[GabrielFFontes]

Hey!
I've had photography as my main hobby for about 6 years. A year and a half ago, though, i started playing guitar, and i've already collected a bunch of gear. My girlfriend brought to my attention something that i had already noticed : i haven't been so excited about photography anymore. I still like the idea of taking photos, but i used to spend hours and hours everyday going through my old shots, editing them and all. Now i kind of lost that. I wanna try to get it back, and i believe that maybe changing my kit would help me with that.
Anyone out there experienced the same as me? I'm thinking about getting perhaps a M4/3 camera with some top-notch lenses instead of having a bunch of average and some top-notch lenses.
Well, anything you have to say would be helpful.
Thanks!

[MadMathMind]

Go through your old photos. It will remind you of everything you ever liked about photography.

[sholtzma]

There's only so much time and energy in life for hobbies. If music is now dominating your hobby time, there's no shame in that. Not sure why a change in camera gear would matter necessarily. Is there some gear-related reason why you moved away from photography?

[Miguel]

You experience is so very common with not only photography but with countless hobbies such as sports, food, music, vehicles and so on. We all change over the years and it's healthy to keep in touch with where you were and where you are going.
Re: photography, stay with the energy of taking photos by getting yourself a nice rangefinder that has a fixed lens. And then just shoot jpegs and enjoy your shots. Photography is not gear.
Sell your old gear and be thankful you weren't leaving yourself with a nursery of Vietnamese pot belly pigs.

M

[GabrielFFontes]

Hey guys, thanks for answering! Really appreciate it.

There's only so much time and energy in life for hobbies. If music is now dominating your hobby time, there's no shame in that. Not sure why a change in camera gear would matter necessarily. Is there some gear-related reason why you moved away from photography?

Well, sometimes my gear disappoints me. Every year i do eight sessions of ballet photography, and i'm always getting some sequences that are out of focus, and that bothers me. Other than that, i'm not sure i have big problems with my gear, actually. I used to worry about it much more when photography was my only hobby.

[alamo5000]

For me my main problem is I have too many hobbies and they are all time and money consuming. I bounce back and forth with my hobbies but I don't think one harms the other.

I don't know what your take is on things but for me what kills my spirit in photography more than anything is a sheer lack of subject matter. I live in somewhat of a 'bland' area and people are not that open about photography at all. I find it hard to express my artistic side as much as I would like.

As for me I would like a new lens or this or that... but gear only gives a temporary high. Once the new wears off of the wigit you get you are more or less back to square one.

For me I still am very much interested in photography but I find the difficulty in finding interesting subject matter sort of being my 'downer' which in turn leads me to not take as many shots.

For me not seeing progress... and not being able to open the doors I want to open is part of my problem.

Trying to look at the world with an observant eye, or getting a pretty girl to sit for a photo shoot would make me personally a lot more into what I am doing. But none of that comes easily at all Especially in a not very photography friendly area.

[tvdtvdtvd]

Follow your passion. 20 years ago I had a wet process darkroom and was immersed in photography daily.
15 years ago I found ceramics and made a career out of it. A little less than a year ago the shutterbug reawoke
inside me. Thus far, no lack of passion for the clay either, so greatly looking forward to melding the two.

[EarlVonTapia]

Whatever you do, don't follow your heart. That thing is DUMB.

[UncleVanya]

Try the monthly challenge "single in" where you pick one lens and post a photo each day made with that lens.

---------- Post added 02-13-15 at 12:54 AM ----------

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/26-mini-challenges-games-photo-stories/28...ml#post3157143

[DSims]

For the ballet a K-3 will help, or even a K-5 II/IIs. For most everything else a K-30 is fine.

Possibly the updated version of the Sigma (or a comparable lens, including the Tamron) would help.


But the important thing is not how many shots you miss, but how many you get. As in shots that are really worth sharing.

[rod_grant]

Have a look at this thread... (new gear won't fix anything)


https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/173-general-photography/288585-using-what-i-have.html

[Macario]

Hey!
I've had photography as my main hobby for about 6 years. A year and a half ago, though, i started playing guitar, and i've already collected a bunch of gear. My girlfriend brought to my attention something that i had already noticed : i haven't been so excited about photography anymore. I still like the idea of taking photos, but i used to spend hours and hours everyday going through my old shots, editing them and all. Now i kind of lost that. I wanna try to get it back, and i believe that maybe changing my kit would help me with that.
Anyone out there experienced the same as me? I'm thinking about getting perhaps a M4/3 camera with some top-notch lenses instead of having a bunch of average and some top-notch lenses.
Well, anything you have to say would be helpful.
Thanks!

well there are many thing you could do, you could also try to combine the two hobbies. i myself also bodyboard. And with taht I do have the luck that there aren't always waves, so plenty of time to do photography. But also when there are waves, and for some reason I cannot go in the water (either injury or too tired, or maybe just have time to go an hour to the beach), i take photo's of bodyboarders and surfers at the beach, ( and between the waits of the sets shoot other things). So I do also try to combine the hobbies.
maybe you can also start taking photo's of other gitarist etc. to spark your photography again.

[Chaos_Realm]

Edit: I didnt read the post above me

It is natural for some to move away from a hobby for a break I think. I have been through the same deal where I went on a Hiatus from photography for about a year and a half. Didn't touch my camera except where family said "can you get a photo of this" I had no inspiration to take photos anymore.
I have many hobbies that I try to balance my time between including: Training to run a marathon, wood working, fishing, clay-target shooting, motobike (road & dirt), gardening, snowboarding, tennis, golf, cycling, Basketball.
Juggling that with work and spending time with your partner/family is sometimes very difficult and each of the hobbies comes and goes. I find it really helps if you try to work on combining your hobbies, for instance I will try to take my camera when I go motobike riding, fishing, snowboarding or to a basketball game here and there. Or I will work in the garden and snow a couple shots of the flowers or insects I see around.

Just my 2-bob anyway

[Rondec]

Take a break from it for a little while or, if you want to rekindle your photography desire, take a special photography oriented trip to some place scenic. Take a class. Get a new lens.

But it is OK to step back from it, as well.

To me, the most important aspect of photography is to capture memories of my kids and their childhood. I enjoy the other parts of photography, but I wouldn't give that part up, because I want those memories.

[Drew Hillier]

I started taking a serious interest in photography at the age of 12 (1977) My dad brought me a Zenit E with some extra lenses and I was off and running. I then upgraded to a Fujica ST605N before buying my beloved Pentax ME Super followed by a P50 and now a K-X. I hope to buy a K-5 or K-3 soon cash permitting.
In the intervening years I have taken breaks from my camera to do other things, like get married, raise a family, get seprated, learn the guitar (I now own 6!!!). But I still love to pick up my camera every now and then and go out to an event or just to wander and see what catches my eye. Living by the the sea helps.
What I'm trying to say, is that photography does not have to be a full time hobby. Like a tv soap opera you can dip in and out sporadicaly without actually missing anything.
If you're taking good pictures with what you have, stick with it.