No Inspiration

[jiro]

Just acknowledge the transitions in life, we all go through that in its own time. Even as a photographer, there will be times where you simply want to be the observer without a camera at hand to savor the moment. The only weird thing is... we all seem to be in the same situation at the same time.

[Noice]

when i quit my apprenticeship in a tattoo shop just over a year ago, photography is actually what i turned to when i was drained of inspiration/creativity. i used that year long hiatus to learn a whole new medium.

i guess i can suggest picking up a new hobby or a preexisting one that you might have put aside as well.
always good to see things in a different light

[Katy Noelle]

I had another thought. While we're all twiddling our thumbs and mucking our way through "it", we don't necessarily have to put our cameras down. (Although, sometimes, that is just necessary and practical if it's way too busy.) I'm still taking photos, every day, and it's keeping my fingers familiar and the flow going and I'm sure that I must be learning something in the back of my mind - even though it brings up the feeling of being dissatisfied. Then, I look back on some of the photos and it wasn't all that bad. I'm, actually, doing what the others have said (encouraging advice, all!) but I'm still slugging away with the camera. Just another idea.

[Peter Ryan]

Hi Mary,

You may have noted that I have hardly posted here of late. I have been developing my photography skills in other directions to suit my needs but one of those was a conscience decision to make more comments here. This has helped me really test my knowledge by trying to talk about it. This improves my photographic observations as well and still allows me participate. If I get it wrong the gurus here (in the Mods) quietly correct my thoughts but I am learning to see and grow my vision and knowledge without necessarily taking images.

As members here I feel we often get caught up with trying to keep up other’s expectations in terms of posts in both number and quality. Everyone has different interest and life pressures. You need to develop a style that suits you and no one else. It has to be to your ends and for your enjoyment, not to meet the expectations of anyone else. Sometimes I post an image for comment because I want to see what others think about something I have tried. If they rubbish it then that’s OK I have received a broad input to evaluate. Many of the images I could post in competitions would not win but do sell well in the market. There is a great difference between an image that might win a camera club competition and one that someone finds pleasing and wants to put on their wall and look at. Often they do overlap.

I did teach myself the basics of composition (plenty of stuff of the net) and when I watch TV and a director holds a scene for a second or so for impact I try to evaluate if I like the scene or not (you don’t have to like it) and what composition effect did they use. The same for books and magazines. I never read the words – I like the pictures. I am an opportunistic photographer. I do not sit in hides, I don’t like still live or portraits with artificial lighting but this constant review of images helps me see images when I am out and about. I often go out with just one lens so that is all I can shoot. This changes your view on things. I do review, review and review my work including post production as my techniques improve.

Photography can take many directions and you need to be comfortable with what you are doing for yourself and if that means doing what the others have mentioned above then just take time out. Enjoy images everywhere for what they are and relish the joy of your improved vision. The next growth phase is just around the corner. I am sure when you do you will be closer to developing a confidence and style that suits your vision of the world and we will all enjoy it when it happens.

[MiniChris]

Peter, you are one of those rare individuuals I'd like to sit and have a nice long chat over a cup of tea (I don't drink coffee - odd American out). I always find your comments succinctly to the point and the one comment you've made in here, I like the most centers around a photo which does well in the marketplace, may or may not do well in a show, or vs/vs. I've already sold five prints of Busy Feet and it's not doing terribly well in the competition...there was one not long ago, a little girl trying to get a kite going on the beach which did poorly in the competition, but was sold to a high end advertising company for a fair chunk of change...one never knows and that really almost becomes an aside. We shoot toward an end which suits us, or at least we should be shooting toward that self centered goal.
Slumps are rarely terminal.

[Peter Ryan]

Thanks Chris,

I'm a tea drinker too so happy to share a brew.

[ilovelucydog]

Thanks, Peter. Yes, I did notice that you had disappeared... maybe to the Outback?

I think what is hard, is that for me, so many of the photos I take and love have a personal connection to me... they have a story and I can't translate it to the image. Today I took a bunch of pictures and maybe one or two are okay, but not what I had in my head or my heart.

I totally get what you are saying... time...

[ilovelucydog]

I voted for your 'Busy Feet'. I know good stuff when I see it.

[MiniChris]

I voted for your 'Busy Feet'. I know good stuff when I see it.

I knew there was something special about you....

[Peter Ryan]

Thanks, Peter. Yes, I did notice that you had disappeared... maybe to the Outback?

I think what is hard, is that for me, so many of the photos I take and love have a personal connection to me... they have a story and I can't translate it to the image. Today I took a bunch of pictures and maybe one or two are okay, but not what I had in my head or my heart.

I totally get what you are saying... time...

My partner likes photos of the farm, horses and cats as this is her life. When I show her other images she looks indifferently and says there ok or too arty-farty for me.

Photos need to be personal and sometimes trying to capture the essence of something in one shots cannot be done but a series of images worked on the subject shows what you are trying to day. There is no rule that says you have to put one image in a frame or on the page in your album. So try expressing yourself in a series based on the subject that interest you and see if you put together a story that way.

[Glenn NK]

What do you do when you've lost your inspiration? Too many emotional things going on. Nothing seems to work.

Welcome to the club I'm with right now. Nothing seems interesting anymore.

I tried forcing myself, but the results were pathetic. I'm just going to wait it out.

Glenn

[ilovelucydog]

I knew there was something special about you....

[ilovelucydog]

Welcome to the club I'm with right now. Nothing seems interesting anymore.

I tried forcing myself, but the results were pathetic. I'm just going to wait it out.

Glenn

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Tapping my fingers...

[mk00]

It's so good to hear such honest feelings and feedback from everyone here, and know it's not just me that has similar thoughts from time to time, especially about not being able to take a decent picture or one that comes out as you expected.
If I'm stuck for inspiration or what to take, I find something ordinary in the house or garden and try to work out how I could make it look interesting or different. I look on it as a way of forcing the brain to think a little differently and go down a different pathway. A lot of the time it's not even necessary to take the picture - just think about how it could be done.

[Wirefox]

I find a couple of slaps around the chops with bag of frozen peas usually does the trick........but not this time. I am finding it really difficult to find inspiration just lately. I guess its because my ears are playing silly beggars again. I can hardly hear anything even with my aids. I am having to lip read a lot more than usual and that tiring especially at work....photographing lips maybe. There are some good ideas in this thread. I usually find following the work of people who are on a roll on CiC can be helpful. Although I do not shoot their kind of stuff I find Donald Rob, Antonio's and Wendy's (amongst others) inspirational - they always turn out the quality and it pushes me to do the same. The other areas to stimulate the right side of the bonce are the beginners posts. Seeing their teething troubles always helps me to focus.

I'd like to meet you all for tea

Now theres a thought. We have a common room kitted out with Donalds tartan sofa, Rob's Laura Ashley cushions and my IKEA coffee table with three legs and an arm rest but why not a tea room.

You know the type of thing - square tables with sticky lino tops - ketchup bottles in the form of a plastic tomato, chipped white mugs and mismatched teaspoons. We could even have a tea lady like Mrs Overall from Acorn Antiques (volunteers?)

The master plan is this. The tea room is like live messaging where we can invite people into our conversations. Not photography because that would detract from the forum - but any problems or hassles that are on our minds. The conversations would be in real time and we could discuss the trials and tribulations of life - you know the stuff...Mrs Miggin's cat keeps peeing on your Dahlia's - little Jimmy insists in dressing in his sister's clothes - should I take a chainsaw to Mr Titchmarshes conifer hedge - all good stuff. We could even discuss world events like England winning at cricket, Britain sweeping all the Oscars or Britain leading the world in pop music - you know unbiased stuff like that.

There is a flaw to this masterplan however. Well two flaws actually

1. The Aussies and Kiwis would have to stay up all night just to keep up with the rest of the world. But I suppose they are used to that.
2. Nobody would invite me into their conversations because I am and ochard cuss, flatulant and slurp my tea from the saucer. So then we would need a smoking shed for outcasts like me. An old bus shelter in the most windswept area of the forum would do with a couple of ashtrays to stuff your McDonalds Happy Meal wrappers in and a bedraggled border of hardy perennials with some woodchippings to flick your fag ends in.

[mk00]

You know the type of thing - square tables with sticky lino tops - ketchup bottles in the form of a plastic tomato, chipped white mugs and mismatched teaspoons.

You've been looking in my kitchen window

[Wirefox]

You've been looking in my kitchen window

I think you are mistaking me for Dylan Thomas - easy mistake given my tinkling subliminal prose

[Dave Humphries]

Hi all,

I can definitely identify with what many are going through, I just "can't keep up" with what many notables turn out here. The cold weather isn't helping, work is 'silly busy' and the few days off are spent just lounging about doing little but watch TV, listen to music or mooch around here

I have shot some days, but rarely get past the culling stage into proper PP of the least bad shots

.....

Soooo; is now a good time to give people a "head's up" of the next Photo-a-Day challenge, it's due in April?

One reason to mention it early is to give us all a chance to start thinking of ideas - it always pays to have a few home/yard/garden shot ideas written down for the days when life gets the better of you and it's say 5pm and you haven't had/won't have, time to get out before midnight

You can see quite a few 'scraping the barrel' shots in my two P-a-Ds linked below
Perhaps they'll inspire? It certainly helps to have a reason to get off one's backside and pick up the camera.

Of course, there's nothing in the rules that says the shot has to be taken with your 'best' camera, tripod, et al - some of mine were shot with a Blackberry and many of you have iPhones, or other phones with cameras, so there's really no excuse - keep it in your hand, finger poised to catch that fleeting moment on the commute, or other regular journey. You can always go to town on it in PP to clean it up a little before showing us all. Or just keep it as a stand-by in case the planned shoot doesn't happen.

Any way, there you are; consider yourselves forewarned, so now get fore-armed and prepare for the onslaught.

(I'm not selling this very well, am I?)

[ilovelucydog]

It's so good to hear such honest feelings and feedback from everyone here, and know it's not just me that has similar thoughts from time to time, especially about not being able to take a decent picture or one that comes out as you expected.
If I'm stuck for inspiration or what to take, I find something ordinary in the house or garden and try to work out how I could make it look interesting or different. I look on it as a way of forcing the brain to think a little differently and go down a different pathway. A lot of the time it's not even necessary to take the picture - just think about how it could be done.

Very well said, Mike. That was sort of what I was thinking when I took a bunch of pics of a jar of ribbon and colored pencils. They actually, look kinda neat.

[ilovelucydog]

I find a couple of slaps around the chops with bag of frozen peas usually does the trick........but not this time. I am finding it really difficult to find inspiration just lately. I guess its because my ears are playing silly beggars again. I can hardly hear anything even with my aids. I am having to lip read a lot more than usual and that tiring especially at work....photographing lips maybe. There are some good ideas in this thread. I usually find following the work of people who are on a roll on CiC can be helpful. Although I do not shoot their kind of stuff I find Donald Rob, Antonio's and Wendy's (amongst others) inspirational - they always turn out the quality and it pushes me to do the same. The other areas to stimulate the right side of the bonce are the beginners posts. Seeing their teething troubles always helps me to focus.
Now theres a thought. We have a common room kitted out with Donalds tartan sofa, Rob's Laura Ashley cushions and my IKEA coffee table with three legs and an arm rest but why not a tea room.

You know the type of thing - square tables with sticky lino tops - ketchup bottles in the form of a plastic tomato, chipped white mugs and mismatched teaspoons. We could even have a tea lady like Mrs Overall from Acorn Antiques (volunteers?)

The master plan is this. The tea room is like live messaging where we can invite people into our conversations. Not photography because that would detract from the forum - but any problems or hassles that are on our minds. The conversations would be in real time and we could discuss the trials and tribulations of life - you know the stuff...Mrs Miggin's cat keeps peeing on your Dahlia's - little Jimmy insists in dressing in his sister's clothes - should I take a chainsaw to Mr Titchmarshes conifer hedge - all good stuff. We could even discuss world events like England winning at cricket, Britain sweeping all the Oscars or Britain leading the world in pop music - you know unbiased stuff like that.

There is a flaw to this masterplan however. Well two flaws actually

1. The Aussies and Kiwis would have to stay up all night just to keep up with the rest of the world. But I suppose they are used to that.
2. Nobody would invite me into their conversations because I am and ochard cuss, flatulant and slurp my tea from the saucer. So then we would need a smoking shed for outcasts like me. An old bus shelter in the most windswept area of the forum would do with a couple of ashtrays to stuff your McDonalds Happy Meal wrappers in and a bedraggled border of hardy perennials with some woodchippings to flick your fag ends in.

Steve, you definitely can paint a picture in my head with your words! I can picture it perfectly. How fun that would be. I keep hearing how on-line friends aren't 'real' friends... I disagree. This place has a feel of family to me. Even if my images aren't award winners, or money makers, you all 'get' it.