Does where you live affect your photography?

[Shadowman]

Speaking of macro photography to Ted and the OP, why not make a day of scouting for potential still life items to take back home for some studio shooting. When it gets cold and snowy here in WNY my photography tends to go indoors anyway, although I am tempting to try some shoreline winter shots again this year.

[drjuice]

Hi, Shadowman -

We used to have a monthly photo contest that had a particular theme. Unfortunately, it's been pretty much dormant since last spring. However, whenever I have some time and want to find something to photograph (and I'm not on a roadtrip) I take a look there. I only submitted a couple of images to the contest before it went dormant. But, since I've been doing that I've taken several images right around where I live with some pretty good results. The great thing about the contest topics is not any particular topic, but that I seem to always be able to find something to go out and find that fits into a particular topic. One I took and submitted was of a palm tree in our parking lot at subset. Another (which I didn't submit) was of the tiled roof of the building across the way with hail on it. The interesting thing to me is that the next time we had a rainstorm, I tried to get the rainslick tiles. They looked remarkably similar to the tiles with hail on them. If you look into the Contests part of this website, you should see the announcement thread for the monthly themed contest.

Another source of subjects would be to take a look at Outdoor Photographer or Shutterbug. Both of them have monthly "assignments" and the assignments are quite varied, but give an opportunity to point readers in a different direction than they may normally travel. I try to go out given the assignment and catch three to six images (or more sometimes). Then, I wait until they publish the images that their judges consider best satisfy the assignment and look at my images and compare them with what the judges say about the assignment "winners".

Good luck!

virginia

[Shadowman]

Hi, Shadowman -

We used to have a monthly photo contest that had a particular theme. Unfortunately, it's been pretty much dormant since last spring. However, whenever I have some time and want to find something to photograph (and I'm not on a roadtrip) I take a look there. I only submitted a couple of images to the contest before it went dormant. But, since I've been doing that I've taken several images right around where I live with some pretty good results. The great thing about the contest topics is not any particular topic, but that I seem to always be able to find something to go out and find that fits into a particular topic. One I took and submitted was of a palm tree in our parking lot at subset. Another (which I didn't submit) was of the tiled roof of the building across the way with hail on it. The interesting thing to me is that the next time we had a rainstorm, I tried to get the rainslick tiles. They looked remarkably similar to the tiles with hail on them. If you look into the Contests part of this website, you should see the announcement thread for the monthly themed contest.

Another source of subjects would be to take a look at Outdoor Photographer or Shutterbug. Both of them have monthly "assignments" and the assignments are quite varied, but give an opportunity to point readers in a different direction than they may normally travel. I try to go out given the assignment and catch three to six images (or more sometimes). Then, I wait until they publish the images that their judges consider best satisfy the assignment and look at my images and compare them with what the judges say about the assignment "winners".

Good luck!

virginia

Virginia,

Thank you for the leads on subject matter. Another quick assignment that was featured on this site was to take 5 photos within a certain time frame, I believe it was 5 or 10 minutes, and each photo had to be unrelated to each other.

[Loose Canon]

We are surrounded by Beauty. It is a Heritage Gift to us.

All we have to do is open our eyes, our Hearts, and our minds and see, Kim.

It’s there. It’s up to us to find it.

I have Faith in you! Go get it!

[Jeff S]

I live in a place that most people would say is beautiful, although there are limitations (so those of you who think your location is boring may have some advantages that I lack). Where I live there are no changes of seasons (unless you call a 10 degree shift in temperature a "season"), if I could get in a car and drive in a straight line for one hour in any direction I would end up in the ocean (it's a small island and there are no weekend drives to a distant place), and most of the signature spots have been photographed to death by amateurs and professionals who easily surpass my skill set. No problem for me. I still like to hike around the island and shoot whatever suits me at the moment.

One thing that makes it even more fun: I have a friend who sometimes joins me and the conversation alone is worth the experience. Last weekend we hiked up a trail that I've hiked at least ten times before with the intention of shooting some WWII pillboxes that are still on the island (a "project" as Donald suggested). We never got there because we happened on field after field of really crazy flowers that had never been in bloom on my past hikes. We ended up spending a couple of hours shooting them, trying to make photos that we could use with stacking software (something that is new for me). Just getting outside can be a serendipitous experience.

Even though I've lived here for 10 years and I've been using digital cameras off and on since 2004 and film cameras before that, I still find it fun just to get outside, get some exercise, and enjoy nature. If I happen to be shooting one of the signature tourist spots, so be it. It's a tourist spot because something about it is exceptional and I'm content to try my hand at whatever that happens to be. As others have pointed out, the light and the sky are never the same again; each day is a gift in and of itself.

I'm not looking to become the next Ansel Adams (good thing, because it's not going to happen) but I do want to indulge my creative impulses. The more time I spend going back to the same spots the more I tend to see. If it involves hiking, so much the better...I need the exercise.

So much of life involves self-motivation. Lucky for me, I've never had a short supply of that. Virtually all of us enjoy photography (or we wouldn't be here). Next opportunity you get, grab your camera, call a friend and head out somewhere, anywhere, and see what develops.

[AB26]

We are surrounded by Beauty. It is a Heritage Gift to us.

And all we need is to SEE it.

[IShootPeople]

I suppose one of the big things for a lot of us is that either the area we inhabit is full of things that we've seen to death and therefore do not interest us, or like many have said, they have already been photographed a million times and it can be hard to see it in a new and different viewpoint.

My problem right now is the weather. I live in the Southern US and we're regularly in 90 F/23 C weather. Add to that, storms can come in during the afternoons because of the heat buildup. Now, I would like to think that the storms would bring in some great shot opportunities, but because of the overall heat, the sky is very hazy and the clouds are just not the beautiful images that I see others getting. Add on top of all that, the land here is very flat with large patches of field, which does not always lend itself to good photo opportunities for approaching weather.

There are still interesting things to see and photograph, I just need to look closer, I suppose. I'm also struggling through a few hang ups in my skills that I need to work out. I am trying very hard to persevere through them, because I have a tendency to get frustrated and walk away when things get tough. I think that is also feeding a lot of my malaise in my surroundings. I'm not happy with my skills and therefore any pictures I take of the surrounding area do not turn out as I hope and I end up blaming the subject!

[xpatUSA]

Speaking of macro photography to Ted and the OP, why not make a day of scouting for potential still life items to take back home for some studio shooting.

That's a good idea. I've occasionally brought accidental finds back to the bench. This life was not "still" so a bit of care was needed:



For those of us who live in what we perceive as mundane surroundings, one avenue is to seek out compositional stuff: texture, spatial relationships, angles, perspectives (said he who sees such stuff by accident usually).



3:1 crop, just a snapshot. It breaks a rule or two, the crop was more about playing with aspect ratios than obeying the rule of thirds, incorporating lines, etc.

[AB26]

I'm not happy with my skills and therefore any pictures I take of the surrounding area do not turn out as I hope and I end up blaming the subject!

Hi Kim,

Now I know what your problem is. You have never played Golf, have you? It works like this:

When you start playing Golf you initially hit the ball sweet and straight. It all seems so easy. Your handicap improves and you feel very good about the way you have mastered the game. Then one day you suddenly find yourself playing way over your handicap. You cannot get a tee shot going down the fairway. You start shanking, toeing, hooking, pushing doveing and all sorts of mistakes because you simply cannot keep your head down. Your game gets worse and eventually you hit the bottom of the ditch. Now you are simply playing GOLF. (“moer en soek”- “hit and seek”) Your handicap gets worse an you feel like throwing in the towel.

Do not despair, it simply cannot get worse. You go back to the driving range and back to basics. Your game slowly improves. You are out of the ditch. Your handicap improves from 24 to 16 to 12 to 10. Then you need more and more practice to get into a single figure handicap. Once you hit the single figures you are playing good Golf but improve very slowly and it takes time to lower your handicap.

At the moment you are in the ditch, it cannot get worse. It is the critical time just before drastic improvement starts setting in. You are learning and from here on you will only get better. You think about your skills and how to improve. You are working on improving your “game”.

Good news Kim – It will get better and you will find your photography skills improving. Keep on practicing and “analysing your game”, no more down hill, from here it is up hill all the way – all the way to the top of “your game”.

Keep going!

[Glenn NK]

This thread puts me in mind of an old (and not very uplifting or inspiring) saying:

Familiarity breeds contempt.

I've been living in a very beautiful photogenic city for 13 years (tourists come here by the thousands), but I need something different. I'm going to Germany, Luxembourg, France, and Italy for three weeks starting 20 August. I hope to be inspired.

Glenn

PS to Arlen (post No.17): I can't wait to get back to Oregon - we spent two weeks in 2011 on the Oregon Coast - fabulous.

[Stagecoach]

Kim,

I have to admit that I have not read all of the posts yet but here's my answer to your question, YES.

Three years ago I moved from the UK out to Fiji onto the main island and near the capital city and photography has been my main hobby for the past six years. What I have found is that photographic opportunity is far more limited unless you want to become a master of palm trees, beaches and sunsets so I have tended to concentrate on my macro work.

So how does this place affect my photography ?, here's a list,

a) There are no camera shops although one of the 'duty free' places has recently started selling the entry level Nikon DSLRs. I built my kit up before I came here and treat it like a baby because I know I can not pop down the road to replace anything.

b) There are no shops selling photo magazines so my previous interest (or forced interest) of keeping up with every new models and gadgets is no more. I am concentrating on getting the most out of what I have which to date has not been a problem.

c) I can not get insurance for my equipment here so have to be very careful with what I do and where I go with it.

d) The weather limits things either due to rain or very high humidity and for macro outside, the wind. These conditions have an affect on my gear in that I now have three lenses showing fungus although stored well after each use.

e) For macro work with flowers it is very difficult to find pristine samples even from the flower stalls or shops as just about anything growing seems to be diseased in some way.

f) Walking around in the town with a decent camera will get you noticed and on two occasions now I have been approached and asked which newspaper I work for. We have almost nothing in the way of decent architecture and what there is of interest it's pretty unlikely to get an image without a major eyesore in it.

Perhaps that all sounds a bit harsh for what many consider is an idyllic Pacific island paradise but I still seem to spend ample hours with my camera.

[Shadowman]

Kim,

I have to admit that I have not read all of the posts yet but here's my answer to your question, YES.

Three years ago I moved from the UK out to Fiji onto the main island and near the capital city and photography has been my main hobby for the past six years. What I have found is that photographic opportunity is far more limited unless you want to become a master of palm trees, beaches and sunsets so I have tended to concentrate on my macro work.

So how does this place affect my photography ?, here's a list,

a) There are no camera shops although one of the 'duty free' places has recently started selling the entry level Nikon DSLRs. I built my kit up before I came here and treat it like a baby because I know I can not pop down the road to replace anything.

b) There are no shops selling photo magazines so my previous interest (or forced interest) of keeping up with every new models and gadgets is no more. I am concentrating on getting the most out of what I have which to date has not been a problem.

c) I can not get insurance for my equipment here so have to be very careful with what I do and where I go with it.

d) The weather limits things either due to rain or very high humidity and for macro outside, the wind. These conditions have an affect on my gear in that I now have three lenses showing fungus although stored well after each use.

e) For macro work with flowers it is very difficult to find pristine samples even from the flower stalls or shops as just about anything growing seems to be diseased in some way.

f) Walking around in the town with a decent camera will get you noticed and on two occasions now I have been approached and asked which newspaper I work for. We have almost nothing in the way of decent architecture and what there is of interest it's pretty unlikely to get an image without a major eyesore in it.

Perhaps that all sounds a bit harsh for what many consider is an idyllic Pacific island paradise but I still seem to spend ample hours with my camera.

You just killed my dream of wanting to visit Fiji.

[RustBeltRaw]

You just killed my dream of wanting to visit Fiji.

Go to Istanbul. It's massively photogenic. And a highly caffeinated city with crazy energy and a pulse like a hummingbird's.

When I went to Key West, I came to conclusions very similar to Graham's. There were stalls all over the place selling chocolate-dipped key lime pie on a stick, for crissakes. It was the worst kind of tourist trap (especially Duval Street), saved only by excellent diving and wandering way off the beaten path looking for photos. At one point, I went looking for urban decay shots, mainly because I was pissed about people coming to Detroit and taking them. So I spent about six hours shooting empty hotels and abandoned sewage pipes just to get even. Not exactly mature, but considerably different from your average island shot.

Unique stuff's out there, even in the most familiar, picked-over spots. You just have to dig.

[Shadowman]

Go to Istanbul. It's massively photogenic. And a highly caffeinated city with crazy energy and a pulse like a hummingbird's.

When I went to Key West, I came to conclusions very similar to Graham's. There were stalls all over the place selling chocolate-dipped key lime pie on a stick, for crissakes. It was the worst kind of tourist trap (especially Duval Street), saved only by excellent diving and wandering way off the beaten path looking for photos. At one point, I went looking for urban decay shots, mainly because I was pissed about people coming to Detroit and taking them. So I spent about six hours shooting empty hotels and abandoned sewage pipes just to get even. Not exactly mature, but considerably different from your average island shot.

Unique stuff's out there, even in the most familiar, picked-over spots. You just have to dig.

Good to know. Just got back from Budapest and was warned away from visiting the decayed sections of town. Luckily the touristy areas had plenty to photograph and with Danube River just a mile away from hotel, plenty to view.

[Glenn NK]

Well, after reading all the posts, it seems that if familiarity doesn't breed contempt, it sure seems to lead to disinterest/apathy/ennui/jadedness - take your pick.

It IS very hard to keep working with the same old, same old, stuff.

Glenn

[Kaye Leggett]

Some of the problem is we get too familiar with our own surroundings but when we are the tourist it is all new. We have a board in our kitchen of things we want to do - it has included some really local things that all the tourists do which we never have, e.g. (in our case) visit Blenheim Palace, visit Churchill's grave - these two we've done, there are still loads more, including our own village museum which has been on the list for two years !! (maybe we'll do that this weekend).

So make a list....... ???

[Brownbear]

Grahame, as someone who recently moved back to Canada after living in the tropics for a few years you have my complete empathy for a,b,c, and d... (ask returning vacationers to bring you books and gear)

I miss the dramatic stormy skies, the huge billowing clouds, the colourful markets and fruits, the exotic birds, and flowers at first bloom. The sunsets and sunrises, the island and seashore vistas, the exotic bugs, lizards and reptiles I found at my front door, the unique wildlife, the weathered faces full of character, the faces of the children, goats and horses sharing the streets with cars, the cultural events, the weathered rickety fishing boats and yachts, the blue waters and emerald green vistas found everywhere, the giant leaves, surfers, and so on.

I have not been to Fiji yet, but I have been to the Cook Islands and yes, and its' a photographic paradise... Polynesian dancers and an exciting world of macro... I'm missing paradise (but not the heat and humidity)

Yesterday I took a photo of a highrise in the concrete jungle, something about the light looked nice but I have yet to unload the photo, so we will see if it is beautiful or not



John, visit Fiji the first chance you get!

Kim,

I have to admit that I have not read all of the posts yet but here's my answer to your question, YES.

Three years ago I moved from the UK out to Fiji onto the main island and near the capital city and photography has been my main hobby for the past six years. What I have found is that photographic opportunity is far more limited unless you want to become a master of palm trees, beaches and sunsets so I have tended to concentrate on my macro work.

So how does this place affect my photography ?, here's a list,

a) There are no camera shops although one of the 'duty free' places has recently started selling the entry level Nikon DSLRs. I built my kit up before I came here and treat it like a baby because I know I can not pop down the road to replace anything.

b) There are no shops selling photo magazines so my previous interest (or forced interest) of keeping up with every new models and gadgets is no more. I am concentrating on getting the most out of what I have which to date has not been a problem.

c) I can not get insurance for my equipment here so have to be very careful with what I do and where I go with it.

d) The weather limits things either due to rain or very high humidity and for macro outside, the wind. These conditions have an affect on my gear in that I now have three lenses showing fungus although stored well after each use.

e) For macro work with flowers it is very difficult to find pristine samples even from the flower stalls or shops as just about anything growing seems to be diseased in some way.

f) Walking around in the town with a decent camera will get you noticed and on two occasions now I have been approached and asked which newspaper I work for. We have almost nothing in the way of decent architecture and what there is of interest it's pretty unlikely to get an image without a major eyesore in it.

Perhaps that all sounds a bit harsh for what many consider is an idyllic Pacific island paradise but I still seem to spend ample hours with my camera.

[Shadowman]

[QUOTE=Christina S;331009]Grahame, as someone who recently moved back to Canada after living in the tropics for a few years you have my complete empathy for a,b,c, and d... (ask returning vacationers to bring you books and gear)

John, visit Fiji the first chance you get!

Christina,

I plan to, the only problem is it will probably involve cruise line travel (to see as much as possible for lowest cost) which I am not familiar with or too keen on undertaking. But it will happen, perhaps I'll include the Marshall Islands and other areas as well.

[Brownbear]

Hi John,

I too, was a very reluctant cruiser because I get seasick and feel that my explorations are limited... However, I took a cruise to Alaska and a river cruise in Portugal, and it is a very comfortable and convenient way to travel, as long as you choose a quality cruise line.

Book it...


[QUOTE=Shadowman;331034]

Grahame, as someone who recently moved back to Canada after living in the tropics for a few years you have my complete empathy for a,b,c, and d... (ask returning vacationers to bring you books and gear)

John, visit Fiji the first chance you get!

Christina,

I plan to, the only problem is it will probably involve cruise line travel (to see as much as possible for lowest cost) which I am not familiar with or too keen on undertaking. But it will happen, perhaps I'll include the Marshall Islands and other areas as well.

[Kaye Leggett]

I was reading this thread last night and empathising - then wandered outside and the sky was beautiful.... The light lasted at the most 5 minutes, these are taken literally from my back door.







If there a moral to this, its maybe not to stop looking and always to have the camera handy of course !