What about trying new intellectual pursuits? I find that doing something different from photography like writing helps me creatively and after being exhausted in another domain, my motivation for photography comes back more strongly!
hm, hadn't considered that one. Might help indeed; thanks for the tip!
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Pascal Hibon
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/phibon/
Website: https://pascalhibon.net/
I think most people go through these phases,I did myself but the pandemic got me interested in other aspects of photography that I didn’t pursue,such as macro, now I can do different photography without worrying about weather and not being able to travel.
Lots of great replies in here already and I agree that I think this happens to everyone at least sometimes. Probably quite regularly for most!
Things that help me:
Get your smallest camera and smallest lens, preferably a prime, go somewhere with no plan and just take photos. Of anything. Of everything. Maybe a close up. Maybe part of something. The back of something. See what you get. Look for patterns, texture, contrast. Try black and white. Anything interesting and different to what you normally do but don't worry too much about the results. Hopefully what you do get will inspire you.
Consider buying / using a cheap film camera. Bonus points if it has no meter, AF, fixed shutter speed, fixed focus, etc ;) The different process and knowing that you only have 36, 8 or even 6 shots on a roll makes you think and plan. And it's fun. Kodak Brownies in particular are VERY cheap.
I find macro a good way to stop myself from comparing my photos to others. A wild bug might only sit still for a second or two and is gone forever so unlike a scenic landscape it's a hard thing to copy.
Have fun!
YouTube can be a double edged sword. I have learned an awful lot, but yeah, it's easy to get discouraged looking at the stuff they can create in exotic locales, and epic weather. (I have been known to yell at the screen "ANYONE can take amazing pictures in Iceland! Let's see what you can do with the crap I have to work with!"😀)
I've found myself watching a given channel for a while and then drifting away from it - not because I know it all, but because I don't want to start emulating (even subconsciously) what I'm watching. Also, looking at amazing work all the time leads to comparison with your work, which can be informative, but toxic, too.
Ask yourself why you take pictures. Seems like a silly question, but if you dig deeply enough there's a kernel of truth in it. There was something there that fired your imagination in the first place and something that's kept you pursuing it. What is that "thing"? I'll bet it wasn't "to please other people" or "try to match what someone else is doing", so forget about doing that now. It sounds selfish, but do it for YOU.
Take your camera and just go. If the camera never comes out of the bag, that's ok too.
That's a really good point. The reality is most great photos are taken within 100 miles or so of your home - locations or subject matter you can photograph regularly with a high likelihood of being there at the best time. The same is true with locations you visit many times.
Photos from exotic locations are great because they are unique if you don't live nearby, but often there is a sameness to the images - the same waterfall, the same ice, the same beach, the same animals in the same context. I have a friend that lives in Colorado. We were in Rocky Mountains NP and saw a big herd of elk in ordinary light. He didn't even take out his camera. His comment - "I don't care if I ever make another elk photo."
Eric Bowles
www.bowlesimages.com
That's a really good point. The reality is most great photos are taken within 100 miles or so of your home - locations or subject matter you can photograph regularly with a high likelihood of being there at the best time. The same is true with locations you visit many times.
Part of my "ethos" (that makes it sound all highfallutin') is that I "have to" work with what's in front of me. I have decided that, for me, photography is about opening my damned eyes and looking around me. "Take the camera, go out and FIND SOMETHING".
Around here - Northeastern US - from November through April, everything is pretty much dead and brown. The wildlife has all either migrated or gone underground. The skies are pretty much solid gray, every day. So to find good photos, you have to really work for it and have to accept that you're not going to get award winning shots every time. In fact, you're going to strike out all the most of the time.
But that's ok. The alternative is to do what I was doing before: walking around in the woods with my dog...and getting back to the truck and realizing I hadn't seen a THING. I was inside my own head, thinking about what I had to do when I got home or the person at work who pissed me off that day, or.... To be honest, it's not all about the photos.
The other perk is that, when I do get great conditions, I'm almost giddy. Back in January, we had a day when there was bright sunshine and I discovered that the tops of the nearby hills were covered in hoarfrost. I drove around shooting and giggling for an hour or two.
(I have been known to yell at the screen "ANYONE can take amazing pictures in Iceland! Let's see what you can do with the crap I have to work with!"😀)
That's very funny, but oh so true!
I think that a part of my motivation vanished by the fact that so many places have been shot to death. And everyone seems to "make" the same image / composition. Iceland is a great example of that.
Ask yourself why you take pictures. Seems like a silly question, but if you dig deeply enough there's a kernel of truth in it. There was something there that fired your imagination in the first place and something that's kept you pursuing it. What is that "thing"? I'll bet it wasn't "to please other people" or "try to match what someone else is doing", so forget about doing that now. It sounds selfish, but do it for YOU.
Take your camera and just go. If the camera never comes out of the bag, that's ok too.
Well I think it's just being outside, before sunrise, being alone on the planet, the smell, the sound - or silence, while watching the world slowly come to live. That moment gives me a great feeling and that is why I love landscape photography.
I think I start to miss this...
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Pascal Hibon
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/phibon/
Website: https://pascalhibon.net/
I think that a part of my motivation vanished by the fact that so many places have been shot to death.
I picture someone who lives in Iceland going "I don't ever want to take another nighttime drone shot over a volcano! I want to shoot palm trees and tropical beaches!!" 😡
"Originality" is a damned hard thing to do! It's all been done before! But I can rest assured in the knowledge that none of those fancy-pants Youtubers are taking pictures in the little State Park a few miles from my house, so I at least have that going for me... I know my images aren't all that profound and they're not going to garner a million likes, but they're things I found and I like them and that's good enough. I don't even post them anywhere, because that's not why I take them.
Remember, the "survival" of a photography channel depends on dramatic shots in epic locations. Would people click on "Video of me walking around in the woods and coming up empty"?
Well I think it's just being outside, before sunrise, being alone on the planet, the smell, the sound - or silence, while watching the world slowly come to live. That moment gives me a great feeling and that is why I love landscape photography.
I think I start to miss this...
How does one capture that smell or silence in a still picture? Sadly, you can't. As much as I love waterfalls, I have come to the realization that everything I love about them - the sound, the motion, the mossy, damp smell - you can't capture in a still shot. The best you can do is try to evoke it. And if you go out and have a wander and don't find any shots, you still had a nice wander. (And if you don't bring the camera, you're guaranteed to see something, so bring it).
Anyone over here facing the same, or did so in the past? What would you guys suggest to get out of this?
Nice thread (or is it?), relatable and good suggestions by everyone.
Ah the Youtubers, I'm very selective and watch videos of only a handful of photographers otherwise I'll be watching YT all day AND I would be seeing the same topics over and over again (including the main topic of this thread). I prefer to be out and about instead and make my own images :)
I don't often lack the motivation to go out but life gets in the way (full time job, family life). I do struggle after I take pictures to get them 'finalized' to a state I think they are worth sharing, so most of my 'work' is still on my harddrive collecting dust. If I go out I don't like to plan too much. Otherwise (high) expectations might ruin the experience. When going out local I do struggle to choose a location strangely enough, but I think it's because I don't want to come home empty-handed (I think that is also the beauty of travelling - everything's all new and exciting so it doesn't matter where you go).
Anyway on topic - to combat any motivational issues I like to try all kinds of photography, even up to the point where I deliberately shoot totally out of focus, just to see what I can come up with:
( https://www.deviantart.com/ronaldsmeets/art/Phosphene-2020-838929339)
Other motivation is to actually print images. Once it tangible, a photo is something else and that motivates me as well.
Just wanted to drop by and say something I rarely ever do: I love your out of focus image :)
The particular shades of red and blue work well together, and to offset, there is the dark boundary on opposing sides. I call this a X or cross-cross composition. Nicely done!
@megaz thank you Nasim! Appreciate your view, it's always interesting to read what other people see in these kind of images. To me, it looks like one of those 'things you see' when you close your eyes :)
Hi Pascal,
I just have a look at your work and I love it. Thanks for sharing it.
May I suggest a trip to Luxembourg, 2h max by train/car. Then public transportation are free (train, bus, tram), through all the country.
Luxembourg is a wonderfull place, with so many different landscapes : old cities, little swisszerland, old iron industry, castles and folklore events all year long,
Regarding photography, I suggest going out of confort zone, try new challenge. And enjoy your current skills, use it ! A few years ago I was paralyzed in one arm. My therapist told me: take advantage of what you can do now instead of regretting what you have lost or waiting to be cured.
Perhaps you are ready to transmit your skils,... Join a club and share with youngest !
I hope this help.
manuFV
Hi Pascal,
I just have a look at your work and I love it. Thanks for sharing it.
Thank you ManuFV!
May I suggest a trip to Luxembourg, 2h max by train/car. Then public transportation are free (train, bus, tram), through all the country.
Luxembourg is a wonderfull place, with so many different landscapes : old cities, little swisszerland, old iron industry, castles and folklore events all year long,
Indeed, Luxembourg is a very nice country. I used to go there for work quite often. I never visited for holidays or photography. Maybe I should!
Regarding photography, I suggest going out of confort zone, try new challenge. And enjoy your current skills, use it ! A few years ago I was paralyzed in one arm. My therapist told me: take advantage of what you can do now instead of regretting what you have lost or waiting to be cured.
Yes, trying something new certainly can energize.
I'll probably get into minimalistic street photography. I like minimalistic images and some streets / cities lend themselves to that very well.
Perhaps you are ready to transmit your skils,... Join a club and share with youngest !
I actually quit a photo club last year. I find that too many photographers there where way to concerned with rules (rules of thirds and such) and far less about balance in an image. Photography is an art form and there are no rules in art; at least not in my opinion. 😀
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Pascal Hibon
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/phibon/
Website: https://pascalhibon.net/
Hi there,
We've all been there at some point but I'm currently in a, rather long, phase where I lack the motivation to go out and shoot. I basically started to question my photography. While that is not a bad thing; reflecting on yourselves is a positive thing (I think), it drained all the motivation to go out and shoot. By the way, I mainly shoot (or shot) landscapes.
This has been going on for more than a year now. I thought I eventually would recover from this by having some time off from photography but it doesn't seem so. Maybe this is fueled by watching too many Youtube photographers who seem to get out every week in the most magnificent scenery? I don't know. I just can't motivate myself to pick up my camera and go out.
Anyone over here facing the same, or did so in the past? What would you guys suggest to get out of this?
Thanks!
Hey Pascal,
Try this. Pick one of your very favorite pictures, and get it printed on a mount. If you've done it before, do it again now.
Seeing your work in the physical form does wonders for motivation. I find that to be a wonderful first "domino" that gets you all revved up again and your head out of the internet space (that can sometimes be a toilet, lets be honest). Posting here helps too, we are all photographers.
Second advice... get up really early and drive to one of your favorite places before the sun rises. Just do it, get your coffee, favorite camera and lens, and get out there. You'll find that motivation naturally kicks in. We all get the couchies at times, being out in the world has shaken me by the shoulders more times than I can count!
In fact I need to do it too. This Sunday I'll be out in Balboa CA and I'm bringing my Df and a 40mm Ultron II and 20mm f/2.8D only. Just snap. Keep it simple. :).
Can you get out? Go for it. I'll post a couple pics here when I get back. We'll compare. Don't think too much, just get out there like a little kid. We adults think too much and we don't escape our own brains!
www.photographic-central.blogspot.com
Hey Pascal,
Try this. Pick one of your very favorite pictures, and get it printed on a mount. If you've done it before, do it again now.
Seeing your work in the physical form does wonders for motivation.
That is so true. I do have a Canon photo printer and print my images at home.
I believe that printing is part of the process; an image is not complete until it has been printed.
Second advice... get up really early and drive to one of your favorite places before the sun rises. Just do it, get your coffee, favorite camera and lens, and get out there. You'll find that motivation naturally kicks in. We all get the couchies at times, being out in the world has shaken me by the shoulders more times than I can count!
In fact I need to do it too. This Sunday I'll be out in Balboa CA and I'm bringing my Df and a 40mm Ultron II and 20mm f/2.8D only. Just snap. Keep it simple. :).
Can you get out? Go for it. I'll post a couple pics here when I get back. We'll compare. Don't think too much, just get out there like a little kid. We adults think too much and we don't escape our own brains!
Yeah, don't think about it, just get up and go. I'm actually planning on going out with my camera this Sunday. No expectations, just my camera and me. Maybe I'll snap a few images, maybe not. Posting here has done something positive to me!
___________________________________________
Pascal Hibon
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/phibon/
Website: https://pascalhibon.net/