Do You Ever Feel Like Giving Up

mant01

mant01

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Like the title says do you ever feel like throwing in the towel and giving up photography? have you ever given up and came back to it? What keeps you going?
 
mant01 said:
Like the title says do you ever feel like throwing in the towel and giving up photography? have you ever given up and came back to it? What keeps you going?
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Now and again, yes.

But it's this that keeps me going. From a recent TP meet with some cracking guys. Suffice to say, no comments needed on the photograph.

Brimham Rock Orb and fire by andysheader (Posiview), on Flickr
 
Yes ... Quite often, if I'm honest. Usually, when I've taken loads of images which I sort of thought might be OK but turns out they're a load of #%^*+ when I download them, which happens a lot. But then I go out and take one quick grab shot which turns out to be a real keeper and decide not to give it all up and take up embroidery instead, after all.

You just have to take the ups with the downs and keep at it.
 
can see where you are coming from John, I knew what I was after with regards my photography and have found something I'm passionate about for sure and can only offer the advice....that once you have found something you are passionate about THEN just keep on submerging yourself in it!!

sara lovely aviatar you have of the Amazon we have one too great characters

A dawn I shall not forget once I broke through the thick clouds
 
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No!
 
Well I do hope it was his camera that gave up the chase Rog and not a beloved one if that is what you are referring to?...over to you again John
 
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Never given up, just find myself too busy sometimes but can always find an excuse to get the gear out for family stuff being a grandad.
 
I'll never give it up, but I just stop doing it for awhile. ;)

I go through periods when I do a lot, and then may be quite steady for taking pics of various subjects, but then a lull for a bit. Well meaning friends say 'ooh you should be a professional'. Firstly I know I'm not that good, but having to force oneself to take pics during these 'lull's' would drive me mental, and probably force me away from this hobby for good. I'll take pics when I'm in the mood.

I went on holiday in Sept to Naples and that is normally when I enjoy it the most, on holiday in a city taking pics, but this time I was just so uninspired, either going through one of my lull periods, and/or Naples was not that inspiring a city for me. :-/ Either way I've hardly taken any pics for over a month. But do I give it all up and sell my gear? No way. When it it all works, I'm in the right head space, and in the right location, in the right conditions and the right subject, there's nothing better. :-)
 
No.

I love visual art. I'm marginally better at photography than painting or sculpture - so that means not very good at all.

I'm an amateur, so no pressure other than what I put on myself.

A day taking crap photos is a good day. The occasional half decent photo makes a great day.

So, just no.
 
Yes I did for a while after giving up being a pro,it seem after the long hard slog of getting their,I was losted as where to go for a while.
But got back into it,now I know I hope where I am going again :)
 
Yes, gave it up for a while, pretty much the same as Simon. Was a happy amateur for 10 years then was offered a job running a camera shop and doing weddings and portraits. While the customers were happy I hated it. After three years I gave up and didn't touch a camera for 15 years. Started again about 10 years ago and now just do what I want to do.
 
Yep more and more lately... I've had lost mojo before but never as bad or as long lasting as this
 
I do......every winter. When the skies are dull, when it's wet and windy, when the pretty Autumn leaves have gone, and it's just drab.
 
Kevin O'Brian said:
Well I do hope it was his camera that gave up the chase Rog and not a beloved one if that is what you are referring to?...over to you again John
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Wish that your verbalisations of your thoughts were as legible as your excellent photographs, Kev ...
 
You mentioned incident? so you ran out of a roll of film then? and thank you for the kind words ref my photographs, I'm still searching lol
 
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mant01 said:
Like the title says do you ever feel like throwing in the towel and giving up photography? have you ever given up and came back to it? What keeps you going?
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Of course - as an amateur there will always be times when the motivation seems to dry up - when that happens I simply do other things until it comes back - so far and over 60 years of photo taking - it always has.

BintyMcFrazzles said:
I do......every winter. When the skies are dull, when it's wet and windy, when the pretty Autumn leaves have gone, and it's just drab.
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That's when you get down to editing all the photos you took when it wasn't drab or dull or wet or windy - at least that's what I do - which is why I am slowly working through several thousand photographs I took last summer:LOL:.
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Really enjoy taking photos, but carrying a heavy camera and lenses was becoming troublesome
Wouldn't have given up, but the advent of high quality compact systems has definitely enhanced enjoyment of my hobby
 
I always give up but end up right back here again. I suppose in this day and age with millions of images floating around the Internet it doesn't help and can be quite disheartening seeing the same tired shots over and over again but then again it's a personal thing and you must just do your own thing. If it makes you happy then just do it, if not then go to the classifieds section.
 
Not really, though there are periods when my attention is directed elsewhere. Fortunately photography often coincides with my other interests (travel, wildlife, bird watching, Motorsport). Also, sometimes I use photography as a tool at other times as a creative (well try to be) pass time.

There are a lot of great images posted here and elsewhere on the web that are both inspirational and irritatingly good at the same time. Keeps me striving to improve.
 
I've been on and off for about 8 years. In all that time I might not have even released 30,000 actuations. In the last year or so that's ramped up a fair bit and I'm doing more and more as well as my OCA course. One day I'd like to earn some money or a living from it, but I've got a ways to go yet.

I do sometimes get a bit narked off thinking that I've got some decent pics only to get home and find I've cocked a bunch up or something, but then I chill a bit, pick out the best of the bunch, edit them and then go back through and pick the second lot and edit them. I'm getting better at wasting less shots and being a little less harsh on myself for not being the love child of Ansel Adams and David Bailey.

One of the many things I'm working on at the moment is seeing more opportunities for pictures when out and about, something interesting from nothing. Looking down as well as up when walking around.
 
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I gave up around 20 years ago after lugging three SLR bodies (B&W, slide & colour) around the Goodwood Festival of Speed for a day. Once recovered I went out the next day and bought myself a zoom compact and didn't really do any photography for 10 years or so but was much happier. Then my wife bought me a digital compact (4mp!) for Christmas and it was off again but this time without thank god the darkroom which is still in out of harms, and my way in the loft.
 
simonblue said:
Yes I did for a while after giving up being a pro,it seem after the long hard slog of getting their,I was losted as where to go for a while.
But got back into it,now I know I hope where I am going again :)
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Very similar, I was full time shooting kids with a mobile studio, hated it. When I gave up I barely touched a camera for nearly 10 years.
 
As an amateur, I can take or leave it. As long as I'm on a learning curve though, I am still enjoying it. Hard to explain what I think I am doing, but I'd guess, that I'm learning to use my camera as my eye on the World, and to create some images that are enjoyable or interesting to look at. My view of the World. I think that if I hadn't rediscovered film photography two years ago, then my passion for digital photography may well have dried up. I recently tried to rekindle my use of digital, but it just wouldn't happen for me. There are so many different schools and formats of photography represented on these boards, that some of us fail to see those technical and creative aspects of each other's choice, and squabble over differences

I do often have doubts about the quality and levels of improvement in my own photography. However, that doesn't make me think about giving up or losing interest. The exact interest changes anyway. If I look at my photography over the past ten years, it may not have improved, but it certainly has evolved and changed it's form. These day's it is dominated by home processed b/w film photography, and others tell me that I'm a street photographer. I guess that is because I do enjoy photography by wandering around, and I do feel that people and their artifacts are interesting. Results and progress aside, one of the attractions of film (or rather hybrid, as I digitally scan developed film) to me, is the plurality, and price of old time technology. Just as I try and settle down to only two cameras - I spot something else in a charity shop or at the car booty. I just have to try each technology out as I encounter it.
 
Good to hear people have had similar experiences to myself. Getting into a rut, no inspiration and feeling like my images are no good. I tend to shoot alone and dont drive so getting around to decent places is a real pain. Spending hours on a bus with your gear to then walk for hours by yourself seeing very little to shoot. Then getting home to see your shots suck lol really grinds me down.
I shot a friends wedding a year ago and since then have barely touched a camera. Im currently trying to get myself pumped up with ideas and stuff to do again because I do love photography. Its more for me my feelings of failure that makes me put the camera down.
 
I've found myself in a rut after reading loads about composition and editing, and since joining this forum and seeing the amazing results people post, i look at my own and find some fault with every photo i take.
Rather han giving up though, i have resolved to taking my camera everywhere and snapping everything in the hopes that one of them will be a winner... :)
 
Sometimes it can be tough when you feel like you've done a great job and then the client has different expectations and is disappointed. There have been a few times that has happened to me and it's easy to feel discouraged, but you have to remember all the joy your photos have brought other people.
 
Phil V said:
Very similar, I was full time shooting kids with a mobile studio, hated it. When I gave up I barely touched a camera for nearly 10 years.
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I got ill,then my other half and I broke up,she tried to take me for half gear and walk out with nearly all my stock photos I was in the middle of changing library.
Then because a change in tax law,if you were freelanceing and got a certain amount of your work from one contact,you had to go on the their books.
By the time I started to recover from all this,I just wanted a break from it,and just shot with an little compact for many years.
I think it was the beginning of the digital age I started to get back into its again :)
 
mant01 said:
Good to hear people have had similar experiences to myself. Getting into a rut, no inspiration and feeling like my images are no good. I tend to shoot alone and dont drive so getting around to decent places is a real pain. Spending hours on a bus with your gear to then walk for hours by yourself seeing very little to shoot. Then getting home to see your shots suck lol really grinds me down.
I shot a friends wedding a year ago and since then have barely touched a camera. Im currently trying to get myself pumped up with ideas and stuff to do again because I do love photography. Its more for me my feelings of failure that makes me put the camera down.
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Totally get that, I drive but now without a car for the foreseeable future, plus I live in s small village with buses in to town every 2 hours but that means more buses to get anywhere else, it all gets costly too.
Shooting alone never bothered me before but combined with the above I think that's becoming an issue
 
After the first initial buzz of having a camera again, (I gave up for about 10 years pre 2003 when I got my first Digital Camera) I joined a site called Fujimugs. It was a good way to get motivated, especially through the long dark nights. It also 'forced' me to try stuff I may not have thought of doing because I wanted to be involved and learn.

It was initially set as a photo challenge site for owners of Fuji cameras, hence the name. There are now two sections, the Main section for Fuji cameras, and an Open section for any other brand. There is a challenge set every couple of weeks, by the winner of Main section of the previous challenge. You have the time between the challenge being announced and the closing date to take a pic for whatever the subject of the challenge is. No appropriate pics you may have hiding on your HD. ;) There is then a weekend of voting and commenting, all anonymously, so hopefully the images will be the only thing voted upon, rather than voting for 'friends', and then the results announced on a Monday night. If you have a Fuji camera you can enter a different pic in each section. :D

I always say to people that if they can't think of anything to take a picture of go to Fujimugs as they are approaching 200 challenges, and so there are that many ideas for a subject for a picture. The challenges started in 2003, and there have been some excellent pics over the years with gear that is nowhere near advanced to what we have now. So you can't use the quality of your gear as an excuse. ;) :LOL:

I haven't entered a challenge for awhile, but have enjoyed entering the challenges over the years, and learnt a lot doing it, both from how othera interpretated the challnge, and the comments I received. I've won a couple, but have come last more often. :( :LOL:

Of course that may not help if you are 'done' with photography, but if you are just lacking inspiration, and a bit of motivation, it is worth a look. :)
 
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What I also meant to say was, that I used to enjoy taking the pics, and then sometimes be (very) disappointed with the results, which seemed to negate the whole process, and brought me down. :( Now, I enjoy taking the pics. Enjoyment banked, so to speak. Then I look at the pics, which are sometimes good, sometimes bad. If they're good, enjoyment banked. Whatever the results, it doesn't make my enjoyment of the capture process suddenly bad. Then I have the job of processing the pics, which I mostly always enjoy, and mostly improves whatever pics I did get.

So for every picture, I have the potential for three types of enjoyment, capture, reviewing, and processing, as long as I don't let any bad part(s) of that bring down the whole experience, I have had some enjoyment, so it wasn't all a waste of time. ;) As with my previous post though about Fujimugs, if you're done with the whole photography thing and have no enjoyment, you will have no enjoyment of any of the above. :rolleyes:
 
I stopped serious photography for nearly 30 years. But started again last year. Boy has technology changed in the meantime! Back then I was a member of 3 camera clubs, did weddings every week, did the full darkroom in black & white, colour and slides. I was mad about anything to do with photography. Then I left the UK and worked long hours self employed, started a family and then a business. And any spare time was spent living the high life. I always had a compact digital camera for family photos and videos. And looking at the size and weight of these DSLRs, I knew I'd have excuses not to go out with all the big kit. But recently, with the great choice of mirrorless system cameras, it made it easy to come back to serious photography. And a lot of fun it's been.
 
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