Photo walks...

RevAnton

RevAnton

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Name
Anthony
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Most weekends I take my camera out with me and just go for a wander around my local area. I live in on the outskirts of my Town so I am fortunate enoguh to be surrounded by fields and old buildings. But sometimes I feel there is literally nothing to photograph!

Surely I cant be the only person who has this problem??? :(o_O:whistle::snaphappy:
 
No, you're not. The problem is... just aimlessly walking around with a camera is a really crap way to develop work and produce imagery. It's absolute pot luck if there's anything of interest, and if there is, you'll just take a snapshot of it, and then... so what?

Develop projects... themes. Explore something using the medium of photography. Research a subject deeply, and find ways to communicate what that subject is all about to the viewer.

My advice is don't actually pick the camera up until you have a reason to do so. Just walking around snapping results in crap. You'll get lucky once in a while if the light is good, and you find something interesting, but most of the time, you'll walk, shoot.. come home and look at them.. delete almost all of them or at best they'll just languish on your hard drive serving no purpose.

What interests you? What do you do? What hobbies do you have? What annoys you? What are you passionate about? What do you hate? What scares you? What do you believe in?

Look in the local paper for interesting stories you can follow up.


Anything... but make it a project with a purpose.
 
What David said, but as I like an analogy:
Would you pick up a football on the way out to the park and hope to find a handful of mates for a kickabout?

A small amount of planning will pay huge dividends.
 
Thanks for you replies guys, I will put what you have suggested in to practise and hopefully have some good images to upload soon.
 
Pookeyhead said:
No, you're not. The problem is... just aimlessly walking around with a camera is a really crap way to develop work and produce imagery. It's absolute pot luck if there's anything of interest, and if there is, you'll just take a snapshot of it, and then... so what?

Develop projects... themes. Explore something using the medium of photography. Research a subject deeply, and find ways to communicate what that subject is all about to the viewer.
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David may well disagree with what I have to say; It is perfectly possible to develop work from wandering aimlessly photographing random stuff. There, I've said it! :D

David's pre-planning approach is well suited to getting good grades on an academic course or justifying your work to curators. It has the drawback that while it doesn't exclude spontaneity it can stifle it. One of the great things about photography is the way snaps can surprise you in what they reveal.

Shooting crap with an open mind can lead you in interesting directions. You have to look closely at the crap you've photographed though to work out what made you photograph it in the first place. Then use that knowledge to inform a deeper investigation of the subject, perhaps in a way similar to that which David suggests, perhaps in a more intuitive and fluid way.

Earlier this morning I watched this video clip of Paul Graham where where he tells of how he started photographing the landscape but found something more interesting - which has become one of his most well known picture series.

No matter how you approach it, good photography boils down to looking closely at things and thinking deeply about them.
 
Ed Sutton said:
David's pre-planning approach is well suited to getting good grades on an academic course or justifying your work to curators.
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Nothing to do with courses or curators. Just look at the best photographers in the world. The majority don't wander around aimlessly. Even someone like Ansel Adams, who just took landscape... planned his shots meticulously. He didn't just head out with on idea what he wanted. There was the odd fluke like "Moonrise Hernandez" but in general.. all planned.. all had purpose. Landscape photographers plan their excursions specifically with an image they want to create in mind. They often come back empty handed. They sometimes get lucky... but planning the shot you want increases the chances dramatically. Documentary photographers.. all planned.. all long term projects. I suppose the only exceptions to this are certain types of formal portraits where you have a limited time with someone, but even then, you'll have a well practices skill set in the studio to draw upon. Press too, is ad hoc, but press images are just that.... news events captured, and by default are almost certainly luck. They have to skill to ensure they DO capture whatever it is, but whatever it is is beyond their control.

I'm not saying never walk around with a camera... I do that too, but it rarely produces anything I'm particularly interested in. Sometimes it will... but invariably not. However, every time I plan a project, it does. Even one off fashion and advertising shots are planned meticulously. Research done, demographics considered, props bought etc.

The fact is I've seen countless dispirited snappers like the OP turn into photographers that have great portfolios and bodies of work... and books... and exhibitions. Planning works. Projects work. Not only do you end up having greater images from it, but the images have purpose.

Carry on walking around with a camera by all means. All I'm saying is that is why the OP is running out of things to shoot. Random stuff can lead to interesting stuff yes, but it seems like the OP has pretty much exhausted the area he's in, and finds no inspiration in it, so for him, it's clearly not a great idea to carry on if he's getting despondent about it.
 
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Landscape shooting needs particular planning with regards to angle of the sun, time of day and year. Cityscapes need this too.

Some places are just morning locations, other are evening. I research areas, plan by weather forecast and times of sunsets/sunrises.
 
Pookeyhead said:
All I'm saying is that is why the OP is running out of things to shoot.
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And I'm saying there's no need to run out of things to shoot if you look hard and carefully enough. There's interesting stuff everywhere, and carrying a camera can help you find it. Even in places you visit regularly. Eggleston mostly works in his locale, Arnatt didn't stray far, Kertész's late pictures were taken in his apartment.

I know we'll never agree on this because what photography is about to you and me seem to be diametrically opposed. Your (to my mind rigidly academic) approach works for some, maybe the majority because it provides a roadmap, but it doesn't work for me. Whenever I plan a project from scratch without having a photograph to give me an idea, it dies after two or three shots because I'm bored with it. I've already had the idea and made the pictures in my head, so there's no point making them. It's like following a score. I prefer to noodle around until I stumble on a riff I like. There are more surprises that way.

Photography for me is a way of discovering what I see in the world. A bit like the oft repeated Winogrand quote. Only by taking photos do I work out why I took them and then use that knowledge to go take more, which in turn lead me to other areas of investigation. That's not to say I might not have a vague concept in the back of my mind (which is the best place for it), but I never know where I'm going until I get there.

I like this quote from Kenneth Jarecke - "To think that you can come up with a better idea than what the world is offering you (in exchange for a little patience) is foolhardy. Life is more creative than you. Spend some time looking around and it will give you images that you could never imagine yourself."

The world is full of pictures. The hard, and interesting thing, is finding them.

The Tom Wood documentary is currently available on YouTube - well worth listening to what he has to say about photography even if you don't like his pictures.

 
I think most in here would think Eggleston's work is crap though.

I think you miss my point though. He (the OP) IS walking around.. and he's bored, and he's got nothing he wants to shoot. The alternative, is, stop walking around, and plan something.

I walk around with cameras.. sometimes you get something interesting, sometimes you don't. Eggleston, while walking around though, is doing so with a really good idea of the sort of work he wants to create... all he has to do is find it. Still requires thinking about before hand.

However... the OP is bored of walking around and seeing nothing.. so in THIS case, I advise planning a project. Many people work well in a random, un-organised way.. the OP doesn't seem to be one of them.
 
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Pookeyhead said:
I think most in here would think Eggleston's work is crap though.
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Sadly. :(

I do see your point. But when I get bored with something I stop doing it and go do something else. That would be my advice to someone who doesn't have to make photographs. Take a break and rest your eyes. Come back refreshed.

Anyroad, I shall start a new thread where you can tear my aimless wandering and random snaps apart! :D
 
Ed Sutton said:
The Tom Wood documentary is currently available on YouTube - well worth listening to what he has to say about photography even if you don't like his pictures.
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His pictures of people are disarmingly human - how could anyone not like them? Because they're informal? It's also clear that he hasn't been driven by money, which is refreshing. I find it true what he says in the video, that he takes, but he also gives back - a good bargain, I think.
 
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Tom Wood's work is great, yes... but he doesn't wander aimlessly... he has long term projects in mind - His books. Be knows exactly where he needs to go, when, and why.
 
You don't necessarily need a preconceived theme though, to take or make photographs. A theme may arise subliminally out of work first done seemingly blind to joined-up purpose. I think that you may be a bit prejudiced in favour of 'projects'.

There's a range of approaches. Can't say I've noticed anyone on here practicing conceptual photography, by the way, but so be it, or it might've just escaped me. I think that the basics are learning technique and cultivating the eye, hopefully with the one harnessed to the other.

And who's to decide about cultural relevance?
 
I wouldn't say it's prejudice. I've helped so many people out of the creative doldrums this way, I just realise it works. You have to remember, I'm not advocating that this is how everyone should create images (although I genuinely think it is a way to produce very interesting SERIES of images) - that's something everyone in the thread seems to be insisting is the case, but my answer was to the OP... no one else. I just realise that it WILL help HIM, as I've seen it help so many others like him. IF walking around with a camera isn't working for you, you'd be a fool to carry on doing it if at that stage you aren't able to get anything from the images. In this instance however.... the OP needs something to shoot, and for whatever reason, he can't find anything. That may be his fault, it may not be.... however, setting himself a project will get him back in the saddle will it not?


Ed Sutton said:
And I'm saying there's no need to run out of things to shoot if you look hard and carefully enough.
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The problem is that most in here are looking for "impressive" things to photograph, and will not notice the things that are genuinely interesting. The other thing is.... as I keep saying, everything I've written in this thread is aimed at the OP... not you.... or droj... the OP. He's done walking about... he's bored... Now if he's a beginner (I've no idea if that is the case however), he's on the cusp of thinking, "b****x to this", and putting his camera away to gather dust. Telling him to go back out there and look harder won't work. If I was talking to Keith Arnett, then obviously that would be a different matter as the guy did a whole project on dog turds.... however... as you well know... this is mainly an amateur photography forum and work like that is generally not appreciated - and when discussed brings out the trolls and the "emperor's new clothes" brigade.

If someone is feeling there's nothing to shoot in their local area, a debate about whether there really is or not won't help him. I'm sorry... he's complaining of having nothing to shoot. A project will definitely give him something to shoot. I stand by my comments.




Ed Sutton said:
I know we'll never agree on this because what photography is about to you and me seem to be diametrically opposed. Your (to my mind rigidly academic) approach works for some,
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I genuinely feel your view of me is biased however, as you know I'm an academic. I've also spent a long time shooting commercial photography, and social portraiture... just like a great many do.... to survive and pay the bills. I'm not trying to ascribe one single approach to everyone. However, this guy at the top of the thread?.. He needs structure and motivation. Telling him to get back out there will achieve nothing. I could teach him to see things in his locale that would inspire him if I was there, as could you no doubt, but right here, right now... the guy wants something to shoot in an environment he has convinced himself is devoid of subjects.



Ed Sutton said:
Only by taking photos do I work out why I took them and then use that knowledge to go take more, which in turn lead me to other areas of investigation.
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Great.... but the OP is sitting inside not taking any photos, so that's not gonna happen any time soon in this case. I'm trying to motivate him by giving him a way of generating ideas. Everyone else is just telling him to go back out there and shoot. You can quote Winogrand at him all day long... The guy is bored of his area because he's looking at it as an "area". He's looking for "things" to photograph. The problem is the "things" he's looking for are not necessarily the same "things" you, or I, or Winogrand, or Eggleston would be looking for. However... a project would get him back out there, and would make him realise there are other "things" available. The net result would be the same Dave.





droj said:
Can't say I've noticed anyone on here practicing conceptual photography, by the way, but so be it, or it might've just escaped me.
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It's escaped you then. There's enough on here hidden amongst the sunsets, shots of kids and B&W "street" to keep me interested.



droj said:
And who's to decide about cultural relevance?
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I don't believe anyone has been discussing cultural relevancies in this thread.
 
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droj said:
You don't necessarily need a preconceived theme though, to take or make photographs. A theme may arise subliminally out of work first done seemingly blind to joined-up purpose.
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That's kinda the point I'm trying to get across too. I'm also, perhaps deliberately, making more of the 'aimless' part of the wandering to stress that.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember about wandering with a camera, or taking an photos over which you don't have complete control, is that you don't always get a picture. It's like fishing, you can do everything right in perfect conditions, but the fish don't bite and you suffer a blank. Blank days are as much a part of photography as they are of fishing. You have to accept them.
 
I do wish you'd stop splitting replies up point by point as if you're marking an essay... (Joke ;))

Pookeyhead said:
The problem is that most in here are looking for "impressive" things to photograph, and will not notice the things that are genuinely interesting. The other thing is.... as I keep saying, everything I've written in this thread is aimed at the OP... not you.... or droj... the OP. He's done walking about... he's bored...

However... a project would get him back out there, and would make him realise there are other "things" available. The net result would be the same Dave.
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Fair enough, I'll butt out.

And yes, my opinion of you is biased on what I know of you that's been revealed on this forum. As I'm sure everyone's opinion of everyone else is. It's inevitable.
 
:sulk:
 
Why do people insist on reading David's posts and colouring their response with preconceptions about teachers?

The OP is; 'if I wander around aimlessly with my camera I'm not finding inspiration'

The obvious answer; 'try an alternative to wandering around aimlessly'.

Frankly giving the answer 'carry on wandering aimlessly, it works for lots of people' is ridiculous, and you can't defend it by questioning the motives of the person who posted the obvious answer. It's just a stupid thing to say to someone looking for an alternative to aimless wandering.
 
Phil V said:
Why do people insist on reading David's posts and colouring their response with preconceptions about teachers?
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Because I am a photography teacher, so they think that's my 24/7 mindset. As I often say when this happens... "I'm not at work" :)

Can't entirely blame people though, as it's common knowledge that's what I do these days, so they assume that's all I do.

You're right however: Advising someone to carry on doing what they're doing, even though what they're doing isn't working for that particular person seems a little counter productive.
 
Have you considered a photo challenge of some sort, maybe a alphabet challenge e.g. You need to find and shoot a photo for each letter of the alphabet...or partaking in a group challenge like the TP52
 
That's kind of the same thing.. still a project, yeah. It will get him shooting, learning, and making interesting images.
 
Hi
Hopefully not sounding like a Pookeyhead fan boy but I think (for the op) his advise is spot on, think of a project, e.g. farm work/workers, agricultural machinery etc etc and go out with the intention of taking those kind of pics. Even if you come back with nothing at least it's got you thinking. HTH.
JohnyT
 
Exactly. He's still out there.... still shooting exactly as he is, but he's got a reason to look a little more critically at his surroundings, so may stop and consider something he'd otherwise walk past because it doesn't look like a photo he'd want immediately. He'll stop, go closer... walk around it... in short, he'd more likely FIND a photo in that place than if he didn't have the idea of of capturing something specific that he'd already decided upon before leaving.

There's nothing to also preclude him from taking utterly random shots as well while he's out there. It's not like having a pre-concieved idea prevents from taking anything BUT that preconceived idea. It just makes you more aware of what you actually want and increases your chances of achieving what you set out to do. When you do this, it boosts confidence that you're actually in some kind of control of what you shoot.
 
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...as an aside, I know someone who goes around photographing pylons, thing is, he's out taking pictures whilst I'm sat in my house reading about taking pictures (plus I'm waiting for my shopping to be delivered, yes I'm a lazy sod sometimes). See what I mean OP.
JohnyT
 
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Personally, i scan through Flickr and magazines for ideas and sometimes try to accomplish something similar such as tail-light trails, so something new and different from my love of nature photography. But sometimes I will aimlessly walk and spot something and take a shot. On the odd occasion these turn out better than anything I have planned and is more pleasing. An example was a simple dandelion clock the other day! Small things I guess ......
 
Johnytuono said:
...as an aside, I know someone who goes around photographing pylons, thing is, he's out taking pictures whilst I'm sat in my house reading about taking pictures (plus I'm waiting for my shopping to be delivered, yes I'm a lazy sod sometimes). See what I mean OP.
JohnyT
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Some great projects come from stuff like that. Anyone seen Robert Voit's series on disguised cell phone masts "New Trees"?

http://www.robertvoit.com/bilder/serie1_new_trees/index.php?id=1
 
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