Who cares?

[Robert Kresa]

I wonder: do you feel sometimes, like I do with every hour more and more intensively, that in fact no one really cares about your photographs?
And the question is: do you (yourself) really care?

 

[Steve Smith]

And the question is: do you (yourself) really care?

I care but why should anyone else?


Steve.

 

[BradS]

you have to get beyond caring about who does or does not care about your photos...just accept.

 

[Perry Way]

I wonder: do you feel sometimes, like I do with every hour more and more intensively, that in fact no one really cares about your photographs?
And the question is: do you (yourself) really care?

If you're a hobbyist, the only person you need to impress is yourself.



The real question is, do you enjoy photography?

 

[jovo]

I think that anyone who pursues any "art" conscientiously goes through periods of doubt, uncertainty, dissolution, frustration, and a host of other troubling thoughts and feelings. It's part of the process of growth. There should also be periods where one feels they've accomplished something, and there should be a degree of satisfaction about it...plateaus that need to be recognized and appreciated. Most importantly one must KEEP ON MAKING ART!!! For a really good read get a hold of "Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking", by David Bayles and Ted Orland. Every working artist I know has read it. Add yourself to the list!

 

[removed account4]

i care and while it is nice that others might,
it really doesn't matter one way or another.
just keep doing your thing ...

 

[keithwms]

If you please yourself too much you will go blind.

(or so I was told...)

 

[Bruce Watson]

Art and Fear. You might find it enlightening. Or not. Hard to recommend a book to someone you don't know.

To answer your question directly, yes I know that no one else gives a damn about my art. But I do it for my own purposes, not for anyone else, and I *do* care.

 

[Mike1234]

FWIW, I'm getting to the point to where I don't give a damn about anything... let alone what others think of me or my photos.

 

[Vonder]

Some say photography is all about the light. Some say it's all about seeing. Some say it's about seeing the light. Some call photography art. Some call it garbage. Some call garbage art and art garbage.

Who cares?

You do. Or you don't. That is all that matters, what you think. If you like your photographs and they please you, great. If you don't, try something else, either in photography or painting.

You expect the best. That's just the way life goes.

 

[MikeSeb]

I love---absolutely love---the entire process of rendering photographically what I see of the world. I do it for me. I'd do it even faced with incontrovertible evidence that the work SUCKED.

Nobody owes me a thing. If they enjoy my work it's a bonus and I'm pleased to have added to the worlds store of beauty.

I can't not do this.

 

[2F/2F]

I feel that other people care about them more than I do most of the time.

 

[Dave in Kansas]

I've been involved in any number of hobbies over the years, but photography is the one hobby that I've enjoyed far more than any of the others. Taking the photograph is enjoyable, since it gets me out to look at things that I might not otherwise see. Working in the darkroom is also enjoyable and relaxing. I enjoy looking at my better work afterwards too.

Most people in my family don't care for my subject material, but I like it. Sometimes I ask myself if I really need all the cameras and equipment that I have acquired, and I really don't, but it's fun using the different equipment and that's what it is all about, at least for me. I enjoy this hobby. It's fun, and I end up with a photograph that brings back good memories of fun times.

I could quit and just sit around and be bored or do something else, but this gives me something to look forward to.

Dave

 

[eddym]

I wonder: do you feel sometimes, like I do with every hour more and more intensively, that in fact no one really cares about your photographs?
And the question is: do you (yourself) really care?

Care about what? I care about my photographs, but I don't care if no one else cares.

 

[eddym]

I can't not do this.

Well said, Mike. That's it in a nutshell. And, in reference to the "Are you a photographer?" thread, I feel that when you can make that statement, then you are a photographer.

 

[arealitystudios]

I agree with the posts above that recommend the book, “Art and Fear”. It is incredibly enlightening and I’ve never met anyone who read it and didn’t feel jazzed and inspired after reading the first chapter alone. Every once in a while when I start feeling lost I’ll pick up my copy (filled with tons of notes in the margins) and learn something new about my own motivations as an artist and photographer every time.

 

[reellis67]

No, I know that most people do not, and no that does not bother me I do what I do to be creative. If someone likes it fine, if not that's fine too. Like the old saw goes, "You'll never please all of the people all of the time". Oh, and I also recommend Art and Fear...

- Randy

 

[MattKing]

If I didn't care, I wouldn't get as much joy from photography, and I might stop.

Some times I'm a little less excited by it than normally, but if I give it a short rest, the excitement comes back.

It does interest me if others care, because I consider photography to be a communicative art, and if no one cares, than there is clearly a glitch in the communication.

Matt

 

[BWKate]

I love---absolutely love---the entire process of rendering photographically what I see of the world. I do it for me. I'd do it even faced with incontrovertible evidence that the work SUCKED.

Nobody owes me a thing. If they enjoy my work it's a bonus and I'm pleased to have added to the worlds store of beauty.

I can't not do this.

You are so right Mike!!! That is exactly how I feel about it and it's so refreshing to know that other people feel the same way... I also can't not do it.

 

[chriscrawfordphoto]

I guess people care about mine, I keep selling them. I care, I wish I sold more, its my main income.

 

[Uncle Goose]

I've never sold any photograph, I'm not actively pursuing it either. Whether people care about my photographs or not is not important for me. I do almost exclusively Abandoned Buildings like Cokes factories, mine facilities and steelworks. Today very few people have any interest in those "ugly" buildings but I know that 50 years from now my photographs will be the only source to still see those buildings as they will be all gone by then, replaced by more modern technology.

 

[eddym]

I agree with the posts above that recommend the book, “Art and Fear”. It is incredibly enlightening and I’ve never met anyone who read it and didn’t feel jazzed and inspired after reading the first chapter alone. Every once in a while when I start feeling lost I’ll pick up my copy (filled with tons of notes in the margins) and learn something new about my own motivations as an artist and photographer every time.

I like to carry my copy when I travel, so that I can reread it, especially if I plan to shoot a lot on the trip. It's one of the most inspirational books I've ever read.

 

[Sirius Glass]

As I posted on another thread on a similar topic:

Ricky Nelson said well in "Garden Party"

But it's all right now, I learned my lesson well.
You see, ya can't please everyone, so ya got to please yourself

Reference: http://www.lyricsdepot.com/ricky-nelson/garden-party.html

Steve

Steve

 

[Rob Skeoch]

Nobody cares.... which frees you to do only what you want without fear or feedback.

-rob

 

[michaelbsc]

I wonder: do you feel sometimes, like I do with every hour more and more intensively, that in fact no one really cares about your photographs?
And the question is: do you (yourself) really care?

I grew up in a home with a reasonably successful artist mother. Oils and pastels.

What I learned is that the only one who cares is the one doing the expressing. If someone else does or doesn't like it, too bad. It isn't for anyone else anyway.