 #13 · Getting the photo vs the experience of getting the photo
gdanmitchell wrote:
A couple of things.
I can relate to your feeling about the getting up way before dawn and all of that. I don’t love that part of landscape photography, and I realized years ago that this part of it is actually… work. I distinctly recall the specitic trip when that idea coalesced. (Yeah, I’m slow sometimes.) I was spending something like a week in Death Valley, working on my own, often getting up hours before dawn and driving to some pretty distant places. In the end it was and is “rewarding,” but it is also, like so many things, work. On the other hand, flocks of sandhill cranes at dawn or the sunrise light on mountains do have their rewards…
(My other life is connected with music, and at one time I performed professionally. Among musicians there is sometimes a bit of incredulity about people who imagine that it is all just fun. There most certainly are rewards, but there is also the hours of practice, the long drives to gigs, and long drives home afterwards at night, the “dues paying,” and more. I think photography can be a little like that.)
It is a matter of preference and temperament, perhaps, but I’m with you on the value of photographing more than one genre. While I think I’m mainly a landscape photographer, I’m also pretty serious about a few other things including street, travel, and night photography.
I wholeheartedly agree with you both about the reward and the work for getting up early and making the effort to get to places. It certainly takes work to get out and get images, as well as learning equipment and working on images - that is part of the enjoyment for me. For the very early mornings (2 and 3 am waking), it is not the work that is the issue for me, it is the extreme fatigue that makes me miserable for the entire day, plus being more prone to having accidents with my gear because of that (it has happened). If it were not for that, I would not mind at all the early work. It is a very special thing to be on site in at first light, whether for landscape or any other kind of photography.
It is really fun to shoot more than one genre and setting up travel for specific kinds of photography is incredibly rewarding. 100% with you there.
p.11 #14 · Getting the photo vs the experience of getting the photo
Abuttolph wrote:
I wholeheartedly agree with you both about the reward and the work for getting up early and making the effort to get to places. It certainly takes work to get out and get images, as well as learning equipment and working on images - that is part of the enjoyment for me. For the very early mornings (2 and 3 am waking), it is not the work that is the issue for me, it is the extreme fatigue that makes me miserable for the entire day, plus being more prone to having accidents with my gear because of that (it has happened). If it were not for that, I would not mind at all the early work. It is a very special thing to be on site in at first light, whether for landscape or any other kind of photography.
It is really fun to shoot more than one genre and setting up travel for specific kinds of photography is incredibly rewarding. 100% with you there. ...Show more →
About that fatigue… It is real, but I have some ways of coping with it.
On most days the intense photography takes place in the first and last few hours of the day. My routine is to get up at The Ungodly Hour and head straight to my location, with no stop for coffee or breakfast — just up, grab the gear, out the door, and go. I get to my location and start photographing. I’ll usually work that location and perhaps 2 or 3 others in the morning until the light is less amazing. Then it is time to call a halt to the morning photography.
At that point I either head back to camp or hotel… or the back of my 4Runner for coffee and breakfast. Now THAT is a pleasure! The midday hours are often given over to doing non-photographic stuff, including a nap or two that lets me catch up on the missed sleep.
Then a few hours before sunset it is time to repeat the process of intense photography. I typically work until it is dark, then head back to camp or hotel (or sometimes, in a remote area, the back of the 4Runner again) to get some dinner. After that I don’t stay up late — early to bed and early to rise and all that.
Yes, the sleep deprivation is an issue, but there are some ways to cope.
The abundance of images decreases their value.