i was about 2 years behind on my darkroom printing, and at the same time i had a mac, scanner and printer in the house but never correlated the computer, which i use as a design professional, with photographic production.
well one fine day i thought i'd give it a try, starting at 8am and finishing at 10am the following day i succesfully liquidated a 2 year backlog. never looked back, i'm not talking final prints but working proofs, you know the 95% you end up trashing.
I lost interest in photography a few years ago and didn't touch a camera for over a year. At the time it was nice to pursue other interests, but later I saw some photographic work which inspiration me greatly and soon got back into it. When you say 'traditional photography' do you mean you're considering digital ?, also what are your goals ?. I started sending work to magazines, galleries and created a web site which generated interest in the UK, the States and Europe, after this I felt my photography had much more of a point and was actually going somewhere. Have a local exhibition and try and get some feed back about you work.
It has to come from within. I shot commercially for a number of years and then got totally burned out. Didn't touch a "real" camera for about 4 years. Even though at that time I was living in the Canadian Maritimes with all it's beauty, I just could not get excited about photographing it. Quite by accident I was I saw a photo book by Bruce Barnbaum that got my inner juices going again. I actually got excited about photography all over again. The continued madness has been firmly intrenched for a number of years now. Darn that Bruce! He has cost me a lot of money! LOL.
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Eric Rose
www.ericrose.com
I don't play the piano, I don't have a beard and I listen to AC/DC in the darkroom. I have no hope as a photographer.
Eric I know what you mean, burn out can make photography lifeless, then something can spark it off and the obsession starts all over again.
Two thoughts:
Define a project or two, and be specific...how many prints, what size, subject matter, limits on equipment choices, etc. -- anything to give you a clear picture of what you're trying to accomplish
Be disciplined enough to do the One A Day exercise: make one picture a day, every day. You only get one exposure, and it has to be the best you can do. Make them at different times in different places, but you're limited to only one exposure a day for this exercise. Set a goal to hang a show of your 15 best pictures (even if the show's in your living room) a year from now. Write the date on each daily picture.
Good luck. Sometimes we need to ruminate, catch our breath, and then move on to the next level.
Bruce Barlow
author of "Finely Focused" and "Exercises in Photographic Composition"
www.brucewbarlow.com
We all change as we mature and age. The old me used to go out to hear live music, but there's no point in the current me attempting it, he wouldn't appreciate it. I always try to look forward in anticipation, and leave the past and regrets behind. There's other worthwhile stuff than just darkrooms, you know.
Just my $0.02,
I like Bruce Barlow's and the other suggestions that involve actually getting out and photographing. However, if you want to do some reading that contains a lot of thoughts and suggestions for the problem you're having (which as I understand it isn't a loss of interest in darkroom work, it's a loss of interest in photography period) pick up a copy of "Art and Fear" by Ted Orland and David Bayles. It's a short, inexpensive paperback book that's readily available from Amazon and I'm sure other places.
Brian Ellis
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
a mile away and you'll have their shoes.
I think part of my problem is that I've never had my own darkroom before and I've always wanted to be able to generate really fine prints. Now, I finally have one and I find it all a bit daunting. Oh well. Nothing good is ever easy...
If finally getting what you wished for is the problem, "let you live in interesting times."
Get in there and splach the chemicals and make beauty! Quit making excuses and do what the good fellows here suggested. START!
Kind Regards,
MW
Mark Woods
Large Format B&W
Cinematography Mentor at the American Film Institute
Past President of the Pasadena Society of Artists
Director of Photography
Pasadena, CA
www.markwoods.com
Dan,
I second Brian's advice about reading "Art and Fear". Two other books if you can find them are great for "writers block" and similar conditions of creative malfunctions including motivation: " A Whack on the Side of the Head" and "A Kick in the Seat of the Pants", both by Roger von Oech. I don't know where they are available, but a library may have them or do a google. Both are great and entertaining.
Now that a good portion of my professional work is digital, I look forward to my darkroom as a refuge and a boost to my creative motivation. When I was much younger, the darkroom seemed to be drudgery at times. It was that kick start, just getting in there. Once I got going I had to watch the time because I didn't want to leave.
Everyone experiences creative blocks and lack of motivation and sometimes it just takes gritting your teeth and starting. I read somewhere, and my experience seems to confirm this, that the unmotivated, uncreative moments have to be "worked through". As an artist you have to keep working, pushing, even if you're churning out what you feel is unproductive. You actually work through the problem. One solution is to be creative in a different medium for a while. Sean Kernan has some inspirational writing in this regard as well as inspirational imagery. See his web site at www.seankernan.com.
Good Luck and Photo On.
Gary
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