losing interest in photography

blansky said:

You guys crack me up...

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Careful readers of my post will note that I passed no value judgments whatsoever regarding the relative merits of pursuing an interest in photography as a vocation or an avocation.

I noted only that there are philosophical differences in motivation between the two. And implied that those differences may have an impact on a potential loss of interest by some.

To wit, if one mixes work and play, it is often the play side of the equation that suffers most. I write software professionally, as do so many others on this site. If I were to retire tomorrow, ask me if the first thing I would do the following morning would be to wake up, sit down, and start writing software for pleasure.

Doing something for survival is different than doing it for pleasure. It can't not be. The potential downside is much greater.

Ken

Ken Nadvornick said:

Doing something for survival is different than doing it for pleasure. It can't not be. The potential downside is much greater.

Ken

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I agree. I've done photography professionally. Doing it for fun is better. On the other hand I never earned 200k for photographing anything that came to mind. That might have been fun.

I didn't listen to the 'DON'T SELL IT' inner voice and I still kick myself for doing so. My girlfriend at the time used to tell people I was running a camera store out of the spare bedroom !

I lost interset in the late 80's, sold pretty much everything and for a while I only had a 35mm point and shoot, had my film developed at the drug store and didn't shoot a lot of stuff. When digital started getting affordable I bought a 3mp Kodak (close to $1K) and it started to re-kindle my passion. Now in the last 2-3 years I'm going back to film and using a hybrid workflow (lab processing negatives, computer to edit and post process) and I feel I'm back to 'normal'.

To the OP, don't give up. Take some time away if you want to, but put your gear away in a safe place. When you're ready to get back into it they'll be there for you.

blansky said:

You guys crack me up. Yeah my life is brutal.

I work when I want. I photograph when I want and what I want.

I make a couple hundred grand a year doing it. Spend a month in Hawaii every year.

Travel the world with my wife when I want. (she travels internationally for her job)

Yeah this pro thing is really tough.

My point was though, that although I shoot portraits professionally, I also shoot a lot of other stuff, scenics etc and although it's fun, I have no end game for it, like a lot of people here. So I have thousands of pictures that I have processed but have no real outlet for it, so I too run into times when I don't really do it because of that.

But please go on and feel sorry for me because I do photography professionally, and don't have your freedom.

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brutal it is !