Gotta be more :)

[Michaelaw]

Photography is starting to get a tad repetitive for me and I’m starting to try and evaluate why that should be. For three years now I’ve gone out into the world with my trusty Olympus cameras and taken a days worth of shots, picked the best, put them through the Photoshop mill and posted them to various sites. Somehow this isn’t enough. I’m now fairly comfortable with a camera but I want to make statements with my work rather than just show happenstance images collected on various walks. I’m at a point I think where I want to design a shot. You can probably tell from reading some of my posts in this thread that I’m not entirely comfortable with the direction of the world in which I live, there is a lot more going on around us that we simply miss in our day to day consumerist, survival, fast food lifestyle. I take the rapid transit train downtown sometimes and am amazed at how people are connected to electronic devices, cel phones, ipods, portable gaming devices, we don’t even seem to experience the transition from one place to another, it just becomes dead space in our lives that needs to be filled electronically by devices. I guess I’m sort of thinking out loud here but of late, I feel a need to take my observations and represent them photographically. Even my wildlife shots it occurs to me need revamping. I’ve got bucket loads of animals or birds doing nothing in particular, sure some of them are pretty but animals do stuff, they hunt, kill, survive, fight for territory and I just seem to get them posing like I paid them? Yeah…Definitely thinking out loud here but I hope you get my meaning. I have to do more damn it!

[Greg_Nuspel]

Thinking is dangerous it will separate you from the masses, soon you will become an individual with self expression. Go back to the flock and blend in before you are noticed for your unique talents.

I think what you are experiencing is what everyone who tries to express themselves goes through. I know I feel lost lots of the time and hope I can find the proper way to express myself. It's scary away from the flock because you are showing yourself to the world. Keep going down the path you are going and I am sure you will find the way.

[kat]

I think that all the time. Shots that everyone finds wonderful..I find lacking something.

I think that is the artist in people. Nothing is every quite good enough.

[casil403]

I feel a need to take my observations and represent them photographically. Even my wildlife shots it occurs to me need revamping. I’ve got bucket loads of animals or birds doing nothing in particular, sure some of them are pretty but animals do stuff, they hunt, kill, survive, fight for territory and I just seem to get them posing like I paid them? I have to do more damn it!

So get out there and do more and challenge yourself in the ways you want to damnit!
....that's the beauty about life...you can make/change it to be whatever you want it to be and photographically, you can do the same.

To paraphrase Gandhi here..."Be the change you wish to see in the world"

I'm practicing this in just about every aspect of my life right now and it feels pretty scary at times (Gawd, change always it isn't it?) but it also feels really good too!

[kurtdriver]

I'm not like other people, I know that from other areas of life, in which I'm often not interested in the same things other people are. This seems to manifest itself in photography as well. Even here on photography.ca, I see a picture of a bird and I am disappointed a bit, its just a bird. I'm with you Michael, animals do things, why can't that bird be pulling a grub from the ground? People do things too, A picture of a person just standing in front of the camera is not very interesting. Show that person doing something and you've made an interesting photo.

I want to make statements with my work rather than just show happenstance images collected on various walks. I’m at a point I think where I want to design a shot.

Why don't you give yourself a topic? Something like the monthly assignment would let you think about what you're doing. I keep thinking about heat, this month's assignment, and different ways of showing it.

You can probably tell from reading some of my posts in this thread that I’m not entirely comfortable with the direction of the world in which I live, there is a lot more going on around us that we simply miss in our day to day consumerist, survival, fast food lifestyle.

Can you show that? I'd love to see the pics.

I take the rapid transit train downtown sometimes and am amazed at how people are connected to electronic devices, cel phones, ipods, portable gaming devices, we don’t even seem to experience the transition from one place to another, it just becomes dead space in our lives that needs to be filled electronically by devices.

That sound like an interesting theme right there. That could be street photography or something planned with a model. Got a Kid? For a beginner I've got a lot of ideas, eh? Kurt

[F8&Bthere]

I feel your pain....I think.
my blahs tend to go away when I a) travel b) realize I've made significant progress c) take a sabbatical or d) buy stuff
I think you should do like you said and "design a shot"
What kind of shot? I don't know.... I'm having a hard enough time getting my own creative juices flowing, and enthusiasm, now that other recent forum threads made me realize almost everything's overdone and cliche.
Kidding!

[Michaelaw]

I'll take D....I'm selling the Olympus E-3, in fact my entire system. E-3 body, 14-45mm, 40-150mm, 70-300mm, 50mm macro, 1 fl50r flash, 3 fl36r flash.
I'll cure these doldrums yet

[Mad Aussie]

Thinking is dangerous it will separate you from the masses, soon you will become an individual with self expression. Go back to the flock and blend in before you are noticed for your unique talents.

Hilarious

Selling up M? What's the plan then?

[Michaelaw]

Decided to get into the Nikon d700. If the Oly sells at a fair price I'll do it soon, if not, I'll keep the Oly for a rough and tumble system, save all my beans and get the Nikon for Xmas.

[Mad Aussie]

Decided to get into the Nikon d700. If the Oly sells at a fair price I'll do it soon, if not, I'll keep the Oly for a rough and tumble system, save all my beans and get the Nikon for Xmas.

Nice!