Photography is interesting in many ways; understanding light and shadow, being prepared for the "decisive moment", knowing what to shoot and how to shoot it, making it a career or just having fun or finding the artist inside, knowing your gear and understanding the technical side of it, aperture, shutter speed, ISO and lighting.
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| iPhone 5s edits in Lightroom 5.5 |
When I've lost the mojo to go shoot or even know what to shoot, I sometimes turn to gear. Why, because as a hobbyist and amateur photographer I also like the gear. Cameras, lenses, bags, tripods, lights, hardware and software and there's an industry out there today like no time in photographic history built specifically to support the photographic community.
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| iPhone 5s with edits in Photogene |
So in my current slump instead of turning to gear and looking for new stuff to buy, I'm turning to the gear I have, the software and Apps I have and I'm looking for new ways to shoot that inspire and bring a little something new to the game and will render a completely different end result.
In the past I've had no respect for the "look" and finish that filters from Instagram, Hipstamatic or the advanced filter settings in cameras give because they seem like just a way to cover a badly photographed scene.
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| Orchid. Fuji X-T1 using Advanced Filter "Toy Camera". Edits in LR5.5 included a vignette and crop. |
I still think that but by having an opinion like that I've shut myself out of the fun that those filters can bring when perfection doesn't need to be the goal. And in fact I wonder if a photo taken with a filter such as these can't also be considered perfect for the story and scene that it's describing through the eye of the person taking it for the story they want to tell. After all who gets to say what's perfect?
If the documentation of life happening around you is something that fascinates you and you have the inclination to do so, waiting to do it with hundreds, thousands of dollars of gear isn't necessary. What is important is knowing how you feel about what it is you see and how you want to interpret that feeling and idea into a visual art form, a story, an album, a print.
But whether you have high dollar equipment or your standard smartphone with a built in camera, the filters and finishes available, in most cases for free, can offer you an unimaginable array of moods that you can wrap your story, your idea around and finish with an expression that fits your original idea for the story you wanted to tell.
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| iPhone 5s with edits in Snapseed |
You can do this with filters built into your expensive camera, you can do this with filters built into the camera phone, you can do it in post production on your laptop, desktop or tablet with easy to find, cheap to free apps. Many of these apps will allow stacking, thereby giving you an opportunity to take a photo and use several (stack) different finishes for creating your very own look.
So for me the idea here is to find my Photo-Mojo, to get inspired to go shoot. Some of those ways can included buying new stuff, some can include taking a walk or a drive. Some can include racking your brain for a new idea, a new story to tell. Or you can dive into your well of apps and filters and play around and find a look you like which may lead to story you might like to tell, which may lead to the place you'd like to shoot it, which may lead to the end of your boredom and with some luck you may find your Photo-Mojo again.
The final take away for me is to not limit myself. I tend to do that. I think and train myself that something has to be done in a specific way and then I don't let myself stray. Straying is the best part. In photography, like in most other areas of life, it's the journey not the destination. Stray, try everything, have fun.
Good Luck and thanks for reading,
Tom
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| Fuji XT-1, uploaded to iPad edits in Photogene including the frame |
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| iPhone 5s edits in Lightroom 5.5 with presets |
