topic Re: Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit? in General Discussion

Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit?

dudeinwashingto — Mon, 08 May 2017 14:39:56 GMT

I know many of you all are passionate and dedicated people. and it comes naturally to many to take shots..

it seems i never have time...

may i please get a few suggestions on getting enthusiatic and practice taking out my camera and going out... i have a good camera - 80d...

ANY suggestions is much appreciated.

thank you for your time...

Re: Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit?

jrhoffman75 — Mon, 08 May 2017 14:43:37 GMT

Its called Time Management.

Decide what things in your life are most important and organize your life accordingly.

It's likely that many of the people here who seem o have a lot of time for photography are retired - there's an extra 8 hours a day that folks who are still working don't have.

Re: Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit?

ebiggs1 — Mon, 08 May 2017 14:51:10 GMT

Shoot. And shoot a lot. Buy a couple lenses. They further your experience. Like a good WA and a tele for instance.

"it seems i never have time..."

If I remember correctly, we all have the same amount of time. Decide on what you really want to do. One thing for sure, take your camera with you everywhere. It don't do you any good at home by itself. I never go anywhere with out a camera.

Re: Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit?

John_SD — Mon, 08 May 2017 15:33:30 GMT

Like a number of others here, I have a job, so I have to plan my photo sessions. Here's what you do. Schedule a Saturday or Sunday outing for photography, and pick a place to go. Where I live on the West Coast, we go to the tide pools, desert, mountains, sea shore, forest. You can also do street photography in the city, which I like. Amateur tip: old bus stations are great for photography. Show up real late, just hang out like you're waiting for someone. Then start shooting the old derelicts getting on and off the buses and hanging around. Just plan a place to go and take your camera. Good luck.

Re: Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit?

dudeinwashingto — Mon, 08 May 2017 16:25:17 GMT

Thank you jrhoffman75 , ebiggs1, and John_SD

John, that sounds like a plan , hoffman - yes i have to realize that i am also a full time worker and am not retired

ebiggs - you don't go anywhere without your camera! - wow!

Re: Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit?

ebiggs1 — Mon, 08 May 2017 18:12:02 GMT

" I have a job, ..."

I am retired 13 years now but I have slowed down by just a little. Not having a regular full time job doesn't help much. I am way more selective about the jobs I take on now. So, it isn't a everyday grind for sure. Three hour job Saturday, off Sunday and a three or four hour job tonight. Then, you can double that time in post.

One thing, however, if you don'y take your camera with you, you can't use it. The opportunities are abundant.

Re: Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit?

John_SD — Mon, 08 May 2017 19:10:46 GMT

@ebiggs1 wrote:
" I have a job, ..."

I am retired 13 years now but I have slowed down by just a little. Not having a regular full time job doesn't help much. I am way more selective about the jobs I take on now. So, it isn't a everyday grind for sure. Three hour job Saturday, off Sunday and a three or four hour job tonight. Then, you can double that time in post.

One thing, however, if you don'y take your camera with you, you can't use it. The opportunities are abundant.

God bless you on your retirement,and I agree about having a camera with you at all times, as opportunities are indeed plentiful. Unfortunately, I can't say I follow that good advice at this time, though at some point I will probably get either a RIcoh GR II or a Fujifilm X100T, as my interest in street photography continues to grow. Smaller cameras will allow me to more easily carry them around, especially downtown.

My street photography "hero" is Bruce Gilden. His work and subject matter are fantastic and appeal to me greatly. Hence, my efforts to seek out degenerates, creeps, weirdos, lowlifes, oddballs, down-and-outers and their soulmates. The bus station in San Diego is OK for this, but the ones in L.A. and downtown Vegas are a lot better. YMMV.

Re: Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit?

dudeinwashingto — Mon, 08 May 2017 19:22:08 GMT

thank you

Re: Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit?

ebiggs1 — Mon, 08 May 2017 19:37:01 GMT

"... I can't say I follow that good advice at this time,..."

Well I did have to have it for my job. Might have given me more incentive to carry it.

I can understand the smaller cameras concept. I have a G15 and a G1x. When the big ones can't go one of them does.

The point is to use it. That is the best teacher.

Re: Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit?

ScottyP — Mon, 08 May 2017 22:29:46 GMT

Have a person or group to share your images with.

I noticed after my mom passed away last February that I wasn't taking even 1/4 the number of pictures I had been and I was waiting months to process shots. I realized I had been shooting lots of images of my kids (her grandkids) and she and my dad live far away, so the regular photos were a reason to get out and shoot, and the need to keep shots coming kind of motivated us to get out of the house too.

A photo site site where you post for group feedback is a good motivator as well as a good way to get useful feedback to improve your craft. Check out the British site Cambridge in Colour where they have several ongoing photo contests that are fun. I think a lot of the voting is based on buddies, so it is sometimes hard to understand how some images beat others that seem better, but things are very positive.

Facebook is a good place to share are with friends.

Does anyone else know of other welcoming photo sharing communities they would recommend?

Re: Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit?

Michael1 — Mon, 08 May 2017 22:45:47 GMT

Not having time is frequently an issue with me as well. There are always something that has to be done and like most everyone else, we have to work for a living. However, what I do is to take planned photography trips to sometimes new places for a change of scenery. Also, keeping in mind that lighting is everything when it comes to taking pictures, I will take a little time during the "golden hour" of sunrises and sunsets in a place that is not far from home. The key is keeping your interest and an open mind of what you can capture or create.

Re: Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit?

Waddizzle — Mon, 08 May 2017 23:29:52 GMT

I try to carry a camera everywhere I go. I take regular walks as part of an exercise regimen. Taking a camera along for the walk gives me reason to pause to shoot some photos, and keeps me from wearing myself out too quickly.

But, basically you have to make the time for your hobby.

Re: Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit?

cicopo — Tue, 09 May 2017 02:59:27 GMT

For me it was getting to combine 2 hobbies I enjoyed while making lots of new friends. Many years ago I wanted to attend a vintage race event & needed to get some panning practice so I went to a major Radio Control Fun Fly about an hour away. I had been in the hobby a long time ago so knew a bit about it but things sure have changed. Unfortunately spectators weren't allowed close to the action because of safety but after talking to one of the organizers I got better access but not up on the flight line. I shared my photos with the organizer, which got me invited back with flight line access & I've been doing it ever since all summer long.

There are lots of local events looking for volunteers with cameras, and experience is much less of a requirement than willingness to show up & try. Pick a field you're interested in & research local events, or what about Birding, maybe some local sport like white water rafting, surfing etc. There are so many different ways to enjoy & share this hobby / (or turn it into a business) that the list is endless.

Re: Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit?

kvbarkley — Tue, 09 May 2017 14:37:38 GMT

Even if you don't have your camera with you always be on the lookout for good images:

1. Especially pay attention to the light and note when it is "good" for an image.

2. Keep looking for scenes. Just today I saw a kids red plastic ride-on toy broken and abandoned on a yellow lawn. With a good composition it would make a nice image.

3. If you shoot black and white always look for good textures. I once saw a metal bench in the snow. It was one of those benches with a diamond pattern of holes. The snow had melted into the holes leaving a white criss-cross pattern of snow.

Re: Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit?

TCampbell — Tue, 09 May 2017 14:54:01 GMT

I'll offer three suggestions:

1 - schedule some time for a regular activitiy

I work full-time, and sometimes my weekends are busy. But when schedule allows, there's a few local places that I like to go shooting.

2 - join a photography club

Be careful here because there can be a lot of variety from club to club (not every club does the same types of things). I have found that clubs that don't do much in the way of social activies involving taking pictures but are very big into monthly meetings that always have photo contests. For me personally... that's the opposite of what I'd want. I wouldn't care about contests and would MOSTLY care about the excsue to get out shooting and having a club where people come with ideas of places to go shoot each month. So you'd probably want to find out how the club works to find a club that will give you excuses to get out regularly to some nice shooting locations.

3 - find photo activities on MeetUp.com

If you're not familiar with MeetUp, the site is just a place for people to post events that are happening. I only know about it because a couple of astronomy clubs in my area use it and it seems to actually be pretty popular and successful.

The idea is that an event organizer will create a MeetUp group and post events (activiites for the group).

Attendees don't pay anything to join or search MeetUp. That part is free. But since organizers do have to pay, you'll find that some events are (a) completely free, or (b) a donation of a couple of dollars might be suggested to help the organizers pay for their own MeetUp fees (my astronomy club has to pay $80 for a 6-month membership and this allows us to post as many events as we want), or (c) some events do require that you pay to attend.

I've been using MeetUp for about a year. I've noticed that some people use it as a money-maker (e.g. advertise a "how to use your camera" workshop -- often themed). Some charge to cover expenses (I recently saw someone post a macro photography workshop, but the workshop was held a hotel conference center so they had to pay to use the room. The fee for attending was really to cover the costs of hosting the event.) But I've also seen people or companies host events which are completely free. A camera store in my area seems to have a monthly "scavenger hunt" meetup which is completely free... you show up and they give you a list of things to try to locate and photograph around town... and they send people out in groups of 4-6 photographers each. So that's mostly a social event. They seem to pick a location and time (typically a restaurant or bar) for everyone to reconvene to share what they found.

So there are a few opitons that might help you find some semi-regular excuses to get out shooting.

Re: Hello, how do i develop into a regular habit?

dudeinwashingto — Tue, 09 May 2017 17:47:10 GMT

really appreciate your kind suggestions. Solid. i will try on implimenting a few.

thanks you so much all of you again.