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  #11  
Old 19th January 2022, 10:57 AM
snusmumriken snusmumriken is offline
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It is so interesting to read your replies. There is a lot in common among us, as I suppose we would have expected. No real clue as to why we take photos, except that we enjoy it, and perhaps - as Alan suggests - there is an innate compulsion to make images. Maybe its because they gratify, perpetuate, share, commemorate; or maybe it's the act of creation rather than the purpose that really matters. Or both. Who knows? Why anything? The Martians must think us very quaint.

Personally, I feel closest to Skellum's position. It seems we were both inspired at an early age, to the extent that we imagined becoming photographers with a capital 'P'. I don't know whether that was pretentious. In the event we both developed other careers. Maybe that was wise. Maybe it reflected who we really were.

My career is behind me now. I'm 67, I retired last year. So now I can spend as much of my time as I wish on photography. Here I need to explain why I said that a hobby or pastime was the last thing I wanted. Most of you seem happy to describe photography as a hobby. To me, the connotations are that a hobby is a satisfying but unnecessary activity, and a pastime is what you do to help fill a superabundance of time. I have no illusions about my ability. I laugh readily about the effort I put into taking 1970s photographs of the 2020s, and about the Pointlessness of Everything. I have plenty of other useful stuff to do, and time is all too brief. But in truth I haven't shed that boyish dream of doing something meaningful with photography. It may well be pointless, delusional, pretentious, but it's there.

Quote:
If I needed to feel my work mattered more I would have to dig deeper and actually give more of myself in terms of time and personal inconvenience to hunt down material that needed to be exposed or recorded.
Skellum again, hitting exactly where my own thoughts took me. If I want to make photos that do matter, I must stop drifting within my comfort zone and concentrate on one or two issues that are bigger than me. I guess that's a choice for all of us, and many will be content with where they are; but I think I will hate myself if I don't try.

Sorry about this public introspection. Anyone know any good photography jokes?
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  #12  
Old 19th January 2022, 01:39 PM
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skellum skellum is offline
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Not quite a photography joke, but it is about our most valued commodity: Light.

A Photon arrives to check in at a hotel.
The receptionist looks over the desk and notices the Photon has no bags.
"Any luggage?" she enquires politely.
"No," replies the Photon "I'm travelling light"
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  #13  
Old 19th January 2022, 02:32 PM
snusmumriken snusmumriken is offline
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Cinderella sent some films to be processed. She waited and waited. And waited. "Oh when will my prints arrive?", she cried.
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  #14  
Old 19th January 2022, 03:43 PM
Alan Clark Alan Clark is offline
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Three photographers, all members of Uttoxeter Camera Club, discover by chance that they are not only the same age, but they all share the same birthday. Then one night at the club one of them says, "It's our birthday next week. We will be 50. We should go out for a meal to celebrate". They talk about where to go and settle on Wetherspoons in Uttoxeter, because the food is good and the waitresses are very pleasant.
Ten years pass, then one night at the club one of them says " It will be our birthday next week. We will be 60. We should go out for a meal to celebrate". They talk about where to go and settle on Wetherspoons in Uttoxeter, because it's not too far to walk from the car-park, and they can enjoy a nice quiet meal without having to listen to a lot of loud pop music.
Ten years pass, then one night at the club one of them says "It will be our 70th birthday next week. We should go out for a meal to celebrate". They talk about where to go and settle on Wetherspoons in Uttoxeter, because it's got good wheelchair access, and it has a disabled toilet.
Ten years pass then one night at the club one of them says "I've just realised we will all be 80 next week, we should go out for a meal to celebrate". The have a long chat about where to go and in the end they settle on Wetherspoons in Uttoxeter, because they have never been there before....
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  #15  
Old 19th January 2022, 04:35 PM
John King John King is offline
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Default Plastic surgeon

If you decide to have cosmetic treatment by a plastic surgeon and are in his waiting room for the first consultation. Look around you> If he has brightly coloured photographs of work by Picasso, I would just make my excuses and walk away.
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  #16  
Old 27th January 2022, 10:04 PM
EdmundH EdmundH is offline
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I have always liked photography as a way to capture fascinating things I see as I travel around; things which genuinely interest me. I come from a family of artists, and if I had the ability, I would probably paint these things instead. I do sometimes make Lino prints based on my photographs however.

Having shot a fair amount of film in recent years, and made a lot of prints, I've reached the conclusion that truly interesting photographs need to be made with a plan. Rather than wander around with a camera and hope to find subjects, I now wait until I have the inspiration to create a particular image or series. As a result, I probably only loaded a camera a couple of times last year, but I was actually pleased with the outcome.

I just received a selection of old Soviet films, so I'm inspired to have an outing to photograph brutalist concrete buildings and bridges, and hopefully make some gritty prints.
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  #17  
Old 27th January 2022, 10:28 PM
alexmuir alexmuir is online now
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That’s a good plan, Edmund. I hope some of your results will find their way into a FADU gallery.
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  #18  
Old 28th January 2022, 11:56 AM
snusmumriken snusmumriken is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EdmundH View Post
Having shot a fair amount of film in recent years, and made a lot of prints, I've reached the conclusion that truly interesting photographs need to be made with a plan. Rather than wander around with a camera and hope to find subjects, I now wait until I have the inspiration to create a particular image or series.
I came to a slightly different (but not incompatible) conclusion some years ago, that taking good photographs required 100% attention. When I was doing something else (e.g. at work, or being a dad), I rarely took any photos that were both good and of wider interest. Distractions earned me a reputation for "wandering off", which was swiftly and harshly curtailed by my kids. So now I either go out to take photographs, or I go out to do something else. In the latter case I still sometimes take a camera, but I don't have any expectation and usually return it to the shelf without ever pressing the button.

One thing I have found easier with time is to recognise the things that interest me, vague themes that have emerged with hindsight. Adding to those feels like collecting, rather than a plan. There's a moment of recognition, and the camera appears at my eye without conscious effort. It bothers me that some of these growing themes may have been influenced by photographers I admired, but there's not much I can do about that. And still the majority have to be culled.

Good luck with your brutalism plan, Edmund - do please share the result in due course.
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  #19  
Old 28th January 2022, 02:57 PM
big paul big paul is offline
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here's a quote from Mick Rock

·

"A camera is a wonderful ally. It requires minimal maintenance and provides entry to a world of endless imagery. Follow the frame, says I.” - Mick Rock
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  #20  
Old 31st January 2022, 04:30 PM
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skellum skellum is offline
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It bothers me that some of these growing themes may have been influenced by photographers I admired, but there's not much I can do about that.

Consider this: You aren't just mimicking photographer's you like. Rather, you admire those photographers because their choice of subject means something to you emotionally or intellectually. That is, they have opened a window for you to see what resonates with you.

I can easily think of photographers whose work I enjoy (Terence Donovan, Jerry Uelsmann) but who I have neither the desire nor talent to copy. I absolutely have caught myself out in the field thinking things like 'fay Godwin would like this light', but none of us is a blank canvas. We all grow up exposed to books, TV, movies, magazines and even unconsciously some of those influences will stick with us.
What I wouldn't do is to shy away from material which attracts me for fear of being derivative- you never know where that exploration will take you.
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