Question for LFPF parents: How do you manage to keep your work going?
I'm a dad, and my boy is almost three. We have another on the way, due in March. I can't seem to find much time for photography, and I'm concerned that it'll only get worse. I'm looking for somebody to give me an online shot in the arm.
Here's the thing: By the time Kid #1 goes to bed, it's 8 or 8:30 pm. Then housework, bills, etc., and it's at least 9:30 pm. Too late to get into the darkroom, and I'm just too mentally and physically tired to be real inspired, so it's difficult to get much momentum going in the direction of even thinking about new projects. And if I'm not in the darkroom or thinking about new projects, it's hard to get my a$$ out the door to do more shooting. (I really haven't done much except LF baby pix for a few years, and I used to do mostly landscapes/abstractions.)
When Kid #2 gets here, I imagine things will be even more up in the air. Have any of you guys had a similar experience? It feels like the photographic equivalent of writers block in some ways. Any suggestions on how to get things going again? Thx in adv.
(Not sure if this is the right forum, but I couldn't decide on a better one.)
That's a tough question. As my son is almost thirty, all I can offer are suggestions based on recollections of years long past. Based on that, however, I'd suggest discussing with your wife how to go about creating some sort of mutual time-management plan that would allow each of you some time to spend on whatever nourishes each of your souls.
Kids are wonderful, and guiding and recording their growth and experience is rewarding. But, you both also need time you can call your own, even if somewhat meager. How you go about creating that time is really up to both of you as partners and how creative you can be. It does become easier, once the kids are of an age that they can participate in what you love to do. But, in the short term, it's tough, and of a lesser priority in most cases.
I'm very much in the same family situation as yourself - one son who's almost three, and a daughter on the way.
I find that I get my landscape shooting done either as a family outing - thanks to the patience of my wife, or as a solo trip on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. I also find that I do much more portraiture than landscapes lately since it doesn't involve any travel.
Darkroom time is strictly a quiet time for me to unwind. I don't have a darkroom at home, but instead rent time at a local darkroom. Since it's not at home, it's easier to set aside an evening to get out and enjoy some quiet. I do try to make sure that things are in order at home before heading out, for the sake of marital harmony.
One thing that I did discover this afternoon, though.... My 2 1/2 yr old son is able to trip the cable release all by himself when I tell him to. Now I can get portraits of my wife and I any time I like. It's almost like having a remote control!
I have a 7 year old and relate to all you say. It does get better, believe me. My son is getting more involved in my photography now and is like a shadow. He sets his tripod and camera next to mine and all is good in the world.
It was difficult for a while but my wife and I came to an arrangement so that I could get away for a morning or afternoon once or twice a month, and away for a long weekend every 6 months or so. It works both ways and she had her break as well. At the end of the day though Christopher came first. I was fortunate that he was interested in what I was doing.
I found that if I planned things early enough and researched my locations well I could get away without too many dramas. Also overestimating the time I was going to take and coming home early won some Brownie points. Above all you need to be flexible and roll with it. There were times when the plans got thrown out at the last minute, but that is life.
I found lots of places close to home that I would never have looked at had I not had to limit my time.
Good luck and enjoy the kids. I hope you end up with a little shadow as good as mine.
An issue I am struggling with too. My son is just 6 months old. I bought a child carrying backpack and a large format point and shoot camera (Fotoman 45PS), so I can still go bushwalking and take photographs with Cyan. I save up all of my films for those rare days when I am home alone and develop them all then. I am now printing digitally, so I head to the computer at odd hours and manage to get my printing done late at night. I am probably spending less time now, but at least the time is more focused (probably as it is now more precious).
Selling prints and running workshops / tuition helps justify my time to my partner. We also negotiate time to follow our own interests, so I often get a half day out with a mate to shoot the local region. Luckily it is beautiful just outside my front door so there isn't much travel time involved. I look forward to him getting into photography (hopefully), as I loved learning and doing it with my father. It won't be long before he gets his first lomo...
I sympathise as I'm in the same position. I have 7 and 5 year old girls who can be quite demanding. In addition my wife works every Saturday so on the one day a week we all have together it has to be based around the family. What I've been doing in the summer months is getting up early, around 5 a.m., and spending an hour or two taking photographs. Luckily in the UK the sun is up in summer from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. I'm trying to build up enough material so in the winter months (daylight from 8.30 a.m. to 4 .pm.) I have plenty of darkroom work.
It's certainly a juggling act but, as much as I enjoy photography, I want to enjoy being with my girls through their formative years. I have a feeling that once they hit teenage years I'll have plenty of time for photography and not enough with them.
BTW, at 47 years old I'm not a young father but I reckon at 55/56 I'll still have a good few years with the cameras.
Fatherhood forced me to stop dreaming of distant mountain ranges and concentrate on my local area. I don't get much time to take photographs, but I do have plenty of time to think about them, and to practice my seeing. My photography has benefited enormously.
MF (6x6) is the largest format I use in conjunction with family activities. LF requires just too much carrying capacity and time. The exception is the occasional portrait session where I let the kids take each others pictures - they love it and my wife and I love the results, so everybody wins. I do my personal LF in the evenings and at lunchtimes. It helps that we tend to take holidays as far north as possible, and that our children tend to be asleep by 7.30 or so.
Making time for you and your spouse/partner's own adult activities is an important part of surviving parenthood. On the other hand, I would prefer to leave my children memories of a father who always had time for them rather than than a pile of 4x5 negatives. A lot of the tension in that two-way pull can be reduced by considering the choices explicitly, and not tumbing into an ad-hoc situation that nobody is happy with.
I have kids from 22 to 3, so I am redoing all the gyrations I did the 80s all over again. Giving up the in-house darkroom is probably the best thing I did in terms of safety and freeing up my time. Using a wireless laptop instead of a massive tower computer helps alot too. For scanning and image processing I have learned to be a jealous and ruthless editor, and I only scan the best of the best. As for shooting, sure, 75% is with a dSLR but when I do bring out the LF it is a lot of fun as long as another grown up or teen is around to wrangle the youngest.
PETA or somebody might complain, but I have been known to park the car on the side of the road, leaving the kid strapped in, while I shoot a roadside wonder. Luckily I know how to work quickly and never get more than 30-40 feet from the open window of the car. I can judge how I am doing by the pitch of their screaming.
If I get time to myself -- once or twice a week I get an opportunity -- I much rather go shoot people than to spend it working on images. But after the young one goes to bed I can watch TV with my wife and retouch on the laptop, then plug it into the Epson and let it print a load of prints through the night, giving me something to wake up to.
It is also nice to use the excuse that the image-making is "for work" or "I might sell this one". But only when I am sure that I have done at least 51% of the housework, cooking, and parenting (guess who is boss.)
In general, kids like cameras that are bigger than they are.
The first picture I took with my LF gear was of my two girls. The same with any new camera I buy. The only thing I must do is take some of us together!
Guys it could be worse. Think if you didn't have any hobbies, I know quite a few who don't.
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