Why Did You Take up Photography.

[AcadieLibre]

Well just curious, I am sure many here do it strictly as a hobby as I had planned when I started out this second time in my photography life. I had done shows before but the Art Scene in Toronto was far more inclusive then the exclusive crap they try now.

Me getting a gallery the first one was just luck, pure luck. A girl who worked at the gallery I am with she read a scathing statement of the Toronto art scene I wrote, I get and email and an invite to show my work, before I left I was signed. The second art gallery is just based on my reputation and work.

I do a lot of night shots, low light, natural light photos for the most part. I have experimented with my new lights and so far so good. As with going with film when I have space in the next two weeks I can get my photo/negative scanner and will be shooting 35 mm and Medium format, like a kid in a candy store not shot medium format in a while because I was shooting so much 35 mm I just sort of ignored it but not this time.

I just wanted to be continually challenged as a photographer, I expect nothing but the best I can produce and at times that ain't so good .. lol. I experiment a lot, I recall what setting I can get a look I want, I thought I had forgot everything in 4 weeks after what felt like a horrible absence, but I was surprised it was sort of like riding a bicycle sort of. I even do macro shots that I hate just so I have the skill, never know when you need and technique. I also shoot less than 50 pictures now in a 12 hour ride. So its not how many I take it is what I take printable. And I have some strange shooting habits would not be the one to teach thats a for sure.

So why photography?

[Wicked Dark]

Because I can't paint.

[Bambi]

When I was about 9 or 10 my grandmother gave me an old box camera. I was totally hooked. I ran around and took pictures of all the neighbours' animals (some things never change :))

I loved to take pictures. Unfortunately film was expensive and we really had very little money. So it faded away. When I was older we had a couple film cameras (remember the Kodak that would take panorama shots?) but it was still pricy so it was limited to family events. I also had not one sweet clue what I was doing.

Then digital came. We had a little Kodak digital that was fine but still not getting what I wanted. Sorry that this story is getting long. My final impetus was a trip to Ireland and I wanted half-decent pictures. So I bought the Sony Cybershot. That opened up a whole new world.


Funny thing is I can draw and paint. Or I could. Probably not now but I did art all the way through school and my art teacher believed that I could be an illustrator for children books. But my interest was photography even then and it wasn't an option. The other thing I am sorry that I never pursued was sculpture and pottery. Maybe when I retire :). I amused the kids making models of their pets out of playdoh.

But for me I would be somewhere and my first thought was that it would be a great picture. I want to show what I see and photography allows me to do that.

so there. Long story. Aren't you glad you asked? :laughing:

[QuietOne]

Like a lot of people, I started in high school and continued through college. And like a lot of people, I just couldn't justify the cost of processing film once I worked for a living. I still have the OM-1 I got for high school graduation, and I still can't justify the processing costs. Digital is a game changer.

I got back into it for my sanity. At the time, there was a coworker who probably had borderline OCD. Really obsessed about germs. She'd clean the break room after whoever was assigned that week had done it, and you could smell the bleach throughout the building. And I mean that those closest to the break room had problems with watering eyes and burning lungs. So I started bringing my little Powershot A10 to work and going out on the Greenbelt during lunch.

She's retired, but I've taken up duties that put me next to the call center much of the day. I don't handle noise well, so a lunch walk, camera in hand, makes a real difference. Bad weather is no problem, assuming I can stay upright, because a lot of walkers are fair weather walkers. When the weather gets good, sometimes I'm on the path with everyone else, sometimes I find places off the path. It all depends on how I'm feeling that day.

I do share the pictures with people, and my main theme is, "Look, isn't this neat?" I haven't run out of things to find yet.

[luckystar8]

because i want to keep the memory

[biathloneil]

I can't tell a joke or lie to save my soul. Just look at the photograph, just the photograph, ma'me. It's simple and makes sense to me, but maybe not to others.
-Neil

[Marko]

I'm with WD.
Because I can't paint or draw but have a need to express myself artistically. :shrug:

[Richard]

I'm pretty sure it wasn't to save money, and I can draw fairly well!!

I had a point and shoot film camera as a kid and remember the excitement when photos came back developed in the post I got a digital point and shoot at uni.

We have photo shoots at work every couple of years for new product ranges, and after I saw the photographers at work I knew I wanted to have ago my self.

I never took it seriously until I got my first DSLR for Christmas. One of my pet hates is people who shoot DSLR on full auto all the time, so I figured I better start learning what to do with this new expensive toy.

Digital photography offers me a way to capture emotion, moments and feelings, that would otherwise be forgotten, and that's pretty cool in my book.

[Mad Aussie]

I too have some drawing talent :) But haven't used it for many, many years. These days it's all software.

Originally I bought my SLR's to simply take better snapshots. Very quickly I wanted to do better and strived to do so.
I've always had an artistic/creative need which why I enjoy the graphic design, web design I do.

Getting back into photography with a DSLR opened up a whole creative/artistic medium for me with the opportunities to learn via the internet so accessible and the post processing options so vast.

However, the 1st reason I bought a DSLR was because I was getting loads of requests for the photos I was taking at mountain bike events. Seeing as we worked closely with many race promoters via our web design business, I had the avenue to do some real photography and bought the DSLRs to do that. It's amazing how creative you can be just shooting cyclists if you have to in order to sell your work. That followed onto writing articles and shooting for national cycling magazines which has been fun also.
I gave up the cycling photography at the end of last year. I only sell photos via the websites we create now. Usually that isn't many. However the one I'm building at present has something like 30 of my photos in it in some form. More creativity/expression.

So ... I guess I got into real photography to make a little money and substantially expand my creative/artistic capabilities.

[Kawarthabob]

Because I can't paint.

Now thats funny!:thumbup:
I've been told through out my life i have that artistic flair. In school i took mostly art classes. One class in particular ( graphic arts ) I took involved photography. We studied composition of various objects and how to make it appealing to the consumer. This was way back when computers had just come out so we had to develop our own film in the dark room and all the little adjustments made on the negative. I've owned various ppoint and shoot film cameras over the years and bought my first digital point and shoot about 6 years ago and that changed my world. My friends have commented that my pictures stand out from the crowd and i beleive them because they are the first to tell you that you suck at some things as well. I finally bit the bullet and bought my first Dslr last year. My camera has gotten me out of the house when i normally wouldnt. Photography has made me look at life differently and venture to places or vantage points where most people take for granted. I look at light and colour differently now as well as contrast. It even affects on how I cut the lawn:clown:

[Wicked Dark]

I'm glad you thought it was funny, but it is also true.

In HS we were required to take art courses and try as I might I really sucked at most of it (apart from lithography if I could trace a photo and use that as my image). When a photography course showed up as something I could choose to get my art requirements taken care of I jumped at it. Luckily mom & dad were willing to fork out for the 35mm camera that was necessary as the school didn't have any for students to use. It was the first art class in which the teacher didn't have to give me a pity passing grade.