one of my heros zippy (http://zippythepinhead.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=ZTP&Product_Code=rwfy) asks: are we having fun yet ?
seems to be a question i ask myself all the time.
sometimes i can clearly say " yes! this is a lot of fun"
while other times i keep on doing what i am doing, thinking the fun part
will "kick in" sometime afterwards.
we all know that buying cameras, film, chemistry paper and going on and on and on and on and ...
about technique and gear is part of the deal, but at what point
do we stop, take a step back and ask ourself " are we having fun "

I'm having a blast... except when I'm not. :D

...At the point you reach when you sit on top of your big pile of gear, realising that you have not made a good, or even decent image for a very long time. In other words, when you realise that the techie part of photography has taken priority over the art part!

My USD0.02!

Yay! 2008 is going to be a GOOD year!

John, as long as there is this glorious light and we are enabled to see it....fun?...No, bliss!

Hans

The fun for me is not the gear or the process, it is the people and the pictures and I've never had this much fun. The creative energy I get through the entire process for me is off the charts. Every now and then I sit back, look at one of my pictures and tears of joy come to my eyes. I find myself at times totally caught up in a picture for just a brief second or two but for that brief moment nothing else in the world exists.

Cheers,
Bill

Yes!
I had some time of other things to do, procrastination and such when I got that urge to buy stuff to use when I have time.
But:
Dragged myself and the Tachihara out in the swampy woods the other day. Nothing beats squatting in the rain under a jacket focusing that bright Petzval on some interesting small decaying stuff.

/matti

Once I learned to only use one film, one kind of paper, one kind of developer I started to have fun again. YMMV.

Damn man life is too short, course I am haveing fun, I ensure I have fun every day, who knows which day will be your last stop blathering about it LIVE it.

Regards Paul.

I really agree with you Eric. Except I use lots of different papers. I shouldn't, but I do. What I think is rewarding and fun is how consistency pays off. Know what to expect and what to do with it. Great reply.
- Thomas

Once I learned to only use one film, one kind of paper, one kind of developer I started to have fun again. YMMV.

If photography wasn't fun, I wouldn't do it. Hmmm..... housework is no fun.... :-/

My current definition of 'fun':
having clear blue skies overhead with not-too-cold-not-too-hot weather, my back-pack loaded to its maximum &
having my Minolta loaded with film
& then discovering a rose garden near where I live
& using the 'macro' lens I received recently from a fellow APUG'er{you-know-who-are!!] to capture beautiful blossoms. YIIIPPPPPEEEEEEE!!!!!

Likewise!-and I'm working hard on getting there.Enjoy the moment-above all, don't wobble:D....

Doing well!!!

I took my three 10-year olds (boys) to the redwoods yesterday. Also took along the 8x10 and got an mage of them for my on-going series of the Boys in the environment, and a couple other images...wonderful light and hardly a whisper of a breeze. The boys had to hold still for a minute for one and 2 minutes for another...they did pretty good! Lucky for them I only took 6 sheets of film...they would have gotten bored if I had my usual 10 to 12 sheets! We saw some salmon and steelhead heading up the creek to spawn, and then we finished the day at the beach. Then last night I developed 5 of the negs. So far so good for 2008!

Vaughn

In the UK Zippy means this fun chap here: http://i.virginradio.co.uk/images/blog/oconnell_1_zippy-705629.jpg
From this TV program: http://www.icons.org.uk/nom/nominations/zippy

Oh yes, the answer to the question is yes.


Steve.

No, still trying to have fun...because I've been delivering mail though one of the best snowy wonderland winters in years, but the daylight is so short and the mail volumes are so high that I don't get off work till well after the sun has gone down. Grrrrrrrrr. How many great images have I missed? Oh well, if I have to have a job (and I do) the one I have is about as perfectly suited to me as I can imagine.

Too bad there aren't 2,000,000 tourists here a year so I could sell more prints...NAWWWWWWW! ;)

Murray

I'm having lots of fun. Let's just leave it at that :)

Fun?

It's dark almost 24 hours a day - it's only (almost) daylight for long enough that we don't forget what it looks like.

Besides - I'm at work, working night shift from 1900 to 0700 in the middle of the North Sea.

we all know that buying cameras, film, chemistry paper and going on and on and on and on and ...
about technique and gear is part of the deal, but at what point
do we stop, take a step back and ask ourself " are we having fun "

The "gear" talk and "technique" part of photography is just that........part of it, like you say.

I'm having the most fun with my photography that I have ever had....mainly because I'm in more command of my materials and processes than I have ever been before. ;)

Hey, it's 11.30pm and I'm trying to close the year-end books for a division of a large US Corp. It's the height of summer and I declined an invite from the CEO to the corporate box for a day at the cricket (India-Australia Test) My wife is in bed asleep and I have a 1 hour call at 12.30 am. So maybe someone is having fun today but not me....but wait....
Saturday is my youngest daughter's 20th birthday and my sister is getting married the same day. Sunday I have my 50th birthday celebration and will spend the night in a swish hotel room on Bondi Beach. Last Sunday I bought a large darkroom sink to complete my darkroom extension. On the 12th (books closed and targets achieved!) I head off with the family for a week at the beach. So, the funometer is heading for a big upswing....
There should be a poll option of "not yet, but soon, trust me"

Damn man life is too short, course I am haveing fun, I ensure I have fun every day, who knows which day will be your last stop blathering about it LIVE it.

Regards Paul.

Absolutely!!! :D:D:D Besides, when you are as gorgeous as I am (look at that sweet face), how can you not have fun! :D:D

Actually no. I experience life as a minor grease spot under the weight of an inverted pyramid that everyday is filled more and more. I see my minor acheivments as akin to a message in a bottle that resides in the tepid water of my own tub.

Oh, absolutely. I'm working on a great project, having lots of fun making great images and meeting neat people. I'm continuing to learn new techniques and improve on my old ones. I'm getting more recognition and everything is chugging along in a forward direction.

Actually, no. (Priceless!) You're trying hard to be morose, Alden, in your bio pic too, but I detect a big pierced tongue in cheek.

Me, fun? Sure. Life is better than ever.

Perhaps the question ought to be; how often are you having fun? Or maybe, are you happy? - as a general rule, most of the time, occasionally, never. In my own particular circumstance, I would say that neither the 'fun' question, or the 'happy' one, have a whole lot to do with acquiring new gear, but quite a bit with enjoying photography.

George