Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/09/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Daniel Ridings offered wisdom with: Subject: Re: Dealing with the Photo Blahs [was Re: [Leica] Catching Up] >>I am hoping I'll get out of the slump. I expect I won't. I expect that youth carried with it an element of excitement that just is not going to come back.<< Hi Daniel, I believe this is the most significant wisdom .... >I expect that youth carried with it an element of excitement that just is not going to come back.<< Absolutely no question!!!!!!!!!!! Our youth "time" whatever that maybe for some, wild and crazy from one end of the world to the other and back involved in the news and events of the day for me, it was an incredible time. Loved it! :-) I don't think it's the type of photographic blah as happens in a normal sense when shooting every day, I think it has more to do with, I'm sure in my own case... "Been there done that ....a kind of burn out, so why bother?":-( Yes there are spurts of photo visual activity, some nice pictures, unfortunately finished with a so what attitude. :-( If we look at a situation where you're working on a documentary for several months... like everyday from dawn to dusk you run into days where "nothing works and you feel as blind as a brick!" A day of down time and you come back like a run away youth recovered steam engine at high speed. The older we get the slower the engine works, "For you older folks doesn't that sound familiar?" ;-) Unfortunately our body begins to argue .... "wait a minute idiot you want me to go where? Do what? Read my condition, your lucky I got you out of bed today!" I've found this to be as much mental as physical. Then the "Photo blahs begin" it can last a few hours, days or if you let it bog you down, years! :-( However, it can be beat, no not back to the energy levels of youth, but by photographing things you like without pressure of.... "this has to be finished today!" Because many of you have shown me the beauty of flower photography, you've unwittingly given me "mental, visual and physical activity" I would not likely have done .... unless it was part of an assignment on gardening or such like subject. The blahs can be beat any time.... Most important? Pick a subject you like, concentrate on that without pressure and have fun. Don't get overly serious about perfection nor techie things that create mental photo stress. Just roll with it and never mind trying to be the gung-ho shooter of youth. It was always fun, it should still be fun, even more so! Do it in that fashion and the blahs will definitely fade away like a setting sun! There you go eh! So endth the lesson for today.:-) ted