Lost Photo Mojo

Class A · 05-16-2010, 06:08 PM

Originally posted by Mike Cash

Photography is a serious endeavor. Taking pictures is a casual activity.

I see what you mean.

Originally posted by Mike Cash

Photography is all about the destination. Taking pictures is all about enjoying the trip.

I accept these as your definitions but I think that "photography" can also be about the journey. Yes, you are trying harder, but trying hard can be enjoyment in itself, without being goal-oriented.

I don't mind losing a snooker game as long as I played reasonably myself. But if my form is weak and I'm either unable or unwilling to focus sufficiently to play a decent game than I'm not enjoying it, independently of winning or losing (the goal).

Originally posted by Mike Cash

I get a lot of pictures, and every now and then one or two of them turn out to be photographs.

Well said.
I personally probably need to attempt to make photographs (rather than take images) in order to have a chance to get a few photographs in the end. I reckon the point is to make either approach an enjoyable process and forget about judgement (in particular from others).

Mike Cash · 05-16-2010, 09:34 PM

It's an artificial but useful distinction in terms in that it helps keep the advice short and pithy.

casil403 · 05-17-2010, 04:39 AM

Originally posted by Class A

I accept these as your definitions but I think that "photography" can also be about the journey. Yes, you are trying harder, but trying hard can be enjoyment in itself, without being goal-oriented.

Funny, for me photography started out as a journey...it was a journey of healing.

I had just gone through a devastating breakup with the ex,lost the dog in the split, had job burnout and was in the mist of starting a whole new career change. LOL writing about it sounds like a country song...the only thing i didn't lose was my truck...well kind of b/c the ex had a truck!

Photography was a way to force myself out of the house, get some exercise on my bike and not spend time in my house all alone sitting inside and crying . It was s time where I could lose myself in not having to think about anything except the present moment I was in and what I was looking at directly in front of me inside the little black box. it was meditative and I lost myself in the world of the present. I didn't have to think about the past or the future and what was /what might have been/what will be which was all I ever thought about when I wasn't shooting.
In all honesty, I don't know where I would be or who I would be without it.

It helped me get out and bike over 1000kms last summer all by myself and shoot 1000's of photos. It developed my self esteem, my confidence, reaffirmed my sense of independence and it was largely responsible of making me the person I am as I sit an write this. it also helped me discover what a cool city I live in and there is so much more to it than I ever realized.
Pretty cool actually.

**rparmar** · 05-17-2010, 08:32 AM

Originally posted by Class A

I think that "photography" can also be about the journey. Yes, you are trying harder, but trying hard can be enjoyment in itself, without being goal-oriented.

I emphatically agree.

Originally posted by casil403

I had just gone through a devastating breakup with the ex,lost the dog in the split, had job burnout and was in the mist of starting a whole new career change.

Lisa, thanks for sharing that. Photography can in fact work as some sort of redemptive power, which I would never have thought previously. It just sounds too corny. But there is something about the inner stillness photography requires that paradoxically focuses attention inside the more one looks outside. It forces engagement with oneself as one engages with the external.

I came to (serious) photography only three years ago after many years of casual shooting and cannot figure out -- not one little bit -- why it took me so long. Before that I was always struggling with inferior and limiting technologies. Now I have a DSLR I can get the images my mind tells me I must get. This is a long way from my film days in the early eighties.

It did not take me long to become a "good" photographer because I already had a strong aesthetic, work ethic and understanding of technology from my work in other disciplines: music, sound recording, writing, poetry, research, visual and performance art, etc. These skills proved to be readily transferable.

I am writing this on a Pentax forum and not elsewhere because it turns out that only Pentax has the ethos I look for in an enabling technology company. Other firms are only interested in mad technology escalation or exclusivity through ownership of high-end gear. Relatively inexpensive and well-made products that emphasise the photographic are hard to come by.

TaoMaas · 05-17-2010, 09:25 AM

Originally posted by casil403

I had just gone through a devastating breakup...

You know what they say, "Out of great pain comes great art."

TaoMaas · 05-17-2010, 09:32 AM

Originally posted by casil403

Kind of how I feel about this shot...I went back to the rail ties today with a shot in mind but I ended up with IMO was something better...Again, I just let go of any preconceived ideas of the intended shot. I had in my head the idea and it turned out better than I had envisioned. I have just let go of my expectations of what I think people will like and focused on what I Like.

I read a Dewitt Jones article several years ago that talked about this. The basic moral of the story was: Even though it's good to have a plan when you go out to shoot, be open to what's being given on that day. If you'd planned to shoot big, wide landscapes, but the sky isn't cooperating, don't get mad...just shoot smaller, more intimate shots that take advantage of the soft light being given by the overcast sky.

casil403 · 05-17-2010, 09:52 AM

Originally posted by TaoMaas

You know what they say, "Out of great pain comes great art."

I'm just happy it didn't involve lopping off my ear!

Class A · 05-18-2010, 05:35 AM

Originally posted by rparmar

But there is something about the inner stillness photography requires that paradoxically focuses attention inside the more one looks outside.

Yes, to make a good image you don't just have to look well but you also have to listen well (to your inner self, that is). I think...

GeneV · 05-18-2010, 09:13 AM

Originally posted by casil403

I had just gone through a devastating breakup with the ex,lost the dog in the split, had job burnout and was in the mist of starting a whole new career change. LOL writing about it sounds like a country song...the only thing i didn't lose was my truck...well kind of b/c the ex had a truck!

It could be worse. A breakup 20+ years ago involved losing half the M lenses. I do miss that 100mm macro.

casil403 · 05-18-2010, 03:20 PM

Originally posted by GeneV

It could be worse. A breakup 20+ years ago involved losing half the M lenses. I do miss that 100mm macro.

I would have traded my lenses/camera.tripod etc. for the dog any day and I would have kept him but my condo doesn't allow dogs... I am moving out of my residence next year after completing school so I can get another dog. Not having children, the dog was like my kid and we had a awesome bond....that still is the suckiest part of the whole thing and ultimately why I stayed in a lousy relationship that went well past it's prime.
IMHO, lenses can be replaced as ultimately they are just stuff....missing the dog and the bond we had was far more important to me than any lens or camera.

casil403 · 05-18-2010, 03:26 PM

Originally posted by TaoMaas

I read a Dewitt Jones article several years ago that talked about this. The basic moral of the story was: Even though it's good to have a plan when you go out to shoot, be open to what's being given on that day. If you'd planned to shoot big, wide landscapes, but the sky isn't cooperating, don't get mad...just shoot smaller, more intimate shots that take advantage of the soft light being given by the overcast sky.

I like that...it is kind of how I am thinking these days and seems to be working. I feel way less frustrated and find myself enjoying the art of simply finding/discovering the shot...I look at it like a treasure hunt....what little treasure will I find today...or not.
Having that outlook seems to make it a bit easier the last few times I have been out anyhow. Yesterday I found lots of treasures while simply on a walk to the grocery store!

I saw some wicked neat shadows of stairs on a wall and had that little delicious AHA! moment when I spotted them...I just love that part the best.

**rparmar** · 05-18-2010, 03:44 PM

Score!

Class A · 05-18-2010, 04:26 PM

Great shot!

casil403 · 05-18-2010, 05:03 PM

Btw, I wanted to say that seeing as I started this thread, feel free to post a photo if you had a similar experience with a delicious moment or a found mojo moment...I would love to see others treasures. Please explain what you saw and how you came about finding it though as I would like to keep it relevant to the intent of the post.
This is getting to be kind of fun and I would love to share the experience.

Hopefully we can all learn something when next we find ourselves in a similar experience.

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05-16-2010, 06:08 PM	#31
Class A Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 11,251	Originally posted by Mike Cash Photography is a serious endeavor. Taking pictures is a casual activity. I see what you mean. Originally posted by Mike Cash Photography is all about the destination. Taking pictures is all about enjoying the trip. I accept these as your definitions but I think that "photography" can also be about the journey. Yes, you are trying harder, but trying hard can be enjoyment in itself, without being goal-oriented. I don't mind losing a snooker game as long as I played reasonably myself. But if my form is weak and I'm either unable or unwilling to focus sufficiently to play a decent game than I'm not enjoying it, independently of winning or losing (the goal). Originally posted by Mike Cash I get a lot of pictures, and every now and then one or two of them turn out to be photographs. Well said. I personally probably need to attempt to make photographs (rather than take images) in order to have a chance to get a few photographs in the end. I reckon the point is to make either approach an enjoyable process and forget about judgement (in particular from others).

05-16-2010, 09:34 PM	#32
Mike Cash Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,950	It's an artificial but useful distinction in terms in that it helps keep the advice short and pithy.

05-17-2010, 04:39 AM	#33
casil403 Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Calgary AB Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,170 Original Poster	Originally posted by Class A I accept these as your definitions but I think that "photography" can also be about the journey. Yes, you are trying harder, but trying hard can be enjoyment in itself, without being goal-oriented. Funny, for me photography started out as a journey...it was a journey of healing. I had just gone through a devastating breakup with the ex,lost the dog in the split, had job burnout and was in the mist of starting a whole new career change. LOL writing about it sounds like a country song...the only thing i didn't lose was my truck...well kind of b/c the ex had a truck! Photography was a way to force myself out of the house, get some exercise on my bike and not spend time in my house all alone sitting inside and crying . It was s time where I could lose myself in not having to think about anything except the present moment I was in and what I was looking at directly in front of me inside the little black box. it was meditative and I lost myself in the world of the present. I didn't have to think about the past or the future and what was /what might have been/what will be which was all I ever thought about when I wasn't shooting. In all honesty, I don't know where I would be or who I would be without it. It helped me get out and bike over 1000kms last summer all by myself and shoot 1000's of photos. It developed my self esteem, my confidence, reaffirmed my sense of independence and it was largely responsible of making me the person I am as I sit an write this. it also helped me discover what a cool city I live in and there is so much more to it than I ever realized. Pretty cool actually.

05-17-2010, 08:32 AM	#34
rparmar Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,823	Originally posted by Class A I think that "photography" can also be about the journey. Yes, you are trying harder, but trying hard can be enjoyment in itself, without being goal-oriented. I emphatically agree. Originally posted by casil403 I had just gone through a devastating breakup with the ex,lost the dog in the split, had job burnout and was in the mist of starting a whole new career change. Lisa, thanks for sharing that. Photography can in fact work as some sort of redemptive power, which I would never have thought previously. It just sounds too corny. But there is something about the inner stillness photography requires that paradoxically focuses attention inside the more one looks outside. It forces engagement with oneself as one engages with the external. I came to (serious) photography only three years ago after many years of casual shooting and cannot figure out -- not one little bit -- why it took me so long. Before that I was always struggling with inferior and limiting technologies. Now I have a DSLR I can get the images my mind tells me I must get. This is a long way from my film days in the early eighties. It did not take me long to become a "good" photographer because I already had a strong aesthetic, work ethic and understanding of technology from my work in other disciplines: music, sound recording, writing, poetry, research, visual and performance art, etc. These skills proved to be readily transferable. I am writing this on a Pentax forum and not elsewhere because it turns out that only Pentax has the ethos I look for in an enabling technology company. Other firms are only interested in mad technology escalation or exclusivity through ownership of high-end gear. Relatively inexpensive and well-made products that emphasise the photographic are hard to come by.

05-17-2010, 09:25 AM	#35
TaoMaas Pentaxian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Oklahoma City Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,574	Originally posted by casil403 I had just gone through a devastating breakup... You know what they say, "Out of great pain comes great art."

05-17-2010, 09:32 AM	#36
TaoMaas Pentaxian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Oklahoma City Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,574	Originally posted by casil403 Kind of how I feel about this shot...I went back to the rail ties today with a shot in mind but I ended up with IMO was something better...Again, I just let go of any preconceived ideas of the intended shot. I had in my head the idea and it turned out better than I had envisioned. I have just let go of my expectations of what I think people will like and focused on what I Like. I read a Dewitt Jones article several years ago that talked about this. The basic moral of the story was: Even though it's good to have a plan when you go out to shoot, be open to what's being given on that day. If you'd planned to shoot big, wide landscapes, but the sky isn't cooperating, don't get mad...just shoot smaller, more intimate shots that take advantage of the soft light being given by the overcast sky.

05-17-2010, 09:52 AM	#37
casil403 Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Calgary AB Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,170 Original Poster	Originally posted by TaoMaas You know what they say, "Out of great pain comes great art." I'm just happy it didn't involve lopping off my ear!

05-18-2010, 05:35 AM	#38
Class A Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 11,251	Originally posted by rparmar But there is something about the inner stillness photography requires that paradoxically focuses attention inside the more one looks outside. Yes, to make a good image you don't just have to look well but you also have to listen well (to your inner self, that is). I think...

05-18-2010, 09:13 AM	#39
GeneV Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Albuquerque NM Photos: Albums Posts: 9,830	Originally posted by casil403 I had just gone through a devastating breakup with the ex,lost the dog in the split, had job burnout and was in the mist of starting a whole new career change. LOL writing about it sounds like a country song...the only thing i didn't lose was my truck...well kind of b/c the ex had a truck! It could be worse. A breakup 20+ years ago involved losing half the M lenses. I do miss that 100mm macro.

05-18-2010, 03:20 PM	#40
casil403 Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Calgary AB Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,170 Original Poster	Originally posted by GeneV It could be worse. A breakup 20+ years ago involved losing half the M lenses. I do miss that 100mm macro. I would have traded my lenses/camera.tripod etc. for the dog any day and I would have kept him but my condo doesn't allow dogs... I am moving out of my residence next year after completing school so I can get another dog. Not having children, the dog was like my kid and we had a awesome bond....that still is the suckiest part of the whole thing and ultimately why I stayed in a lousy relationship that went well past it's prime. IMHO, lenses can be replaced as ultimately they are just stuff....missing the dog and the bond we had was far more important to me than any lens or camera.

05-18-2010, 03:26 PM	#41
casil403 Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Calgary AB Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,170 Original Poster	Originally posted by TaoMaas I read a Dewitt Jones article several years ago that talked about this. The basic moral of the story was: Even though it's good to have a plan when you go out to shoot, be open to what's being given on that day. If you'd planned to shoot big, wide landscapes, but the sky isn't cooperating, don't get mad...just shoot smaller, more intimate shots that take advantage of the soft light being given by the overcast sky. I like that...it is kind of how I am thinking these days and seems to be working. I feel way less frustrated and find myself enjoying the art of simply finding/discovering the shot...I look at it like a treasure hunt....what little treasure will I find today...or not. Having that outlook seems to make it a bit easier the last few times I have been out anyhow. Yesterday I found lots of treasures while simply on a walk to the grocery store! I saw some wicked neat shadows of stairs on a wall and had that little delicious AHA! moment when I spotted them...I just love that part the best.

05-18-2010, 03:44 PM	#42
rparmar Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,823	Score!

05-18-2010, 04:26 PM	#43
Class A Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 11,251	Great shot!

05-18-2010, 05:03 PM	#44
casil403 Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Calgary AB Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,170 Original Poster	Btw, I wanted to say that seeing as I started this thread, feel free to post a photo if you had a similar experience with a delicious moment or a found mojo moment...I would love to see others treasures. Please explain what you saw and how you came about finding it though as I would like to keep it relevant to the intent of the post. This is getting to be kind of fun and I would love to share the experience. Hopefully we can all learn something when next we find ourselves in a similar experience.