Help! ''Off-photography period' :-(

Tonic

There is a secret cure. Prepare a curative tea as follows:

1 level tsp best quality tea; preferably, Qi Men.
1 piece dried mandarin peel, the size of your fingernail. (Source from Chinese grocery)
A sliver of fresh ginger, the same size as above, cut thin.
10 shelled raw peanuts (unsalted) with skins. Crush with rolling pin or bottle.

Place all ingredients in teapot. Bring about 130 cc filtered or mineral water to the boil & remove from heat. As soon as the water is silent and still, pour into the teapot. Steep for 3 minutes. Sip slowly. A second steep with double that steeping time may be taken.

It will give you energy, alert your mind & allow you to contemplate the mystery of vision.
 
My way to overcome the occasional I-don't-feel-like-taking-pictures period: I don't take pictures.

Seriously. I just do not take a camera with me. At first I feel kinda relieved and liberated.

No pressure to look for great shots.

But after a while (sometimes weeks or even months) I get annoyed when I see wonderful photo opps and miss out on shooting them.

Then it's time to put the camera back in my bag again, whenever I hit the streets.
 
I feel the same way, Robert - feeling liberated and relieved...until those "If only I'd had my camera!" mount up - which, embarrassingly, happens to me way too often.
 
I think most of us here can be too serious about the serious part of photography at times. I've learned to let go and simply enjoy that act of taking pictures (most of the time ;)). I also print more which helps me to see (no pun intended) and feel the reason why I take pictures.

I've also learned that my Ricoh GRD cameras help to alleviate any photography down time. They are so easy to carry around and so easy to use, that I can casually snap away and just enjoy the process, the flow. It's like sketching - practice, nothing serious. Most of those pictures suck, but every now and then one or two emerge as interesting.

Just the other day I stepped outside of work to stretch my legs, took my GRD4, and snapped some macro shots of native grass stalks. And I think that day kicked off my first real photography project (it just started and will be in-progress for some time to come). Now I go out daily with the GRD4 and see what I can find along the same lines. It's an easy project in that I can be opportunistic and it's easy to find subject matter.

But that simple act, that casual walk with camera in hand, set off something, um, serious.

I've also found that going out with a friend to shoot is rewarding not just in the companionship, but in seeing how someone else sees, and that is inspiring to my own work.

Tea helps too, as does the occasional Sazerac :drinks: I'm reminded of Kirk Tuck. He is a professional photographer who does commercial work and portraits, but on some days he just walks around town with a small camera and snaps away. Very different materials than his commercial work and nothing serious at all. And he enjoys his cappuccinos! Cameras and cappuccinos, maybe that's the trick to getting our of slumps.
 
Like everybody else I have those times as well. Sometimes it's a certain season of the year (funnily enough here in the UK summer is my "dry spell"... not literally though since it rains a lot ;) ), sometimes it's just that you're too busy at work, etc.

A lot of good suggestions have been mentioned in this thread already (especially not to push yourself too hard; and to get a small camera to carry with you instead of "big gear" - so that you're not frustrated if you didn't get any shot at the end of a day)

One other thing could be to try something completely different from your usual photography style (again: don't force anything - it's still supposed to be fun :)
For me it was getting a macro lens. (Not for my compact as a matter of fact, but lots of compact cameras have great macro modes, or you can get a macro add-on-lens)

I usually shot more "landscape stuff". Which kind of depends on being "somewhere nice" :)
Shooting macros works great even on "uninspiring" grey days or in "uninspiring" environments like in a backyard...
AND I could still shoot things that I like to shoot (nature, animals, ...) just from a different perspective.

I'm definitely not saying that buying a new lens will get you out of a dry spell. ;)
But trying to look at your everyday surroundings in a different way might do it...

cheers,
Tilman
 
Vince, i currently feel a bit "off" as well. for me, the change in weather (getting so cold!) plus my return to college to finish another degree has really put a major cramp in my regular habits, including photography.

but- that said- those photos you recently posted (11/07/11 i think?) are gorgeous! i really love them all - so- i'm probably not saying anything that hasnt already been said, but be gentle- be patient- and allow your focus in life to be where it needs to be :):)
 
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