What keeps you going?

D Thompson wrote in post #14934313
I'm gonna take a bit of a different approach in answering by saying maybe photography isn't for you and so what if it isn't. I guess one question for you is why do you feel it has to be? Break out the camera for your vacations and family moments. Enjoy your painting and use it for your creative outlet.

Funny you should mention that...

I have a friend who was sort of in the same boat. His dad bought him a camera one year for his birthday (it was before the whole digital revolution. Sometime in the early 1990's). He rarely used it. It was an SLR too with 2 lenses. I think I saw it twice the whole time he owned it. He shot maybe 2 rolls of film with it. The rest of the time it sat on the bottom of his closet.

Me, I had always been into photography. He was working as a graphic designer for a plumbing magazine and needed some photos. He couldn't find what he was looking for on the stock image sites so he tried to get the shots he needed himself with his camera (that would be the 2nd roll of film he used) but couldn't get the shot. He called me and asked me for my help. I came over with my Olympus OM 707 (35mm) and got the shots for him. Basically the magazine was doing an article on "Harvesting the Rain" which involved storing rain water to water plants and whatnot. I thought it was an interesting subject.

He was so intrigued that I was able to get professional looking shots at his house of their rain barrel but it wasn't enough. He bought himself a Kodak P & S camera and invited me to a Green Roof in Chicago where they had water towers that captured rain water from the roof which was pretty cool.

So the fact that he bought a digital camera for work was sort of funny because he had no interest in photography until he actually realized that he could create license free work himself. Now he owns a 5D Mark II and an assortment of lenses and accessories and shoots weddings and loves every minute of it.

It might not be the thing for you right now but you never know when you might find something that you would want to shoot.

D Thompson, I pretty much agree. The more I think about it, the less it seems like photography fits me very well. I mean, its a skill I've learned and I enjoy the results I get but I'm not 'feeling' it I guess? I don't really know the words to describe that...

As for painting, I think I was a bit inaccurate when I said I paint in addition to photography. A more accurate phrasing would be "I can paint, and have in the past, but I haven't for close to two years and have no desire or need to at the moment or in the foreseeable future." I guess I've been trying to make photography fit and clinging so desperately to it because I don't really do anything else. I have no other hobbies and I'm not looking to pick up any because nothing seems interesting enough. The closest analogy i can make is a romantic relationship that isn't working but continues on because one or the other person would rather be in an unhappy relationship than be alone. Does that make sense? I guess I've been sort of clutching at photography because I'm afraid of not really having anything in my life beyond work, maintain the house, sleep, repeat.

Reading all of that back, it seems a bit depressing. Sorry. Thanks for all the suggestions and advice so far, everyone!

CameraMan wrote in post #14934351
It might not be the thing for you right now but you never know when you might find something that you would want to shoot.

That is true. Some interests/hobbies come and go thru our lives. I played guitar as a kid thru my early 30's, didn't pick one up for several years, got back into in my late 30's and pretty much play every day even if it's only 5 minutes. I'll never make it big time, but it's something I enjoy.

conjunctive wrote in post #14934430
D Thompson, I pretty much agree. The more I think about it, the less it seems like photography fits me very well. I mean, its a skill I've learned and I enjoy the results I get but I'm not 'feeling' it I guess? I don't really know the words to describe that...

If it is something you enjoy the results then you need to keep doing it. It doesn't mean you have to do it all the time. Switch it up a bit - take a photo, then paint it.

The thing about hobbies is you never know until you try. What are some things your friends and wife/so/gf are interested in? We go thru stages in life and our interests may change/adapt. You shouldn't have just one thing that you enjoy doing. I love Oreo's, but I don't want them every day. I get enjoyment from several things, sometimes one is sitting on the patio watching the clouds go by .

I find photography to be a very flexible hobby - it can be incorporated into just about any other hobby and is generally very welcome/appreciated. It is also a hobby that travels well and can take as little or as much time as you want it to.
Personally I do a lot of photography at family events - even little things are enough for me to break out the camera. I also have a photography club that I organize events for - so I am often scouting a new location to give others an excuse to get out and shoot. It is fun and very social. To me - when it stops being fun it stops being a hobby!

Since getting into photography, I see the world around me differently. I would love to spend all day photographing the beauty around us, but one has to work.

conjunctive wrote in post #14933256
I've considered trying film out, but the expense holds me back. I don't have the means, knowledge, or skill to develop at home so I'd have to have it developed elsewhere. Also, I'm young enough to have never handled film before so I'd have a huge investment to make in an education sense before I'd feel comfortable spending money on what would probably only be a short-term experimentation for me.
I wouldn't need to find a camera though, I do have an old Yashica SLR and an array of lenses for it so that's a plus. I have no idea if there are light leaks or if the shutter fires accurately, though. It seems to be in fairly decent shape, but from what I understand the battery isn't being made anymore so obviously the meter wouldn't be functional.

If anyone wonders why or how I have a film camera with lenses and have never handled film, its because I'm too cheap to buy EF or EF-S mount lenses. I find its much more cost effective to adapt older manual focus lenses. It hampers my ability to shoot fast moving objects, but I'll take a 50/1.4 for $5 if that's the only drawback. Its actually kind of embarrassing to admit I only own one auto-focus lens.

Maybe I'll be more keen on taking photos when the weather cools down. Florida is terrible in the summer, its almost a chore to walk to my mailbox (slightly exaggerating.) Its nice for the four or five days a year that winter lasts, though.

I wonder if you don't face some of the same issues I have here on the Island - a similarity of terrain to the point where it takes some effort to find a subject which provides motivation. I have a couple of possibilities in mind though. We have more than 45 churches, some are nearly 200 years old, and are interesting, architecturally. Also, there are many places where homes have been abandoned for one reason or another, and the almost jungle-like vegetation is gradually overgrowing them. There is some good potential in these, but I need to find the right time of day and the best light for each area. I'm not experienced at this type of photography, so it will be a challenge.

Summer here on the island isn't as steamy as Florida, but it's still 90-92 most days with a hot sun and high humidity, and when you're a little distance in from the beach the trade winds don't penetrate well. It can certainly make it hard to get out and really look for an inspiring subject.

I have another issue too, having had my camera and 3 lenses stolen a month ago, and I haven't had the opportunity to get over to the states to replace them. There is nothing like not having your camera to really make you miss it. I've been restricted to my old A720 IS, and although it's a pretty sophisticated little machine, like most P&S cameras it has some shortcomings. Fortunately, we are planning a junket to Las Vegas this month, and I plan to do some shopping.

I have that same problem. I have to travel far to get out of the typical settings I'm used to. I live in the country and there are so many open fields. It's kind of boring now to get photos of them. Every once in a while someone will plant cotton in those fields but you just have to get out and drive by them to see what's budding.

Try taking a break from it for a spell. I also paint a little, I grew tired of it so quit for awhile, then gave it a try again and did a couple paintings I like, but now taking a break again. I have a lot of hobbies and when I get overwhelmed or bored with it I take breaks from and do something else for awhile. I am happy to return to the hobby and with a fresh outlook.

conjunctive wrote in post #14931814
I originally started with photography for artistic reasons (I also paint and was looking to adopt another art) but I find I'm most often documenting mundane things and not making art.

I come from the same background as you as I'm from a traditional art past, and came to photography as a creative medium. This part of your post interests me - why you do take photos only of mundane things? Surely you don't use painting solely to document mundane things, so why are you using your camera to do so? Try not to think of them so differently; photography and painting are simply two different mediums with which to express yourself, and bearing that in mind there's no need to seek out different subject matter when you're holding your compare to when you're holding your brushes. At the end of the day, both painting and photography are about creating beautiful imagery.

Onona, I haven't painted in probably at least a year and a half. I painted as a form of therapy almost, and I haven't had anything to express so I've put up my canvas and brushes for the time being. Its a similar situation with my photography, I'm out of ideas it seems. I would take pictures of more interesting things or actively pursue artistic photographs if I could connect with whatever creativity I've apparently misplaced. I can't seem to find any story or idea I'd like to express artistically.

I'm pretty limited in what I like to shoot I've discovered. While I appreciate all the suggestions to try new areas of photography , I've done that often enough in my admittedly brief time in the hobby to know I dislike landscapes, people, sports, and events enough to not want to shoot them. I'm left pretty cold by macro, I've experimented with it quite a bit because there really isn't much left to shoot if you don't shoot sports, landscapes, people, or events. Generally, if I'm shooting something even semi-seriously I'll shoot what I call "beauty shots" of portions of various objects. I almost never include the whole object in the shot, rather I focus on an element or two and try to make an interesting composition. My friends are a bit dumbfounded that I can go to a car show and not have a single whole car in any photo out of hundreds. Of course this gets boring after a steady year or more of that and "Oh, look the ducks are in the yard!" snapshots.

I don't mean to say that I can't conceive of a beautiful image in my mind that I'd like to create, I can. I'm just not motivated to I guess. Its similar I guess to people who really want to start their own business or something and never get around to it for one reason or another. Many people would call them lazy, or scared, but I just see them (and myself) as unmotivated. If I wanted it badly enough, I'd do it. That's another reason I think that photography (among other things) may not be for me. The end image, beautiful or not, never really seems worth it to me.

I don't mean to put down photography (or anything else) if that's how I'm coming across. I'm beginning to think my lack of photographic motivation may only be a symptom of a bigger self-esteem problem than I might have originally thought.

Don't be so hard on yourself. I think it sounds like you're just in a creative slump, and that's totally normal, it happens to everyone. Sure, maybe photography just isn't for you. But I suspect that you'd not have signed up here and posted this if some part of you wasn't wanting to let go of it. Maybe what you need is a break, to go off and do something totally different. Or maybe you just need some direction. A lack of motivation often stems from a lack of direction, and this really just becomes a vicious circle.

Here's a question: do you spend a lot of time looking at photography? I mean, at other peoples' photos on photography websites? Do you enjoy looking at photos? If so, there must surely be certain kinds of photography that you find more appealing than others. If this is the case, then why not explore those avenues of photography yourself? Or have you already tried that?

At the end of the day, maybe photography just isn't for you. Only you know for sure. But on a more personal note, I'd say it'd be a shame to drop a creative outlet, as I think creative expression is important for people (as you mentioned, it can be very therapeutic), and photography is a very accessible creative medium. And since it sounds like you've mastered the fundamentals on the technique side of things, the only thing that seems to be an obstacle for you is the creative block you seem to be suffering from. But that can be overcome. When I feel I'm in a creative slump, I just go out to exhibitions to feel inspired and to get some new ideas for direction.