Why do you take photos?

[Bollygum]

I take photos mainly as a means of communication. I like to show other people what I find, usually in nature. It also satisfies a creative urge - I can't paint so I take photos.

 

[Unframed Dave]

Damned good question.

I scratched my head when I first read the question, still scratching it now.

I have an extremely poor memory which isn't getting any better as I near the edge. It isn't solely for the memories though. I could achieve that with a basic mobile.

There's no financial gain for me, I don't sell anything and on the rare occasions people have asked to use my photos, I have agreed unconditionally.

It's a pain travelling with a proper camera and associated glass, I break virtually every airlines rules on hand luggage weight, as I try to look nonchalant at the check in desk while my back (with 3 diagnosed conditions) gives me hell carrying my rucksack.

I get an immense sense of personal satisfaction when I see a good shot in the viewfinder which is greatly enlarged when someone else appreciates it and as humans I believe we need something to strive towards. I've never taken a perfect photo, perhaps that's what drives us?

I'm lucky, in that I have a lot of hobbies, photography and travel sit firmly hand in hand, but I still can't answer your question.

 

[AlphaWorld]

I can’t paint, either. I also can’t sketch, sculpt, sing, play music, or dance. So I photograph those who can. Well, I have yet to photograph a painter or sketch artist or sculptor (I think that would be a time lapse…), but I have photographed singers, musicians, and dancers (dancers make excellent models!).

I don’t do it for money (I’d starve, because my selling skills are less than zero), but it makes me happy - maybe that’s my real answer: it makes me happy.

 

[Bollygum]

Damned good question.

I scratched my head when I first read the question, still scratching it now.

I have an extremely poor memory which isn't getting any better as I near the edge. It isn't solely for the memories though. I could achieve that with a basic mobile.

There's no financial gain for me, I don't sell anything and on the rare occasions people have asked to use my photos, I have agreed unconditionally.

It's a pain travelling with a proper camera and associated glass, I break virtually every airlines rules on hand luggage weight, as I try to look nonchalant at the check in desk while my back (with 3 diagnosed conditions) gives me hell carrying my rucksack.

I get an immense sense of personal satisfaction when I see a good shot in the viewfinder which is greatly enlarged when someone else appreciates it and as humans I believe we need something to strive towards. I've never taken a perfect photo, perhaps that's what drives us?

I'm lucky, in that I have a lot of hobbies, photography and travel sit firmly hand in hand, but I still can't answer your question.

That’s very similar to how I feel about it and how I got into photography. I did get lucky and now I have become quite involved in communication about fungi or myco-media as we like to call it. We being Catherine, my wife and I. Catherine is a documentary film maker and we have made a slightly magical combination that allows us to buy the equipment we need and travel with mycologists and environmentalists to some of the wilder places on this planet. Unfortunately I have Parkinson’s, and I’m not good at typing so I’ll end here

 

[Bollygum]

L

I can’t paint, either. I also can’t sketch, sculpt, sing, play music, or dance. So I photograph those who can. Well, I have yet to photograph a painter or sketch artist or sculptor (I think that would be a time lapse…), but I have photographed singers, musicians, and dancers (dancers make excellent models!).

I don’t do it for money (I’d starve, because my selling skills are less than zero), but it makes me happy - maybe that’s my real answer: it makes me happy.

it makes me happy too. It allows me stop and really look at things. Most of my photography is macro or closeup and in the forest there is usually a lot to see if you stop to look.

 

[iain clyne]

It used to be because it was how I made a living but now its because I enjoy it and find taking wildlife relaxing.

 

[alexpler]

When I'm home, photography is a way of paying attention to things that you take for granted, stop for a while and see them with new eyes, enjoy their quotidian beauty.

When I travel, photography is a way of capturing and sharing memories and special places that I might never visit again.

I think I like the immediacy of the art and the uniqueness of each moment you capture.

 

[Bollygum]

It used to be because it was how I made a living but now its because I enjoy it and find taking wildlife relaxing.

What did you photograph in your work?

 

[Slug]

It's a way of making a hard copy of a memory.

 

[Bollygum]

When I'm home, photography is a way of paying attention to things that you take for granted, stop for a while and see them with new eyes, enjoy their quotidian beauty.

When I travel, photography is a way of capturing and sharing memories and special places that I might never visit again.

I think I like the immediacy of the art and the uniqueness of each moment you capture.

I have missed travelling over the last few years but we should make up for that this year. We have a holiday in Greece then fungi trips to Sri Lanka, NE India and later to Zambia. I will take quite a few travel photos but I find that I’m little less fanatical about that when I travel for fungi. Anyway, fungi season is the wet season which tends to hide scenery like the eastern Himalayas. We spent a month in Nepal, mostly in rhododendron forests, and didn’t see a mountain nor a rhododendron flower. But the forest is at its most dynamic when it is warm and wet so that’s where we go to photograph and make videos about fungi and their interactions. I don’t know whether to say that’s the work bit or the fun bit. It’s certainly the bit I look forward too the most

 

[iamdlewis]

I get me to do something other than sit around the house.

 

[mikison]

I take photos mainly as a means of communication. I like to show other people what I find, usually in nature. It also satisfies a creative urge - I can't paint so I take photos.

For me a I take pleasure when viewing any decent photos that I take. I like the challenge of trying to improve and take a 'better' photo. I mainly shoot wildlife, so it gives me a good reason to get out of the house and go for walk. I occasionally print and hang photos on a spare bit of wall at home....

Lots of reasons!

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

If I discount my short lived stint with a Sony DSC-something in college, I came to Sony in 2019, but not for photography. I wanted to be a travel vlogger, so at the time the a6400 seemed to be what the influencers were pushing. On my first big trip (Japan) I learned two important things: (1) I was bad at making travel videos, and (2) photography presented a bigger challenge than I initially thought. I spent the next 2 years making the odd video here and there, but where my interest for video tapered off, my interest in photography took off.

So now I take photos to capture family moments and to challenge myself to learn how to take better photos (get it right in camera) and to learn how to edit better/faster.

 

[Landshark99]

My love of photography started in High School, with a very inspiring teacher. I found the camera gave a me a voice to tell the story of how I saw the world around me. I was lucky enough to turn my passion into a career, shooting proffesionally for over 40 years and even now I still love the camera as my story telling tool. I have to admit that after all those years of mostly shooting for others needs it is liberating to just shoot for just myself again, like it was in the beginning of this journey.

 

[MeowZzz]

I spent a long time not taking photographs -- as a teen, I was fully into it (D&P, 35mm and 120) --- then life happened and no camera.

So, I picked a camera up again by accident a few years ago and have slowly been letting it do its thing; I have no direction or pressure to photograph anything - & not having to feel like I should include humans in my images has made it so much more pleasant I think.

Why photograph at all then? Well, because I have been hither and thither in this world (and did not make images) and I want to record and look at the things I enjoy again later -- when I pick up a camera, I shoot things that I find intriguing and am thus not looking to impress anyone or worse, earn a living from it - all of which allow it to be free to go wherever it goes. And that is fine with me.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

It's a passion. I love seeing the results and preserving the memory. I like sharing them too, though sometimes wonder why I bother to be brutally honest, but I will always continue, and try to take better and better shots.

 

[Deleted Member 5003]

If I discount my short lived stint with a Sony DSC-something in college, I came to Sony in 2019, but not for photography. I wanted to be a travel vlogger, so at the time the a6400 seemed to be what the influencers were pushing. On my first big trip (Japan) I learned two important things: (1) I was bad at making travel videos, and (2) photography presented a bigger challenge than I initially thought. I spent the next 2 years making the odd video here and there, but where my interest for video tapered off, my interest in photography took off.

So now I take photos to capture family moments and to challenge myself to learn how to take better photos (get it right in camera) and to learn how to edit better/faster.

 

[Deleted Member 5003]

Damned good question.

I scratched my head when I first read the question, still scratching it now.

I have an extremely poor memory which isn't getting any better as I near the edge. It isn't solely for the memories though. I could achieve that with a basic mobile.

There's no financial gain for me, I don't sell anything and on the rare occasions people have asked to use my photos, I have agreed unconditionally.

It's a pain travelling with a proper camera and associated glass, I break virtually every airlines rules on hand luggage weight, as I try to look nonchalant at the check in desk while my back (with 3 diagnosed conditions) gives me hell carrying my rucksack.

I get an immense sense of personal satisfaction when I see a good shot in the viewfinder which is greatly enlarged when someone else appreciates it and as humans I believe we need something to strive towards. I've never taken a perfect photo, perhaps that's what drives us?

I'm lucky, in that I have a lot of hobbies, photography and travel sit firmly hand in hand, but I still can't answer your question.

 

[iain clyne]

What did you photograph in your work?

Sport and a bit of press work when things were quiet.

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

I've viewed people's photos all my life and wondered why they'd take that angle, why they would shoot it that way etc. So just imagining the technicalities of a photo has always been in my mind.

I've always taken images with my phone when I'm out on the dirt bike or mountain bike, and it got to a point where I felt the phone camera was stopping these images from being as good as they could be. So a year and a half ago I bought an RX100 to keep in my camelbak to take photos with when I'm riding. Needless to say I bought an A6400 within a fortnight and the camera craziness started from there!

So, why do I take photos? I've always viewed myself as entirely sports orientated, so walking around taking photos then sitting on a computer doing edits is absolutely something that myself or anyone who knows me would ever have pictured me doing, but I'm also very passionate and adore nature and everything that comes with it. I don't know, I guess it's a challenge isn't it, the challenge of seeing all the beauty around us then trying to represent that beauty in the best way possible through a single still image. It's never good enough, there is always room for improvement. For me that is addictive.

Another great aspect. My missus can't take photos and has no interest in operating a camera (she sticks to the binoculars), but she loves animals, nature and scenery. We are both very athletic so walking for kilometres in a day suits us just fine. She is just as passionate about my photography as I am and after I take a photo I always have to show her on the back screen. She sits there later and watches me do my edits too, I finish a nice image and look to my left and she will be smiling at me while she's wiping tears from her eyes. So I think the whole photography process, it's just as beneficial for her as it is me. It's a really beautiful thing for both of us. Just as well, it's here to stay...

 

[Gaz]

I’m a great fan of Peter Sellers and each day I grab my camera and form a little smile as I’m reminded of his classic line …. “I like to watch”.