Author Topic: Paradigm Shift  (Read 4554 times)

byron

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Paradigm Shift
« on: March 04, 2012, 07:45:20 PM »
Before I dive into my topic, hello! I'm Byron, a film shooter from the east coast of the US. I've been lurking here around two years and I'd really like to become a part of this community. You all are a great bunch and I'm sure I'll enjoy getting to know you all.

For the past year or so, I've settled into a groove and I've enjoyed the photographs I've taken. I know my style, I know what I like to shoot, and I produce results that I am happy with. However, the other night I was looking through my pictures and out of nowhere I stopped liking them. It was like a switch flipped in my head: each photograph I found boring, ugly, or some combination of the two. In an instant I went from loving to loathing my work.

Has this ever happened to anyone before? What have you done?

I think I'll be trying to take photographs in a vastly different style. I shoot almost entirely with Fuji Provia 100F in an Olympus OM-2, so maybe black/white in a full-mechanical camera will give me a good change of pace?

Sandeha Lynch

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #1 on: March 04, 2012, 08:40:40 PM »
You have to ask yourself sometimes why you shoot colour.  Often as not it can be because it's there, and it's (relatively) cheap, or it may be due to some ill-gotten advice from others ...

And if you find that colour itself has no special meaning, then just stop shooting it.  To me that has meant investing my eye in form and flow, light and shape, and finding that colour only has relevance when colour itself is the subject of my attention.  Times past I've shot exclusively colour, but now I guess 75% of my stuff (and possibly 90% of the interesting stuff) is bw.

Changing camera would make less of a difference, but to focus on bw for a while would likely encourage thinking about larger formats than 35mm.   ;)

sapata

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #2 on: March 04, 2012, 08:43:24 PM »
Welcome to the forum ! and welcome to my world...
Mauricio Sapata
@mauriciosapata
mauriciosapata.com

Alan

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #3 on: March 04, 2012, 09:19:25 PM »
Welcome on board byron !

yes its a really nice community here  ;)

I ran into a similar problem a while back, i felt I just couldnt shoot
nice/interesting photos and after "wasting" lots of film I decided to
focus on some projects with different cameras.

so each project with the particular camera forces me to shoot/compose
a particular way and also the fact that I know what im gonna be shooting
to a point.

i hope that make sense  ???

some examples,

Camera: holga 120 ~ remains of the Irish building boom



Camera: Polaroid 250 ~ derelect petrol pumps


hookstrapped

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #4 on: March 04, 2012, 10:03:29 PM »
I experience that periodically.  Part of it comes from editing my stuff and overexposure which begets boredom which begets loathing.  Sort of the flipside of liking your recent work no matter how bad it might prove to be.  Not sure if this is contributing to what you experienced but, yeah, changing up with film or camera -- e.g., maybe to start shooting square -- could be very beneficial.

Keith

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #5 on: March 04, 2012, 10:30:25 PM »
Ah, a common trait within the art world - the existential angst of being an artist.  :-\
Biographies of many of the great (and not so great) artists reveals this problem in varying amounts, be they writers, painters, dancers or photographers.

From a very Buddhist perspective - everything changes. Our creative work will not only change but the appreciation of it by both ourselves and others will change. If you see the changing attitude to your work as natural progression, changing aesthetics, and the continual transformation of yourself as an artist, then re-evaluation of past work is normal and not to be feared. If all of our work was wonderful and perfect for eternity, then we would have nowhere else to go as an artist and we could spend our life gazing at our first roll of film in stunning appreciation of its perfection.

On a practical side, the suggestion of creating specific film/camera/subject projects is always a good one and it's worked for me when my pics start to look mundane and uninspired. In other words, change something and assume nothing. Dig out an old lens and only use it wide open, shoot pinholes, go monochrome, develop your own.... the list is as long as creativity allows. New kit can ignite creativity, but it's no guarantee...

Let me finish with another Buddhist quote:
"Every day the intelligent person learns something new, but the wise person gives up some certainty."

Keith
Tasmania

Francois

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #6 on: March 04, 2012, 11:05:36 PM »
Welcome Byron!

Photography is a strange thing when it comes to inspiration. Since we can't alter color and shape as much as painters do, we have to work harder to gain it back. Coming from someone who has been stuck in a rut so many times, I can say that the solutions are not always the same for everybody... but there are always a few things that seem to help.

-Changing from color to X-pro, B&W or redscale and vice-versa
-Getting an odd lens for the camera.
-Shoot using a single prime lens.
-Go on a short roadtrip.
-Shoot something unusual for you.
-Shoot instant film.
-Get a crap-cam and try to pull off a miracle from it. A good crap-cam will always surprise you!
-Do a complete tripod mounted roll on super slow film.
-Build a pinhole camera (even if it's just a pinhole cap for your SLR).
-Do close up shots of things around the house.
-Set-up still life pictures.
-Do alternative process printing (sunprints are a good place to start).
-Get a box camera that shoots square format 120.

I could probably go on and on...
Francois

Film is the vinyl record of photography.

astrobeck

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #7 on: March 04, 2012, 11:30:06 PM »
I have found myself in your exact shoes.

What I do to re-inspire myself is to watch old movies.  For some reason watching old motion pictures really seem to snap me out a funk.
I also go hiking or walking around downtown Albuquerque without a camera to just take in everything without thinking of how I would shoot a scene.

My other trick is to sit down and spend an afternoon studying the various photo books I have. I look at online sites too, like Ara Guler's at http://www.araguler.com.tr/istanbul.html.  James Fee is another favorite.
They both help me reset my brain.     :)

Jack Johnson

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #8 on: March 05, 2012, 01:00:56 AM »
Welcome!

And, I have to say, it's comforting to know so many of you out there experience the same thing.

I think a couple of things that have helped me stick with it is the realization that I'm still trying to find my photographic voice. I know I don't shoot enough with any particular camera or film to hone my work in one direction or another, and occasionally when I do I either find inspiration in someone else's work that I want to explore or I stumble where you have and I think, OK, this is all crap and it's not headed anywhere.

(And I haven't ruled that out, either. ;) )

The other thing that helped, surprisingly, is this quote by Ira Glass that I stumbled across:

http://www.filmwasters.com/forum/index.php?topic=4355.msg47992#msg47992

Not that I keep re-reading it, but I remind myself that seeing the flaws in your own work can be a good thing. If you thought your own work was outstanding you'd either limit your own growth or you'd have a possibly inflated and unrealistic view of the quality of your work, and in the end neither of those are good.

gregor

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #9 on: March 05, 2012, 02:05:26 AM »
get a sketch pad and some good drawing pencils.  moving up in format, changing lenses, film, etc., skirt the issue which tends to be more rooted in subject matter and composition and darkroom techniques.  think of honing in on what you've been doing and thus building on that instead of rejecting what you've done.


byron

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #10 on: March 05, 2012, 04:23:41 AM »
So much wonderful advice! Thank you all for your welcomes and your advice, I've gotten a lot of good ideas. I'm surprised by the large response to this thread...

You have to ask yourself sometimes why you shoot colour.

To be honest, I shoot color because I think that slides are the most beautiful thing in the world. After using them for so long, I can visualize how my results will look ahead of time and I like having that ability.

However, I've definitely realized that most of my pictures just wouldn't stand out at all if they were in black and white. I definitely rely on color in my work, but I don't think it's ever really the focal point of my images. That makes me wonder if the color is just a crutch.

Sandeha Lynch

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #11 on: March 05, 2012, 06:58:12 AM »
However, I've definitely realized that most of my pictures just wouldn't stand out at all if they were in black and white. I definitely rely on color in my work, but I don't think it's ever really the focal point of my images. That makes me wonder if the color is just a crutch.


The flute teacher Trevor Wye once wrote that if you suddenly start to think that your playing has gotten worse, it's probably just that your ear has gotten better.

The eye also improves over time.   ;)

Late Developer

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #12 on: March 05, 2012, 09:54:34 AM »
My advice is to change one thing at a time and see if that change has a beneficial effect. Changing everything sounds like a wonderfully exciting thing to do but most life changes tend to be incremental rather than radical. You'll soon be able to tell if you're going down the right (or wrong) track.

Even changing one thing might be a BIG change - like moving to mono 100% or changing format from 35mm to 120 - or it could be something simple like "use a tripod" or "shoot everything with a 50mm lens for a month" just to see if soething clicks into place.

Even if making a change doesn't flick the switch back to "on" immediately, trying out some new stuff is often a bit of a tonic as it will challenge you in ways you haven't been challenged previously. Enjoy and have fun.
"An ounce of perception. A pound of obscure".

LT

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #13 on: March 05, 2012, 10:20:12 AM »
HI Byron - welcome to FW.  It's great to have you here.

AS for the other issue.  It happens.  Just keep at it, and you'll find your groove again.  I like what Sandeha has to say ... your eye has evolved faster than your technique, great stuff.

I'm reading a short book/ essay called "On being a photographer" by Bill Jay and David Hurn. It is so far doing wonders for my way of thinking about photography, and helping me to challenge some of my own BS from the past! Best of all, you can get it free from here:

http://leegrantphotography.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/on-being-a-photographer-3rd-edition-cd-version.pdf



L.

jojonas~

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #14 on: March 05, 2012, 03:42:26 PM »
hello byron!

oh my, so many new folks coming in here. it's a lively place! :)
/jonas

Francois

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #15 on: March 05, 2012, 04:29:06 PM »
That makes me wonder if the color is just a crutch.
I don't think it usually is. Some people are color photographers while others are monochrome...
What I've found is that we always get tired of doing the same thing. For me it was shooting a lot of macro shots of plants. I came to a point where I was really sick of it and it was bringing me down. So I put the extension tubes away and started to try and find a new way. Now, looking back at my old stuff, I found some things that were really good. But at the time I took them, I thought they were just blah.

Inspiration is like a trail in the woods. You come to a point where the trail isn't clearly marked and you feel lost. Then you hit a fork in the trail. They're still unmarked trails. Each direction can either be a dead end or a brand new trail that takes you places you've never been. The hardest thing is not staying stuck with mud up to your knees. Knowing then to turn back. Knowing when something doesn't work. Not being afraid to try new things. And mostly not being afraid of failing. Failure is always an option.

If you want to see some inspiring color work, try and get your hands on:
Color Photography
by: Gabriel Bauret
Éditions Assouline 2001
ISBN 2 84323 263 5

While the book is in French, the full page images speak for themselves. It's a big book. I paid something like 14$ for mine on sale. You might find something worthwhile in there.
Francois

Film is the vinyl record of photography.

calbisu

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #16 on: March 05, 2012, 05:50:33 PM »
Ja! Well we are all in the same boat. I guess everybody has its own paradigma, and we all try to fight it in our own way. In my case I just want to make better pictures... yes, what a surprise. It took me for a while to realize that equipment does not make you take better pictures, but some cameras do fit better to your style or let you develop further your particular style. I think is also good knowing what you do good and what you can be good are and try to improve, and viceversa. Before I was using a lot of contrast and swallow depth of field, and I think I abused of them both. Now I am trying low contrast and wide depth of field, so I force myself to put the background into the overall composition..

Anyway, welcome Byron!!! As you see you are not alone  :'(

Late Developer

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #17 on: March 05, 2012, 08:16:36 PM »
This thread has been really useful for me as it's got me thinking (believe me, that takes some doing these days).

I love film, I love taking photos and it's great getting my hands on new (new to me that is) kit - often stuff I've lusted after as a kid / young adult but was never able to afford when in it was new. Thing is, this has made me a bit indecisive these days when it comes to the important decision of "what camera shall I take out with me today?"

My "paradigm shift" is that I'm going to put all my gear on the shelf for a while and for 35mm use nothing but  my rangefinder, 28mm and 50mm lenses with Neopan 400CN and if I want 120, it's the Hassy, 40/80/150mm and Tri-X. Everything else can take a well-earned rest until I see if I like my output more than I do just now.
"An ounce of perception. A pound of obscure".

calbisu

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #18 on: March 05, 2012, 08:35:48 PM »
My "paradigm shift" is that I'm going to put all my gear on the shelf for a while and for 35mm use nothing but  my rangefinder, 28mm and 50mm lenses with Neopan 400CN and if I want 120, it's the Hassy, 40/80/150mm and Tri-X. Everything else can take a well-earned rest until I see if I like my output more than I do just now.

I hear you LD, nowadays I am shooting with two cameras, the Rollei and the Polaroid. And well for family shots the Canon A1..

Jack Johnson

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Re: Paradigm Shift
« Reply #19 on: March 08, 2012, 05:19:58 AM »
I'm reading a short book/ essay called "On being a photographer" by Bill Jay and David Hurn.

Thanks for the link, Leon! I'm really enjoying it so far.

I also stumbled across a biography about David here:

http://www.photohistories.com/interviews/56/david-hurn