When you first learn a new craft there is always a learning curve. For those of us that have been practicing photography for a while the steep upward trajectory is behind us. We may pick up new tricks here and there or start working in a new format but for the most part progress doesn’t come as fast. It’s the fine tuning. Fine tuning isn’t as fun as that big ah-ha moment where the light bulb finally clicks. The craft of photography becomes a bit routine and we start over thinking everything we do. For some people this is when we hit the creative slump. We lose inspiration and though maybe technically better our photos lose some of their spark. I believe this is when many photographers fall into the Gear Acquisition Syndrome trap. We want to regain that inspiration we had and make better photos and since we’ve learned about as much as we could absorb by whatever means we start wanting to spend money on more exotic equipment.
The following is a basic timeline for my photography hobby. When looking back I can see trends and the ebb and flow of my interests.
1995. Girlfriend takes photography class, carries camera around with her where ever she goes, takes great pictures.
1996-7. I decide to take photography classes, girlfriend gets mad, she does not want me to take photography possibly out of fear that I will be better at it than her. Her fear is unfounded, she is much better then me.
1997. Graduate highschool. No longer have access to darkroom. Attempt to set up darkroom in friends spare room. He successfully makes some prints. I do nothing but drink beer and hang out with said girlfriend.
1998. Join Navy. Still carrying around a bunch of photography equipment so that I can set up my own darkroom. Stuff sits in storage for years. Marry photographer girlfriend. Move to San Diego. Girlfriend discovers Polaroids and works in photo lab. I don’t take very many pictures, don’t know why, just busy. Using an Olympus clamshell camera (a nice one) that the wife bought for me.
2002ish. Can’t afford film. Wife left me a couple of years back. Depressed most of the time and drinking too much. Friend gives me Minolta digital camera. Take some pictures with it of friends at parties and what have you.
2003. Realize all darkroom equipment lost, stolen, or thrown away from storage at dads house. Remarry, have the first kid. Wife buys a Kodak digital camera and uses that for most family photos. Minolta SRT 102 stolen from garage. Use Minolta digital camera for most photography needs. Not very serious about it, just pictures of friends drinking or riding scooters.
2005-2006. Buy dSLR. Forgotten most of what I knew about photography. Shoot mediocre pictures in the green box mode. Miss film. Blame equipment for crappy photos. Learn enough to be dangerous and get passionate about photography again. Start shooting Pin Up photography. Score a bunch of darkroom equipment on Craigslist. No enlarger but lots of peripheral equipment.
2007. Move to Virginia. Bored as hell no friends. Family life is good but lots of down time with nothing to do. Homesick.
2008ish Discover toy cameras. Buy Holga and start collecting film cameras. Realized color photography was really expensive with film. Find good deal on enlarger on craigslist. Set up darkroom. Shoot lots of black and white film and some color. Color mostly sits in boxes undeveloped.
2010. Buy digital scanner. Stop using darkroom. Gotten pretty good at dSLR and photoshop. Still don’t really like it very much, but I can do it and make photos look.
2011. Sell dSLR to buy a gun. Start developing color film at the house and scanning negatives. Realize that I am sick of shooting black and white for the most part and rediscover the joys of photography. Can’t understand why I had no interest in shooting color on my dSLR but in love with the texture and color pallete of film. Photography is fun again. Look back at old color photos that I took when I first starting shooting film again.
So that’s where I am now. When photography becomes work or a chore to me my photos tend to suck. When I go out of my way to find a place to shoot the pictures are boring. Sometimes you have to take a break from this stuff and recharge your batteries. Right now I’m in a good period because I am looking at things with an interest of how they will look on color film (as opposed to black and white). I have inspiration again. This won’t last forever, but I enjoy it while it’s here. Looking forward to fall.
I found the same with work and pleasure. Photography has been a hobby for 30+ years ad I love it. 14 years ago I turned it into a business and then lost interest about 2 years ago and ended up selling it. now I’m getting my passion back and re-building my site as a tips and tutorial site.
Right on, funny how business changes things. That’s awesome that you are sharing your knowledge and experience, I can tell you from my own stats that lots of people are looking for that information. The technical articles get the most views followed by the gear reviews. My rants get very little reads!