What makes you get out and shoot?

[PJRiley]

I'm a news photographer, so I shoot every day at work. But, for my personal work, I decide on a theme (I try for once a week) and must get off my butt, pick up my M6 and get out there. I'm never sorry.
What inspires you to get off the couch and 'Go RFing'?
Mary

[Keith]

Quite often I'll be driven by the desire to try a new combination ... of maybe lens and film ... or perhaps trying something different in my shooting approach with a combination that takes me out of my comfort zone a little. I can always find things that interest me that I want to photograph but sometimes it's good to photograph them with a lens that wouldn't be my first choice and force myself to think a little more about the outcome I'm trying to achieve.

Often it will be a complete disaster but win or lose I always seem to learn something and gain from the experience. The joy of only having picked up a film camera seriously a couple of years ago, is that there's so much new ground for me to travel over! :)

great subject for a thread by the way!

[BillP]

There's a few things at work for me.

Firstly, I always carry a camera, most often my little IID these days. So in some regards I am an "opportunist" photographer.

Secondly, I don't have huge amounts of time thanks to the day job to really focus on photography, so when I travel, a large part of the enjoyment comes from capturing what I see, and the novelty of it.

I rarely set myself a theme, as such, but themes do seem to surface in my work from time to time - I went through a period of doors/doorways, with people silhouetted therein. It wasn't until someone else pointed it out that I realised the (subconscious) theme, and then worked to it more consciously.

Other, lesser drivers include trying out new kit, or finishing a roll of film!

Regards,

Bill

[RML]

I go out because I must. I shoot because I bring my camera.

[Andrew Sowerby]

One thing that often inspires me to go take some pictures is looking at photography books. "Common Sense" by Martin Parr arrived in the mail yesterday and I instantly wanted to go take some pictures of stuff around town.

[tritiated]

obsession with being creative I guess
I think I could do with following themes, to focus my enthusiasm

[ClaremontPhoto]

I go out every time I see somebody online talking camera bags.

[projectbluebird]

If I don't do something creative regularly, I start getting antsy. Short-tempered, even.
One of the reasons I like photography is that it is more immediate than many other art forms, though I still draw on occasion (my avatar for example).

I definitely carry my camera around with me almost everywhere. Lately its the IIIf and the canon 85/2. This past weekend I did something different, a day trip to a distant corner of the lake. While I was shooting, I had at least a few frames of "knowing" I had just taken a good photo.

A wonderful feeling, as good a reason as any to shoot.

[elude]

I live first I shoot second. I document my life and its events that's all.

[chris000]

On another forum I include the following quote in my signature:

The most beautiful thing under the Sun is being under the Sun - Christa Wolfe

It just about sums up my motivation, I just need to get out and the camera (or more than one!) always goes with me

[swoop]

The paycheck.

[tripod]

It's an inexplicable creative compulsion.

[mackigator]

Good light.

[Michiel]

The paycheck.Have to agree :) Whenever I think I can afford having some rolls developed, I'll take my camera. When I can't, I don't bring it. Having full rolls just lying around is frustrating...

[PetarDima]

Because shutter sounds like heart beat :) - that means that I'm still alive?

[Todd.Hanz]

gotta say, great idea for a thread!

for me, it's about expressing myself. looking at art and shooting stirs this passion.

Todd

[ibcrewin]

The film! If I have it.. I just want to burn it in pursuit of a great picture to show my wife, family, and friends.

[varjag]

No idea what is it, but am serious about it.

[shadowfox]

To take pictures that has been taken millions of times ... my way :D

[Spider67]

- My habit to go out for 20 Minutes and return 5 hours later and have a Camera with me
- Seeing patterns of some sort in my surroundings. Like reading the motives. If that would be a bit more intense it equal madness
- the expectation to see how it all turned out

A fraction of my motivation
Thanks for asking!

[alan davus]

If I stay at home I feel guilty for not being outside weeding the garden or mowing the lawns, so overall it's just a whole lot more fun heading off for a hike with a camera and a couple of lenses in tow.

[Senecabud]

New gear, a new film or developer; the weather; the need to walk my dog; reading this forum. :p

[kbg32]

Desire to express myself. I have always painted or drawn. Photography is quicker path for me. I'd go insane without it!

[jayjee]

I'd have to say, I suck at everything else. But most importantly, I love the eerie glow of a darkroom!

[Doug]

Getting out with the camera helps me better see my world.

[thomasw_]

An excellent question. I love documenting the regular affairs of my family, friends and town: for me it is all about finding a way to capture the light of these rather banal regularities in a lovely way.

[sepiareverb]

It's a compuslion. I can't stop.

[Superbus_]

I just waste my time but in a more creative way than writing or reading forums ;)

[GeneW]

There's no single thing that gets me out shooting. Someone mentioned being 'opportunistic' and that's true of me as well. I walk almost every day (doctor's orders) and I always carry a camera and take shots of things that catch my eye. I keep an eye on the weather forecast and if there's interesting weather, I try to time my walks for it. I like shooting in fog or a light rain. If I'm up early enough, I try to get out in the sometimes magical morning light.

I also like to document my life -- pics of family, meals, stuff around the house, things we do, places we go (even grocery stores). I even like taking pics of my gear while sipping coffee at Starbucks :-)

Gene

[Bingley]

Three reasons:

1) Good excuse to get out of the house and go walk about now that it's spring.

2) I have to decide which 50 to take on vacation. Must test lenses....

3) Spending too much time on RFF.

[Windscale]

I like to be able to record thngs that I see, especially under fine and/or memorable lighting conditions. I have a few cameras and have been shooting for many years and yet I feel I have not yet been able to get it right. I will keep trying. Another reason is that I like doing big blow-ups (up to 16x20 for 35mm and 60x60 for 120). It is a very different thing compared to looking at small prints. Also it is with the bigger prints that one can begin to see the real qualities of one's lenses. Prints up to 16x20 are done optically but those 60x60s are done by scanned digital files and inkjet. I also enjoy a bit of pinhole shooting. I am getting on a bit and it is necessary to have something to tax the brain with and enjoy at the same time.

Happy shooting.

[bmattock]

My reasons may differ depending on my circumstances. But currently...


Since I am living in a rented room in a flophouse in Detroit, whilst my home and family are in North Carolina, I have very little to do with myself at the weekend.

This gives me a reason to get out and find out more about Michigan, which is to be our home once we sell our house in NC.

Michigan is an incredibly beautiful state, which much to recommend it photographically.

My roommates are utter pigs. Between their all-night rap music parties and their never-ending parade of skanky hobags, man of whom I find face-down in their own filth and kippin' on the divan in the morning, I need to get out as much as I can.

A man can't drink all the time.

I am hoping to be noticed by a famous Hollywood producer and made into a star.

Since I have to go out to buy lottery tickets (my retirement plan) and Jack Daniels on a regular basis, I may as well take a few photographs whilst I am about it.

[JeffGreene]

I love making pictures and exploring the outdoors. I can't draw or paint, but I love the light and trying to capture it the way I see it in black and white. Haven't succeeded yet! Looks like a lifelong project. Been at it for a long time! Looks like I've passed the gene on to my granddaughter.

[Roger Hicks]

Lack of practice.

Cheers,

R.

[rolleistef]

I don't actually go out with the aim of shooting. I'm out with a camera and if there's something interesting I shoot, I shot, I shot - I shot the sheriff, but it was a case of self-defense, ooh ooh ooh... "Oh please shut up, Bob!" - sorry.
Yesterday I was on the tube, and there were people reading. There was a SLR in my bag, along with a 55/2. Guess what happened... Always the same.

[Roger Hicks]

if there's something interesting I shoot, I shot, I shot - I shot the sheriff, .
Cher Stéphane,

Yes, the deputy is much harder to shoot...

But I agree. Take the camera with you; if there is something to shoot (e.g. a sheriff) then shoot; if there is not, don't agonize about it and get hung up on whether you 'ought' to have taken a picture.

You realize that this will place us both on 'terrorists to watch' lists...

Cheers,

R.

[Bob Michaels]

I photograph primarily because it is a great "social lubricant" to meet interesting people. Secondarily is to create some form of historical document.

Today I hopped on a short Amtrak (US national passenger rail system) train ride. It was a ride slightly over one hour with a one hour layover to meet the train coming back home. I shot a lot of film.

But the highlight of today's trip was a 20 minute conversation with a blind 95 year old black man traveling by himself. I don't imagine that any of the many photos I did will be exhibited but the time we spent together was something to cherish. That simply would not have happened if I hadn't been on a photo shoot.

Side benefit: there is one Amtrak conductor who will not tell anyone else they cannot photograph on the train. He has been challenged and finally admitted there is no support for his position. My apologies to my fellow passengers for the conductor who was taken "out of service" by a demanding photographer expressing his rights.

If cameras were taken out of existence, I wonder how many others would go to the same places, do the same things but just mentally remember rather than capture on film or electronically.

[tbarker13]

That's always the challenge for me. I always want to shoot more than I really can. I'm a fairly shy person (even though my real job has me talking to people all the time, as a journalist) so I've always been somewhat uncomfortable doing random street photography.
So my solution has been to identify projects to work on. In the past, I spent a few months documenting life around a community theater. My current project has me spending a lot of saturday mornings documenting the ongoing restoration of an old WWII bomber here in St. Louis.
Once that plane is back in the air, I'll have to find my next project.

[Mr_Flibble]

If light conditions are good outside I feel ashamed to waste it.
Especially if I've got a new toy with a roll of film in it.