sometimes uninspired

[alexd1983]

I just got my G3 recently.. but there are times when I feel uninspired... I live in a pretty remote area and sometimes I just don't feel as if there is very much to capture...

I hate this feeling because I have this wicked camera and I have seen it's potential.. (THAT'S WHY I GOT IT!)...

I just need some inspiration... any suggestions?

[Deckyon]

I have been there as well. I have found that if I give myself a project, then it is much easier to find something nice to shoot.

2 sites that have helped me:
http://www.dpchallenge.com - does weekly contests (no prizes)
http://www.usefilm.com - has many projects.

I enjoy the challenge of the contest. They are just for bragging rights and have free contests as well as members only contests.

[FlyingPete]

When the general world around seems boring, try having a closer look at things! It is amazing how many really cool pictures you can take with the macro function on a digital camera.

Most of my pictures that really grab people attention have been the macro shots, I guess most people just don't look at things around them that closely.

Anything with a high level of detail seems to work well.

[civis]

alexd1983 wrote:
I live in a pretty remote area and sometimes I just don't feel as if there is very much to capture...

Which area of which country? Perhaps if we knew your rough location, someone might be able to make a few suggestions.

You might walk right by something every day, something you just haven't looked at as a subject.

[jheleniu]

It's not about the targets being interesting. A picturesque target never guarantees a piece of art. Everything is subjective, me thinks.

We see things differently, different things catch our attention. Surroundings that offer nothing to one person can prove to be endless source for someone else.

You described your surroundings remote. How about trying to catch the feeling of remoteness? Don't capture targets but instead capture the _feeling_ and express that.

In this forum I have seen very minimalistic but yet great photos. For instance a puddle on street has been worth capturing. I used to capture miserable places with a friend of mine a few years ago. Wastelands, industrial areas, abandoned houses etc.

It's not out there, it is in your head.

[alan-G3]

Hi Alex
The list could be endless: Insects around the house, paint peeling from the bathroom, cutlery fresh from the dishwasher- try selenium look in PS, inside of your own mouth, tree bark, parts of your classic motorbike, your old film camera kit that you don't use anymore. the glass of wine that you're drinking whilst waiting to be inspired!

Regards
Alan

[Sundance]

Been there too!

It's hard to add to all the advice so far posted, as I agree that rather than capturing the object it can be very satisfying to capture the feeling.

Although similar to the "projects" suggestion, another option is to try to document something using pictures. This could be absolutely any series of events (try thinking "photo-journalism"). It could be an event or issue personal to you or your family, or something totally unrelated like capturing the effect of the changing seasons on the area you live in (if they change?!).

Good luck and let us know what finally inspired you!

Steve

[civis]

Perhaps you've already seen lots of things worth shooting, but you just haven't seen them from the right perspective or haven't seen them in the right way.

One man's trash is another man's treasure, familiarity breeds contempt (and other such pithy bits of folk wisdom).

[paul162brown]

I know what you mean and suffer from the same thing sometimes.

One way I sometimes get round it is by setting myself a specific target or type of shot that I would like to produce. I often see a great picture in a magazine for example and set myself the job of trying to achieve the same type of shot. For me, I find by settings limitations in this way and by concentrating on one type of shot at a time, it helps me to get past the "what should I shoot now" type of situation. Sometimes when we have too many options it is hard to find the inspiration to know what to shot next. I used the same methods when I used to write electronic music on my old keyboards. I used to restrict that amount of instruments I used and restricted the amount of different sounds I used to thereby concentrate my efforts on writing the music as opposed to spending too much time selecting and programming loads of different sounds.

My latest target has been macro shots of flowers on the G3. I have temporarily stopped shooting other subjects and have got right into shooting close up shots of flowers with nice results. And my wife thinks it is great as she just thinks I am buying loads of bunches of flowers because I love her so much!!! (which I do, but there is an ulterior motive when I see a nice bunch!!)

Paul