Why do you do photography?

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Steve

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Why do you do photography?

Well most of us here have something in common being that we all do some photography but I am guessing our reasons for doing it could be different. My reasons are to try to make the ordinary look different, to capture something and make it stand out and be seen differently.

So what’s your motivation to pick up your camera, climb a mountain, half freeze to death, get soaked, harassed or plain just annoyed..I have made a poll of the usual subjects..
 
Well, my amount and standard of photography won't pay my monthly bills, so I guess i'd better keep on doing what i do ;)

I've only ever sold 2 photo's, which is actually 2 more than i've ever expected to :shock:

I haven't got a single photo on my walls or in a frame taken by me, and I rarely post my shots in public so acclaim from others isn't a factor either.

All this doesn't mean I don't use my camera though, I have 6 albums full of images I've taken and printed HONEST ;)

I take pictures to preserve a memory so I can look back and reflect on times gone by, however I feel things are at a turning point now that I've stepped up to the 20D
I like the idea taking more interesting and abstract styles and driffting away from the animal/wildlife and motorsport i've concentrated on.

How the heck do you manage to get beautiful ladies to pose for you?
That sounds interesting :lol:
 
I love a good a photo. Good photos inspire me to try and improve my own skills, either to emulate or try new ideas. I will post a photo to either receive critiques, be they good or bad but hopefully constructive. If a photos is good enough for praise then naturally it is nice to receive positive feedback, that in itself urges you to take more shots and push your own boundaries.

I for one could spend all day looking at photographs trying to work out what is good and what is bad about them. Non more than my own. I take photographs for that one in a hundered shot that hits the spot. Maybe not for everyone but at least for me.
 
Hmmm thats a difficult one but in a nutshell its cos I enjoy it!

The early morning to get the sunrise, the long walk to get the better viewpoint and the constant learning of new tricks, tips and techniques. I one day hope to sell some pictures and maybe even try and fund a few lenses!! I somehow dont think I'll ever be good enough to make a living out of it but in all honesty I'd rather not as your job is never fun to do ;)

I post pictures to receive help and soon get bored of places that post continual comments like "Good shot" or "I do like that one" I would much rather people tell me that they hate it and why so I can better my photogrpahy. I've not got any pictures on the wall yet but when the really good ones turn up I might well put some up :D
 
why do i do phtography, with four kids i have pictures of each of them taken over the years the eldest now being 22 he looks at some of his most embarssing moments ive caught of him and the others over the years and laughs i only wish digital had come along years ago it would have saved me a fortune in delveloping cost, but the main reason i do it is because i enjoy doing photography and these days i try and take more time and effort in what i take photos of, and i still enjoy it. more these days because i dont have four screaming kids running behind me.
 
Fungus said:
I love a good a photo. Good photos inspire me to try and improve my own skills, either to emulate or try new ideas. I will post a photo to either receive critiques, be they good or bad but hopefully constructive. If a photos is good enough for praise then naturally it is nice to receive positive feedback, that in itself urges you to take more shots and push your own boundaries.

I for one could spend all day looking at photographs trying to work out what is good and what is bad about them. Non more than my own. I take photographs for that one in a hundered shot that hits the spot. Maybe not for everyone but at least for me.
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^^^^^^what he said


i want to be better than i am though, thats why i hang around on these forums [smilie=t:
 
It keeps me off the streets?

Since almost before I can remember I've been interested in photography. My father used to develop his own black and white photographs before I came along, he was in the RAF so he went all over the world and I suppose it was his pictures of those places that first inspired me.
Later on when I began to develop my own I discovered Ansell Adams and his work still makes me go wow!
 
I would love to be able tick all of those boxes.

Maybe a couple of these will make more sense than my ramblings

When we care, we will not forget. The picture in our head or the vivid printed picture will remind us. Without care, we would not remember, only see.
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Success is what happens when 10,000 hours of preparation meet with one moment of opportunity
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And finally, a little cheesy but very true...

When I walk around my little world I observe the oddities, the fun of life in the middle of harsh reality. I think one can laugh in pain. Maybe this is what we need to pull us out of the absurdity of it all. I always thought how strange it is that one can find beauty even in the most horrible images. I care for what I photograph. I make love with my eyes through the viewfinder. I carress the image on that piece of paper as it appears like magic, a ray of light emerging from total darkness.
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Gets me out the house, the city and I have even been known to walk a few miles without the promise of booze at the end of the walk. :shock:

Seriously, I've seen most of my country only due to the fact I had a camera with me. I dont really take pictures to get prints (a nice end in it's own) I take pictures to get experiences, excercise and memories.
 
Occasionally I take pics because someone pays me to, but that is the least important aspect of photography to me. Mainly it's because I'm a sentimental old b****r and I like looking back at things I've done and places I've been, Photographs and Memories...

Some of my photos may have artistic merit, and a few are covering cracks in the plaster, but mostly they're a record of things that will never happen again. Lately I've been taking photos of the village where I live - perfectly ordinary photos of ordinary things and ordinary folk, but which may seem extraordinary to people a few generations hence. Hopefully my pics will survive longer than I do, and may eventually provide the same fascination that we get today by looking at photos of bygone times.

In fact I would encourage everyone to do more of this. The street, village or town where you live may not seem very photogenic, but in years to come people will be interested to know what it looked like in the good old days of 2005. Everyone takes photos of things that are attractive and touristy, but everyday life is ignored. That's why the films of Mitchell and Kenyon are so important and enlightening.
 
It's the only thing I've been consistently good at that didn't bore me after 5 minutes.
I can't imagine life without a camera to my eye, plus the buzz I still get from seeing my stuff in the papers... well!
 
I love to take photos. In that way i forget all worries and i relax. I do alot of sport photography and love nature and landscapes
 
Wow ... Dragging up a post that's two and a half years old .... :lol:

I guess mine would be that I have always been useless at art. drawing and painting.

When I kick this mortal coil there may just be something left to remember me by .... But don't count on it !!!!
 
Because I like it! :)

And that is really all it boils down to for me. I get a buzz picking up the camera and using it..............and a buzz looking through seeing my shots.

That's enough for me. :)
 
Photographic frustration mostly ... :shrug:








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Amazing how people continue to find them though Joe ... I couldn't even see the best ever fortnightly theme thread ... and that was two weeks ago NOT two years ... :suspect:



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from running a business and using tools on a daily basis, i needed
something to fill a big gap in my life. The possibility of learning something new
and keeping my brain alive, photography was the answer.:)


:canon:
 
It relaxes me, it is my form of excerting (sp?) the day to day stresses and strains of life.

I love making pictures and love the end result whether good or bad, as every picture is a learning curve.
 
I do it because I love it, I get a real buzz from it, be it pretty girls or motorbikes and cars or landscapes, and as Arkady said above, I get a REAL buzz when my work appears in the papers or magazines. Even more when the chq lands on the doorstep. It's hard to explain but it's kind of all Ive ever known!!!!
 
Started for me as a kid - I've always hated having my photo taken with an absolute passion. I realised at a pretty young age that if you were the one with the camera you rarely got called on to be in pictures! My Aunt and Uncle bought me a Kodak instamatic when I was about 8 and I've usually been "the one with the camera" at family gatherings ever since.

Back in the late 80's / early 90's I used to take portrait shots of riders at speedway and then sell them to friends - I used to sell for about half the price the track shop did and made a fair bit of pocket money from it for a while. :) I lost interest for a couple of years until starting to go up to Scotland on holiday regularly.....and then I totally got the bug back again. :)
 
This is a bit off topic, but why does "Steve" have 0 posts? He clearly has at least one - this one - and I've seen a lot of other posts by him :thinking:
 
He's just a figment of your imagination, thats all ;)
 
Ewan.........step away from the keyboard......nothing to see here.....move along.
 
Gilly B said:
Pose for him:shrug: :nuts:
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LOL I wish. I'm still trying to find out the 'right amount of drunk'. Too little, and its a slap, too much and its comatose-o-clock. :D
 
Don't worry about it Ewan, he laughs at everyone, he has to, to take attention away from his moustache :D
 
blimey were did this thread come from?
 
Well a Liverpool forum I'm on were always taking pics of buildings to discuss In threads and It influenced me to start with a camera phone. Then I moved onto a point and shoot camera and got really Into Photography from then last year.

Now I'm using a Nikon D40.:nikon: :nikon:

It's relaxing yet I keep reminiscing on bitter times weirdly haha.
 
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