Think i lost the love for photography

dubhoop

Has any body else gone through a phase like this. So much i have advertised my gear for sale. Took a months break etc. I think my problem is i dont have the kiddos to photo anymore.

Tallon

Don't sell your gear... we all go through it

Read this thread

Thecageyone

Once a week I get fed up with it,. and threaten to sell my stuff. Every other day I love it and I'm eying up things I can't afford on adverts

dubhoop

Its a bummer alright. Am like you Cagey i buy stuff i seriously dont need from adverts too

I'll read it now Tallon. Hope i snap (excuse the pun) out of it.

charybdis

Ah well, more photons for me.

smelltheglove

Everyone goes through that. Its like writers block just with a camera. I get it when I have a period of lots and lots of work. I have it a little bit now if I am to be fairly honest. The way I get myself out of it is to set up a shoot, something different that I dont normally do and put loads of energy into it, that usually gets me back on track.

dubhoop

smelltheglove wrote: »

Everyone goes through that. Its like writers block just with a camera. I get it when I have a period of lots and lots of work. I have it a little bit now if I am to be fairly honest. The way I get myself out of it is to set up a shoot, something different that I dont normally do and put loads of energy into it, that usually gets me back on track.

i think your right. have alot on with college, a divorce fact the kids live in different country to me its all taken its toll just about now. i stuck my gear up on adverts. if it sells it sells if not well it was probably for the best then. i went out the other day 3 hrs of walking about only 2 pics did i take

Zillah

This happened me. Oddly enough it was after studying it in college. I didn't like the lecturer very much, and the fact that I was forced to meet deadlines and fulfill arbitrary assignments took the fun out of it.

I got back into it (though not quite as much). Don't sell your gear. Unless you're struggling to pay the bills like.

OR! You should give it away.


To me.

magicbastarder

dubhoop wrote: »

i went out the other day 3 hrs of walking about only 2 pics did i take

were they good? you're better off not taking photos for the sake of it, it's probably the quickest way to get jaded.

dubhoop

no one was the pint of guinness i was drinking and the other was the lovely girl; who served it

Thecageyone

Sorry to hear about your troubles, but we all got some. Having a hobby like this should be your escape! Just don't pressure yourself, you don't have to take pictures daily, or weekly for that matter. Do it when it suits you. if you don't enjoy it , there's no point. Which is why I'm glad I'm not making money out of it, in a way. it's not something I need to do to pay bills [though I do wish at times it did] so there's no pressure. It's for ME!

if you sell all your gear you might regret it, or ... end up buying another load of gear when the gloom passes over

dubhoop

Zillah wrote: »

This happened me. Oddly enough it was after studying it in college. I didn't like the lecturer very much, and the fact that I was forced to meet deadlines and fulfill arbitrary assignments took the fun out of it.

I got back into it (though not quite as much). Don't sell your gear. Unless you're struggling to pay the bills like.

OR! You should give it away.


To me.

haha nice try Zillah

Thecageyone

Nowt wrong with a pint of Guinness or a pretty girl

dubhoop

Thecageyone wrote: »

Nowt wrong with a pint of Guinness or a pretty girl

not sure which one was nicer

TinyExplosions

Dubhoop, I'd advise not to sell your gear, you'll most likely live to regret it in the long term... there's nothing wrong with losing love, but unless you're 100% positive that it's a permanent thing, I think it's be a mistake to sell your stuff.

Take a break, do something else, it sounds you've a lot on your plate at the moment, and if the mood takes you in a few months, you'll fit right back in

dubhoop

I think your alright. it took me a while to save and get it all together. a break away is prob what i need. or find a new subject/ theme to shot. maybe back to aircraft for me. as i enjoyed that. cheers all for kind words

AnCatDubh

from now until about February every year you are guaranteed to have a number of posters who lose their lust for the beautiful art. It happens. Don't know if its the short evenings, the less of a propensity for people to get out and circulate, or what; but it is a regular occurrence during these times. YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Try to get involved with a club, photo meet ups, or a photo buddy and make time to get out there and shoot. You could try the photo assignments and challenges in the challenges subforum. Don't put yourself under particular pressure to produce something - that can suck the enjoyment out of it. Often, going out and enjoying the social company will mean it doesn't matter if you don't shoot very much. Try asking that bar tender does she fancy a spot of modelling :eek:

Hmnnn...... i've a feeling that we as a community of interested individuals should really do something over the darker months.... hmnnnnnnnn..... /thinking hat on.......

TinyExplosions

AnCatDubh wrote: »

Hmnnn...... i've a feeling that we as a community of interested individuals should really do something over the darker months.... hmnnnnnnnn..... /thinking hat on.......

Convince people to sell their stuff cheap so we can snap it up?

Thecageyone

Most of the magazines and web sites push Late Autumn/Winter as the best time to get out and photograph though! Because of the colours, the change in weather [sunshine and fluffy clouds gets old quick in Summer] and because it's challenging. Darker evenings mean more long exposures, mist and fog for your haunty, dramatic shots, Catch the trees when their still changing colour and capture them again when they're bare for the minimal landscape look. there's so much more to shoot in the dirty weather

Sometimes I get bored of it, very bored. Or just frustrated, because I feel I'm nowhere as good as I should be. Or I'm deleting a lot more than processing. Then on a boring afternoon I'll randomly grab a few odd objects and do some macro and shallow DOF shots, or just force someone to pose for a bit so I can spend the evening processing cool mono portraits ... you'll be amazed after a dry spell how quick you can get back into it.

Maybe lay the gear down for a few weeks? wait until you're hungry for it again.

dubhoop

AnCatDubh wrote: »

Hmnnn...... i've a feeling that we as a community of interested individuals should really do something over the darker months.... hmnnnnnnnn..... /thinking hat on.......

haha go to a watering hole and drink and take funny pictures/ i am part of club also. but just cant make it every week.

ThOnda

Simple answer is to replace "love" with "gear porn"

*eadaoin

i've worked a lot over the last couple of years to revive creativity out of a long difficult patch. the winter months are hard with their lack of light, but the other posters are right about it being more of a challenge to our skill and imagination.

i like to spend quite a bit of time in the winter months working on still life stuff, mainly learning to bake new things and taking photos of the process or else setting up a still life with something i've bought like fresh flowers or teacups (granted they mightn't be your cup of tea, but you get my drift!).

i think it's necessary to most people's happiness to have some kind of creative outlet, sometimes we have to work at it to get it flowing again though. i hope you find yourself inspired again soon.

Heebie

I can't say I get "fed up" with it.. but I go through phases where I'll really enjoy it.. and then my interest will wane a bit.. usually until I get another piece of kit.. then I'll be really into it for a while again. (New 30mm F1.4 prime lens on the way now.. heh heh!) =D

At some point, you'll likely have a moment of "OOH! I need to get my camera NOW!" and that'll get you hooked back in for a while.

Hobbies are great that way!

dubhoop wrote: »

Has any body else gone through a phase like this. So much i have advertised my gear for sale. Took a months break etc. I think my problem is i dont have the kiddos to photo anymore.

Promac

It's hard to get motivated to be creative when you're down in the dumps. One good thing that sometimes comes of it though is that spark of life you get when you're ready to get back to it. Artists tend to be at their most creative when they're at a troubled time in their lives or just coming out of one - all that emotion that's been bottled up and weighed down by lethargy comes back into play and you get a boost of creativity.

Try to just ride it out and see what you can come up with on the other side.

Thecageyone

So true, some of the best songs ever were written in times of misery

Salmon Leap

I definitely go through phases where I lose complete interest, even browsing Flickr and the like seems like a chore. One way that I have had my enthusiasm re-kindled is having gone out for a walk without the camera and arriving back home knowing damn well I missed a couple of good shooting opportunities.

Rainbowsend

Dont even think about photography for a few weeks, then go to the place where you most loved to take photographs.....without your camera....it is almost guarenteed that you will see something that will make you wish you had your camera with you!

it is temorary, as all the previous posters have said.

deathana

It's true you know. Please don't sell off your gears just yet, these episodes are usually temporary. We all been through it. I used to like taking photos everywhere but one time there were too much on the plate (the bad sad stuff), I gave up and thought I hated taking photos anymore. Took me a few months to recover and actually started touching my camera again, even if it's not as often as last time - but I'm real glad I didn't sell off my camera!

I recall even deleting both my flickr accounts for that matter.

Hang in there dubhoop

Sleepy

Put the camera up on the shelf and go have a few beers. Take the camera back down when you feel like using it again.

If you've not picked it up off the shelf for a year, then think about selling it.

You'll lose a fortune re-buying everything you have if you flog it all and then want to get back into it again in 6 months.

Buckz

Some one has already mentioned other artists- well Yeats' Circus Animals Dessertion is about this- loss of motivation or inspiration. Check the Leaving Cert English syllabus for Yeats, but for us photographers what aboutput the gear away, sort edit and appreciate your stock to date- enter a few competitons, submit to a new site.find a new subject to chase. buy a few magazines, disagree with the advice and use the galleries as inspiration for what you can shoot.Join a club- enjoy a part of photography that doesn't need good light.Goto Sligo, visit Drumcliffe and read Yeats' later (miserable & depressing stuff) at his graveside. Maybe skip the last one.