What does photography mean to you?

[Milbs1]

I am still a relative newbie to photography (18m) but I don’t think I am being overly dramatic by saying that photography has changed my life.
Pre-photography I was a 30 something, slightly bored mother of 2, with a few friends, who watched a lot of mindless reality tv! Now I have a passion, and wanted to share what photography means to me:-

1. Photography is mine. Its not my hubby's hobby that I tag along to, its not something that the kids do, its mine, for me.
2. I see things differently. I nearly cried on my way to work today. It was the most beautiful sunrise with low level mist and orange cornflake clouds……and I didn't have my camera!
3. Photography gets me out and about to new places. I particularly love the early mornings, and I'm not a morning person! The peacefulness and beauty of a new day takes my breath away.
4. I have a hunger to learn..which means countless hours on the internet browsing wonderful sites like AP!
5. Through photography I have made some AWESOME friends, both real and lots of online people (hopefully they are real too!). I feel like I belong.
6. My house is a mess. It was never particularly clean pre-photography, but now, well just don’t call in unannounced

I could go on, but I'd love to hear what photography means to you too?

[PH005]

I think you have just about said it all, and so well Shirl. It is a passion . It is unlike any other hobby that I can think of. It is one that I have left from time to time but am now here to stay. Greatly in part to AP and the wonderful online friends who keep giving encouragment to keep trying to improve. The scope of photography is as vast as the world itself, and beyond. To me it is "The" hobby. You do belong Shirl. And long may you do.

[WhoDo]

Good idea, Shirl. Following your example I'll add a little personal detail for context. Pre-photography I was a late-50's, bored father of 2 and grandfather of 1 that had no life outside of work and family. My sporting days (waterpolo, soccer and baseball umpiring) were well and truly over and I needed something to give my life a lift. I used to paint but never had the patience to do it properly. I tried open source software development (Puppy Linux v2.15CE, 4.20 and 4.21 were my babies) and found it singularly unsatisfying of my creative urges. Like you I'm a relative newbie - coming up for 12 months with my first DSLR in June - so my responses are also a bit passionate.

1. Photography gives me a creative outlet that is as immediate as I am impatient!
2. It has let me see things that I once overlooked, like a sunrise, the detail in a flower or bird, and the endless colours of life!
3. I have an insatiable appetite for knowledge and photography is something new, different and challenging.
4. Through photography I have found a whole host of friends and acquaintances with whom I can share the passion. They are without exception truly nice people who enjoy their lives regardless of their ages.
5. I'm hoping that photography will become a shared passion and that my wife will also enjoy getting out and about with me, meeting new people and seeing interesting things. It seems to be working, too. She's been on a couple of AP meets and likes the atmosphere and the people. She's even letting me consider new gear AND bought me my Sigma 70-300 tele/macro zoom for Christmas! How good is that!

I enjoyed reading your list even more than making my own, Shirl. You do belong and you are very, very good at your hobby. That you find time for photography with 2 youngsters is a source of amazement and admiration for me. Don't worry about the house being a mess; there are more important things that need your attention!

I'm so glad you've found something that is yours and yours alone! Too often women are misled into believing their existence is dependent upon their partners or offspring. It isn't! Women, for me, are the most amazing creatures and need to be respected and appreciated in all of their beauty and diversity. To do otherwise is to truly miss one of the marvelous wonders of creation!

[colinbm]

It is all those above & more
I have a multitude of hobbies & interests, & all the time on earth, but no money
Genealogy is my passion & photography is becoming a bigger passion now.
I am a wanna-be photographer.
It is all absorbing & drains the bank
Col

[Ionica]

It is something that has been an interest for many years, and is usually my attempt to record something that has made an impression on me, something I find beautiful, and hopefully to do it justice. This can be anything from a landscape to a tiny detail of eg a moss or lichen, to architecture, people etc on any trips I may make. It usually means spending a lot of time wandering around by myself,camera in hand or in pack, and always trying to be observant.
I also try to be creative with it, either with the camera, or after on the computer.

[ricktas]

It means to me, getting cold, hot, wet, thirsty, covered in leeches, sand, flies, getting down in the mud or climbing a tree for the best angle. Being bitten by wasps, or hassled by people who don't think I should be taking photos on the beach. It means sitting at work, looking out the window at the sunset and thinking, 'why am I at work'. It means getting up at 3.30 am, wasting a tank of fuel to drive 2 hours for a sunrise that is a fizzer.

But it also means I get to take photos that can win POTW etc, and share with family, friends and online places like AP. Have people contact me for a print, or ask me to shoot their family portraits.

Photography means all sorts of things to me, but the most satisfying is seeing the smile on someone's face when they see one of my photos!

[kiwi]

Amen to that last sentence

[WhoDo]

Bump! I'm sure that there are more stories out there to add to the collection!

[salnel]

For some unknown reason, 10 months ago, I decided I wanted a camera of my own. I had never been into photography at all and took horrible pictures most of the time. So, off I went and ended up with a Nikon d90 and an 18-200mm lens with not the foggiest idea of how to use it.But I snapped away and was quite happy with the photos I had. Then I discovered AP and my world changed!! I saw the most amazing collections of images..from flies blowing bubbles to landscapes from Iceland! I read about techniques, equipment,lighting and post processing and realized that the world of photography was infinite.
So, 10 months on, I have spent a vast amount of money, learned a huge amount,taken shot after shot, trying all the while to improve. I have done and tried things that I would never have thought I would do and I see the world in such a different way.
Photography has now become a part of my life that gives me an enormous amount of pleasure..far more than I ever dreamed it would do

[lay-z]

Thanks for sharing Salnel, it's incredible how some optics can change a person's life! My story's a bit lame compared to everyone else's but here it goes!

I was studying a bachelor's of business when I first gained an interest in photography - namely, how to get blurred backgrounds from subjects! After acquiring my first SLR (Pentax MZ-50), I quickly accomplished what I wanted to do but became eager to learn more about how the most basic of settings can change the result of a photo. Being on a tight student budget, sometimes it was a bit hard to keep a healthy stock of film and getting my photos developed but I persisted and I had a go at shooting all sorts of stuff until I found out I truly enjoyed getting out there and shooting landscapes as I've had an appreciation of what nature has to offer. I found the isolation from the real world to have a calming effect - which was much needed during some hectic assignment deadlines at uni! I continued to shoot landscapes throughout my degree as a form of stress relief and that's what photography means to me nowadays - tranquility - it's just me, camera and scene, nothing else to worry about!

Although the above does sound self centered and selfish, much like everyone else, the real joy is when people 'ooo' and 'aahh' over the photos when you show it to them.

[ving]

I use photography to pick up chicks!

oh ok, i dont....
While Cheryl also enjoys photography it is generally something i do by myself. I enjoy the solitude that i get birding and hunting bugs. the tranquility of a sunset... Its a release from a stress, an outlet for creativity, a way to express emotions without words... it both helps me to relax and gets me excited at the smae time.... its exercise, it gets me outdoors to experience the wonders of nature....



... it comes second to my wife.

[OzzieTraveller]

Geez Shirl

Geez Shirl - you've got it bad mate, real bad
The chronic "affliction" has struck real deep and you've ......... joined the club

You're now a real beaut 'tog, you know what it's like and can appreciate all the visual nuances and colour harmonies that seep into my/our collective psyches

Glad to have you aboard the photo express ...
Regards, Phil

[Milbs1]

Thanks all for sharing, and Phil you're right, I have got it bad!!

[Shelley]

Shirl, I started responding to this thread last night and ended up deleting because I was rambling. I am a hopeless tragic photographer.

[Dylan & Marianne]

Other than everything that has already been mentioned, one other thing about photography is that it has made me really see places that I visit or even walk past every day.
Have you ever stopped at a location , be it a nowhere or an iconic spot , and watched all of the people going by and then leaving after a minute or two? Perhaps taking a picture of themselves with something incidental in the background?
Marianne and I are of the school of thought that if we're visiting somewhere, for us, it's definitely about the quality of a visit rather than the quantity of sights visited that counts.
Photography is one of the factors that have brought us to this conclusion. When we tell people that we stayed at a certain spot for 3days waiting for the right conditions (not that long for some photographers), many just give us a weird look but the desire to get that photograph just right made us stay and witnessed the same scene in so many glorious different ways that we could hardly imagine a stop by for a mere 10 minutes. The location that comes straight to mind is Jokulsarlon in Iceland.

Photography has taught me patience, persistence, and the ability to admire something for what it is and not necessarily what it was advertised to be.
Thank you photography,

" I do"

[geoffsta]

First of all. Congradulations Shirl for being a member of AP for a year...
But I'm a bit like Whodo. Sitting around with nothing to do. I have been a guitarist most of my life, but obtained an injury that made it painful to play. Always loved photography but never been able to afford it, until now.
What I have got out of photography
1. Better eyesight. I'm seeing things now that I have proberly driven past a thousand times.
2. Met a lot of great people with simular interests.
3. Learning something new almost every day.
4. Become a member of a community that excites my passion for photography.
5. Having something to talk about at work, other than work. (8 people at work dabble in photography)

Thanks AP for letting me be a part of a great community.

[Milbs1]

First of all. Congradulations Shirl for being a member of AP for a year...

Thanks Geoff, hadn't realised it was my anniversary, I shall go and crack open a bottle of wine
Looks like you pipped me to it by 10 days, so congrats also

[WhoDo]

Bump! I think this is an interesting topic and I'm hoping more people will respond! Thanks for posting it, Shirl!

[smallfooties]

Quite literally, photography was/is my form of communication... photography taught me how to speak again...
Pre - photography i was mute... in every sense of the word...

[Roo]

If I was to over simplify it in one word, for me it would be 'memories'

Taking into account all the benefits that everyone has mentioned and I agree wholeheartedly with them but for me, looking back at pictures be it last week, month a year or more ago it invokes the fond memories of the place, trip, holiday outing the story surrounding that picture that I can share.