Are photographs the main reason you photograph?

[JBrunner]

I'm in it for the printing. Photographing is fun, but effort for me, as is developing, but printing, I love to print. The prints themselves I enjoy, but the first printing of a good one.. Thats the $&!#.

[Ed Sukach]

Is the creation of photographs the main reason you photograph?

At the most basic level, yes, of course the primary intent is to produce a photograph. I think the more interesting question would be, "What motivates you to make a photograph?" In honesty, I could have two answers to that; First, I don't really know. I seem to feel better doing photography than I do NOT doing photography, but other than that, I have been unable to understand that obsession (common to all obsessions.). Second, that is FAR too complex a question - I am sure I could come up with a myriad of reasons for each and every exposure ... and not be confident of the truth of any of them.

Do you even love to look at photographs?

Many. Most of them. It helps to NOT be judgemental. Every photograph seems to "connect" me, at some level with its photographer.

Or is it simply the joy of the act of photography?

Yes. Both.

Is it something that it makes you feel, or a way it makes you act?

Again, yes to both. I sort of have trouble separating .... no, that is not quite correct. I can't remember the last time I've ever tried for that separation, not in art/ photography. Nor can I imagine any reason why I would, or should. Is there a valid reason for the elimination of either emotion and/ or a action linked to it?

Does it bring you out of your shell?

Again -- this MUST sound repetitive ... It both draws "me" out, and wraps "me" deeper. Both at once. Amazing, and no, I don't understand it.

Has it changed you as a person and your philosophies and experiences in life?

Yes, it has.

Is it wrong to do it just for myself?

No, it isn't. Not even a little bit.

Honestly, some people think that it is. They get VERY upset at my level of interest in photographs or at my slow pace at providing a product for all to see.

They are wrong! Simply. I would advise AGAINST letting ANYONE do, or attempt to do your photography for you.

Do I need to team up with someone who is more into the actual photos?

I am not sure why you, or anyone else, should want to. The vision and insights of others are of some interest, but the real obstacle to overcome is in establishing your own STYLE. That style, or taste is imbedded in each and every one of us. The difficulty, and it is a real problem, involves courage and confidence. It is easy, deadly easy, to be sidetracked by others ... that will dilute and delay the process.

Have faith in yourself!!

[eddym]

What I love most about photographing people is that it is a tangible way to tell them that they are important, that they matter, that they are "good enough" to be remembered just as they are.

- CJ

Oooo, that's a good one! I like that! My "philosophy" when I am shooting people is that when they are in front of my lens, they are the most important people in the world to me. I try to make them feel that way, and I believe it myself.

[matti]

I like it both ways. Sometimes thinking it all backwards from the frame, printing, processing to the lens choice and subject matter. Sometimes I just see the world through my Leica.
/matti

[gandolfi]

Like kavandje, I have an animosity with GAS - if I get something new, I have to sell at least one thing. In an ideal world, I'd make great pictures with one camera and lens - maybe I'll get there one day.

in my book this is like being a carpenter, ONLY wanting a hammer as his/her tool....

For me the equipment is important, and I regard ALL my cameras/lenses as tools.
I don't regard my self as an artist, most of the time not even a photographer, but merely an image maker.
the camera and more importantly the film is my basic canvas, and I happen to make my images using this "tool"..

I LOVE the photography part (mostly). Maybe because I mostly take my pictures in a studio, and most often use people as subjects.
But also the nature - the still lifes appeal to me.

The developing part is the most boring part of my process.
I love to work in the darkroom - to make magic from time to time.

I would like to go to more galleries and museums than I do, but living where I live, that's more than a challenge.

I love to watch others photographs, and I can use as much time admiring a certain photograph as I can a painting of a famous painter in a fancy museum..

Images are everything to me, I think.
(and then of course, there is the music...)

[markbarendt]

Cool question! I don't think you are a bit crazy, do what you love, skip the rest!

Right now I'd say the most important thing for me is taking the photo. Figuring out how to compose, expose, and get a shot that is gorgeous into the camera is a thrill.

The following was never something that even remotely crossed my mind when I shot digital.

It's very interesting thinking like the film in the box. I'm down to 1 roll of 400 speed film (Delta) that I'm hoarding like an expensive wine, I have told myself I need to shoot up the Delta 100 and Provia 100 I stocked up on; the 400 will be used for something special.

Shooting 100 speed film totally changes my outlook. This self imposed fast is like going through withdrawal. I can see clearly that there is going to be some serious experimentation with blur or pushing in my future.

Developing doesn't hold the same thrill as shooting because I choose the process when I set my EI. I do get a kick though out of seeing the film come out of the tank after it's trip through the chems. Don't know if I could do without seeing some tangible result.

My Super Chromega C-700 though is staring at me and whispering "I can show you a new world."

She's just flirting right?

[Curt]

What I enjoy most is getting out and photographing, the discovery of new things and places. I process negatives so that I can print. I don't enjoy the darkroom work but I'm disciplined enough to know that if I'm sloppy there it's all for not. I used to enjoy printing but it's demanding on the neck, back and shoulders so I need to get much better at that as I get older.

I pose this question: What if you could only make beautiful negatives and not print?

A beautiful print is of course what I am after, the process and journey is sometimes fun and sometimes not so fun. I feel that on the taking end I have no problems but I'm not a great printer, perhaps a printing seminar would correct any of my misdirections. Or maybe I underestimate the work to get a great print again. It's human nature to look for shortcuts and streamline the process, making simple something that's complicated. There comes a time when this doesn't work. It's knowledge and experience, the rest is just damm (sp) hard work as Brett Weston once said.

[Ektagraphic]

I think it is both the act of photography and the photographs themselves. I really enjoy shooting and putting my ideas on the film. The people I have met and the things I have learned along the journey have changed my life little by little. All the places photography has taken me and I have taken photography are great! Sometimes my camera draws me and sometimes I draw myself in. I also enjoy showing my photos to people and seeing their reactions, good or bad. I am not a huge fan of having to have a print for every shot all the time. I enjoy the casual print from Kodachrome. I really enjoy looking at the Kodachromes I have taken. They bring me right back to the time I exposed the shot.

[papagene]

The whole process... I like being out and about taking photos - the process of taking photos. I also enjoy making prints, trying to successfully interpret what I saw on the ground glass/viewfinder. And looking at prints, especially prints by other photogers really interests me, trying to figure out how and why they came up with that image.

gene

[winger]

My favorite parts of the process are shooting and printing. I'm not a fan of developing film, but I do it because there's no lab around to do it for me (and I figure it might make me better eventually).
I shoot partly because it gets me outside (usually into the woods) and partly so I can try to capture and show why I like being outside (in the case of my woodsy shots). I like to print because I want to get the most out of each neg and because I think I'm getting decent at it. I do want to do more with the final prints, but most are sitting in boxes. Some of the better ones are on the walls or matted to show in case anyone asks to look.
I used to do it as a break from what I did at work (forensic chemistry, crime scenes), but I think I'm getting better now that I'm not a chemist and I can put more brain cells towards photography.
Mostly, I do it because I enjoy it.
I do sometimes go to museums and galleries and I also buy some books (not a lot overall). I would like to go to museums more often actually - not just for photography, but for all art.