What Do I Do With It Now Condundrum!!!

Hi guys

I know for the most part this is a gear forum, and I'm not sure of the mix of pro's and semi-pro's as opposed to pure amateurs, but I've been wrestling lately with a metaphysical question as much as anything else around what to do with the output of my photograhic projects, and thought I would throw it open for opinion!

I am an amateur, not a very good one, could always do better and am always in pursuit of doing so to improve my hobby. I take a lot of pictures, process a few of the best....and then I'm kind of stuck as to what to do with them!

I don't wish to display in a gallery (not that I would even if they were half decent enough to do so), I don't have a website, I don't shoot for stock or other professional purposes, I don't sell the pictures, they are after all just for my enjoyment. I rarely if ever print them out. I don't know if there are others that fall into this category or I'm the only sad person in this situation.

So where does the enjoyment/purpose come from primarily?
Is it the act of taking the picture?
Is it the processing?
Is it the viewing on your monitor?
Is it realising your project?
Or maybe a combination of above or other elements?

I seem to be going through a do loop of thinking about my next project, executing the project, processing and then onto the next project. I kind of flounder as to what to do next, if you like, to extend the enjoyment, contemplate my work etc. I've been toying with the idea of getting some picture frames, putting them around the house and printing out those pictures I particularly like, maybe changing them out every couple of months, otherwise I'm struggling.

To express it in another way, If I was doing wood work as a hobby for example, a nice set of drawers, or a table would be a tangible expression of what I had achieved, for me and others to enjoy. The digital file I have on my computer seems by definition much more ephemeral. How do I get the same feeling of completion from my photo's that I would if I had made a cabinet?

I'm not necessarily looking for ideas, but wouldn't mind hearing if I'm the only person with this predicament (in which case a trip to the psychoanalyst's couch is in order) and if not how other people get out of this self-imposed workflow loop that I'm apparently in.

Many thanks for reading this far.

Regards

Alan

Throw em on facebook, myspace, hyves, flickr or if you are great, 1x.com

alan schenk said:

Hi guys

I know for the most part this is a gear forum, and I'm not sure of the mix of pro's and semi-pro's as opposed to pure amateurs, but I've been wrestling lately with a metaphysical question as much as anything else around what to do with the output of my photograhic projects, and thought I would throw it open for opinion!

I am an amateur, not a very good one, could always do better and am always in pursuit of doing so to improve my hobby. I take a lot of pictures, process a few of the best....and then I'm kind of stuck as to what to do with them!

I don't wish to display in a gallery (not that I would even if they were half decent enough to do so), I don't have a website, I don't shoot for stock or other professional purposes, I don't sell the pictures, they are after all just for my enjoyment. I rarely if ever print them out. I don't know if there are others that fall into this category or I'm the only sad person in this situation.

So where does the enjoyment/purpose come from primarily?
Is it the act of taking the picture?
Is it the processing?
Is it the viewing on your monitor?
Is it realising your project?
Or maybe a combination of above or other elements?

I seem to be going through a do loop of thinking about my next project, executing the project, processing and then onto the next project. I kind of flounder as to what to do next, if you like, to extend the enjoyment, contemplate my work etc. I've been toying with the idea of getting some picture frames, putting them around the house and printing out those pictures I particularly like, maybe changing them out every couple of months, otherwise I'm struggling.

To express it in another way, If I was doing wood work as a hobby for example, a nice set of drawers, or a table would be a tangible expression of what I had achieved, for me and others to enjoy. The digital file I have on my computer seems by definition much more ephemeral. How do I get the same feeling of completion from my photo's that I would if I had made a cabinet?

I'm not necessarily looking for ideas, but wouldn't mind hearing if I'm the only person with this predicament (in which case a trip to the psychoanalyst's couch is in order) and if not how other people get out of this self-imposed workflow loop that I'm apparently in.

Many thanks for reading this far.

Regards

Alan

Click to expand...

I've had similar thoughts many times as I look at the vast masses of "unused" images on my computer.

I have no aspirations to have my images displayed, in fact only the fewest would be worth printing to be hung up in my own apartment. But I believe the "collective" of my images might be worth doing something with, so my plan is the following:

Sort all the images into digestable chunks, and put those as albums on an iPad. I'm hoping the next generation will sport a 300dpi screen, but even the current iPads make it a lot of fun to flick through an album of photos. And it's so easy to show friends a few cool vacation pictures...

If your images are all geotagged, you can even view them on a world map on the iPad, which makes it really easy to find any image of a specific location - simply by zooming into the area on the map, and having the iPad show you all the images you took there.

Of course that means that you have to take the time to reduce all your images into "best of" albums...

Oliver

alan schenk said:

Hi guys

I know for the most part this is a gear forum, and I'm not sure of the mix of pro's and semi-pro's as opposed to pure amateurs, but I've been wrestling lately with a metaphysical question as much as anything else around what to do with the output of my photograhic projects, and thought I would throw it open for opinion!

I am an amateur, not a very good one, could always do better and am always in pursuit of doing so to improve my hobby. I take a lot of pictures, process a few of the best....and then I'm kind of stuck as to what to do with them!

I don't wish to display in a gallery (not that I would even if they were half decent enough to do so), I don't have a website, I don't shoot for stock or other professional purposes, I don't sell the pictures, they are after all just for my enjoyment. I rarely if ever print them out. I don't know if there are others that fall into this category or I'm the only sad person in this situation.

So where does the enjoyment/purpose come from primarily?
Is it the act of taking the picture?
Is it the processing?
Is it the viewing on your monitor?
Is it realising your project?
Or maybe a combination of above or other elements?

I seem to be going through a do loop of thinking about my next project, executing the project, processing and then onto the next project. I kind of flounder as to what to do next, if you like, to extend the enjoyment, contemplate my work etc. I've been toying with the idea of getting some picture frames, putting them around the house and printing out those pictures I particularly like, maybe changing them out every couple of months, otherwise I'm struggling.

To express it in another way, If I was doing wood work as a hobby for example, a nice set of drawers, or a table would be a tangible expression of what I had achieved, for me and others to enjoy. The digital file I have on my computer seems by definition much more ephemeral. How do I get the same feeling of completion from my photo's that I would if I had made a cabinet?

I'm not necessarily looking for ideas, but wouldn't mind hearing if I'm the only person with this predicament (in which case a trip to the psychoanalyst's couch is in order) and if not how other people get out of this self-imposed workflow loop that I'm apparently in.

Many thanks for reading this far.

Regards

Alan

Click to expand...

Hi Alan,

Sounds like you have the 'Photography Blues'.

My answer to mine - check out my blog - 27th April 2011

If all else fails......................The 'Cure for the Blues' is to embrace them, down two shots of 'Jack Daniels' and sit back, eyes closed and a third one already poured, turn up that stereo to a high, come on the 'blues' man..................BB King

Regards

Richard

--
Richard Lawrence
Web: http://www.lawrencephotographic.com/
http://www.lawrencephotographic.com/blog.htm
http://www.lawrencephotographic.com/articles.htm

alan schenk said:

Hi guys

I know for the most part this is a gear forum, and I'm not sure of the mix of pro's and semi-pro's as opposed to pure amateurs, but I've been wrestling lately with a metaphysical question as much as anything else around what to do with the output of my photograhic projects, and thought I would throw it open for opinion!

I am an amateur, not a very good one, could always do better and am always in pursuit of doing so to improve my hobby. I take a lot of pictures, process a few of the best....and then I'm kind of stuck as to what to do with them!

I don't wish to display in a gallery (not that I would even if they were half decent enough to do so), I don't have a website, I don't shoot for stock or other professional purposes, I don't sell the pictures, they are after all just for my enjoyment. I rarely if ever print them out. I don't know if there are others that fall into this category or I'm the only sad person in this situation.

So where does the enjoyment/purpose come from primarily?
Is it the act of taking the picture?
Is it the processing?
Is it the viewing on your monitor?
Is it realising your project?
Or maybe a combination of above or other elements?

Click to expand...

All of the above.

Some more suggestions:

• Get a web site, and give the address to a couple of good friends that are interested in photography/art/events they participated in. Password protect galleries of family and friends as well as photos of personal nature you don't want to share. pbase.com for instance is a great site at a very decent price (with a free trial period).

• Print some of the photographs you really like (good A+ size printers, 13 inch wide, can be had for a decent price). The photos only come alive in prints where you can admire the detail and smooth gradations and colors. A monitor is no good for really evaluating the true quality of the image. For printing you also need to have a well calibrated monitor and profiles for your printer/papers.

• Buy a couple of frames where you can change the prints when you get tired of one, for yourself (and family and friends) to enjoy. Prints attached to boards (available at art supply stores) can do if you think framing is too much of a hassle.

• Join a local photo club where you can discuss and learn from your own and other like minded individuals' work. Competitions are valuable for learning and enjoyment (feedback and critique).

--
Kind regards
Kaj
http://www.pbase.com/kaj_e
WSSA member

It's about time we started to take photography seriously and treat it as a hobby.- Elliott Erwitt

You want to learn, but are too unsure of yourself to share.

I say get out there and share. The fastest way to grow is to share and discuss your work with others. Not every one is right, but filter out what makes sense and appeals to you and use it to create YOUR style.

For me the purpose of photography is to share your experiences and your way of seeing the world.

Get yourself a free flicker account and get busy.

Roman
--

“There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are.”
~ Ernst Haas

We are officially live!!!!
http://www.commercialfineart.com/
Old Web Site
http://www.pbase.com/romansphotos/

Frankly, if you're not going to share them, there's no reason to take them!

Why not get a website, print a few, or at least post on a facebook or flickr account? No harm - the worst that will happen is people say they don't like the photos. Use THAT as motivation to do better.

Break out of the bottle and share those pictures man!

Or find another hobby that you would enjoy more. Life's to short to try and force yourself to have fun with something if you ultimately find you don't have a passion for it.

Learn, shoot, organize, share, save, review in years to come.

It's a great hobby,

maljo

Join a camara club! The competitions alone motivated me to raise my game enormously and I have learnt a lot. As a direct result I am now a semi-pro sports shooter, accredited at major UK events and earning money from what I enjoy doing.
--
Regards
Deegee FRPS
http://www.duncangrove.com
http://www.duncangroveblog.com
Q:- What's the difference between artists and photographers?
A:- Two artists can have a conversation without discussing their paintbrushes!

I used to be in that situation. Partly because I took 'too many pictures', depending on your point of view. I like the act of taking the pictures, and I like the ones that come out well. My family always thought I was better than I thought I was and wondered too what I should do with the pictures. Certainly too many to print and hang on walls, even if they were good enough for that.

When I got a scanner I was able to do more than just create another rarely-viewed photo album that too up too much space on a shelf. Still - what to do? I first wanted software to create a digital scrapbook to emulate what I had been doing in the past. I never found software that would easily allow me to do what I wanted, so I did a couple of albums where I just merged 3 or 4 same-sized images on a page and printed that out. At least it was easier than the alternative.

Next I found a way of easily creating web pages of images. Not particularly creative, in that I can't easily do what I want, but at least it provides me a way to display and view the better images easily. I then had the issue of finding a web host that would allow me the storage capacity I needed. 100MB doesn't go very far when you want put up a lot of images over time. Being a computer consultant, I eventually just set up my own web server so I have easy access to as much space as I want to supply hard drives for.

That was the point where I found a reasonable medium for the amount of images I take. Even before digital I had too many images I liked to just print them and put them in an album. Web pages are easy to produce and easy to view, and importantly for me are almost free.

I finally came up with a system of rating my images, which not only cut down tremendously on the clutter (only show the best of a large amount), but also has been helping me a lot with my photography as I'm recognizing and correcting more mistakes in composition, focus, depth of field, etc, etc.

Finally, I came up with one more project - putting vacation (mostly) slide shows together with music on a DVD. It's been creatively challenging and fun. Gives another medium of expression for me. It's also been very useful for certainly family events like high school graduation or 18th birthday for my daughters, and my Mom's 80th birthday. (Images from the 1930's to present set to period music).

So between printing, web pages, and slideshows, I have several forms of expression that can handle small to large amounts of images.

I would encourage you to find a contest and enter it.

I am also an undirected hobbiest. Was into photography a lot back in college, but then then life and career intervened. Picked it up again a few years ago and worked through the various camera options, while pushing myself to take better images. Recently I entered a simple community photo contest and had to print things for the first time (mostly have been posting on FB for oohs and aaahs from family and friends). Prints that I thought were great as I dropped them off looked like crap when hung next to other's work.

Now I'm working on print quality!

or - make some large prints.

Like you I am not very good but really enjoy what I do. The good thing for me is the circles I associate in people don't understand photography. I like to take photos at dance parties where I offer my services for free.

I recently was the official photographer at the Magical Dance Tent at the Bearded Theory Festival. The photos were ok given the lighting difficulties, but, the promoter was ecstatic. Next year I will get 2 aaa passes, free food, and £50 exenses.

I get to go where I like for a weekend, and take photos of whoever I like whenever I like. Everyone buying tickets for the festival has allowed their photo to be taken and used, this is very clearly stated on the terms and conditions. Rarely does anyone object, including parents and their children. They're chuffed that their kid's photo has been taken by one of the official photographers.

The downside is I have to take it serioulsy. Getting wasted comes a second to doing the work. The last thing I want to do it to get trashed and fall on the mixing desk. When I do get wasted it is after 10pm and I keep away from the stages, just mingle with the crowds and dance.
I post on flickr.

I almost enjoy the whole process all the way through to watching the number of visits on my flickr site. Using photoshop is the only bit I find tedious.

This is a hobby, so treat it like one & stop pressuring yourselfh. Photography is pure joy, by itself. No matter who you are, you can always get better. Just chill out and shoot. Eventually you will get better. After a year goes by, take a look at your old shots and you'll be amazed by the progress. If you were to start doing this for money the chances are you would like it a whole lot less.

--
Who looks outside,
dreams; who looks
inside, awakens

Carl Jung (1875-1961)

If you want to learn and improve simply for your own pleasure, I agree totally with the suggestion to join an established camera club, particulalry one that engages in local, regional, national, or international competition. Even if you decide not to compete outside of the club, you will learn more than you might imagine. Formost, though, you will develop a more critical eye, particularly with respect to your own photos. Over the years, as you look back at your images, you will be amazed to see how your skills have developed and how old images, which may have originally been very satisfying, now are just be a fast delete.

But to really learn you need to be willing to risk displaying your images for others' feedback and to listen to the feedback objectively rather than emotionally. While you may not agree with everyones' opinions, in an established club there will likely be a group of well-respected and credentialed photographers who can gently provide suggestions to improve your photographic skills. If you keep at it, eventually you will likely become part of that group!

Michael E. Clark

So where does the enjoyment/purpose come from primarily?
Is it the act of taking the picture?
Is it the processing?
Is it the viewing on your monitor?
Is it realising your project?
Or maybe a combination of above or other elements?

I enjoy taking photos of people and things that I care about, so that I can remember the moment. Sometimes it's fun just to take pictures of odd stuff, simply to be a little creative. I also like giving photos to friends, and hope that they enjoy them. The times that I have been paid to photograph an event, seems to add a certain amount of pressure that takes away most of the fun.

Yes, as a serial shooter, I feel your pain.

Personally, I do pu t a lot of pics on my FB page, often portraits of kids for family and friends, but also completely different, of even sometimes rather abstract of unexpected things. My friends and contact know I like to photograph, so they don't get surprised...

Second, when I shoot people, I often send them their pics, or even sometimes print and offer them. You'd be surprised how many people don't have any "good" photographs and are thrilled to get some.

I also use my pics as gifts for my parents, either in prints or little gadget items, mousepads, tee-shirts, key rings, whatever. They make easy and cheap gifts for small occasions and are always appreciated.

Then, I also post on the net, either here or on other supports. Don't be intimidated. Sharing your pics would give you a good idea of where you stand in your skill, for instance. I've often gotten flamed for "posting a pic of your daughter AGAIN !!", but never been told they were technically lousy, so at least I know if others don't always share my enthusiasm, at least they don't kill me on my technic, that's good to know

I know this is a gear forum, but by posting your pics you'll discover some people probably share your tastes (of course, some will not, we're all different). It's a good thing to get feedback for your work, anyway.

I love to take a lot of vacation pictures and often do (short,don't bore them to death !) slideshows for family and friends. Don't take only landscape in vacation, shoot the food you eat, the places you stay, the people and animals you meet...

For me, the mere action of taking pictures is very relaxing and liberating, and when I get keepers, even better, but simply handling my camera and making photogaphs makes me happy

I am with Roman. You shouldn't hide your lamp under a basket. Let others enjoy it too.

A couple of comments (and apologies if they are redundant here):

We can get pleasure in the capturing of images. It's really an extension of seeing and can bring on an almost (or perhaps explicitly) meditative state of looking more deeply at the environment or situation in which we find ourselves with a camera. And the captures (or photos) are forever, as keepsakes of those moments when we found a special image in the complexity of reality. We can share them with others and we can share them with our future selves (when looking back at these discoveries can give pleasure again).

We can also get pleasure from the process of printing. Ansel Adams taught us that there is another stage of creativity after the capture - the translation that produces a print. He was a pianist as well as a photographer, and said the negative (or capture) was like an original composition or score and the print was like a concert performance. Printing can be an exploration of possibility or potential in the image - how it might be adjusted or enhanced in framing, tonal range, color, size, et cetera, and this process can be a way of training our eyes to see even more - to appreciate further aspects of the original subject, nuances of color and tone, or simply how an image can be presented.

anotherrich said:

We can get pleasure in the capturing of images.

Click to expand...

Yes, very true.

We can also get used to 'seeing' through the camera, constantly noticing appropriate or inappropriate backgrounds, lighting, subject compositions, etc.

I'm used to having a camera in my hand when scuba diving. I didn't realize how much I was seeing that way until I went on a dive and found that I'd forgotten to put the SD card back into the camera. It was weird how I was looking for photographically-specific subjects as I drifted along. And frustrating when I found them and watched them disappear because I didn't have a working camera to capture them.