I'm not sure if this issue has already been addressed. I find that my incessant picture taking disturbs friends & family. They like it just fine when I show up at the baby shower with my camera, but when I whip out my little hip shooter at a restaurant or dash into an alley in a strange city, I sense disapproval and impatience.
I've always been a bit of a loner, but the camera drives me to seek solitude even more. I love traveling solo, just me and the camera.
I'm a solo act ! I just like taking pics where and when I want without having to worry about what others think ! My friends and family think I'm nuts ! But that's ok....this is MY life !!
Yes, I have been seeing the same reactions from my friends and family. My husband is very supportive when it's just the two of us, but when we're in a group, I think everyone, including him, is getting a little tired of me getting my camera out. You get the 'here she goes again look.' haha No one has really said anything out loud, but you can tell they're just being polite.
It is hard to get friends and family to sit on a rock while you wait for the perfect shot. So it is the loner life for me, photographically speaking. Unless you are in Yellowstone, you stop and sit by the side of the road waiting for a picture and a crowd forms, which presents interesting possibilities.
I don't mind being around others but please don't talk to me if I am somewhere for the purpose of taking pictures. I can't carry a conversation and concentrate on a picture at the same time. ;-)
My husband is also a photographer, he actually taught me. So he is really great about it. He works for a newspaper and we go to things like sporting events and shoot together, it's really fun to try and outdo each other and compare shots, more fun that I thought it would be.
We've recently moved and I haven't made any friends here, but my friends back in Washington got used to the camera pretty quickly. They thought it was cool the different things I would photograph but it was really annoying the way they would dodge the camera. They were okay with me always having the camera around as long as I didn't take any pictures of them. If they wound up in any photos, even accidentally they had a tendency to get upset.
I find that people (family) become uncomfortable except my grandchildren, so I photograph them often, but rarely use them here. When I go out taking photos, I wouldn't mind someone with me for 'company' per se, but would prefer to shoot alone.
I love this thread! How interesting to read how others react to our photo addiction.My husband is totally supportive, playing wheelman on my scouting trips and suggesting possible subjects and giving editorial suggestions. Even though he doesn't take the pictures, I feel he is part of the team--like Louise and Ken.
Having said that, I can see where others might find picture taking intrusive during private activities. Generally I find conventional group activities less interesting than the odd spontaneous moment or the nature capture. And the squirrels don't complain; they just scamper off, which makes the challenge that much more fun!
I'm lucky my husband supports my picture taking..recently I walked with my daughter ..we go to different parks and although she stops and waits impatiently she has surprise me just recently by pointing out what would make a nice picture. there you are..it just takes a little time. while my husband isn't too happy about me spending so much time on the computer my daughter who by the way doesn't live with us ..is happy that I found a nice outlet for my as she calls it "spare time".. I must admit that I'm a bit of a loner.
My people like to be helpful to give me ideas to shoot. Some of the kids will even pose for me. But there is a limit. A few pictures here and there are fine. But they don't like pictures taken of themselves, and of course, as in anything else. I can't spend all my time taking pictures, because then it doesn't give us time to socialize.
The teenagers and young adults are embarrassed about anything I do or don't do, including photo taking.
So yeah, most of my photo taking is a loner activity.
i soooo much prefer being alone taking photos. i don't mind my guy occasionally pointing things out to me, but i would rather just focus on what i want to shoot. i am rarely alone, though, so maybe that's why i desire it so much. :)
i love shooting people when they are being natural, and have never let complaints from friends deter me. now they are just used to it and don't bother protesting too much.
I think it depends on what i'm shooting. If i'm doing landscape or just things around cities etc, then i'm happy for the company. If i'm doing a studio shoot then in general I want to do it solo. However, if i'm doing a location shoot, in general i'd need company to be my lighting gimp :)
I would actually feel more comfortable if I had someone around me who understands why I do it. In the beginning of my project, I used to drag my then-bf with me everywhere, so I wouldn't feel awkward. Now my sister is the only person who encourages me, whereas everyone else thinks it's dumb. That's why I can't take pictures of our nights out together or anything.
I have one member of my family who offers to drive me around while I jump out of the car when I see a photo op. He's happy to do this all day if needs be. The others are happy to indulge me and will find or point out opportunities. They like the fact that mum has a 'hobby'! One friend gets embarrassed when I take out the camera in a public place and start shooting away; I tell her to get over it. Still, prefer to do the shooting on my own as I can take as long as I like and I don't care who sees me snapping what.
At the moment I've done solo stuff (other then when the odd model) but all my stuff recently has been solo. Going out night is even more surreal as you're in middle no where with no round.
I find when I go out shooting with someone else I end up taking more photos of what they point out than scenes that I notice myself, and end up simply deleting them after. I do appreciate the banter afterwards of course, I just have to take a ridiculous amount of photos to make up for it.
Also my camera gives me a reason to wander around the city in the dead of night!!
@azza_l --- I did a photowalk by myself a few months back. It was to be in one of our local parks. Nobody showed up and my husband could not go with me. So, I went by myself and kept myself within eyesight of the entrance into the forest because as a woman being alone in the woods, it's probably not the best idea. Otherwise I would have been all over the place with someone within my sight. So, I guess I would prefer to have someone around but again, don't talk to me. ;-)
@dmortega@toast What we need is someone who will be out bodyguard / go-fer / gimp doing exactly what is asked when asked without interruption or complaint. Haven't found any volunteers yet!
I am a lone shooter. definately. non-shooters don't understand me...setting up the shot, getting the right angle, waiting for the right light, then do it all over again because the butterfly has moved to a different flower. I can shoot with other people watching, so long as they are not waiting for me to move, cause that invades my concentration....I can be in a perfectly vacant area, spy an object, set up the shot and voila...here comes a human walking...I mean really??....When I go out to shoot, I need to be alone, if your with me then your in my head and I need that space to myself.
I quite like both,shooting with someone and alone. My partner is also a photographer and my best mate Brenda (also on 365),even my girls are getting in on the act with their own 365 projects. I do like the company and support of all those around me,but i also like the solitude when I'm by myself. Though if I'm with someone who isn't into photography,I don't like it and feel rushed.
I feel the same way, whenever I'm out with a group of friends I sometimes feel self-conscious about pulling out my camera. I get a weird vibe that they get annoyed when I do that. But, at the same time, when at a party or event everyone is practically shouting at me to take pictures.
I tend to be a lone shooter as well, but I love shooting a willing subject who gets into it! I've been known to get down and lay on my stomach in a suit to get the proper composition of a photo! Believe me, that gets some weird looks, but hey! That's what being a photog is about! SEE LIFE!
This has been an interesting and instructive discussion. I envy those few of you who have supportive mates to support your crazy efforts. I feel quite alone in my endeavors, which is really okay because I agree with those of you who say you don't want company in your head when you're shooting. It's the same for me. And I just tend to get too self-conscious about my process. (I'm the same way about cooking, btw; I prefer to cook behind closed doors...I never learned the "proper" way to do things so I always feel like my process is going to look weird or offensive to others.)
@ldpaul Back in my film days, a group of us where in Yellowstone, driving back from Mamouth Hot Springs heading for West Yellowstone for the night. Spotted a moose in the brush. ( I had just discovered that you could get Kodak to "push" a roll of asa400 to asa1600, the time of day didn't bother us too much). So we pulled the car to a wide spot, got out and set up to see what kind of shot we could get. We were the only ones there when we started. I don't know how long I sat by the side of the road taking pictures every time the moose raised its head, but by the time that the light was gone, there were wall-to-wall cars, buses and you name it there. So I proceeded to watch the buses go by in one direction and a few minutes later go by in the other.
Even in 2008, had stopped for bison and elk, talked with a few people at that stop, moved on, pulled off for a landscape shot. While I was in the back of the truck, had several cars stop and ask what I saw. Was fun.
Yeah, I find I don't get my camera out as much now on group trips to places - the incident that finally taught me not to do that was a trip to the zoo, where I kept being left behind by everybody else because I kept stopping to get that perfect picture. I wasn't bothered about having to catch up, but my boyfriend said to me that he was a bit disappointed that he couldn't point things out to me that he and the others were seeing because I was still two enclosures behind with my nose jammed against my camera's LCD screen. That was the wakeup call that I needed, because he's normally quite supportive of me and my photography and for him to pass comment I was clearly being a bit stupid about it. So now I'm much more mindful of what everybody else is doing and will only stop for a photo if I know there's time and people are okay with it. It's working okay, I've not missed a photo because of changing the way I do things, but I do love trips out by myself where I can just take my time and use my camera as much as I like!
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We've recently moved and I haven't made any friends here, but my friends back in Washington got used to the camera pretty quickly. They thought it was cool the different things I would photograph but it was really annoying the way they would dodge the camera. They were okay with me always having the camera around as long as I didn't take any pictures of them. If they wound up in any photos, even accidentally they had a tendency to get upset.
Having said that, I can see where others might find picture taking intrusive during private activities. Generally I find conventional group activities less interesting than the odd spontaneous moment or the nature capture. And the squirrels don't complain; they just scamper off, which makes the challenge that much more fun!
The teenagers and young adults are embarrassed about anything I do or don't do, including photo taking.
So yeah, most of my photo taking is a loner activity.
i love shooting people when they are being natural, and have never let complaints from friends deter me. now they are just used to it and don't bother protesting too much.
Also my camera gives me a reason to wander around the city in the dead of night!!
Even in 2008, had stopped for bison and elk, talked with a few people at that stop, moved on, pulled off for a landscape shot. While I was in the back of the truck, had several cars stop and ask what I saw. Was fun.