Why do you take that picture

[chauncey]

First, a little humor from one of my six adopted African American children that are being raised
in a pure red-neck fashion. While running errands yesterday she said to her brother, "shut up
Jon or we'll tie you to the roof and pretend that you're a dead deer."

Anyway, it's their first day back to school...did the obligatory happy-dance and am feeling contemplative.

In the beginning there were a ton of the standard memory shots...the ones that in times past were
relegated to the shoe box in the closet but now occupy space on our hard drives.
At this stage of my hobby I only will squeeze that shutter if there's a potential for it being a wall-hanger.
It might take a while working the scene in situ or at the kitchen table, but that would be my goal.

I can only assume that other hobbyists and non-directed Pros have the same motivations...
what are your goals when taking that picture?

[Brownbear]

To capture a special moment/feeling, the personality of the subject, fun and action, or just a beautiful scene...

[Mike Buckley]

To make a photo that moves me and hopefully others and to enjoy the entire process along the way.

[chauncey]

Yes but, are you printing and hanging them?

[AB26]

It gives me joy capturing moments in time that can never ever be repeated again.

[Polar01]

I squeeze the trigger now more if I think there is potential to learn more about, how can I say thing, how I can change the reality of what was or is there to the reality of what I see and feel. This does lead to a number of wall hanger.

Cheers:

Allan

[Nancy Moran G]

Like Phil Collins sang, "I can't dance, can't sing", and I also can't paint or draw or .....
But am just enjoying being out and capturing 'that' moment/mood with a photo. I am also enjoying the learning process and the 'hey, I did it" when I see a good photo that I am proud of.
Don't have ANY wall space to hang a photo as I travel in an RV, no house!
Nancy

[drjuice]

But, Nancy, that's what the cabinet drawers/doors and ceilings are for in an RV! A friend specified that the ceilings in his RV should be metal with a powder finish so that the panels wouldn't be damaged by Scotch tape, which is outstanding for that application. His RV looks a lot like the ceiling (but with different content) of my dentist's treatment rooms. When I told him about having had an office in an old radio studio once with the Nixon's the One to "advertise" Honda motorbikes, my dentist redecorated.

And, since you're moving the RV around every few days, you can always remember where you were last week that way! ;~)

virginia

[drjuice]

Generally, I take a picture because I like something in the area and want to capture it. My second reason is that I enter local photo contests a couple of times a year and one of them has to have pictures taken in particular areas of the local mountains. So, during a couple of times of the year when I know the animals will be active at times of the day when the light will be good on their habitats, I'll take pictures of specific critters I've been watching for a few years. I recently got a really excellent picture of two red-striped turtles one a limb over their home pond (one the size of a two-layer 8-inch diameter birthday cake and the other about half again as large) a boy and a girl if you haven't figured it out and panorama-ed them together. ;~)

virginia

[NorthernFocus]

I take photos to re-live special moments in time. One thing that I find about photography that can't be shared with others is to be taken back in time to the time of capture. I find that when I have taken the time to study a scene in order to capture it well, I have the most vivid memories of that experience. Likewise when I manage to capture a good wildlife shot. Even though the image may represent 1/2500 of a second in time, viewing it later brings back memories of the most intricate details of the entire outing that I was on when I made the capture. When I look at a bird in flight shot I can recall the exact time, weather conditions, how I was set up, etc.

While I do enjoy sharing my work and get satisfaction when others like it, the real motivation and enjoyment is extremely personal.

[Brownbear]

Yes but, are you printing and hanging them?

Sorry, Chauncey I see I missed the point of your question.

I've printed some of my photos (actually I have others print them for me) and I have over a dozen of my nature shots, hanging in my home... The problem is that since joining Cambridge in Colour, I've become quite proficient at picking out all the flaws in my photos and I see these every day...

I have about ten boxes stuffed with photo albums full of photos, and a few boxes of unsorted photos stuffed with photos in storage, which I intend to sort through one day, hoping to find a few keepers to scan... These are photos from past annual vacations, and yes, I subjected my close friends and family members many hours viewing my photos simply because I adored sharing my travels with others, hoping to inspire them to travel too. Today I share my photos with friends and family who live in other parts of the world on Facebook, and I think that is a wonderful thing to be able to do.


Seriously, I've used photos to promote community events and fundraisers, increase awareness local initiatives (homeless animals, individuals/families needing financial assistance, environmental issues, etc). I think that images can prove to be very powerful tools when they are used for this purpose.

One day I hope to return to Mexico and while there I hope to capture a decent image of a flock of Green Parrotlets in flight. (I think I can do it with my new camera).... These are tiny, gorgeous little green and blue birds that reside in the tree tops of certain rare trees in groups of 20-50 for their entire lifespan... These birds live for about 20 years mate for life and are highly gregarious.... They fly from tree top to tree top at top speed. A glimpse of these beautiful birds and listening to their sing-song is truly a magical experience.

Sadly, the less affluent locals try to earn a living by capturing entire flocks of these birds by placing nets over the tops of these trees. Then they separate the birds from each other, place them in tiny wire cages and sell them to locals and tourists driving by on the highway, at local markets etc.... The survival of these beautiful birds is endangered. If I could capture several beautiful images of these birds flying in a flock, I think they would be a great means to increase awareness of their plight.

PS
I also take photos with no purpose at all, ie; simply for curiosities sake or to learn something new, oftentimes it is because I was inspired by an image I spotted on Cambridge. Just the other day I found a grasshopper in my home (first ever, so it was likely fate) so I placed it inside a glass which I set in the window and took a few photos of it, which led to a few other interesting photos... These types of photos eventually end up in my trash bin, when I get around to the task but I always learn something new by trying.

PPS
Gifts for friends and family

[FlyingSquirrel]

My feelings/reasons are somewhat similar to Dan's (NorthernFocus)...about reliving the memories, pretty much everything he said is accurate for me as well, except I would add to mine:

- I consider myself an artist (among other things) and so, one of the many reasons I take photos are when I believe the photo can become something highly attractive to look at. I guess the judgement of the photo is a personal one and is what I think would be attractive, not necessarily what someone else would. So I guess I photograph what interests me in hopes that I can create an image that I really like (and then can look back at and get the memories again, etc)

- and following the above, I would then hope that other people would agree that the photo is attractive / moving / interesting etc and would enjoy viewing the photo

- and I love actually being out in the field and enjoying what I am doing with the plants and animals, etc, and taking photos actually amplifies the enjoyment immensely for me for some reason. Seeing an awesome animal or event or a rare flower or something is exciting, but when I lock my lens onto the subject, things go up about 10 notches

- and another point is that I will be going professional some day, so I try to get as many images as possible that are of professional quality and/or of use to sell in the future or for some use that will help me in that goal in some way.. This would also include tests/experiments/practice/learning etc shots

That probably covers a good bit of it, but I'm sure I'm forgetting some points

[ShaneS]

I find that carrying a camera with me makes me more aware/observant of what is going on around me and, like Dan and Matt, find that the images I create bring back vivid memories of time and place (as well as personal growth in terms of how I can better capture images in the future to convey to others what I saw and felt). Like others I do find that I am more selective about when I press the shutter these days but I am also trying to experiment a bit more with varying compositions and really try to "work a scene" to see what comes of it. Most end up in the rubbish bin, but I learn a little bit with every release of the shutter.

I haven't had great success with consistently creating wall hangers but continue to strive towards that goal. I have recently had some positive feedback on a few images and am working up the nerve to put them out there for the world outside of CiC and Facebook to see...

[jcuknz]

Yes but, are you printing and hanging them?

Almost never For one thing I don't have any spare wallspace.

[pnodrog]

It seems like a good idea at the time!