what inspired you to shoot photos

[AGENT5150]

Love to know thanks

[S.Horton]

The ability to capture timeless moments.

[_aravena]

^Same actually. I lived in Italy and wanted to capture everything but all I had at the time were disposables which I used A LOT! Being a military brat I'm never anywhere that long and never know if I'll be back. My last location before I graduated high school I knew I wanted to remember everything because once again I'd leave my friends and location so it just started. Because everyone knew this I was ask to be the yearbook photographer and cover all special events. One thing led to another pretty much.

[les_au]

relaxation tbh, my shots most of the time aint great but i find it an escape from other things

[alduin]

I've always had a P&S of some sort, ever since I was probably 5 or 6. I started taking photography more seriously when we decided to go to Alaska for our honeymoon in 2005 and jumped in to the DSLR side of things with both feet (and both bank accounts) when we went back in 2008. =)

So I guess the answer to your question is "A trip that I don't expect to repeat any time soon".

[YORCHI]

want to have enough pictures to capture everything in my life...

when I get old I want to be able to spend days on end just looking through my old pictures and hopefully it will be something my kids pass down as well

[FlyingPhotog]

My goal when shooting aviation subjects is to try and capture both the science and the art of flight.

Aircraft are (IMO) the highest expression of form following function.

[GenuineRolla]

I've always admired the pics that were in my favorite skate magazine (anyone remember Daily Bread???) and wondered why none of my pics with my olympus P&S didn't come out like theirs. So, i kept shooting for fun and to just post up pics on skate forums, etc...go older..got a car..did car photography with just ambient lighting. some shots were decent. Saved up for my first DSLR. Then did a couple band promo's & portraits..they were meh. Found flickr - checked out other peoples band photos...totally blown away by them. Found out about strobist and haven't looked back. Now I want to create dynamic, creative and mind blowing photos of people/bands and off the wall senior portraits.

[Alex.K]

What first started it? I got a point and shoot for my 14th b-day, and durring the summer i thought it'd be cool to take pics of the flowers and make something for mom.(never did make that...lol) Then i just liked taking pics. It slowly grew on me...like wanting to actually TAKE the pics and not just push the button. July of 2008 was when i got really serious about it...now i have a dslr and have a passion for photography.
So now what inspires me to take nature photos (family/friends photos are just for those wonderful memories.) is to be able to show people what a beautiful and glorious world we live in...and perhaps they'll think about the One who made it all. :)

[sancho1983]

want to have enough pictures to capture everything in my life...

when I get old I want to be able to spend days on end just looking through my old pictures and hopefully it will be something my kids pass down as well

Similar reasons, my shots may not be great but i can remember where i was, what i was doing each time i took one (they are named accordingly as i'm sure i will forget!!) will be great to look back in a few decades and see what i did.

Also, one day i will get a shot good enough to put on my wall :)

[S.Horton]

Now that I read these posts, it is also true, for me, that I know my son will inherit these photos. And then, he'll remember.

I hope he thinks fondly of me then.

[darosk]

Memories, and because I like pretty things.

[FlyingPhotog]

Now that I read these posts, it is also true, for me, that I know my son will inherit these photos. And then, he'll remember.

I hope he thinks fondly of me then.

Maybe he'll write a book... :p

[S.Horton]

ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GregMik]

Memories, and because I like pretty things.

This is why I got into photography in High School. I actually took a couple girls's Senior Pictures.

Then when I was in the Navy I had my trusty Pentax P3, and my Jc Penny lenses. The interest kinda waned when I got married and raised her three kids...Worked my butt off.

Got divorced and low and behold I got a GF (7yrs now, March 1st, and I still don't know why she stays with me). She found the P3 and started taking pics. Well when the film processing started to eat into the monthly budget, I suggested a dSLR...That was history(Not sure if this was cheaper or not....). She got into photography because of Falconry, and I just follow along helping when I can....

Greg

P.S. I do take a pic every now and then....



http://www.freewebs.com/gregmikk/Tasha/08Feb08Bijou_0342L.jpg

[Gordeez]

I wanted to show off my Fish, at the time, had multiple Tanks housing African Cichlids, And Central American Cichlids, as well as a Piranha Tank.
When looking to find what Camera would help me out, I found a website, started reading and have been hooked in Digital Photography since then (1998)

[Nanboh]

We traveled when I was a kid. I wanted to remember the other kids I met from around the country. I started with a kodak 110--the flat palm size thing with the rotating 4 way flash. I still have some of those photos and that was 40 years ago! Used it when we went to Disney World the very first year it opened (I've never been back).
It was always about stopping the moment in time for me--even now...as if it could be prolonged/preserved, and I'd remember the rest of the story.

[nphsbuckeye]

To take pictures that intrigue the viewing into looking at it longer. My favorite pictures are simple ones that are so wonderfully captured, they deserved a large print.

[Duncan Frenz]

My Grandfather was a professional artist and a huge camera buff. All six of his children always had a camera around their neck at every family reunion.

He gave me my first camera, a Brownie Hawkeye; and yes, I did use it for many years. It helped that my father was the manager at a large photo processing company, Tru-Foto. All my developing was free, and even better I had access to process odd formats.

I suppose the answer is that it has always been a part of my life. Some kids learn to hunt when they are practically in diapers, for me it was photography.

What inspires me is 'seeing' everyday things and having a desire to 'capture' what I see from my perspective. Perhaps in an attempt to help better understand me, I hope by sharing my images with others that they can glimpse a part of myself that can only be expressed in photographs.

[20DNewbie]

relaxation tbh, my shots most of the time aint great but i find it an escape from other things

Exactly.

[DAMphyne]

Bob Cummings:)

[KandJinIN]

The event - My daughters birth in August

The force that could not be avoided - My scrapbook crazy wife

The deeper thing that I have since been captivated by - the ability to capture creation in some semblance of its glory...

[L.Morey]

My kids it's the only to capture priceless moments of times you cant get back but you can relive them with photos

[TooManyShots]

The angle and the expressions....in both street and bird photography. I no longer shoot because something looks interesting. I shoot them because the angle of the subject in relation with the background expresses certain emotion and meaning. Could be a simple one, nothing dramatic. Always looking for that emotion or expression. This often involves where I take the shot. The shot setting should give me an idea what kind of expression I am expecting to capture. With bird photography, this can get a bit harder to capture, depending where and when the bird decides to show up. I have to make a lot of on the spot decision as to if I should take the shot of this bird and the same bird as well.

[julioangelortiz]

I'll echo the sentiment that it's relaxing. I find it very relaxing to go out and shoot. The more I did it, the more I realized that I'm trying to find poetry in moments. It makes photography even better.

[big.tater]

So many great reasons. Like many others, to capture that moment in time. Most of my shots aren't that great, but I remember where and when I took them and the majority include family. I love looking back through the family photos of my elders and I'm sure the younger generation in my family will one day take the time to do the same. What a great topic!

[Calicajun]

Family and friends was the reason I started taken pictures. Wanted to have a way to alway remember the good times with family and friends.

[DocZ65]

I wanted to show off my Fish, at the time, had multiple Tanks housing African Cichlids, And Central American Cichlids, as well as a Piranha Tank.
When looking to find what Camera would help me out, I found a website, started reading and have been hooked in Digital Photography since then (1998)

Same here...^^
Wanted to take good piranha photos and like the piranha hobby, it ballooned from there.
Rewards have been many since, capturing photos of kids and grand kids and family get togethers is priceless (well, helps justify the cash outlay for getting gear for piranha photos too...lol)

[pworm14]

My kids, their athletic endeavors, and the memories that I had no record of.

I coached my sons Little League team for 4 years before realizing that I don't really like other peoples kids. Quit doing the coaching thing and then found that if I'm just a spectator I tend to get a little to vocal, which isn't always a good thing. Then there's swimming, which my daughter does year round. I tried officiating for awhile but found that, even though I don't really like kids, making them cry because you had to DQ them wasn't a lot of fun either. The whole swim meet environment has it's own issues. Have you ever been to a swim meet? Basically you're sitting around for 8-9 hours a day, mostly gossiping with other parents, for 3 days to see your kid swim for a total of 10 minutes. I'd rather be waterboarded.

Lets not forget the crappy, shutter lagged, through the fence, p&s shots you can get as a run of the mill spectator parent. I must have a couple of hundred of those. Not to mention the WONDERFUL (sarcasm) T&I photos that you actually had to pay good money for. And the list goes on.

Then one day it all clicked (excuse the pun). Man, I could get a decent camera and maybe get some decent shots of the kiddies in all their glory and, as a bonus, give me something to do other than cheerlead or sit on my arse.

So basically, since I'm going to be at all these events anyway (don't miss any of them) I may as well have something to do. Photography, at least sports photography, is a blast and I absolutely love it. And the few bucks that can be made on the side is another bonus.

And the best part is the joy you can bring to others. Try doing a slide show for one of your teams banquets/fundraisers and you hear those kids having the best time, laughing and teasing and poking fun at each other. Now THAT right there makes it all worth it.

[nuffi]

Ducks. They're just too fascinating!

[hmcart]

I dont really know what started it. As long as I can remmeber I have loved to take pictures.Its the ability of a good photo to spark strong emotions that keeps me loving it.

[hooookup]

I'm not going to lie....
My inspiration is $$$$
I'm a capitalist at heart and enjoy the smell of money in the morning.

[DAMphyne]

Love That Bob:cool:

[JCH77Yanks]

Growing up, my extended family always did everything together and there was always someone with a camera taking pics - and I loved being in them. I always had a fascination with photography on some level, and when my dad got a new camera, I always wanted to play with it.

[slicendice]

I love looking at great photographs, of anything really but especially landscapes - I love the way a great photo can grab your attention and hold it for ages while you just soak up the subject matter. So I think for me it was the challenge of trying to capture scenes that do that.....grab your attention and don't want to let go, that draw you in to whatever scene it is that has been photographed.

[jcl09]

colors and light, trying to capture that moment - my creative escape.
Dorothea Lange is my fav photographer. Her works reminds me of what photography is all about and what humanity is.

check out my blog