Letting Go
Posted on: June 11, 201013 Comments |
At some point this stopped being fun. Not just this blog, but the entire photographic process.
Before I go any further, think about that first sentence for a minute. A hobby that became turned into passion isn’t fun anymore. It had gotten tedious and trying. Like any relationship that grows stagnant, it was time to let it go. I abandoned my 365 for the tenth time, I stopped posting at the blog, and I stopped leaving comments for my contacts at Flickr. Every article I read about photography was about being creative and being inspired and all that crap. The same tired arguments day after day after day.
I think we all inspire to take the best photos that we can. We read up on techniques. We buy better gear. And, hopefully, we become better photographers.
But if you’re not having fun, what’s the fucking point?
My fellow bloggers and I are a critical bunch. Hell, two of us are attorneys if that helps explain things. We frequently email each other stuff we see good or bad, and lambast stuff we dislike. For example, some of us hate the photos on Flickr of people with face paint. At times I find it boring, ego driven, and cliche.
But you know what? That person slapping that crap on their face is having fun. They’re having fun taking the time to paint their face, and having fun taking the photo. They’re not all hung up on whether the photo has any creative merit or a if it makes a statement in the world. It’s fun to them.
My point is being creative, learning new skills, taking time to compose, etc. is fine. Do that. It makes the difference between a hobbyist and someone whose whole heart is in it.
But if you’re not having fun then shake it up. Stop reading duChemin, Arias, Hobby and all others who espouse articles on a daily basis about the Muses of Creativity. Stop worrying whether your strobe is properly set up. Stop worrying whether hacks on Flickr will comment on your photos. And stop worrying whether what you post is your best stuff.
Think back of when you first picked up that camera. Go look at those photos. I bet they suck monkey balls. But I guarantee you had a blast taking them. Remember that feeling? That feeling before all the technical know-how and the Gear Acquisition Syndrome took precedence over having fun.
Let all the extraneous bullshit go. And for once, have fun again.
Categories
Recent Comments
- Ryan on Wasting Time
- Ryan on The Fight
- Ryan on Spinning Wheels
- Sam on Wasting Time
- Brad on Wasting Time
- nicole on The Fight
- Maria on Spinning Wheels
- Martin on Spinning Wheels
- Brian on Spinning Wheels
- Dee on Letting Go
June 11th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
My malaise has shown recent signs of clearing. And this may be the reminder I needed to clear the rest of the resistance away.
This is what friends and collaborators are for. And it’s precisely why we wanted to start this blog and create this space.
Big sigh of relief.
June 11th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Good article Brad, and there’s a lot of truth in what you say. Time to stop being so serious and get silly. When I realised that (sometime shortly after I finished my 365) I started having a lot of fun again and it’s pretty much stayed with me.
June 11th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
You are so right, at some point we stop taking photos for ourselves and do it with the eye of others. THAT IS NO FUN. My silly little bee photos make me happy, and I have to know that it is enough. Stealth photography makes me happy, I plan to do more of that. Inspiring article, Brad.
June 11th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
Strong words, all very true. Not to sound like that pesky person who is always too happy when others aren’t in the mood for it, but I am having an absolute blast with my photography lately.
I am in the middle of my 365 project, and I am full steam ahead because I am shooting for me, just for me. I enjoy sharing it with others, but that’s not my driving force. I have a photo or two in the last month with only one or two comments, some in my 365 with none at all! But what keeps me coming back to the camera is knowing I enjoy what I do with it.
I miss a lot of my flickr friends, as this photo depression seems to have hit a lot of people…I just hope my motivation can help them as well
June 11th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
thank you for this! i was starting to think i was the only one feeling like i needed to stop being so serious lately! a lot of my contacts have cleared their streams and only want to post their “best” work…some have even told me that my composition and lighting lately has been less than average…and I was starting to take it personally! but now…after reading this, i am gonna say fuck it because i was having fun taking stupid pictures of stupid shot! not that the pictures were stupid, but you know what i mean… they weren’t part of some creative project or anything… they were just shots of stuff i wanted to shoot at the time (grafitti, frogs, shots taken while driving…) so yeah, let’s have fun again!
im gonna go to the ink and iron (tattoos and hot rods) convention this weekend and have myself a blast shooting all the people having fun expressing themselves!
June 14th, 2010 at 2:01 am
During my 365
Since my 365
Say no more…
June 14th, 2010 at 10:30 am
Great post!!! I couldn’t agree more
June 15th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
Well said. Sometimes you have to be the fat guy on the beach in Bermuda shorts, black socks, and sandals. Screw what everyone else thinks. Be comfortable in your own skin and with your own work. (I hope people like this post because I spent a lot of time composing, spell-checking, and editing it. I worked hard on the font and I made sure I had a brand new Mac to type it on…)
June 16th, 2010 at 10:46 am
Thanks for the reminder to just go have some fun, and not sweat the audience (or lack of one) as much. I often remind people of this same “take the camera with, and just have fun” concept when I teach a Basic Video class (at my job). I (like many people) rediscovered “fun” through digital, and now it’s the use of vintage film cameras that has done it for me again
June 17th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Inspiring indeed Brad….
June 26th, 2010 at 11:55 am
Well said, Brad. You’ve basically summed up how I’ve felt for the past year or so.
I’m in.
July 10th, 2010 at 7:33 pm
yeah, i know you know i’ve been so up and down with photography this year. i soooo MISS that fun i used to feel. i want it bwck, but i know i can’t force it. i’ve finally been able to be fine with not picking up mu camera if i just don’t feel like it. some of the fun hqs come back when the shooting mood strikes me, but, i’ve just lost the eye i used to have.
it’s weird, but i’m ok with it for now. it’s almost as if i’m just starting all over again.
June 15th, 2011 at 11:09 am
You said:
“At times I find it boring, ego driven, and cliche.”
Like you said, go back to the beginning. I hope you haven’t stopped.. cause your stuff is wonderful, it inspires ME. To push my boundaries, my self-imposed limitations, all those words and sounds that say stop, wait, make sure it’s good enough…
Sometimes ignorance, or naivete, is bliss – no over-thinking, no questioning, just being in the present moment.
The beauty of starting out is that we don’t show our stuff, so it’s just for us, the beauty in its imperfections…
then we start to show and display and compare.. and maybe even compete.
Then we get feedback – good and bad – and then we stop doing it for us.
Then we start doing it for others, for the reward, the pleasure of getting praise.
and then
We lose interest… it becomes ego.. it becomes cliche… it becomes boring.
Creativity is like climbing.. you need to do it to challenge yourself and not the wall.. not the spectators… no one but yourself faced with that wall, that canvas, that empty sheet of paper… it’s all the same.
Boredom is just another obstacle to overcome – to show yourself how much you want something, and to remind you of why you’re doing this.
Cheers