Topic: Need to focus....

[Late Developer]

Although I've managed to get some time to fire-off the odd roll recently, it hasn't felt like the most constructive or productive period I've had, photographically.  Spending half a day wandering the Ridgeway with PeterR and my missus was really enjoyable and I like the the photos I took more than most I've taken for a while.  Maybe it was the fact that I got to prepare beforehand - rather than taking "grab shots".

Anyway, Lara and I have a few days away scheduled for this weekend - in Manchester for one day and then off to the Lake District for 3 days.  I have a reasonable idea of what I hope to shoot

We're all different, of course, and I suspect there are those who can get great results with little to no preparation.  I don't seem to be one of them.  How about you?

[Francois]

I guess preparing yourself for a trip also prepares you mentally.

I for one am beginning to just dread wandering aimlessly around my burbs in the hope of finding something worth putting onto film.
Comes a point where I'm so used to the scenery I hardly notice things that would be worth capturing.

Problem is that Canada is too big and everything is too far between, scenery too even, everything looks the same after a while.
I sometimes take Google earth to try and figure out from the air where there is the most potential for good shots. So I follow different routes at slow speed and try to see if anything pops out. But since I live in a large valley that's dotted by just a few "mountains", if I can call them that, all I can figure out is that I would need to drive for miles and miles before seeing something other than flat farmland and endless burbs.

[02Pilot]

I do a lot better on dedicated photo expeditions. I've certainly done the Google Earth scan looking for promising opportunities. There are plenty of things around here within a semi-reasonable distance, but I've shot most of the static subjects repeatedly already. Getting into the city for street shooting is always different, and generally quite stimulating, but it requires larger chunks of time.

Shots grabbed here or there rarely turn into much for me. It happens occasionally, and as I'm starting to concentrate on particular aspects of my photography perhaps it will happen a bit more often, but I'm not counting on it.

[charles binns]

Turn up and stop whining.  That's my philosophy.

[Paul Mitchell]

Turn up and stop whining.  That's my philosophy.

Brilliant advice Mr Binns!

[hookstrapped]

I come up with a project, usually inspired by a new technique or approach or film, and then organize opportunities around them. I generally don't do photo walks. But I do have this new idea of doing a photo walk across Cuba, western tip to eastern tip. But that's more of a project.

[02Pilot]

I come up with a project, usually inspired by a new technique or approach or film, and then organize opportunities around them. I generally don't do photo walks. But I do have this new idea of doing a photo walk across Cuba, western tip to eastern tip. But that's more of a project.

That's probably a considerably more efficient approach. Would you say that you tend to tackle a single project idea at a time, or are you more likely to juggle several at once? The shooting for all the project ideas I have (well, most of them) seem to be rather intermittent and stretched out over long periods, which diminishes the effectiveness of using them to maintaining focus.

[hookstrapped]

I come up with a project, usually inspired by a new technique or approach or film, and then organize opportunities around them. I generally don't do photo walks. But I do have this new idea of doing a photo walk across Cuba, western tip to eastern tip. But that's more of a project.

That's probably a considerably more efficient approach. Would you say that you tend to tackle a single project idea at a time, or are you more likely to juggle several at once? The shooting for all the project ideas I have (well, most of them) seem to be rather intermittent and stretched out over long periods, which diminishes the effectiveness of using them to maintaining focus.

Pretty much.  I might have finished one project before thinking of a good idea for the next -- very frustrating time in between, usually marked by bad ideas and false starts. Or I might start a new project while finishing up the current one. But I don't simultaneously work full bore on multiple projects. I might test different films and cameras, which is part of the process of coming up with a new project idea, but if I come up with an idea I want to pursue I'll then work to finish the current project first so I can move on.

[02Pilot]

I come up with a project, usually inspired by a new technique or approach or film, and then organize opportunities around them. I generally don't do photo walks. But I do have this new idea of doing a photo walk across Cuba, western tip to eastern tip. But that's more of a project.

That's probably a considerably more efficient approach. Would you say that you tend to tackle a single project idea at a time, or are you more likely to juggle several at once? The shooting for all the project ideas I have (well, most of them) seem to be rather intermittent and stretched out over long periods, which diminishes the effectiveness of using them to maintaining focus.

Pretty much.  I might have finished one project before thinking of a good idea for the next -- very frustrating time in between, usually marked by bad ideas and false starts. Or I might start a new project while finishing up the current one. But I don't simultaneously work full bore on multiple projects. I might test different films and cameras, which is part of the process of coming up with a new project idea, but if I come up with an idea I want to pursue I'll then work to finish the current project first so I can move on.

I wish I had that sort of focus. I'm way too easily distracted by one thing or another to stay on a single project of any significant duration. I can come back to it repeatedly over time if it still holds my interest, but that is far from certain.

That said, I have managed to slow down my equipment changes, and actually sold a few things in an effort to concentrate on the cameras and lenses I am most comfortable with, so perhaps greater focus on projects will come as well. Time will tell.