Do you ever get tired of taking photos?

[Claire]

I'll be honest, I haven't taken many photos lately. It's not that it isn't fun anymore, it definitely is, but either I've run out of things to photograph (yeah, right!), or I'm just a bit tired of it all.

I got my 300D last April and have been snapping away like a lunatic the past year. Suddenly a month ago or so I just didn't feel like picking up the camera. At least not that much. And I haven't been very active here either. That whole G&N debate probably took it's toll too.

So, what have I done instead then? Ok, I admit I've taken a few shots (latest being tonight of my new haircut!), but the other weekend I actually began to draw again. It was nice. In a way it felt slightly more...hands on than my photography.

Do you ever get tired of taking photos? Do you put your hobby away occasionally and wait until you get that itch again? What do you do when you take a break?


/Claire

[Harry Settle]

We all get the funk. . .

Best way out of it is to buy new glass or software.

[Curtis N]

I haven't grown tired of taking pictures... yet (so many pretty girls, so little time).
I OFTEN get tired of post-processing. While I find it every bit as challenging as taking pictures, I spend my work day staring at a computer screen and would rather not spend my free time doing the same.

I'm sure pros have a different perspective. A friend of mine who is a wedding & portrait photographer REFUSES to take a camera with him on family vacations. The last thing he wants to do on vacation is take pictures. He has very few photos of his wife & kids, though the ones he has are pretty darn good!

[CRE@TE]

Photography gives me excercise, otherwise I sit on my butt all day.

[jimtfoto]

Never .........


cheers,
jim

[tommykjensen]

Nice drawings.

[ZeSpectre]

Yes, absolutely I get tired of it some times. Of course most times when that happens I'm tired of a lot of other stuff as well and that's usually when I go camping/backpacking for a weekend with just the absolute essentials. Other times I'll take a very purposeful hiatus where I lock the photo gear in a closet for a couple of weeks. The longest I've ever left it there was about a month....once, and I was so itching to get back to it by then!

[missysx]

i don't get tired of taking pictures, however at a motorsport event last month my hand started to ache after snapping away for atleast 4 hours straight....

what i do get a little fed up with is having to resize images and then uploading them to the internet... i often do atleast 400 pictures per event.... which is then followed by an afternoon or two of sorting them...

[ZeSpectre]

i don't get tired of taking pictures, however at a motorsport event last month my hand started to ache after snapping away for atleast 4 hours straight....

what i do get a little fed up with is having to resize images and then uploading them to the internet... i often do atleast 400 pictures per event.... which is then followed by an afternoon or two of sorting them...

Oh boy have I ever been there. 8 hours at a wine festival, etc. Right hand, what right hand? I just have this twisted claw here.

And have you ever batch re-sized images and rushed them out to someone else...and then realized you reversed the settings for the portrait vs landscape images? -OOOPS! :oops:

[DeeplyDigital]

I only take pictures which are worth taking, which I will still like in time to come, which I would consider displaying on my own wall. I prefer to have one good shot rather than 90 mediocre shots.

Occasionally I return to my old love of band photography, but only for very special people. As for weddings - that would have to be exceptional circumstances...

Ciao,
Julia

[jopfin]

I would have to say no to the question. I really plan my outings, I am a divorced parent, so the weekends I do not have my kids at the house I am out and about with the wife, usually on saturday, then on sundays I spend my time doing the post processing and stuff. I spend a lot of time researching, gathering maps and the like, so by the time I go I am pretty excited about going. The weekends I have my kids are spent with them, don't even touch the camera. During the week if I am bored I will mess around and try be creative, not very good at it though lol. And if I need inspiration I cruise all the photowebsites looking at others peoples work, and that usually does the trick for me. Good Luck these things come and go...................Joe

[Jon, The Elder]

Never - ever. But I do get tired of the same old subjects sometimes - I shoot horse shows. When I lose my complete attention on the subjects - quality falls off noticebly !!

[Streetshooter]

It's not boredom that has you at the moment...it's that your lost in your visual map....
I would lay out all your good work from tha last year or so,...group it into series...(images that relate to each other as far as subject matter goes)...then look for the image in each series that kinda makes a transition in a way that is noticible from the others....(kinda like in the scrabble game...the block that you build upon)...that image may be hard to detect but it's there...there may be many after it but that's the one to look for...you'll recognize it after you group things out....then use that image as a starting point for new direction in your vision....if you use this method, you will always have a map of direction in your vision, always know where you were, where you went and what to look for on the new journey.....your mind will be open and your eyes free to make images......good luck...don

[EoSD30fReAk]

i have it from time to time.

i mostly shoot in the weekends and in vacations.

lately i find it very difficult to find new subjects to shoot.
when i don't take pictures i'm busy with computer casemodding wich also takes up a lot of my time.

now with fall coming i will be shooting more because of the beautiful colors you'll find this time of year.

[Nidz]

Tired.. no way.. I bought my first point and shoot in 2000. I took over 10,000 pics on that before I upgraded to the 350D in Sep this year. Now I have to go visit all these places again and get them in 8 megapixel.. lol..

[gmaize]

I suppose its like anthing else, if you lack the variety in any particular hobby or pursuit it just gets boring. Taking a break is important. Finding new focus and direction will come in time. I too get tired of post processing. In the 10 months since in received my first digital camera, I'd say I've only processed less than 10 percent of the keepers. I have lots of sorting to do before I can even begin to manage final processing.

I like the art work.....good for you for finding other artistic outlets. I'd love to see more if you are so inclined.

--gmaize

[Claire]

It's interesting to hear majority of you don't get tired of taking photos, but of the post processing. I can agree on the latter. Sometimes I just don't want to open PS at all.

With getting tired I guess I mean there isn't that spark there at the moment. Like I'm...bored to an extent perhaps? I get like this with all my hobbies, surprised not many other do. Sometimes I just can't find the inspiration to take up a pencil, put a lot of thought into a photo or bother to play that song on the piano. It's a bit like writer's block perhaps.

[Pekka]

It's interesting to hear majority of you don't get tired of taking photos, but of the post processing. I can agree on the latter. Sometimes I just don't want to open PS at all.

With getting tired I guess I mean there isn't that spark there at the moment. Like I'm...bored to an extent perhaps? I get like this with all my hobbies, surprised not many other do. Sometimes I just can't find the inspiration to take up a pencil, put a lot of thought into a photo or bother to play that song on the piano. It's a bit like writer's block perhaps.

I think it is very healthy to

a) have several hobbies which are all very different, touch different areas of brain (5 art hobbies is not good!). E.g. one visual, one aural, one physical, one mental.
b) have breaks which clean up your mind and reset routine.

I do not shoot very often, but when I shoot I have a reason and agenda, I really enjoy it, I am motivated to do it and eager to get good shots. I never pick up the camera if I do not feel like it - that is the advantage of not being a full time pro of course.

[Steve Parr]

Short answer?

Nope...

Steve

[Claire]

Hm, Pekka has a point about too many art hobbies perhaps being a bad thing! LOL I can't help it though! I've drawn since somone put a crayon in my hand. I've written stuff since I made my own newspapers at the age of 10. Played the piano since I was six (but rarely anymore to be honest). Took up photography a few years ago. I read a lot.
Geesh, maybe I need a new non-art related hobby? But what the heck would that be?? Eh, does cross stitching constitute as art? I do that too now and then... Hm, maybe I should just begin to study German again....

[gastroboy]

yeah, after 15hrs of taking photo's at a friends wedding as a "favour", you kinda get sick of it. more likely you just want a break so your hand can uncurl itself and blood can flow freely around your shoulders. but I have to agree, taking photo's is heaps of fun, but sorting the pics, post-processing and printing etc is a chore I must say. Thats why the hobby is called "photography" not "post-processing. :-)

[Sean-Mcr]

I'll be honest, I haven't taken many photos lately. It's not that it isn't fun anymore, it definitely is, but either I've run out of things to photograph (yeah, right!), or I'm just a bit tired of it all.

I got my 300D last April and have been snapping away like a lunatic the past year. Suddenly a month ago or so I just didn't feel like picking up the camera. At least not that much. And I haven't been very active here either. That whole G&N debate probably took it's toll too.

So, what have I done instead then? Ok, I admit I've taken a few shots (latest being tonight of my new haircut!), but the other weekend I actually began to draw again. It was nice. In a way it felt slightly more...hands on than my photography.

Do you ever get tired of taking photos? Do you put your hobby away occasionally and wait until you get that itch again? What do you do when you take a break?


/Claire


Bresson walked away from photography and went back to painting, his first love. If it can happen to a great it can happen to anybody, but then he did that after decades and leaving his mark on the world, not after a year:)