Photographers block

[vanguard]

I’ve got a bit of Photographers block at the moment. Anyone want to share some words of wisdom to help me with some inspiration.

[David61]

I think this can happen to a lot of us, when it happened to me I very nearly stopped it altogether but what I did was I totally changed my look on my photography.  I always took wildlife shots, so I changed it to people or architecture, and in mono too.

[vanguard]

That’s something to think about.

[JMRead]

Hello Paul,

In 1998 I came across the work of Catherine McIntyre http://cmci.websign.ru/ 

I spent the next 13 years prevaricating and disappearing up photographic blind alleys, only to find that they were a complete waste of time. I knew all along that what I really wanted to do was tackle the montages, but was too scared to start. I did try a few times but thought the results were horrible failures.

In 2011 I said to Vicky that I would put everything to one side to concentrate on teaching myself how to make the montages. I began knowing a little bit about cutting stuff out and other odds and ends. Now I make videos from montaged still images and have had 21 screenings across the world.

Your probably thinking what's this self congratulatery idiot doing! Well! Do you have something deep inside you that you really want to do? Have a good look, don't be guided by others, if you see it as a mountain as I did, don't prevaricate, like I did, do it, plunge in head first. When you find it you'll never want to do anything else.

Them as never made a mistake never made anything.

Cheers

[fuzzyedges]

I know many who have fell into that black hole me included

I have sold at least 3 sets of equipment only to return 

What Ive found is there is more to image making than pressing the shutter I like being among the places and people that interest me I  suppose in one sense I like being an observer and an image is a small important part of that 

The disinterest sets in when you start to run in a rut and cant step out This is the time when your imagination needs to give you a kick up the aris 

I often follow certain photographers on the internet and you tube and can feel that yearning to get up and do something when ever I can get out 

I now look at my rubbish shots (80%) as practice images to learn more about PS  before sending them into the pixel bin 

[kcbrecks]

Now I come to think about it Paul I must be in the same situation at the moment and the cameras are sitting in a bag on a shelf, not going anywhere. Perhaps if it snows I might get fired up as it is a few years since we had anything worth considering snow.

My daughter-in-law didn't help, just before Christmas, when I was up with them in Edinburgh and instead of letting me go off on my own insisted on driving me to the places I wanted to be for some pictures. I have been taking pictures of the various stages of the Queensferry Crossing during it's construction and found 5 places where I could get the views I wanted. After the 4th one, as I got back in the car she was asking if I had got all the pictures I wanted, was I sure, there wasn't another angle I had missed and so on, sarcastic git that she can be. Perhaps she is right, is it an obsession? I didn't go to the 5th and didn't mention it.

We do tend to go to the same places when going for a stroll so there are bound to be the same views, even in different lights and so on. Hopefully the composition and lighting effects change though.

We are going to Germany, to stay with friends, in the spring so there should be something new then, even if it is the recent additional grandchildren.

[JMRead]

Hello KC,

I walk the same paths for years and never get tired of it, the light, the time of year, the time of day all change. My ideas of what I want change as well and when they do I know exactly where to go.

I will say a bit more going to an area for the first time this results in skimming the surface, taking the 'nice' images in the manner of Francis Frith, go again, you can't take those, so you look for something else, eventually you get to taking really thoughtful and personal images that are far more satisfying than the 'postcard' pics.

A rather extreme example of this is Thomas Joshua Cooper, Prof of photography at Glasgow School of Art. He takes his 1898 field camera and one sheet of film to a pre-planned spot and sits and waits for the photograph to come to him. Sounds a bit daft but when I first tried it feeling like a complete fool I looked behind the tree I was sitting against and there it was :-)

Cheers