So... how long do you leave it before packing in?

[StreetSnapper]

Hi John. Here a few thoughts which I hope you'll find helpful . . .

As others have said, you really need to think 'project'. There are some helpful comments above, which I won't go over again, but why not browse a couple of good photography (maybe street photography?) books and make some notes as to the sort of work that appeals to you. Think not only about the subject matter, but about what sort of photographic style appeals to you.

I lecture university students on street photography and their biggest challenge, initially, is knowing what to base a project on; many get their inspiration through books. For others, who are still completely stuck, we will give them a 'forced choice', using a random word generator (Google) to suggest single words upon which to base a project. The word could be absolutely anything, but it provides a great challenge to really get you thinking creatively. The trick - and the hard bit - is to go with the first word you get.

When (and if!) you do decide on a project theme, don't set yourself tough targets in terms of either timescales or the number of images produced from each shoot. Projects can take several months to ten years - don't hope to complete something over a couple of weekends. Generally, the longer the project, the more images you will produce and you'll be able to curate them into a much tighter end result.

Also, don't expect too much from a day's shooting; if I spend a long day on the streets and come back with only 2-3 'keepers', I'm really happy.

Take your time when you're out shooting. Walk slowly, blend in to the environment, watch people, absorb what's going on around you.

And keep your kit simple - the smaller and lighter the better. Any basic camera and a prime (ideally wide) lens is fine.

Have a goal in mind - maybe visualise a small book to show off your project (a very feasible ambition with the likes of Blurb).

I could go on for hours, but I hope this gives you a bit of a steer. Good luck!

Lloyd

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

When I go out for a walk I take a camera with me, on many of those occasions I rarely get around to using it.
what I prefer doing is going to an event, even if it is one That I have been to many times before and trying to encapsulate what it is about, in a fairly selective number of shots. I have never been that interested in single shots, but much prefer series, or projects, that can cover quite long time periods. I love photography for what it can do, or what it can explain, and demonstrate.
Of course the shots that make up a series should have some individual merit , but it is not their overriding function.

Over this weekend we had a "wartime Yanks day" . While I was covering it I found two shots of local buildings, one I had shot before, but not as well dressed or lit. And the other in a lane I hd never really looked at before. I am now going to look to see what else is to be found, that perhaps are other peoples "secret pleasure places"

So far In my 81st year, I am still finding new things to see and perhaps photograph. But now I can be found out and about with a much lighter camera The Fuji X30. Complete with my walking pole that I have converted and lenghtened in to a monopod and head with quick release.

 

[droj]

... you don't have to shoot there and then.

... or perhaps you do, if you've come across the light or the situation. Some photography has a conceptual bias, & other photography may be informed more from the gut, or just the cultivation of a receptivity to light or what is seen. Horses for courses.

I'm coming to the view that there are two sorts of photographers - reactive ones, and planners. This very much determines how they approach their photography. I'm not a planner, but others clearly are. That's why people have to find the strategies that work for them.

Like this.

 

[Pookeyhead]

... or perhaps you do, if you've come across the light or the situation. Some photography has a conceptual bias, & other photography may be informed more from the gut, or just the cultivation of a receptivity to light or what is seen. Horses for courses.


Like this.

I suggest this because the OP DOES seem to walk around and shoot in an opportunist fashion when out with family etc, and is bored.