Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
On 1/3/2019 01:43:12, Ralf R Radermacher wrote: Am 02.01.19 um 16:39 schrieb Bruce Walker: I think the secret to making sure it's a joy and not a duty is to firmly resist the temptation to make photography a vocation. In my book, this goes for turning any hobby into a profession. I've done so with audio engineering, many moons ago, and it took me almost 20 years afterwards to find some fun in doing audio as a hobby again. Ralf Photography was an avocation for me until I ran out of future prospects. Fortunately, sometimes when one door closes another one opens. I came home from Iraq to demob with no job in sight. My former employer had gone out of business, so they couldn't give me my job back. My skills in that field were years out of date anyway. A nearby community college offered degrees in photography & I could afford tuition. With the eventual help from the GI Bill I managed to get an Associate Degree in Portrait Studio Management (aka professional wedding photographer). But just as I was getting started in my new vocation, life closed the door on me again and once again I'm back to amateur status. I'm still looking for that new door life was supposed to open for me. In the meantime I've got enough housework to keep me busy. -- Science - Questions we may never find answers for. Religion - Answers we must never question. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 1:43 AM Ralf R Radermacher wrote: > > Am 02.01.19 um 16:39 schrieb Bruce Walker: > > I think the secret to making sure it's a joy and not a duty is to > > firmly resist the temptation to make photography a vocation. > > In my book, this goes for turning any hobby into a profession. I've done > so with audio engineering, many moons ago, and it took me almost 20 > years afterwards to find some fun in doing audio as a hobby again. Yeah, I hear you. But I guess it depends on the disposition of the person as well. I was a computer hobbyist before I entered the workforce, first as a hardware engineer, later transitioning into software. Throughout my career I kept on tinkering with hobby side projects, folding many of them back into my professional work. Of course to the untrained eye it appeared that I was merely a workaholic doing 12 to 14-hour days for 30 years. -- -bmw -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
On 1/3/2019 12:43 AM, Ralf R Radermacher wrote: Am 02.01.19 um 16:39 schrieb Bruce Walker: I think the secret to making sure it's a joy and not a duty is to firmly resist the temptation to make photography a vocation. In my book, this goes for turning any hobby into a profession. I've done so with audio engineering, many moons ago, and it took me almost 20 years afterwards to find some fun in doing audio as a hobby again. Ralf I did that very thing with my darkroom. I turned my darkroom from a retreat where I could be undisturbed to produce fine art prints into an assembly line for developing and printing customer films. I did that for a few years in the mid 1990s, and when I decided I had enough of it in 1997 I never went back into the darkroom for pleasure. By rights, it's been more than twenty years since I used my darkroom. I took it down and put the equipment in storage in 2010 after not using it for over ten years, and finally disposed of all of it when I decided to stop paying for outside storage a couple of years ago. bill -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
> On 03 January 2019 at 00:53 Bob W-PDML wrote: > > > > > On 3 Jan 2019, at 00:36, Larry Colen wrote: > > > > > > Some years ago I was toying with the idea of going pro and was figuring out > > what it would take to make a living at photography. I knew that I wouldn't > > be able to go from zero to enough paid gigs to make a living in any sort of > > reasonable time, but I was able to get enough free gigs to simulate what it > > would be like to work as a photographer. It took about two or three weeks > > of that to suck all of the fun out of my photography and convince me that I > > didn't want photography to become my job, I wanted to keep it as something > > that I did for fun. It is nice, however, when occasionally the fun I get > > from photography includes cashing a check. > > > > Now pardon me as I was philosophic, and perhaps a bit pedantic... > > > > From my study of Aikido, I have realized that almost any activity can > > become a "do", (pronounced doe) aka dao, tao, or translated "way" or path". > > For me to treat something as a do, is to work on improving my skill at it > > for the meditative benefits of working to improve your skills at that > > activity. For me, photography can very much fall into that category > > because there are so many areas to improve one's (especially my) skill and > > understanding. For me, simply working on holding the camera still while > > taking photos can be a skill that can never be perfected, only improved. > > Composition, lighting, and even putting a model at ease are just a few more > > of those skills. > > > > So, to me, walking around with my camera looking for photos, even when I > > don't have my muse, isn't necessarily a onerous chore, but an opportunity > > for a few minutes of meditation. At least that's the theory. > > > > Influenced in all things by Henri Cartier-Bresson, I read a few years ago a > book that he recommended to photographers, called Zen in the Art of Archery, > by Eugen Herrigel. This had a very profound philosophical and practical > effect on my approach to photography and now when I'm taking pictures I close > my eyes, breathe slowly, rhythmically and meditatively to make myself one > with the cosmos, visualise the spirit of the image, then throw my camera at > the subject. > I read it as throwing the lens, leaving the body for composing the next shot. Even so, I couldn't get past the minimum focusing distance with the 600/4. Macro work is much easier. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
Am 02.01.19 um 16:39 schrieb Bruce Walker: I think the secret to making sure it's a joy and not a duty is to firmly resist the temptation to make photography a vocation. In my book, this goes for turning any hobby into a profession. I've done so with audio engineering, many moons ago, and it took me almost 20 years afterwards to find some fun in doing audio as a hobby again. Ralf -- Ralf R. Radermacher - Dunkerque/Dunkirk, France Blog : http://the-real-fotoralf.blogspot.com Audio : http://aporee.org/maps/projects/fotoralf Web : http://www.fotoralf.de -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
Bullsh*t baffles brains? Alan C On 03-Jan-19 02:53 AM, Bob W-PDML wrote: On 3 Jan 2019, at 00:36, Larry Colen wrote: Some years ago I was toying with the idea of going pro and was figuring out what it would take to make a living at photography. I knew that I wouldn't be able to go from zero to enough paid gigs to make a living in any sort of reasonable time, but I was able to get enough free gigs to simulate what it would be like to work as a photographer. It took about two or three weeks of that to suck all of the fun out of my photography and convince me that I didn't want photography to become my job, I wanted to keep it as something that I did for fun. It is nice, however, when occasionally the fun I get from photography includes cashing a check. Now pardon me as I was philosophic, and perhaps a bit pedantic... From my study of Aikido, I have realized that almost any activity can become a "do", (pronounced doe) aka dao, tao, or translated "way" or path". For me to treat something as a do, is to work on improving my skill at it for the meditative benefits of working to improve your skills at that activity. For me, photography can very much fall into that category because there are so many areas to improve one's (especially my) skill and understanding. For me, simply working on holding the camera still while taking photos can be a skill that can never be perfected, only improved. Composition, lighting, and even putting a model at ease are just a few more of those skills. So, to me, walking around with my camera looking for photos, even when I don't have my muse, isn't necessarily a onerous chore, but an opportunity for a few minutes of meditation. At least that's the theory. Influenced in all things by Henri Cartier-Bresson, I read a few years ago a book that he recommended to photographers, called Zen in the Art of Archery, by Eugen Herrigel. This had a very profound philosophical and practical effect on my approach to photography and now when I'm taking pictures I close my eyes, breathe slowly, rhythmically and meditatively to make myself one with the cosmos, visualise the spirit of the image, then throw my camera at the subject. --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
Shooting nude women just because you can is all joy. This can be taken a number of ways, and out of context, it's a MARK! On 1/2/2019 6:42 PM, Bruce Walker wrote: On Wed, Jan 2, 2019 at 5:09 PM William Robb wrote: On Wed, Jan 2, 2019, 9:49 AM Bruce Walker I think the secret to making sure it's a joy and not a duty is to firmly resist the temptation to make photography a vocation. Or make photographing naked women into a vocation. I expect that even shooting naked ladies can become a chore if there's commerce involved. Deadlines, securing models, post-processing, location scouting, paperwork ... bleargh. Shooting nude women just because you can is all joy. -- America wasn't founded so that we could all be better. America was founded so we could all be anything we damn well please. - P.J. O'Rourke -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
> On 3 Jan 2019, at 00:36, Larry Colen wrote: > > > Some years ago I was toying with the idea of going pro and was figuring out > what it would take to make a living at photography. I knew that I wouldn't be > able to go from zero to enough paid gigs to make a living in any sort of > reasonable time, but I was able to get enough free gigs to simulate what it > would be like to work as a photographer. It took about two or three weeks of > that to suck all of the fun out of my photography and convince me that I > didn't want photography to become my job, I wanted to keep it as something > that I did for fun. It is nice, however, when occasionally the fun I get from > photography includes cashing a check. > > Now pardon me as I was philosophic, and perhaps a bit pedantic... > > From my study of Aikido, I have realized that almost any activity can become > a "do", (pronounced doe) aka dao, tao, or translated "way" or path". For me > to treat something as a do, is to work on improving my skill at it for the > meditative benefits of working to improve your skills at that activity. For > me, photography can very much fall into that category because there are so > many areas to improve one's (especially my) skill and understanding. For me, > simply working on holding the camera still while taking photos can be a skill > that can never be perfected, only improved. Composition, lighting, and even > putting a model at ease are just a few more of those skills. > > So, to me, walking around with my camera looking for photos, even when I > don't have my muse, isn't necessarily a onerous chore, but an opportunity for > a few minutes of meditation. At least that's the theory. > Influenced in all things by Henri Cartier-Bresson, I read a few years ago a book that he recommended to photographers, called Zen in the Art of Archery, by Eugen Herrigel. This had a very profound philosophical and practical effect on my approach to photography and now when I'm taking pictures I close my eyes, breathe slowly, rhythmically and meditatively to make myself one with the cosmos, visualise the spirit of the image, then throw my camera at the subject. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
Bruce Walker wrote on 1/2/19 3:42 PM: On Wed, Jan 2, 2019 at 5:09 PM William Robb wrote: On Wed, Jan 2, 2019, 9:49 AM Bruce Walker I think the secret to making sure it's a joy and not a duty is to firmly resist the temptation to make photography a vocation. Or make photographing naked women into a vocation. I expect that even shooting naked ladies can become a chore if there's commerce involved. Deadlines, securing models, post-processing, location scouting, paperwork ... bleargh. Shooting nude women just because you can is all joy. Some years ago I was toying with the idea of going pro and was figuring out what it would take to make a living at photography. I knew that I wouldn't be able to go from zero to enough paid gigs to make a living in any sort of reasonable time, but I was able to get enough free gigs to simulate what it would be like to work as a photographer. It took about two or three weeks of that to suck all of the fun out of my photography and convince me that I didn't want photography to become my job, I wanted to keep it as something that I did for fun. It is nice, however, when occasionally the fun I get from photography includes cashing a check. Now pardon me as I was philosophic, and perhaps a bit pedantic... From my study of Aikido, I have realized that almost any activity can become a "do", (pronounced doe) aka dao, tao, or translated "way" or path". For me to treat something as a do, is to work on improving my skill at it for the meditative benefits of working to improve your skills at that activity. For me, photography can very much fall into that category because there are so many areas to improve one's (especially my) skill and understanding. For me, simply working on holding the camera still while taking photos can be a skill that can never be perfected, only improved. Composition, lighting, and even putting a model at ease are just a few more of those skills. So, to me, walking around with my camera looking for photos, even when I don't have my muse, isn't necessarily a onerous chore, but an opportunity for a few minutes of meditation. At least that's the theory. -- Larry Colen l...@red4est.com http://red4est.com/lrc https://www.flickr.com/photos/ellarsee/collections/72157612824732477/ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
On Wed, Jan 2, 2019 at 5:09 PM William Robb wrote: > > On Wed, Jan 2, 2019, 9:49 AM Bruce Walker > > I think the secret to making sure it's a joy and not a duty is to > > firmly resist the temptation to make photography a vocation. > > Or make photographing naked women into a vocation. I expect that even shooting naked ladies can become a chore if there's commerce involved. Deadlines, securing models, post-processing, location scouting, paperwork ... bleargh. Shooting nude women just because you can is all joy. -- -bmw -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
On Wed, Jan 2, 2019, 9:49 AM Bruce Walker I think the secret to making sure it's a joy and not a duty is to > firmly resist the temptation to make photography a vocation. > Or make photographing naked women into a vocation. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
> On 02 January 2019 at 16:36 Steve Cottrell wrote: > > > On 2/1/19, Bill, discombobulated, unleashed: > > >This really should go into a permanent quote list. > > >> I'm not taking many pictures these days, except occasionally with my > >>phone, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it, and I don't think > >>anyone else should. It's meant to be enjoyable, not a duty. > > Some of us enjoy the beatings. > Only if applied by a lady of a certain age, dressed in a public school matron's uniform. I think Bill has that covered. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
On 2/1/19, Bill, discombobulated, unleashed: >This really should go into a permanent quote list. >> I'm not taking many pictures these days, except occasionally with my >>phone, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it, and I don't think >>anyone else should. It's meant to be enjoyable, not a duty. Some of us enjoy the beatings. -- Cheers, Cotty ___/\__UK Shoot / Edit and || (O) |Live Broadcast News -- _ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
I think the secret to making sure it's a joy and not a duty is to firmly resist the temptation to make photography a vocation. On Tue, Jan 1, 2019 at 10:44 AM Bob W-PDML wrote: > > I'm not taking many pictures these days, except occasionally with my phone, > but I'm not going to beat myself up about it, and I don't think anyone else > should. It's meant to be enjoyable, not a duty. -- -bmw -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
On 1/1/2019 9:43 AM, Bob W-PDML wrote: I'm not taking many pictures these days, except occasionally with my phone, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it, and I don't think anyone else should. It's meant to be enjoyable, not a duty. This really should go into a permanent quote list. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
John wrote on 1/1/19 6:23 AM: On 12/31/2018 20:17:00, Larry Colen wrote: One thing that I do is that I always have a camera with me, maybe not my whole kit, but with a K-3 and 18-250 I at least have the focal length to make an attempt at almost any photo opportunity that I just stumble across. That works if you never have to leave the camera in the car. I've lost a couple of cameras that were stolen from my car while it was parked; cameras hidden under the seat that weren't even visible from outside the car. I do the mental calculations of where I'm going, and where I'm parking the car. There's a big difference between parking in a town like Felton and parking in the Mission in San Francisco. Fortunately they were only $20 "point 'n shoot" cameras I bought from pawn shops specifically so I'd always have a camera with me. It would really suck to lose a DSLR & a good lens that way. -- Larry Colen l...@red4est.com http://red4est.com/lrc https://www.flickr.com/photos/ellarsee/collections/72157612824732477/ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
Bob W-PDML wrote on 1/1/19 7:43 AM: George Harrison doesn't entirely agree with Larry... https://youtu.be/3WfsdwkOIpI The bit where he says "I know I could be quite good but I don't practice enough"? I'm not taking many pictures these days, except occasionally with my phone, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it, and I don't think anyone else should. It's meant to be enjoyable, not a duty. B On 1 Jan 2019, at 11:55, Steve Cottrell mailto:co...@seeingeye.tv>> wrote: On 31/12/18, Larry Colen, discombobulated, unleashed: Another thing that I try to do is play with my cameras even when I'm not 100% excited about it. I suspect that very few successful musicians only practice when they are excited about it, but they practice their craft every day, no matter what they feel like. That way when they do feel their inspiration, they are in form to capitalize on inspiration when it does strike them. Perhaps for 2019, I should listen to myself and make more effort to go out and take photos, whether or not I expect or hope to get any great ones, just look for the opportunities to keep my technical skills sharp taking mediocre photos. I admire your ethos Larry. I go through quite a few phases where i won't pick up my still cameras for months at a time. Sometimes it's due to work pressures and running the business etc. More often than not it's due to tiredness and, as you put it, no ability to get enthused. We're in the middle of selling a house, and rearranging finances and whatnot. Taking stills is the last thing on my mind. I hope that situation will change in time, but for now it's the photo-doldrums. -- Larry Colen l...@red4est.com http://red4est.com/lrc https://www.flickr.com/photos/ellarsee/collections/72157612824732477/ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
On 1/1/19, Bob W-PDML, discombobulated, unleashed: >I'm not taking many pictures these days, except occasionally with my >phone, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it, and I don't think >anyone else should. It's meant to be enjoyable, not a duty. Wise words! -- Cheers, Cotty ___/\__UK Shoot / Edit and || (O) |Live Broadcast News -- _ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
George Harrison doesn't entirely agree with Larry... https://youtu.be/3WfsdwkOIpI I'm not taking many pictures these days, except occasionally with my phone, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it, and I don't think anyone else should. It's meant to be enjoyable, not a duty. B On 1 Jan 2019, at 11:55, Steve Cottrell mailto:co...@seeingeye.tv>> wrote: On 31/12/18, Larry Colen, discombobulated, unleashed: Another thing that I try to do is play with my cameras even when I'm not 100% excited about it. I suspect that very few successful musicians only practice when they are excited about it, but they practice their craft every day, no matter what they feel like. That way when they do feel their inspiration, they are in form to capitalize on inspiration when it does strike them. Perhaps for 2019, I should listen to myself and make more effort to go out and take photos, whether or not I expect or hope to get any great ones, just look for the opportunities to keep my technical skills sharp taking mediocre photos. I admire your ethos Larry. I go through quite a few phases where i won't pick up my still cameras for months at a time. Sometimes it's due to work pressures and running the business etc. More often than not it's due to tiredness and, as you put it, no ability to get enthused. We're in the middle of selling a house, and rearranging finances and whatnot. Taking stills is the last thing on my mind. I hope that situation will change in time, but for now it's the photo-doldrums. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
On 12/31/2018 20:17:00, Larry Colen wrote: One thing that I do is that I always have a camera with me, maybe not my whole kit, but with a K-3 and 18-250 I at least have the focal length to make an attempt at almost any photo opportunity that I just stumble across. That works if you never have to leave the camera in the car. I've lost a couple of cameras that were stolen from my car while it was parked; cameras hidden under the seat that weren't even visible from outside the car. Fortunately they were only $20 "point 'n shoot" cameras I bought from pawn shops specifically so I'd always have a camera with me. It would really suck to lose a DSLR & a good lens that way. -- Science - Questions we may never find answers for. Religion - Answers we must never question. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: 2018 faves and chasing the muse
On 31/12/18, Larry Colen, discombobulated, unleashed: >Another thing that I try to do is play with my cameras even when I'm not >100% excited about it. I suspect that very few successful musicians only >practice when they are excited about it, but they practice their craft >every day, no matter what they feel like. That way when they do feel >their inspiration, they are in form to capitalize on inspiration when it >does strike them. Perhaps for 2019, I should listen to myself and make >more effort to go out and take photos, whether or not I expect or hope >to get any great ones, just look for the opportunities to keep my >technical skills sharp taking mediocre photos. I admire your ethos Larry. I go through quite a few phases where i won't pick up my still cameras for months at a time. Sometimes it's due to work pressures and running the business etc. More often than not it's due to tiredness and, as you put it, no ability to get enthused. We're in the middle of selling a house, and rearranging finances and whatnot. Taking stills is the last thing on my mind. I hope that situation will change in time, but for now it's the photo-doldrums. -- Cheers, Cotty ___/\__UK Shoot / Edit and || (O) |Live Broadcast News -- _ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
