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09/08/2011 05:27:22 AM · #1 |
I'm not sure if this has come up, but I thought it would be interesting to hear why people on here shoot and what got them into photography. Particularly hearing from some of the really "established" members would be cool.
What brought you to photography originally? What keeps you in it now? What does photography give you?
For me, I've always been really observant of details around me, how things look, what's lurking under this or that, how things look and all the different ways of looking at things. Once I got some disposable money, I got a Fuji S9100 that enabled me to really start messing around with things and controlling how things looked. For me, a lot of what drove me initially was scene replication. I wanted to take what I literally saw and show it to people, take them to where I was, the moment. Now, I'd much rather take a scene that everybody knows and has seen and change it into something, to convey something which is always there, but not necessarily noticed. Photography gives me a way to express thoughts and ways of seeing, but more than that, it gives me a way to delve into not only myself, but the world around me, and I find that it's a very fulfilling interaction. When that same interaction gets triggered in somebody by my shot, that's when I'm most excited by things. Their interaction could be totally different, in many ways I prefer that it's different, but the interaction being there makes it for me. I also enjoy how photography physically takes me places, keeps me exploring.
So, what about you? |
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09/08/2011 05:32:34 AM · #2 |
I do it so I can get away from the house and the din of grating voices :O)
Ray |
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09/08/2011 05:49:41 AM · #3 |
I think you described perfectly many of my own motivations Derick, i sincerely think it helps us live more in the present and we definitely do notice more of them small details of life that were maybe ignored before, being able to marvel at the those tiny things is of great importance if you plan on being happy i think.
The down side of course is the addiction to DPC, very time consuming :)
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09/08/2011 06:21:43 AM · #4 |
When i was in high school, they sent me to this national competition for campus journalism. I was their representative for the editorial cartoon stuff. It was a long travel to the nationals and when we got there, the guy who was to take on the photojournalism contest got sick so they asked me to proxy for him. I think it was a kodak that they let me use. Gave me one day to learn how to use it. During contest day the theme was street photography. I took a snap of a lady selling fruits in a crowded street of Manila. During announcement of winners, i was so delighted to see my entry projected on a color slide... Right after they announced silver medal.
From that day, i wanted to be a photographer. But poverty did not allow me to afford it. I waited 15 years until i was able to buy my first slr. That same week, i joined dpc. Reality struck. It was a lucky shot 15 years prior to that :)
As to why i am holding a sony and not a canon or a nikon, that in itself is a long story that i woukd like to share. But i will save it for later. |
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09/08/2011 07:10:52 AM · #5 |
| My father had a photo bug so I must have inherited it from him. I used his B&W enlarger when I was a child. I was totally mesmerized about how the images appeared in the developer. That was a thrill! Then I spent years taking holiday snapshots with film and expensive prints. DSLR got to me back into photography with software being my new developer. I love seeing how PP can bring out details from the fog, darkness and shadows. I can spend many hours on that. The thrill is back! :) |
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09/08/2011 09:07:30 AM · #6 |
I was into photography as a teen. Had a darkroom in my parent's basement. Picked it up again in 2007, when I bought a Powershot S5 IS in order to take better photos of my daughter's drill team performances at football games. Got bitten by the bug again.
Took me a while to nail down what is is I enjoy about it, but I finally figured it out a few months ago: exploration. I like exploring the world with my camera. Which explains why I seem to prefer finding my shots, as opposed to creating them in a studio environment.
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09/08/2011 09:11:11 AM · #7 |
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09/08/2011 10:04:32 AM · #8 |
My mother was a photographer........she was a strong influence for all of the good things about me.
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09/08/2011 11:14:23 AM · #9 |
Background: Although I received my first camera at six years old and pretty much had cameras around me since, it all really started with this lucky shot in 2004:
This was taken with a Sony DSC-707 on automatic mode. My friends and family (always, right?) loved this shot and one of my friends wanted to buy a 20x30" print. Another asked me to donate three to a charity auction, all of which sold for good money. I liked that a lot! Money for something that I took a picture of? Oh yeah!
That got me excited to figure out how to get a picture like this more often, on purpose, and when I wanted to. So I started looking on the internet at tons of photos and one of them led me........here. Without exaggeration, I would say that 95% of what I know about photography has it's roots in DPChallenge. I either learned it here or was introduced to ideas, techniques, and concepts, etc. that led me to explore photography in so many ways and venues.
Careeer changes: For numerous reasons (not stress as people expect) I quit Air Traffic Control after 16 years and started a landscape design and installation business along with two nurseries. I thought that I had it all covered through diversification: 1) I grew thousands of trees from seeds and cuttings for sale to other nurseries, 2) sold large trees and plants to other nurseries and landscapers, and 3) provided retail installation of landscapes, ponds and waterfalls. I thought that my business was pretty much redundant and bulletproof. What I didn't expect was for all three facets to take a nosedive at the same time. This happened well before a downturn in the economy was even mentioned in the media and, in hindsight, seems to have been an indicator of where our economy was heading. Our industry felt it first and I lasted longer than most of my competitors. Finally, after several fantastic years and several dreadful years, I did two final awesome waterfall installations and I threw in the towel in November of last year.
Today: I had been having some success in photography without putting much effort into it and I wondered for a couple of years if I might be able to make a living from it if I tried. It was a daunting thought to rely on something to support my family that is not a necessity for most people and for that reason I trudged along trying to keep my previous businesses alive. I think that my timing to switch was pretty much perfect. Any earlier and I probably wouldn't have made it. Any later and I probably would have been completely ruined financially and would have had to sell my equipment for grocery money.
One thing that I have realized, at least for now in this current economy, is that it is extremely difficult to making a living selling "pretty pictures". I feel very confident in my future as a professional photographer in service related niches, however. I don't advertise at all in contrast to an annual advertising budget of $80,000 per year for my landscaping business. But I am getting a heck of a lot of interest in my photographic services, specifically in event photography, product photography, and dance studio photography.
What it gives me now: Other than the obvious, which is that I really enjoy photography, it provides me a decent living. My son simply rolls his eyes now because he has heard me ask him many times recently "Have I told you how much I love my job?" I am really happy that I am able to provide an income for us doing what I love. The future looks incredibly good too. In the short time that I committed to doing this full time (March of this year) I already have repeat customers and new clients referred by happy clients. I make it clear to all of my clients that I don't advertise and it is my goal to keep them happy so that they will have no desire to "roll the dice" and explore other options the next time. The way I see it is, once I've hooked them, they're mine! I have listened to the complaints that my clients and event organizers have had with their prior choice in photographers and I am determined not to duplicate their mistakes. I make it clear to them that once I have been retained, they can be assured that I've got everything under control as far as photography goes and they can focus their attention on other matters. Here is an excerpt from what I emailed to an event organizer just this morning:
Originally posted by Robert Sullivan Photography:
As always, I want to ensure that the photography side of things are worry free for my clients and event organizers. If there are any other concerns or issues that arise, please let me know and I'll address them immediately. |
This attitude takes me quite far in the eyes of my clients. I have been told by several dance studios owners things like "Our last photographer was so difficult to work with", "Our parents still haven't received their pictures from last year", "It was such a hassle collecting money for the pictures", etc. I am able to effectively communicate and prove that their experience with me will be totally different and far better. At  Skip's suggestion, I use Exposure Manager as my web host, photo lab, and 'right hand man'. I simply photography the event, upload proofs, process the images that are ordered then upload them, and Exposure Manager takes care of all of the rest in my name for very fair pricing. They collect the money, print, and ship in my name and together, we have an extremely fast turnaround. I have photographed a dance studio on a Sunday and clients who chose expedited shipping had their order delivered to them by Wednesday afternoon. The dance studio owners were amazed at the difference in service and have been added to the list of my references.
For the month of September I have plenty of work: South Florida Air Force Ball this Saturday with the Air Force Chief of Staff, General Norton Schwartz in attendance, shooting a charity event for Miami Dade Parks and Recreation that same morning, model comp card photo shoot for a dog, photo shoot to create a coffee table book for guests to sign at a Bar Mitzvah that I'll be shooting next year, a birthday party to shoot, a charity stand up paddleboard race that I'll be selling the photos of, and a product shoot for a dance wear manufacturer. That's in addition to my ongoing work doing product photography for a speargun maker and the products of Jimmy Lewis, INC, a manufacturer of surfboards, kiteboards, and standup paddle boards.
This all started with that photo, above, and everything that I learned here at DPChallenge. It was scary to contemplate switching careers yet again into a career that I doubted would stand a chance at success as compared to my previous careers, but I am very optimistic for my future. I have to give a lot of thanks to the people at DPChallenge who helped to provide an education in more ways than I could possibly list.
Message edited by author 2011-09-08 11:31:26. |
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09/08/2011 11:41:20 AM · #10 |
My brother had a darkroom when I was growing up, so I was developing film and making B&W prints with him. He went on to become an award winning and well known photographer in SW Florida after a few years in the Navy, and a career with the power company.
I began my shooting with a Polaroid or two, then about 1976, got my first SLR, a Canon TX. After a lot of print film shooting, I switched to slides so that I could actually see what I was shooting. I shot a lot of B&W when I was playing music on the road.
In 1999, a friend and his wife bought a Sony Digital Handicam with still shot (640x480 pix) for me, as I was preparing to be filmed an episode of JYWars in London. I spent a lot of time with it, learning more about how to compose and shoot, although resolution was nasty by today's standards, I have a lot of great memory shots from it.
In 05, my nephew, who took over my brother's architectural photo biz when he retired, gave me an S3 Pro Fuji. It was not long before I found DPChallenge, and most of the improvement in my style and technique has been learned from this site.
My friends here inspire me, and keep me wanting to shoot daily. Having a good DSLR helps a lot too. It makes it very easy to do things that I could not do with the S3 without a lot of effort and some good luck.
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09/08/2011 01:15:27 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by Strikeslip:
Originally posted by spiritualspatula:
...
1. What brought you to photography originally?
2. What keeps you in it now?
3. What does photography give you?... |
1.  Art Roflmao
2. Art Roflmao
3. Art Roflmao
|
And to think... I always thought you got into it for all the woodies...
Cool to hear everybody's background here and what keeps them in it. Do you darkroom folks still do any of that, or have you completely given it up?
I'm sorta working that part in reverse; digital first and then all the film afterward. It's been a pretty fun learning experience so far, still have a boatload to learn though...
ETA: Waddy, which JYWar were you on?! I loved watching those and was bummed when they took them off air here...
Message edited by author 2011-09-08 13:23:05. |
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09/08/2011 01:52:53 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by RayEthier:
I do it so I can get away from the house and the din of grating voices :O)
Ray |
+1 |
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09/08/2011 02:07:57 PM · #13 |
I got my first point and shoot when I was 16. At that point, I wouldn't describe it as a hobby really. I would go out and take pictures of flowers (and only flowers) and think that I had taken the best pictures evah! Then my senior year of high school I joined the yearbook and became the photo editor. I still sucked, but I was getting more serious about it.
Then I received my current camera (Rebel XTi) as a graduation gift and that sparked everything. I started shooting intentionally with specific goals in mind, learned about apeture, ISO and shutter speed through trial and error, and got away from using auto. Its slowly grown as a hobby more and more in the three years that have followed. Finally this summer I got a job as a camp photographer and now the hobby has turned into an obsession, where I can spend hours every day reading photography blogs etc.
That's the how. The why is a little harder to explain. Mainly, I enjoy finding beauty in small things that the hoi polloi doesn't even notice, such as the play of light on a mundane object or the brilliance of a tiny flower that nobody else would see.
I also love the peace that photography gives me. It doesn't matter how my life is going, how stressed I am, or what terrible thing happened a few hours earlier...when I am taking pictures, I am lost in the moment. Nothing matters besides the feel of the camera in my hand, the sound of the shutter, and the play of light in front of my eyes. My heart feels at peace with the world when I am taking pictures. All troubles go away. |
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