[matthew]

A piece of advice that I heard early on was to choose a major project and stick with it. It should be big, it should be interesting, and it should be yours. Think of a common theme or subject that you can turn to when there's nothing else going on, or something that you will seek out over a long period of time. This is the sort of project that might produce a book, gallery show, or even a lifetime retrospective.

Does anyone have one?

I recently discovered mine, and it has been a revelation. It's given me something to photograph when nothing else catches my interest, a new perspective on my under-organized archives, and has me thinking about prints and creating a cohesive body of work. I'm finally starting to feel like a photographer.

I have to say that the early advice was good, and once I was ready for it, it has made a lot of things fall into place. All it takes is a good idea. It doesn't even have to be grand or monumental, it just has to interest you. After all, I'm looking to make gallery-quality prints of road signs.

So, do you have a favourite subject or theme?

[shuttertalk]

I think this is really good advice, Matthew.

Unfortunately, I don't have a project currently - photographically speaking, the thing keeping me the busiest is of course, Shuttertalk itself!!

If I look back at my photos over the past year, I would say too that the dominant theme is photos of my nieces and family photos. I know that most of these are just snapshots, but the memories will be invaluable in the future...

[matthew]

If I look back at my photos over the past year, I would say too that the dominant theme is photos of my nieces and family photos. I know that most of these are just snapshots, but the memories will be invaluable in the future...

Well, that itself is a project, and one that can indeed provide all of its benefits. There's a great deal of truth to the idea that any collection of photos becomes valuable. Family snapshots are typically collected and protected better than most "art" prints, and become more and more important as time passes.

Projects are about finding and maintaining an interest in something to build a body of work. Most of us probably have trends or themes, it's just a matter of recognizing and nurturing them. Alternatively, and outside interest can also provide a long-term photographic project. Another early piece of advice that I heard was that the worst thing for a photographer is to be interested in cameras. It's far better to be interested in something else -- woodworking, stamp collecting, mountain biking, skiing -- and bring a camera to that. It all rolls into the same idea -- have an interest, be interested, and the resulting collection becomes much more significant.

[shuttertalk]

Another early piece of advice that I heard was that the worst thing for a photographer is to be interested in cameras. It's far better to be interested in something else -- woodworking, stamp collecting, mountain biking, skiing -- and bring a camera to that. It all rolls into the same idea -- have an interest, be interested, and the resulting collection becomes much more significant.

That's some very insightful advice... I actually like taking long drives and traveling, and I find myself taking lots and lots of photos whenever I go on a trip. That sort of makes sense...

[Toad]

[Another early piece of advice that I heard was that the worst thing for a photographer is to be interested in cameras. It's far better to be interested in something else

That is so true. I haven't taken a picture in 4 months. how do I get interested again?

[Irma]

Unfortunately there is no project here at the moment.

And I think it is because I don't know myself what kind of photography I like the most. The same interest I have in taking pictures of a bird show, macros of a flower or a landscape. I love taking still life and portraits as well. I have thought that probably my photography is not mature enough to know what I really enjoy or what I am good at, or I am not a photographer at all, and I just enjoy taking pictures of what I find in my way and I see beautiful and/or interesting in the best way I can.

This is something I have regreted a lot lately, because if I just knew what kind of photography I like, I'd concentrate all my efforts in a project and my improvements in an specific area would be more visible. I could even be able to develope my own style.

Thanks so much for this post Matt... It made me think about photography, which at the moment is my only interest.

[Keith Alan]

Great discussion!

I don't know if I have a long-term project yet, although as I look back there seems to have been several.
It's no secret that I started my current interest in photography due to trains.
Both as a model railroader needing to master macros and as a 'railfan' wanting to capture real trains and their details for showing off and for future generations of modellers--since the photographers of the early 1960s were kind enough to leave their bodies of work for me to study.

But after I became proficient at these goals, they lost their attraction.
Soon I realized that the journey itself is what made me happy.
Learning to "master" to some degree a new type of photography became my goal, and it has been very helpful and enlightening.
As I get a handle on the requirements of some new discipline, like studio/product shots or infrared landscapes, I discover that the newly learned skills trickle-down to augment my older interests, making me more of a well-rounded photographer that's better able to handle any new situation I encounter.

I think my desires for cameras and related gear is healthy, because I'm only interested in finding the equipment that will allow me to use the techniques and ideas that I have in the most cost-effective way.
I don't lust after anything on the market that won't perform for me in specific ways.
"Newer/better" means nothing to me.

One project that I have been working on over the past two years, now that I think about it, is to take the best photos I can of the places and things that I love in every possible light.
I like to repeat the same framing and angle in sunlight, when it's about to storm, just before sunset, and at night. (I would add foggy days if we had them)
Many excellent art print series are made of the same exact shot taken in each season, which is where I got the idea but we don't really have the four seasons here.

My newest project is all about mastering off-camera flash. A light and compact kit I can take anywhere easily, using two or three manual strobes/slaves that can help me "make" images rather than "take" images indoors and out, day or night, no matter what genre I might be working in.
This will be a longer-term project than any other I have worked on, both in buying the equipment and feeling comfortable using it quickly and with some style.

I have grown weary of scheduling my life around catching "better" available light.
The techniques will help me with both the band photography I'm already in a position to capitalize on, as well as getting my foot in the door at newspapers and magazines as a freelancer.



(Thanks for making me think this through, Matthew.
Putting it into words has helped me to better understand what I'm searching for.)

[Pat]

I have been running a family history website which covers the Hunter Valley in New South Wales for some years and have tried to visit each town in the area to take photographs of relevant historical buildings etc. Looking at the photographs taken in the early days of the website development I realise that they leave a lot to be desired. So my project is to visit the towns again and take better photos, only problem I haven't told my poor long suffering husband yet who usually accompanies me on these expeditions

[guerito]

Hello everybody! Long time no see!

I do have a project actually. I've started to paint. It's total freedom - I am independent of the lousy weather we have here, and I don't have to travel a whole day to have a picture of a waterfall. My old pictures gain value again, too; they serve as models for paintings. I don't think I will ever be a really good painter, but I do think that painting pictures has an impact on the way I photograph things. However, at the moment I'm just at the very beginning and I don't really know where this road will take me...

Here are three of my first pictures for you to have a good laugh:

[matthew]

Great thread, and great responses... I'm running late tonight, but want to quickly comment on a couple of ideas.

I haven't taken a picture in 4 months. how do I get interested again?

That's tough, and I have some idea what you're talking about. Someone I know gave me some advice on the subject not too long ago: "If its not fun - its not worth doing, and you don't want to permanently damage your appreciation by equating taking pictures with tedium. Often something jogs me back into play. I take a trip somewhere that inspires me. I meet new people who's work inspires me. I catch a break - I was in a slump when I got my first photo exhibition and I had to work so hard on it, that I was inspired before I knew it.

In time, perhaps, this too will pass.
(I hope so, because what you've been able to create has been astonishing.)

Irma, a few months ago I would have also listed photography as my only interest as well. Honestly, it still is my only hobby. What has changed for me is that I realized that I also have passing/casual interest in urban design, my city's history and its remnants, information exchange, and words. It may seem silly to say that my project is photographing signs, but I realized that these underlying interests were all included in my tendency to photograph them. I've been doing it for years, and a "Low Overpass" sign that had come unscrewed and was pointing to the ground remains one of my biggest "missed picture" regrets. Now that I've realized why I've been doing it, and what it means, it's given me new clarity. Sometimes it really is simple.

I think my desires for cameras and related gear is healthy, because I'm only interested in finding the equipment that will allow me to use the techniques and ideas that I have ... "Newer/better" means nothing to me.

I think the idea was that it's a bad thing to only be interested in cameras, which is something that I have to fight. (And I have the new lenses to prove it.) And, I have to add, you are probably the least gear-driven photographer I have ever known. You're producing results that I can't match, and doing it with a camera that's a generation older than one that I've retired.

Pat, that's a great project, and one that will provide a lot of benefit to a lot of people. My condolences to your husband.

I do have a project actually. I've started to paint. It's total freedom - I am independent of the lousy weather we have here, and I don't have to travel a whole day to have a picture of a waterfall. My old pictures gain value again, too; they serve as models for paintings.

It's easy to overlook that Henri Cartier-Bresson was a painter first and last. I like your new work.

[Russt]

Very interesting thread, it has me thinking about my projects and photography as a whole.

I think for me its more about developing skills than any one project.

One long term project I do have would be to have would be more of my own prints on the wall but I guess this is the same for most of us. Landscapes at different times and long exposures in a series of shots would be high on my list there. I guess I should really set this as a firm project (which would intern help with my over all goal of developing my skills) instead of thinking it will just happen.

Thanks for sharing all

[Pat]

Guerito - I love your artwork

[shuttertalk]

Hey G... I really admire your painting pieces as well, they're superb.

My wife tried to get into painting on canvas last year, but it didn't quite take off...