[jcdoss]

I'm in another of my depressive funks, trying to figure out the value of things in my life. Since photography is a fairly big part of my life, and I make no money from it (and in fact have 'lost' thousands*), I'm looking there first. I don't know the answer right now, so I ask you what your purpose is. I'm talking to hobbyists here, not those who make money because that's too obvious. With no intent to barter or trade, why do you pick up your camera and shoot? What do you do with your pictures? Where does your joy come from?

Edited to add: I guess the bottom underlying and harsh question I really want to ask is... Why do you think anyone else wants to see your photos?
Edit #2: I need to explain the italicized phrase above. I am in no way regretful of purchasing my equipment, or do I miss the money spent on it. I'm lucky enough to be able to afford whatever gear I need, so money is not really a problem at this time. It was just supposed to be a semi-humorous aside in response to my statement that I'm not using my gear as a source of income.

---

Last edited by jcdoss; 02-09-2018 at 03:32 PM. Reason: explain italicized text

[BigMackCam]

I enjoy learning and mastering different photographic skills and techniques for the sense of achievement and satisfaction that brings - perhaps more so than actually taking photographs (although I enjoy that too, of course). I don't post many of my pictures online, as I'm not really looking for feedback... I'm well aware of my skills and limitations, and what I need to work on in order to improve. Most of my photos live on my hard drives, though I do have a few printed and hanging on the walls in my home. I plan on having more printed, so I can rotate what's on display, but solely for my own enjoyment.

I also really enjoy collecting old lenses (mostly Soviet), fixing and servicing them, and tinkering with them to see how they render and perform. I currently spend way more time on my lens collection than I do taking photos, although that bias swings back and forth over time.

My motivation waxes and wanes every few months, and during those times where I'm not feeling all that motivated, I'm happy to read and learn rather than picking up the camera. I don't feel any pressure to spend more or less time on any single aspect of the hobby... after all, it's my hobby, and up to me how I enjoy it

[monochrome]

Other than snapshots of grandchildren I asssume no one wants to see my photos and I don’t show them. Cameras and lenses are toys that I play with and collect. For collecting, the fun is the pursuit. For playing the fun is seeing what I can do with them.

Maybe buying cast iron skillets and Dutch Ovens (Film era gear) and really good chef knives (modern gear) to play in the kitchen on Sundays (then eating dinner with my wife) but never having a dinner party is an analogy.

P.S. Jason: Doesn’t Just Holding that K2 feel . . . right? Just hold it tonight.

[OldPentaxFan]

For myself, photography fills a need to be creative in a non-technical area, sort of a pressure relief valve. My work covers chemistry, engineering, regulatory analysis and project management so I end up very, very focused on that for most of the work week. Through in frequent travel to job sites and life can be very hectic. I love what I do for work, but I need to take time out and just let my mind 'see' other sides of the world at large or I'd be crazier than my normal nutty self.

I sometimes still shoot film so the chemistry background comes into play but everything else is purely creative, interpretive, a different kind of challenge and gets me out of the house so I have some sort of life outside of the office.

As for showing people my images, I do share prints with friends and sometimes make gifts of them if I have a theme or series I think someone would enjoy having. The positive feedback is nice when others like what I've done.

[jatrax]

Why do you think anyone else wants to see your photos?

Generally, I don't. I don't post on Facebook, Flickr or any other place. I really don't care if anyone sees my photos from a personal perspective. I make a lot of images that no one ever sees, except my wife who politely smiles and tells me how great it is. I enjoy learning new techniques and processes, playing with lenses and cameras.

On the other hand I do sell my photos and it is a significant part of my income. Generally, every time someone buys one of my photos from an agency that hosts literally millions, I scratch my head and wonder what they saw in mine that they did not see in all the others. But this part of my photography is work. I enjoy the work, the creativity of looking for a subject, evaluating the scene, deciding on the camera settings, taking the image, developing the image, keywording and uploading it. I consider it a job, but I do not work only for money, if I don't really enjoy the work I find another job.

[victormeldrew]

There was a great photgrapher, some would argue one of the best ever, called Vivian Maier. An American nanny, who shot over 150,000 images, mainly on a Rollei, over the course of half a century or so. She studiously packed away all of her images in boxes, carrying them with her each time she moved, to the extent that she eventually found it hard to find families who would provide her with the space to store her collection. She eventually died, in poverty, having never once shown or published even one of her images. After she died, her collection was bought up by various people from probate auctions and the like, and only then was her brilliance realised and she has since had many gallery exhibitions, several books, and much acclaim. She could have been a famous, maybe even well off, published photographer, but she chose not to.

Nobody really knows why. Clearly she loved photography. She was extremely talented. She must have spent a small fortune on cameras and film. But never once felt the desire for recognition. This is a perfectly reasonable way of life, as is chasing the respect and admiration of others. Choose your own path.

But I would definitely recommend seeing her images. John Maloof's book is excellent.

[photoptimist]

I enjoy learning and mastering different photographic skills and techniques for the sense of achievement and satisfaction that brings - perhaps more so than actually taking photographs (although I enjoy that too, of course). I don't post many of my pictures online, as I'm not really looking for feedback... I'm well aware of my skills and limitations, and what I need to work on in order to improve. Most of my photos live on my hard drives, though I do have a few printed and hanging on the walls in my home. I plan on having more printed, so I can rotate what's on display, but solely for my own enjoyment.

I also really enjoy collecting old lenses (mostly Soviet), fixing and servicing them, and tinkering with them to see how they render and perform. I currently spend way more time on my lens collection than I do taking photos, although that bias swings back and forth over time.

My motivation waxes and wanes every few months, and during those times where I'm not feeling all that motivated, I'm happy to read and learn rather than picking up the camera. I don't feel any pressure to spend more or less time on any single aspect of the hobby... after all, it's my hobby, and up to me how I enjoy it

^^^^^^^This resonates with me, too.

To me the "other people wanting to see my photos" is really just another kind of sale or barter -- you show them a picture and you get paid in praise (hopefully) in return. I, personally, need neither money nor praise for my photos although I don't turn them down if or when they occur. The process of photography (thinking about how to make pictures, what the gear could do, and making them) is it's own reward for me. It's both a technical and a creative challenge which I enjoy. That about 100,000 images sit on my hard disk proves that, for me, processing/printing/showing them is not as much fun as making them.

I think there are lot of hobbies that are like this such as doing cross-word puzzles, gardening in the backyard, stamp collecting, or skiing. They are hobbies that are intrinsically fun for the doer and don't depend on outsiders to pay any money or complements.

[zzeitg]

Why do you think anyone else wants to see your photos?

Same point of view can be applied to books, paintings, music. Why should I play guitar when there are so many good guitar players already, playing in so many good (or sometimes not so good) bands?
But maybe generally to any activity.

Obviously there's some urge calling you "Go out and shoot". So as long as you have fun, why to question?

[IgorZ]

There are many ways you can look at it, but here are some of the reasons I take photos. Landscapes - it's about beauty. Kids - it's about gratitude. And that's pretty much all I do. Kids and landscapes. Gratitude and beauty. And sharing. Because in the days of the cell phone, people notice DSLR and film shots. So it's about beauty, gratitude, and sharing. At least that's how I feel now. I could give you a different answer on a different day

[pcrichmond]

Such wonderful responses here. The reason people photograph is as varied as their personalities. Some use it as a tool to pursue careers, others as a way to enhance memories, or to learn, create and so on. I couldn't care who sees my work. I started out not to photograph but to have something to create with in the darkroom. Working in the darkroom was one of the most peaceful environments I have ever known. Over the years I have evolved to finding that relaxation through the lens of the camera, at the beginning steps. I can sit in my backyard and work with a single leaf for over 20 minutes, trying a variety of techniques to create an image "I" like.

Perhaps we could rephrase the question: not as, "Why do we photograph" but "What does photography bring to us?"

[Just1MoreDave]

For me, the way to avoid/escape the depressive funk is to do something positive. Sometimes that is taking a photo. It doesn't have to validate the cost of the camera gear or be art. Maybe I'll work up to art tomorrow, today I'm just getting off the couch.

[zzeitg]

I can sit in my backyard and work with a single leaf for over 20 minutes, trying a variety of techniques to create an image "I" like.

It's sometimes like a kind of meditation, isn't it?

[honey bo bo]

If you stick to the Basic Reason for Photography - THE CAPTURE OF A MOMENT IN TIME - then the methods to do this can be very inexpensive or not. Its up to you ! I started in the 80's before the turn of the Century with the whole kit and kapodle and for a short time made a living out of it before I turned to the long term Accounting Tax Consultant Income Flow to feed my flock. I can't dance, paint , juggle, sculpt, carve, write or tell a story EXCEPT when I Take a Picture. I have sold pictures (that is an amazing feeling when someone gives their hard earned money for one of your Pics) I have won National & regional Photo contests and been praised by family and friends for my pictorial creations. But most of all at 72 I finally feel very satisfied with my "KEEPERS" and call myself an artist "Pictorial Writing Category" Not Yet a Nobel Prize Category but I keep Submitting !

Photo 1 & 2 - NOW SWIM DAMN IT !

Photo 3 - ROMANCE IN THE AIR ON THE DELTA

[boriscleto]

I take photos of what I want. Other people seem to enjoy them. That's enough.

[Alex645]

I guess the bottom underlying and harsh question I really want to ask is... Why do you think anyone else wants to see your photos?

I am no longer a 'pro' but as a teacher, I do continue to shoot as much as I can. When I shoot, I start with the assumption that NO ONE wants or cares to see my photos. If I'm going to share or exhibit my images, I select only those images that I think are unique, special, tell a story, bring a new experience/feeling/thought to the viewer's day that is indelible.

Through experience, however, I've found that it's unrealistic to second guess what anyone else wants to see. So now, I selfishly shoot for myself. Sort of a game to improve my high score, or self-improvement, or being engaged with the world and get out of my own ego as much as possible.

Someone once made an analogy that making an image is like having a child. You couldn't have done it by yourself, and once it's "born", it has a life of its own in terms of how people perceive, react, respond, or ignore it.

But in any given day, week, season, decade, or lifetime of shooting, there are millions of choices of what makes an impression on us that we want to capture and remember it. What, how, and why we shoot says as much about who we are, how we feel and think, and reveals to others the environment, life, and culture at a fraction of a second. I use "we" instead of "me" because I don't believe I'm unique in this respect.