what's holding you back?

[Raycer]

Another poll to think about what can we do to improve our pictures.

[Geoff F]

One other factor which can limit a lot of people is location/occupation.

There are many people who like to photograph landscapes and nature but live and work in city centres so only have weekends and holidays, after a long drive, to persue their hobby - weather permitting!

I'm lucky in this respect, being semi retired and living/occasionally working on the UK south coast, so I can usually nip off for a few hours when there is a suitable break in the weather. And I am able to avoid weekends and other busy periods.

But if you only have a predetermined limited time for photography and the weather 'doesn't like you' all is lost.

[Davey]

I personally go with knowledge and creativity every time as the limiting factor. For instance if I swapped my low end point and shoot with a pro who had a £3000 and above camera I would bet good money on their pics being better and them wiping the floor with me if we were set loose in the same space (identical time/conditions etc). I think this is true of everyone regardless of level, knowledge and creativity always has room to grow.

Not all just technical knowledge either which enables us to get the best effectively and efficiently or capture things we otherwise wouldn't know how to but creativity is important since it adds flexibility. For instance on Geoffs point which I agree with with a lot of creativity you can get around it, with enough you can even change the literal subject materials but not the end theme/feel. For example like Japanese Zen gardens in hearts of cities mimic nature and water with stone with gravel, rocks and pebbles etc that mimic waterfalls, streams and so on, all used to create natural waterscapes without water.

Creativity allows us to adapt so if we live/work in a city but like nature/countryside photography then we can find a way to shoot stuff with the criteria we like about nature in cities (even if it be nature tucked away in a corner of a carpark photographs can hide the bigger picture somewhat). Second we can change and shoot different stuff depending on time/location we have freedom to photograph in.

I think the person I notice a lot of this from on this forum is wirefox. It seems no matter what conditions he finds something to photograph and a way to make it interesting, I still remember the post of his about it raining so being confined to the house he photographed his oven door but made it look interesting. I really liked the picture but was even more struck by the fact he thought about doing it. If someone has that flexibility you could prob get a good batch of images out of them even wherever you stick them.

[Dave Humphries]

I am still getting to grips with a massive camera upgrade, so I went with the last option because frankly, as Geoff suggests, time is really my limiting factor.

I got past the 'not being able to find anything to photograph' thing last year, so I have more ideas than time or opportunity allows at the moment. EDIT: No doubt as I 'catch up' and exhaust my ideas, I'll move into Option B though

However, I too am humbled by Steve (wirefox's) ability to photograph the mundane with artistic style as Davey says.

[kevinbythebeach]

I choose option D whic is part A and part B

[Raycer]

Looks like I can't justify getting new equipment...
Maybe we should start a mundane subject theme.



Ray

[Dave Humphries]

Maybe we should start a mundane subject theme.

Your wish is my command

MUNDANE made INTERESTING?

[CNelson]

Interesting question. I think knowledge and creativity is my weakest point now. I have good equipment with capabilities that exceed my knowledge and creativity. That said, equipment is VERY important. If you can take good shots with low end equipment you can take better shots with better equipment. Another way of saying this is to say that good equipment in the hands of an uncreative person with little knowledge will not produce good results. The camera is tool that the mind can use to capture or create an image.

I also agree with what Geoff said about location and occupation. Location is usually only limiting if your desire is to photograph subject matter somewhere remote from where you live. There's plenty of room for great photography in the city or country but you will likely do better photographying what you love because that's where you will practice and where your heart is. We often photograph with our heart as well as our mind.

As for occupation, I think we are really talking about opportunity. If your occupation consumes your time and energy you have less time for photography. However, if your occupation involves photography it's not necessarily a limiting factor.

I have had much more opportunity for photography since retirement. I also have opportunity to visit and stay in the country where I love to photograph so I know I am doubly blessed.

Bottom line...the more I know and the better equipment I have the better pictures I take. Knowledge and creativity is my weakest point right now and probably for the duration. Art begins in the mind and the equipment is (after a certain point) not as important. I know of an artist who became a quadriplegic as the result of an accident. She is still a great artist with a brush held in her teeth. Her art is in her head and heart not her brush and canvas.

Chuck