What does photography mean to you?

[Othrelos]

I'm a 4th generation photographer in my family, my great-grandfather who taught my grandfather, who taught my mother - who taught me. My grandmother was also heavily involved in photography -but she didn't like B&W at all. However, As soon as colour film came out she was buying it, she liked to print vivid dye transfer prints. While my grandfather with his 8X10 view camera, preferred the subtle tones of B&W and he taught me how to develop film from 35mm to 8X10. He taught me platinum printing, how to use view cameras, the Zone system and the landscape photography in the style of the f/64 group. My grandmother who preferred small 35mm camera systems and small medium format systems (she travelled internationally a lot) taught me dye transfer printing, introduced me to street photography and studio photography and colour printing. My mother, in a similar fashion to her mother preferred 35mm cameras especially Leica range finders and their incredibly fast lenses. My mother taught me sports and wildlife photography techniques, how to use Long lenses and stabilisation techniques, Macro photography techniques. My uncle who was a pilot took us on flights for areal photography.

Photography is immortalising an impermanent moment in an impermanent universe. My great grandfather and grandparents are gone, my mother hasn't used a camera in years, I'm all that's left - and that is why I have such a massive collection of camera gear at my disposal.

[Papou]

Well what can i say that hasnt been allready said???..Photography has given me a third eye to viewe everything through for what it actuall is whether in beuty or other. Not a pro by any means, just a novice and happy to stay that way but wish for excellent results....

[Bear Dale]

My photography is surely nothing to rave about, probably never will be, but by damn.... am I infected by the photography bug!!!

I literally live and breath photography 24/7

[mechawombat]

Photography is my fall back if I lose my memories

Honestly it is..... Ok its not but it could be.

It is my way to capture moments for those who are not there to share in the moment. my son is growing up so fast and this way I can share him and the moments we shared like my current adventure to the beach (http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...84349-The-Joey)

Also make my wife jealous

[rookie]

There is only one thing that I can add to what has already been said and that is I wish I'd taken up the hobby much earlier

[arthurking83]

I just like pushing buttons.

The more the merrier I reckon.

yeah, yeah .. cheap thrills! ... but someone's got to do it ....

click!

[mongo]

Hmmmmmmmmmm.....you seem to have it bad Shirl (but real).
It not doubt means different things to different people.
For Mongo it is the need to release and express some passionate energy that can’t be contained. It is generally characterised by an ability to see and feel things more acutely. To seek, consider and refine to ones own pleasing the things around them that move them . To capture something you like so much you want to cage it in a frame and make it yours to re-experience time and again and sometimes, the faint hope that what you have captured and worked on might give others the same pleasure to see and experience it.
It can be a most a powerful communication tool and expression tool.
Mongo wants to be a photographer for National Geographic when he grows up
What Ving said is interesting and Mongo feels the same , i.e. it is relaxing (and Mongo will add, fulfilling ) and exciting at the same time. Now , that says a lot about something.
Mongo is extremely fortunate that Mrs Mongo is just as passionate about the same thing.
There are too many other things to mention and Mongo is sure he would fail to cover them all anyway.

[tcdev]

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.

Wow, this could've been the opening of my post...

I had the good fortune to be invited to attend the Space Shuttle launch around this time last year. A few months before the launch, I decided to buy a 'decent camera' so I'd have more than a few smoke trails to show for it. It took quite a bit of 'negotiations' before my wife would consent to my purchase - a D90 and 18-200mm lens.

Before this point, I had absolutely no interest in photogaphy at all, and had owned a few P&S compacts that were used solely during travels with my wife.

I spent the few months I had before the launch practising and trying to absorb as much as possible. I very quickly learned the difference between a 'snapshot' and a 'photograph', mainly looking at others' photos on forums like AP. I also learned that having a DSLR didn't automatically produce these 'photographs' either.

I still consider myself a newbie. I've racked up about 11,000 shots on my trusty D90. In the mean-time I've bought another lens (35mm prime) and the top half of a tripod! My PP skills are very rudimentary, as I'm trying to focus (no pun intended) on improving my OOC skills first and foremost.

What surprised me the most however, was that during my pre-shuttle practice, I found myself increasingly interested in photography. Initially I was only interested in learning how to use the D90 to get good shuttle shots, but then other types of photography caught my eye. Landscapes and wildlife interested me first; but then I found myself looking at architecture, street and even portrait photography. If you'd told me that a few years ago, I'd laugh at you.

So what is it to me? A few things I suppose. Being able to capture 'better' memories of my travels, definitely. Making some of those memories good enough to hang on the wall, or to show off to others, yes. I guess that even the artistic side interests me; although I was actually quite creative when I was younger, I've perhaps not exercised that part of myself for many, many years now. It would be good to develop that further.

Naturally though, primarily I find it 'fun'. I too, enjoy learning, and it's one hobby where there is always going to be more to learn. I just wish I had more time to devote to it, though I would suspect that a lack of time does make me that little bit more enthusiastic when I do get the chance to play with my camera!

[PhoTomD]

Really interesting topic Shirl. I hear you when you say "it is mine, for me". I hear you girl I also hear Waz, Dylan, Mongo and many others
I was typing and typing then I got slightly bored after reading and correcting my grammar errors In simple sentence: Photography and its whole aspects like seeing/noticing, patience, planning, interactions, constructive criticism, as Dylan said "persistence" has made me a better more complete person.

[Cobalt Blue]

I agree with alot of what everyone else has said. Photography is my thing. (That's what my hubby says anyway.)

It's something I don't think I'll be able to explain particularly eloquently but here goes anyway...

It's a smile, or a tear. A glimpse of a little snuggling baby in my arms who now is running 3 steps ahead of me.

It's the tears on my husbands face when our first child was born and we found out we had a son.

It's the smile on my dad's face when he held our second child for the first time, even though the photo was taken in a hospital bed while his chemotherapy drugs were slowly seeping into his body.

It's the shiny yellow XF Ford Falcon that I saved so hard to buy and loved for 10 years and is probably now a pepsi can that I am drinking from.

It's the beautiful flower placed in my hand by a chubby toddler hand accompanied by a sloppy kiss that has since been turned to compost.

It's the two tiered fondant cake that took almost 2 days for me to make for my youngests first birthday that was eaten in less than 15 minutes!

It's the laughter and sadness of my life, it's the decoration on my wall, it's often a huge cause of frustration when I struggle to convey what I see through my lens.

And it's the reason my savings account is getting a (tiny) little bit bigger every month - I need a 60D.

Simply, it's part of me.


And if you ask my eldest son (he's 8 going on 30) it's the reason we're always late because "mum's always gotta get the picture right turning her camera this way and that and making us stand together and stuff" - said with camera holding, button clicking action.

I could go on forever but I think you get the idea.

Teressa

[arubaato]

when I first got into photography, I found out about flickr and photography for me then used to be getting a perfect shot to put onto flickr for the whole world to see...until I realised there's a whole world of photographers out there and they aren't coming to look. So it became getting the perfect shot for myself, which became so much more satisfying as I am easy to please. now, I've been shooting for a few years, and still trying new things, trying to do basic things, rather than over-complicating matters. I realised that my photography has changed again, to keeping memories mode. Now, I go back to my exif data to work out what I was doing at a certain point in time. It's become experimenting with different cameras and films, and trying new techniques. I'm going into a new stage in my life with a baby arriving soon, so for the last few months I've been practising getting spontaneous family shots "right", readying myself to capture the perfect shots for my family. I admire everyone's work on AP and flickr, but for me, at this stage in my life, it's about capturing the moment.