Are photographs the main reason you photograph?

BobNewYork · Mar 10, 2009

My brain really is hurting - more now than earlier

I'll be back!

Bob H

TA-Reiland · Mar 10, 2009

Interesting questions - got me to thinking.

I enjoy it all, within limits. If I spent all my time at it, I know I wouldn't enjoy it so much.

First, I'll readily admit to being a gadget freak. I figure that some who read my introduction probably felt that I was being somewhat boastful. Okay - maybe I was. Sorry if that was off-putting. But, I'm not into photography just for the machinery.

I'm also a process freak. I like the darkroom work. That's also what makes me good at what I do for a living.

I love to look at photos - old family photos, well-made B&W's, and old photos such as those on shorpy.com. Galleries and showings are few around here. I do go to them because it's usually work by local folks, and it's interesting to see how they see the part of the world we share. It also helps me realize how I'd like to see my own photos - I find that I'm drawn to detailed, tack-sharp B&W photos without any image manipulation other than dodging and burning.

I love to make photos. Last Saturday morning, I was out along the river near my home. I wanted to catch some morning light with one of my MF's, but I wasn't particularly in the mood for it until after I had begun exposing some film. But, then I got into that focused (pardon the pun), meditative state - "in the groove" if you will - wherein the rest of the world falls away, and the photos begin to find me. I've also begun carrying a small 35mm rangefinder just about everywhere so I can "document life," or a small part of it anyway. For some reason, that is important to me just now. I'm looking forward to seeing if I can make interesting prints from some of my grab shots.

So, I find joy in all of it. Like Steve Smith, I think of music (I play fiddle and highland bagpipes). Many times, when playing music or making photos in public, I have to go out of my comfort zone. I have to push myself and really think about what I'm doing. Not so much with the music because there's a lot of muscle memory involved, but it's still such a different thought process that challenges me. I'd like to think that it makes me a better person. I'm also my own worst critic, which I suspect many of us here on APUG are.

Great thread - thanks 2F/2F for starting it.

Thomas

Cheryl Jacobs · Mar 10, 2009

For me, it's not at all about the prints, or even about having a creative outlet. I photograph people, and I do it because it's my way of empathizing and understanding those around me, and presenting them as unique individuals to those who may view my images.

What I love most about photographing people is that it is a tangible way to tell them that they are important, that they matter, that they are "good enough" to be remembered just as they are.

- CJ

SilverGlow · Mar 10, 2009

The print is everything, for me. The prime directive; the whole point of it.

There is nothing better then looking at my own print. It's the "climax" of this sex we call photography.

Still, the journey is half the reward...the process of making the picture can be very satisfying too.

In other words, photography without the print is like sex without the climax. Otherwise, you're just a masterbator....

keithwms · Mar 10, 2009

SilverGlow said:
In other words, photography without the print is like sex without the climax. Otherwise, you're just a masterbator....

I have to say, I certainly wouldn't characterize someone is such terms even if our opinions differed!

Look, we all know folks who gush effusively over poor and inexpressive prints just because they were done with some exotic process. There are plenty of examples of people, er, pleasing themselves in that way as well.

There is an apt Russian phrase, kazhdi drochit kak on khochet, which means (to translate it politely) everybody pulls the way he wants....

JBrunner · Mar 10, 2009

I'm in it for the printing. Photographing is fun, but effort for me, as is developing, but printing, I love to print. The prints themselves I enjoy, but the first printing of a good one.. Thats the $&!#.

Ed Sukach · Mar 10, 2009

2F/2F said:
Is the creation of photographs the main reason you photograph?

At the most basic level, yes, of course the primary intent is to produce a photograph. I think the more interesting question would be, "What motivates you to make a photograph?" In honesty, I could have two answers to that; First, I don't really know. I seem to feel better doing photography than I do NOT doing photography, but other than that, I have been unable to understand that obsession (common to all obsessions.). Second, that is FAR too complex a question - I am sure I could come up with a myriad of reasons for each and every exposure ... and not be confident of the truth of any of them.

Do you even love to look at photographs?

Many. Most of them. It helps to NOT be judgemental. Every photograph seems to "connect" me, at some level with its photographer.

Or is it simply the joy of the act of photography?

Yes. Both.

Is it something that it makes you feel, or a way it makes you act?

Again, yes to both. I sort of have trouble separating .... no, that is not quite correct. I can't remember the last time I've ever tried for that separation, not in art/ photography. Nor can I imagine any reason why I would, or should. Is there a valid reason for the elimination of either emotion and/ or a action linked to it?

Does it bring you out of your shell?

Again -- this MUST sound repetitive ... It both draws "me" out, and wraps "me" deeper. Both at once. Amazing, and no, I don't understand it.

Has it changed you as a person and your philosophies and experiences in life?

Yes, it has.

Is it wrong to do it just for myself?

No, it isn't. Not even a little bit.

Honestly, some people think that it is. They get VERY upset at my level of interest in photographs or at my slow pace at providing a product for all to see.

They are wrong! Simply. I would advise AGAINST letting ANYONE do, or attempt to do your photography for you.

Do I need to team up with someone who is more into the actual photos?

I am not sure why you, or anyone else, should want to. The vision and insights of others are of some interest, but the real obstacle to overcome is in establishing your own STYLE. That style, or taste is imbedded in each and every one of us. The difficulty, and it is a real problem, involves courage and confidence. It is easy, deadly easy, to be sidetracked by others ... that will dilute and delay the process.

Have faith in yourself!!

eddym · Mar 10, 2009

Cheryl Jacobs said:
What I love most about photographing people is that it is a tangible way to tell them that they are important, that they matter, that they are "good enough" to be remembered just as they are.

- CJ

Oooo, that's a good one! I like that! My "philosophy" when I am shooting people is that when they are in front of my lens, they are the most important people in the world to me. I try to make them feel that way, and I believe it myself.

matti · Mar 10, 2009

I like it both ways. Sometimes thinking it all backwards from the frame, printing, processing to the lens choice and subject matter. Sometimes I just see the world through my Leica.
/matti

gandolfi · Mar 10, 2009

perkeleellinen said:
Like kavandje, I have an animosity with GAS - if I get something new, I have to sell at least one thing. In an ideal world, I'd make great pictures with one camera and lens - maybe I'll get there one day.

in my book this is like being a carpenter, ONLY wanting a hammer as his/her tool....

For me the equipment is important, and I regard ALL my cameras/lenses as tools.
I don't regard my self as an artist, most of the time not even a photographer, but merely an image maker.
the camera and more importantly the film is my basic canvas, and I happen to make my images using this "tool"..

I LOVE the photography part (mostly). Maybe because I mostly take my pictures in a studio, and most often use people as subjects.
But also the nature - the still lifes appeal to me.

The developing part is the most boring part of my process.
I love to work in the darkroom - to make magic from time to time.

I would like to go to more galleries and museums than I do, but living where I live, that's more than a challenge.

I love to watch others photographs, and I can use as much time admiring a certain photograph as I can a painting of a famous painter in a fancy museum..

Images are everything to me, I think.
(and then of course, there is the music...)

markbarendt · Mar 10, 2009

Cool question! I don't think you are a bit crazy, do what you love, skip the rest!

Right now I'd say the most important thing for me is taking the photo. Figuring out how to compose, expose, and get a shot that is gorgeous into the camera is a thrill.

The following was never something that even remotely crossed my mind when I shot digital.

It's very interesting thinking like the film in the box. I'm down to 1 roll of 400 speed film (Delta) that I'm hoarding like an expensive wine, I have told myself I need to shoot up the Delta 100 and Provia 100 I stocked up on; the 400 will be used for something special.

Shooting 100 speed film totally changes my outlook. This self imposed fast is like going through withdrawal. I can see clearly that there is going to be some serious experimentation with blur or pushing in my future.

Developing doesn't hold the same thrill as shooting because I choose the process when I set my EI. I do get a kick though out of seeing the film come out of the tank after it's trip through the chems. Don't know if I could do without seeing some tangible result.

My Super Chromega C-700 though is staring at me and whispering "I can show you a new world."

She's just flirting right?

Curt · Mar 10, 2009

What I enjoy most is getting out and photographing, the discovery of new things and places. I process negatives so that I can print. I don't enjoy the darkroom work but I'm disciplined enough to know that if I'm sloppy there it's all for not. I used to enjoy printing but it's demanding on the neck, back and shoulders so I need to get much better at that as I get older.

I pose this question: What if you could only make beautiful negatives and not print?

A beautiful print is of course what I am after, the process and journey is sometimes fun and sometimes not so fun. I feel that on the taking end I have no problems but I'm not a great printer, perhaps a printing seminar would correct any of my misdirections. Or maybe I underestimate the work to get a great print again. It's human nature to look for shortcuts and streamline the process, making simple something that's complicated. There comes a time when this doesn't work. It's knowledge and experience, the rest is just damm (sp) hard work as Brett Weston once said.

Ektagraphic · Mar 10, 2009

I think it is both the act of photography and the photographs themselves. I really enjoy shooting and putting my ideas on the film. The people I have met and the things I have learned along the journey have changed my life little by little. All the places photography has taken me and I have taken photography are great! Sometimes my camera draws me and sometimes I draw myself in. I also enjoy showing my photos to people and seeing their reactions, good or bad. I am not a huge fan of having to have a print for every shot all the time. I enjoy the casual print from Kodachrome. I really enjoy looking at the Kodachromes I have taken. They bring me right back to the time I exposed the shot.

papagene · Mar 10, 2009

The whole process... I like being out and about taking photos - the process of taking photos. I also enjoy making prints, trying to successfully interpret what I saw on the ground glass/viewfinder. And looking at prints, especially prints by other photogers really interests me, trying to figure out how and why they came up with that image.

gene

winger · Mar 10, 2009

My favorite parts of the process are shooting and printing. I'm not a fan of developing film, but I do it because there's no lab around to do it for me (and I figure it might make me better eventually).
I shoot partly because it gets me outside (usually into the woods) and partly so I can try to capture and show why I like being outside (in the case of my woodsy shots). I like to print because I want to get the most out of each neg and because I think I'm getting decent at it. I do want to do more with the final prints, but most are sitting in boxes. Some of the better ones are on the walls or matted to show in case anyone asks to look.
I used to do it as a break from what I did at work (forensic chemistry, crime scenes), but I think I'm getting better now that I'm not a chemist and I can put more brain cells towards photography.
Mostly, I do it because I enjoy it.
I do sometimes go to museums and galleries and I also buy some books (not a lot overall). I would like to go to museums more often actually - not just for photography, but for all art.

Ian David · Mar 10, 2009

I enjoy the whole process.
I really like looking at other people's photographs, and rarely leave a gallery without some kind of new perspective.
I feel sure that photography helps me to see things better and to appreciate the world in a way I didn't ten years ago. Then again, maybe it's my greying hair that's doing that!
I like the way it can sometimes allow a connection with people that I might not otherwise ever meet.
I love holding and using a beautiful mechanical machine that just keeps working perfectly every time.
I love the darkroom and striving for the best expression of something I thought I saw or felt.
But at the end of the day, for me, I want physical photographs. They are like distillations of my life, the crystallisation of emotions and memories. If someone said that my negs could never be transformed into prints again, I would probably give it away...

Curt · Mar 10, 2009

I never miss the opportunity to go to a gallery or see other peoples work, I also love to read and look at books in my library. Magazines are all but history so that's out but I like to come here and listen to other points of view, like this thread.

MattKing · Mar 11, 2009

In the non-photographic part of my life, I really enjoy examining the current situation, determining the problems that need to be dealt with, crafting potential solutions, determining the methods needed to bring about those solutions, and then implementing those methods.

Each part of this process gives me a fair amount of satisfaction.

I see some strong parallels in photography.

IMHO you cannot "previsualize"* effectively, unless you value the result of your vision.

On the other hand, IMHO you cannot fully enjoy the results, unless you get enjoyment from how you get there.

I enjoy each part of the process, and just wish I had more time to devote to it.

Matt

P.S. *while I agree that, technically speaking, the word "visualize" is probably more correct, I like better the impression that I gain from "previsualize"

largely · Mar 11, 2009

I also love it all, from the G.A.S. to scouting for photo ops to shooting to processing (well maybe don't love film processing so much) to printing to matting and framing and hanging the prints on the wall.
I own some (not many) books and go to a gallery now and then. (love the one on APUG "cause I can "go" every day).
I love my old cameras and I find new ones interesting though maybe a little overcomplicated.
I think I'm a hopeless addict.

Steve Smith · Mar 11, 2009

There is quite a mixture here. Some people like the taking stage and not the printing and others think taking photographs is a chore and love the printing aspect.

Perhaps we should find someone nearby who is our opposite and form teams to do both.

Steve.

2F/2F · Mar 11, 2009

Interesting stuff so far. Keep it coming.

Steve; I am a musician as well. (Main instrument is the bass, but I also play trombone and baritone/euphonium, trumpet/cornet, banjo, harmonica, mandolin, sax, drums, and of course guitar.) Most of what I like came out before 1970, though there are exceptions.

I like the idea of a shooter/printer team. I seriously need someone to help me proof all my stuff, select interesting pix, think of projects, and get to printing!

BWGirl · Mar 11, 2009

This is a great question, 2F/2F! I guess for me, I like the whole process. I do not print as often as I should, and I am not as good at printing as I could be if I did it more. I'm also not the greatest photographer on the planet, nor do I aspire to be! I embrace all methods of photography because it all completes the picture, so to speak... each a piece of the whole.

I shoot because I see God in the world and for me it is an act of worship. I love that He is there in the macro and He is there in the 'wide angle.' Every shot I take, whether it 'works' or not is, for me, and act of love and admiration. And I am happy as a clam doing it!

SuzanneR · Mar 11, 2009

I'm smitten with prints.

Like others have stated before, I respond to the emotional connection I make with the people and places I photograph when I'm photographing them. Then it's wonderful to feel that connection again when I make a print. And again... when I take in the print when it's on the wall.

And it's important for me to see the photographs that other's make. When I can, I make an effort to go to shows. It's interesting to feel something about a photograph... to feel connected to it, even when you didn't make it.

Yeah... I'm pretty much eating and breathing it... too many fix fumes, I guess!! But a good print is greater than the sum of the whole process, so, even though at times I feel a little overwhelmed by it all, the whole process is important to keep at for me.

Steve Smith · Mar 11, 2009

2F/2F said:
Steve; I am a musician as well. (Main instrument is the bass, but I also play trombone and baritone/euphonium, trumpet/cornet, banjo, harmonica, mandolin, sax, drums, and of course guitar.)

I mainly play guitar in a rockabilly band but also play blues and jazz. I also play mandolin, banjo and ukulele. I will play bass if pushed but how our bass player manages to play a double bass for a whole gig is beyond me. If I play one for two songs my fingers are ruined for half an hour.

For some reason I can't do drums and when I try piano, both hands want to play the same thing!

2F/2F said:
Most of what I like came out before 1970, though there are exceptions.

That's a bit modern for me! Most of my favourite stuff is pre 1959.

Steve.

BobNewYork · Mar 11, 2009

Holy Moley this made my brain hurt - but what a great exercise.

I like all of photography - but not at the same time. I like photographing and during these phases the only darkroom work I do is to process the film and proof it. At other times I will concentrate on going over my proofs, new and old, to decide what's worth printing, and at other times I'll immerse myself in the darkroom to print properly.

I like going to galleries and exhibits - not just for photography mind you - but I enjoy seeing the art of others. It will often inspire me - although I then go through terrible angst over whether I'm plagiarising or not. Similarly I'll go through periods where I will read and re-read books in my own photo library. I also enjoy conceptualizing images - how do I express a particular thought photographically for example.

I rarely go out "on spec" just to take photographs. I've always found that for me there seems to be pressure to make images - whether there's really something there or not. These have produced my least fulfilling work. I will go out, with a digi, GPS and iPod with voice recorder, to scout potential photographic fodder. I've found this more productive for me and I build a book of "work to be done" from these forays. This gives me the time to really consider the shot and pick the season, time of day, type of weather etc that enables me to best express what I want to say about this subject. I'm constantly on the lookout for material. Driving with the family, by myself , on a train, in the city I'm always "seeing" potential photographs.
There are few times when I'm not actually or virtually doing photography - but I find I go through phases of what "type" of photography I'm doing.

All in all I, like many of you, need some very serious help.

Bob H

Are photographs the main reason you photograph?

BobNewYork

TA-Reiland

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Are photographs the main reason you photograph?

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