[stevewig]

Last night I watched a program on TV called the “War Photographer” about James Nachtwey.

This is the first time I was even even aware that this movie existed (or James Nachtwey) - although probably many of you have seen it because it is not new.

Anyway the movie touched me very much and it really made me think about what drives people, including myself, to be interested in photography. It is not a cheap hobby and given that there are probably several on this forum who are Professional Photographers and do it for a living, nonetheless, what drives them and everybody else to devote a portion of their life to this artform.

I know that there are probably many funny, glib answers to this question but what about the serious answers.

What drives you to spend your time and money on this thing called Photography?

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Last edited by stevewig; 04-07-2010 at 03:42 PM.

[Ash]

The joy of transferring the visual scene into an image by visualising it first in the mind's eye.
This process never bores an enthusiast. In fact, the desire to excel in the craft and seek that elusive 'perfect picture' drives the enthusiast more and more into the vocation with greater verve and interest.

And clearly the money spent on the hobby is of lesser value to the photographer than the joy derived from the hobby.

[RioRico]

At first I was raised into it. Dad was a semi-pro and I spent a lot of my childhood inside his little darkroom, inhaling chemicals and listening to opera on his kit-built communications receiver. My sisters and I were also raised to be models, trained to act right when a lens pointed our way. So it's in my blood.

I kept on shooting film with basic cams; then in the US Army it was my job. Then I moved on, without a darkroom, and just did snapshots for a few decades. Come the era of vid.cams and digicams, I got more serious, especially with shooping. When I used advanced 5mpx P&S's, I always took a professional-artistic approach. And I sold prints.

A couple years ago I got an inheritance (Thanks for dying, Mom!) and decided to go dSLR. From a basic kit of K20D, DA10-17m DA18-50, FA50/1.4, AF-360, I blew the rest of the money on tons of eBay glass and stuff, mostly M42 primes. When the money ran out, I stopped buying.

So now I have a pile of gear, and a yen for generating images. My sisters are both graphic artists, one professionally, but I can only draw flies. So I try to apply what I've learned over time about imagery and composition and visual interest, and I capture and process images the way I like. When I travel, it's to grab new views. When I don't, it's to make the most of what I can see. I guess it's all about structured seeing. Fit vision into a frame; if that doesn't work, build a new frame.

[Ira]

A couple years ago I got an inheritance (Thanks for dying, Mom!) and decided to go dSLR.

I apologize to the others here, but please allow me to take a minute and bow down to the greatness which is this man. He is my hero.

I laughed up a lung, spleen, puked up 19 ounces of Budweiser, and my wife is looking at me like I'm a total retard.

And I thank you for that.

[RioRico]

I apologize to the others here, but please allow me to take a minute and bow down to the greatness which is this man. He is my hero.

Thank you, thank you very much. [/elvis impersonation]

It helped that I was out of the country. We'd driven from Arizona to Zacatecas to Taxco to Chiapas, when we got word that my other's beloved aunt had died. Then we drove to Guatemala, and the external hard disk with all my pictures died. Then we were in a cafe (featured in the Ben Gazzara film LOOKING FOR PALLADIN) when the email came that Mom had died. She wasn't the best mom, but she's all I had. By the time we got back stateside (after some pneumonia) she was long cremated, her ashes illegally tossed in a river. But she lives on in my 150+ lenses (half of which will go up for sale). Not like Dad. He got a memorial bench in a botanical garden. People set their butts on Dad's monument every day. Think about it.

[ColonelPanic]

I'm not quite sure.

I love being able to capture what's going on around me, as I see it, and have the ability to share that with others.

It forces me to think critically about everything I look at, and I see detail now, that I never saw before.

I like to show people where I've been, and what I've done.

[fractal]

By the time we got back stateside (after some pneumonia) she was long cremated, her ashes illegally tossed in a river

Jesus, that's a bit rough. So with all these lenses & travel to interesting places, where are all your images? Please do post them up sometime.

What drives me is pure spontaneity. Shooting people in the street has infinite possibilities and is never the same. It's a rush too. Great photos will walk right past you, unlike a landscape which will pose perfectly still for you for aeons.

I don't think photography is all that expensive compared to some other hobbies. Take for example riding motorcycles as a hobby.

- Motorcycle = $3-20k+
- Helmet = $200-1300
- Leathers = $600-2500+

Then there are boots, gloves, back armour, registration, oils, $300 tires etc etc.

EDIT: I might also add that sharing is another thing that drives me.

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Last edited by fractal; 04-07-2010 at 09:22 PM. Reason: Addition

[gebco]

Funny, I was actually reflecting on this the other day. Now that I have graduated back to a (D)SLR, I find myself going for walks, getting out, looking for photo opps.

I also tend to enjoy learning new things. The digital world allows me to try and try again so that I can gain a better understanding of the camera, photography and composition.

My first SLR was a Yaschica (spelling?), then my Pentax SP 1000, then my Pentax Program Plus, then a couple of digital P&S, now my K-x, and I have fallen in love with photography once again!

[twitch]

I have a really terrible memory, I mean really bad, so if I don’t have photos of an event/holiday/whatever it was I was at, it basically didn’t happen.

I also find it very satisfying to capture a nice/interesting image, effectively create “art”, out of a seemingly ordinary event that perhaps didn’t seem all that special at the time.

[mysticcowboy]

Good question. As I reflect, I realize that what drives me now is different than what did just a couple of years ago. I've developed a passion for documenting the area in which I live. It's not what I think of as photojournalism, just an opportunity to experience a place more deeply. There's also a desire to make attractive images. The two drives feed each other.

michael mckee
My Port Townsend – A City in Photographs – 365

[jct us101]

A lot of the time nothing drives me to enjoy photography. In fact a lot of the time for me it is incredibly frustrating and I just want to quit. Then I take those photos that I love and realize that if I had given up, I would never have those memories. So I suppose that is what is actually what makes me enjoy it.

[phzy2003]

life is too boring, and i wanna have some thing to do , so i choose to take photos. hah hah

[h4t8]

Passion for something. I'm drawn to nature, birds and outdoors. Really something inside you that cannot be explained. The simplicity and beauty of God's work is just meant to be appreciated.

[Tuner571]

For me photography is always a challenge and that is what keeps me going. Everytime I go out to take photos the weather could be different, the light could be different, nature could be different. There are just so many varibles that keep this hoppy challenging I could never just quite.

[Bramela]

Colour, memories, the beauty of nature recorded. There are so many reasons I could state but to see a beautiful scene etc and transfer that to picture to keep and view regularly is the reward.
The challenge of recording in unusual light or capturing "one offs" is another great satisfaction and enjoyment of photography.