What does photography mean to you?

[Milbs1]

I am still a relative newbie to photography (18m) but I don’t think I am being overly dramatic by saying that photography has changed my life.
Pre-photography I was a 30 something, slightly bored mother of 2, with a few friends, who watched a lot of mindless reality tv! Now I have a passion, and wanted to share what photography means to me:-

1. Photography is mine. Its not my hubby's hobby that I tag along to, its not something that the kids do, its mine, for me.
2. I see things differently. I nearly cried on my way to work today. It was the most beautiful sunrise with low level mist and orange cornflake clouds……and I didn't have my camera!
3. Photography gets me out and about to new places. I particularly love the early mornings, and I'm not a morning person! The peacefulness and beauty of a new day takes my breath away.
4. I have a hunger to learn..which means countless hours on the internet browsing wonderful sites like AP!
5. Through photography I have made some AWESOME friends, both real and lots of online people (hopefully they are real too!). I feel like I belong.
6. My house is a mess. It was never particularly clean pre-photography, but now, well just don’t call in unannounced :rolleyes:

I could go on, but I'd love to hear what photography means to you too?

[PH005]

I think you have just about said it all, and so well Shirl. It is a passion . It is unlike any other hobby that I can think of. It is one that I have left from time to time but am now here to stay. Greatly in part to AP and the wonderful online friends who keep giving encouragment to keep trying to improve. The scope of photography is as vast as the world itself, and beyond. To me it is "The" hobby. You do belong Shirl. And long may you do.

[WhoDo]

Good idea, Shirl. Following your example I'll add a little personal detail for context. Pre-photography I was a late-50's, bored father of 2 and grandfather of 1 that had no life outside of work and family. My sporting days (waterpolo, soccer and baseball umpiring) were well and truly over and I needed something to give my life a lift. I used to paint but never had the patience to do it properly. I tried open source software development (Puppy Linux v2.15CE, 4.20 and 4.21 were my babies) and found it singularly unsatisfying of my creative urges. Like you I'm a relative newbie - coming up for 12 months with my first DSLR in June - so my responses are also a bit passionate.


Photography gives me a creative outlet that is as immediate as I am impatient!
It has let me see things that I once overlooked, like a sunrise, the detail in a flower or bird, and the endless colours of life!
I have an insatiable appetite for knowledge and photography is something new, different and challenging.
Through photography I have found a whole host of friends and acquaintances with whom I can share the passion. They are without exception truly nice people who enjoy their lives regardless of their ages.
I'm hoping that photography will become a shared passion and that my wife will also enjoy getting out and about with me, meeting new people and seeing interesting things. It seems to be working, too. She's been on a couple of AP meets and likes the atmosphere and the people. She's even letting me consider new gear AND bought me my Sigma 70-300 tele/macro zoom for Christmas! How good is that!

I enjoyed reading your list even more than making my own, Shirl. You do belong and you are very, very good at your hobby. That you find time for photography with 2 youngsters is a source of amazement and admiration for me. Don't worry about the house being a mess; there are more important things that need your attention!

I'm so glad you've found something that is yours and yours alone! Too often women are misled into believing their existence is dependent upon their partners or offspring. It isn't! Women, for me, are the most amazing creatures and need to be respected and appreciated in all of their beauty and diversity. To do otherwise is to truly miss one of the marvelous wonders of creation!

[colinbm]

It is all those above & more :th3:
I have a multitude of hobbies & interests, & all the time on earth, but no money :o
Genealogy is my passion & photography is becoming a bigger passion now.
I am a wanna-be photographer.
It is all absorbing & drains the bank :scared:
Col

[Ionica]

It is something that has been an interest for many years, and is usually my attempt to record something that has made an impression on me, something I find beautiful, and hopefully to do it justice. This can be anything from a landscape to a tiny detail of eg a moss or lichen, to architecture, people etc on any trips I may make. It usually means spending a lot of time wandering around by myself,camera in hand or in pack, and always trying to be observant.
I also try to be creative with it, either with the camera, or after on the computer.

[ricktas]

It means to me, getting cold, hot, wet, thirsty, covered in leeches, sand, flies, getting down in the mud or climbing a tree for the best angle. Being bitten by wasps, or hassled by people who don't think I should be taking photos on the beach. It means sitting at work, looking out the window at the sunset and thinking, 'why am I at work'. It means getting up at 3.30 am, wasting a tank of fuel to drive 2 hours for a sunrise that is a fizzer.

But it also means I get to take photos that can win POTW etc, and share with family, friends and online places like AP. Have people contact me for a print, or ask me to shoot their family portraits.

Photography means all sorts of things to me, but the most satisfying is seeing the smile on someone's face when they see one of my photos!

[kiwi]

Amen to that last sentence

[WhoDo]

Bump! I'm sure that there are more stories out there to add to the collection! :p

[salnel]

For some unknown reason, 10 months ago, I decided I wanted a camera of my own. I had never been into photography at all and took horrible pictures most of the time. So, off I went and ended up with a Nikon d90 and an 18-200mm lens with not the foggiest idea of how to use it.But I snapped away and was quite happy with the photos I had. Then I discovered AP and my world changed!! I saw the most amazing collections of images..from flies blowing bubbles to landscapes from Iceland! I read about techniques, equipment,lighting and post processing and realized that the world of photography was infinite.
So, 10 months on, I have spent a vast amount of money, learned a huge amount,taken shot after shot, trying all the while to improve. I have done and tried things that I would never have thought I would do and I see the world in such a different way.
Photography has now become a part of my life that gives me an enormous amount of pleasure..far more than I ever dreamed it would do:)

[lay-z]

Thanks for sharing Salnel, it's incredible how some optics can change a person's life! My story's a bit lame compared to everyone else's but here it goes!

I was studying a bachelor's of business when I first gained an interest in photography - namely, how to get blurred backgrounds from subjects! :D After acquiring my first SLR (Pentax MZ-50), I quickly accomplished what I wanted to do but became eager to learn more about how the most basic of settings can change the result of a photo. Being on a tight student budget, sometimes it was a bit hard to keep a healthy stock of film and getting my photos developed but I persisted and I had a go at shooting all sorts of stuff until I found out I truly enjoyed getting out there and shooting landscapes as I've had an appreciation of what nature has to offer. I found the isolation from the real world to have a calming effect - which was much needed during some hectic assignment deadlines at uni! I continued to shoot landscapes throughout my degree as a form of stress relief and that's what photography means to me nowadays - tranquility - it's just me, camera and scene, nothing else to worry about!

Although the above does sound self centered and selfish, much like everyone else, the real joy is when people 'ooo' and 'aahh' over the photos when you show it to them.

[ving]

I use photography to pick up chicks! ;)

oh ok, i dont....
While Cheryl also enjoys photography it is generally something i do by myself. I enjoy the solitude that i get birding and hunting bugs. the tranquility of a sunset... Its a release from a stress, an outlet for creativity, a way to express emotions without words... it both helps me to relax and gets me excited at the smae time.... its exercise, it gets me outdoors to experience the wonders of nature....



... it comes second to my wife. :love:

[OzzieTraveller]

Geez Shirl

Geez Shirl - you've got it bad mate, real bad
The chronic "affliction" has struck real deep and you've ......... joined the club

You're now a real beaut 'tog, you know what it's like and can appreciate all the visual nuances and colour harmonies that seep into my/our collective psyches

Glad to have you aboard the photo express ...
Regards, Phil

[Milbs1]

Thanks all for sharing, and Phil you're right, I have got it bad!! :D

[Shelley]

Shirl, I started responding to this thread last night and ended up deleting because I was rambling. I am a hopeless tragic photographer. :)

[Dylan & Marianne]

Other than everything that has already been mentioned, one other thing about photography is that it has made me really see places that I visit or even walk past every day.
Have you ever stopped at a location , be it a nowhere or an iconic spot , and watched all of the people going by and then leaving after a minute or two? Perhaps taking a picture of themselves with something incidental in the background?
Marianne and I are of the school of thought that if we're visiting somewhere, for us, it's definitely about the quality of a visit rather than the quantity of sights visited that counts.
Photography is one of the factors that have brought us to this conclusion. When we tell people that we stayed at a certain spot for 3days waiting for the right conditions (not that long for some photographers), many just give us a weird look but the desire to get that photograph just right made us stay and witnessed the same scene in so many glorious different ways that we could hardly imagine a stop by for a mere 10 minutes. The location that comes straight to mind is Jokulsarlon in Iceland.

Photography has taught me patience, persistence, and the ability to admire something for what it is and not necessarily what it was advertised to be.
Thank you photography,

" I do"

:D

[geoffsta]

First of all. Congradulations Shirl for being a member of AP for a year...:th3:
But I'm a bit like Whodo. Sitting around with nothing to do. I have been a guitarist most of my life, but obtained an injury that made it painful to play. Always loved photography but never been able to afford it, until now.
What I have got out of photography
1. Better eyesight. I'm seeing things now that I have proberly driven past a thousand times.
2. Met a lot of great people with simular interests.
3. Learning something new almost every day.
4. Become a member of a community that excites my passion for photography.
5. Having something to talk about at work, other than work. (8 people at work dabble in photography)

Thanks AP for letting me be a part of a great community.

[Milbs1]

First of all. Congradulations Shirl for being a member of AP for a year...:th3:

Thanks Geoff, hadn't realised it was my anniversary, I shall go and crack open a bottle of wine :)
Looks like you pipped me to it by 10 days, so congrats also :)

[WhoDo]

Bump! I think this is an interesting topic and I'm hoping more people will respond! Thanks for posting it, Shirl! :th3:

[smallfooties]

Quite literally, photography was/is my form of communication... photography taught me how to speak again... :o
Pre - photography i was mute... in every sense of the word... :o

[Roo]

If I was to over simplify it in one word, for me it would be 'memories'

Taking into account all the benefits that everyone has mentioned and I agree wholeheartedly with them but for me, looking back at pictures be it last week, month a year or more ago it invokes the fond memories of the place, trip, holiday outing the story surrounding that picture that I can share.

[Othrelos]

I'm a 4th generation photographer in my family, my great-grandfather who taught my grandfather, who taught my mother - who taught me. My grandmother was also heavily involved in photography -but she didn't like B&W at all. However, As soon as colour film came out she was buying it, she liked to print vivid dye transfer prints. While my grandfather with his 8X10 view camera, preferred the subtle tones of B&W and he taught me how to develop film from 35mm to 8X10. He taught me platinum printing, how to use view cameras, the Zone system and the landscape photography in the style of the f/64 group. My grandmother who preferred small 35mm camera systems and small medium format systems (she travelled internationally a lot) taught me dye transfer printing, introduced me to street photography and studio photography and colour printing. My mother, in a similar fashion to her mother preferred 35mm cameras especially Leica range finders and their incredibly fast lenses. My mother taught me sports and wildlife photography techniques, how to use Long lenses and stabilisation techniques, Macro photography techniques. My uncle who was a pilot took us on flights for areal photography.

Photography is immortalising an impermanent moment in an impermanent universe. My great grandfather and grandparents are gone, my mother hasn't used a camera in years, I'm all that's left - and that is why I have such a massive collection of camera gear at my disposal.

[Papou]

Well what can i say that hasnt been allready said???:)..Photography has given me a third eye to viewe everything through for what it actuall is whether in beuty or other. Not a pro by any means, just a novice and happy to stay that way but wish for excellent results:D....

[Bear Dale]

My photography is surely nothing to rave about, probably never will be, but by damn.... am I infected by the photography bug!!!

I literally live and breath photography 24/7

[mechawombat]

Photography is my fall back if I lose my memories :p

Honestly it is..... Ok its not but it could be.:p

It is my way to capture moments for those who are not there to share in the moment. my son is growing up so fast and this way I can share him and the moments we shared like my current adventure to the beach (http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?84349-The-Joey)

Also make my wife jealous ;)

[rookie]

There is only one thing that I can add to what has already been said and that is I wish I'd taken up the hobby much earlier :(

[arthurking83]

I just like pushing buttons.

The more the merrier I reckon.

yeah, yeah .. cheap thrills! ... but someone's got to do it ....

click! :D

[mongo]

Hmmmmmmmmmm.....you seem to have it bad Shirl (but real).
It not doubt means different things to different people.
For Mongo it is the need to release and express some passionate energy that can’t be contained. It is generally characterised by an ability to see and feel things more acutely. To seek, consider and refine to ones own pleasing the things around them that move them . To capture something you like so much you want to cage it in a frame and make it yours to re-experience time and again and sometimes, the faint hope that what you have captured and worked on might give others the same pleasure to see and experience it.
It can be a most a powerful communication tool and expression tool.
Mongo wants to be a photographer for National Geographic when he grows up
What Ving said is interesting and Mongo feels the same , i.e. it is relaxing (and Mongo will add, fulfilling ) and exciting at the same time. Now , that says a lot about something.
Mongo is extremely fortunate that Mrs Mongo is just as passionate about the same thing.
There are too many other things to mention and Mongo is sure he would fail to cover them all anyway.

[tcdev]

I had never been into photography at all and took horrible pictures most of the time. So, off I went and ended up with a Nikon d90 and an 18-200mm lens with not the foggiest idea of how to use it.
Wow, this could've been the opening of my post... :p

I had the good fortune to be invited to attend the Space Shuttle launch around this time last year. A few months before the launch, I decided to buy a 'decent camera' so I'd have more than a few smoke trails to show for it. It took quite a bit of 'negotiations' before my wife would consent to my purchase - a D90 and 18-200mm lens.

Before this point, I had absolutely no interest in photogaphy at all, and had owned a few P&S compacts that were used solely during travels with my wife.

I spent the few months I had before the launch practising and trying to absorb as much as possible. I very quickly learned the difference between a 'snapshot' and a 'photograph', mainly looking at others' photos on forums like AP. I also learned that having a DSLR didn't automatically produce these 'photographs' either. :p

I still consider myself a newbie. I've racked up about 11,000 shots on my trusty D90. In the mean-time I've bought another lens (35mm prime) and the top half of a tripod! My PP skills are very rudimentary, as I'm trying to focus (no pun intended) on improving my OOC skills first and foremost.

What surprised me the most however, was that during my pre-shuttle practice, I found myself increasingly interested in photography. Initially I was only interested in learning how to use the D90 to get good shuttle shots, but then other types of photography caught my eye. Landscapes and wildlife interested me first; but then I found myself looking at architecture, street and even portrait photography. If you'd told me that a few years ago, I'd laugh at you.

So what is it to me? A few things I suppose. Being able to capture 'better' memories of my travels, definitely. Making some of those memories good enough to hang on the wall, or to show off to others, yes. I guess that even the artistic side interests me; although I was actually quite creative when I was younger, I've perhaps not exercised that part of myself for many, many years now. It would be good to develop that further.

Naturally though, primarily I find it 'fun'. I too, enjoy learning, and it's one hobby where there is always going to be more to learn. I just wish I had more time to devote to it, though I would suspect that a lack of time does make me that little bit more enthusiastic when I do get the chance to play with my camera!

[PhoTomD]

Really interesting topic Shirl. I hear you when you say "it is mine, for me". I hear you girl :o I also hear Waz, Dylan, Mongo and many others
I was typing and typing then I got slightly bored after reading and correcting my grammar errors :o In simple sentence: Photography and its whole aspects like seeing/noticing, patience, planning, interactions, constructive criticism, as Dylan said "persistence" has made me a better more complete person.

[Cobalt Blue]

I agree with alot of what everyone else has said. Photography is my thing. (That's what my hubby says anyway.)

It's something I don't think I'll be able to explain particularly eloquently but here goes anyway...

It's a smile, or a tear. A glimpse of a little snuggling baby in my arms who now is running 3 steps ahead of me.

It's the tears on my husbands face when our first child was born and we found out we had a son.

It's the smile on my dad's face when he held our second child for the first time, even though the photo was taken in a hospital bed while his chemotherapy drugs were slowly seeping into his body.

It's the shiny yellow XF Ford Falcon that I saved so hard to buy and loved for 10 years and is probably now a pepsi can that I am drinking from.

It's the beautiful flower placed in my hand by a chubby toddler hand accompanied by a sloppy kiss that has since been turned to compost.

It's the two tiered fondant cake that took almost 2 days for me to make for my youngests first birthday that was eaten in less than 15 minutes!

It's the laughter and sadness of my life, it's the decoration on my wall, it's often a huge cause of frustration when I struggle to convey what I see through my lens.

And it's the reason my savings account is getting a (tiny) little bit bigger every month - I need a 60D.

Simply, it's part of me.


And if you ask my eldest son (he's 8 going on 30) it's the reason we're always late because "mum's always gotta get the picture right turning her camera this way and that and making us stand together and stuff" - said with camera holding, button clicking action.:D

I could go on forever but I think you get the idea.

Teressa

[arubaato]

when I first got into photography, I found out about flickr and photography for me then used to be getting a perfect shot to put onto flickr for the whole world to see...until I realised there's a whole world of photographers out there and they aren't coming to look. So it became getting the perfect shot for myself, which became so much more satisfying as I am easy to please. now, I've been shooting for a few years, and still trying new things, trying to do basic things, rather than over-complicating matters. I realised that my photography has changed again, to keeping memories mode. Now, I go back to my exif data to work out what I was doing at a certain point in time. It's become experimenting with different cameras and films, and trying new techniques. I'm going into a new stage in my life with a baby arriving soon, so for the last few months I've been practising getting spontaneous family shots "right", readying myself to capture the perfect shots for my family. I admire everyone's work on AP and flickr, but for me, at this stage in my life, it's about capturing the moment.