Dealing with Stress in the Field

[Brian Vuillemenot]

I read on this forum a month or so ago the opinion of a photographer (it was Chris Jordan, if I recall correctly) that the actual act of photographing was so stressful that the only reason he did it was for the end result, the photographs. This was directed towards outdoor photographers who have to deal with stressful conditions in the field. At the time, I thought that this position was overkill- sure, there was some stress involved with planning and conditions beyond my control, but the travel and time spent outdoors was as much a reward as the photographic end results. However, I am increasingly finding myself bogged down with all the stressful things that one must deal with before the act of photographing the landscape- packing the car, driving hundreds of miles, sleeping outdoors with minimal conveniences, lugging heavy gear miles on trails, having weather turn bad, having the light be terrible, dealing with distracting and sometimes hostile onlookers, having equipment break, etc. The list could go on and on- which brings me to my questions. First, how much do you photograph for the actual experience, and how much is it for the end result, the photographs? Honestly, would you still be doing outdoor photography if there were no photographs resulting from it? Second, do any of you have any advice or words of wisdom on dealing with this type of stress? Thanks, and good light!

[paul owen]

Taking photographs can be stressful - using LF can be especially stressful!! If I'm honest there are times when I question my sanity in using 5x4 - as you describe, packing the gear, driving for miles, naff weather etc. What's more - the last 2 occasions I've been out I have visited the same series of waterfalls and have slipped on slippery bedrock whilst fully laden on both visits ... in almost the same spot!!! First time was just my pride that was hurt, but second time resulted in a massive bruise on my rear plus a "chunk" taken out of a tripod head!! But having said that I still enjoy the whole process of using LF and if I get some "keepers" too then its a bonus! As for words of wisdom on dealing with this stress - I "took up" photography as a way of relieving / an antidote to stress I was encountering in my job. I try and put my photographic "stress" into perspective when I compare it with the stress that I used to find in work - no competition - give me photography-induced stress any day of the week! I think its like most "hobbies/interests" you have good times and bad, thankfully the good far outweigh the bad!

[Ed Richards]

I moved back to LF after many years doing 35mm and digital because the involved process is relaxing to me. I shoot landscapes because I like to get out and see them. If you find the process and the encounter with nature so stressful, why not shoot something else or with something else? Weston did his peppers on the porch and then had them for dinner - most of us would like be able to so well. There are lots of LF subjects close to home - there is nothing intrinsically "better" about landscapes, unless you like being there to see them and happen to use the camera as a excuse to do it. (It is like fishing - only a fool or a bear would fish as a way to get fish.)

[John Cook]

I expect there are many contributors to this forum who are athletic outdoor adventure and hiking enthusiasts. As almost an afterthought, they bring along a camera just in case a target of opportunity presents itself. But photography is not necessarily the primary reason for the outing. They are there in the wilderness to enjoy the day.

My early background, as a member of a Hollywood commercial photography and cinematography team started me off with an entirely different mind-set. I was being paid to be there. We had a deadline, a budget and a singular photographic purpose for the day. The team could not stay in business, absent the smooth completion of the assignment. On time, every time.

I was trained to treat these photographic “capers” like a military campaign, or perhaps a “bank job”. All eventualities were carefully planned for before we left the studio. No surprises. No glorious adventures. Just methodical, military execution.

Today, with the internet and computers, many of the difficulties we struggled with are all but eliminated.

The weather, text forecast or graphical/radar for any city can be found at:

http://weather.noaa.gov/pd_move.html

An excellent cinematographer’s program for sun azimuth & elevation can be purchased at:

http://store.yahoo.com/cinemasupplies/sunsoffowwin.html

Ocean tide charts are available, like this one for Maine:

http://www.maineharbors.com/tide1.htm

One of many sites sponsored by NOAA is here:

http://mach.usno.navy.mil/

And, of course, all the road mapping programs such as:

http://mappoint.msn.com/(pzevsy555fagp5n1urymxz45)/Home.aspx

One of the best sources for paper maps, CD’s and GPS stuff is:

http://www.delorme.com/

Wherever you plan to stay or scenic area you plan to photograph usually also has on-line information. Here is one of my favorites for rural Maine photography without crowds. They have a private floatplane to bring you in to the lakeside lodge and take you out:

http://penobscotlakelodge.com/

If I don’t begin to feel a comfortable level of confidence with this sort of pre-planning I think I would either leave my camera equipment home or choose another destination.

For example, my last personal photo safari to England was shot with the Nikons. I left the sheet film equipment home, as it had become too big a hassle for me to get it on a plane and through customs without damage or loss.

Since 9/11, I now limit my LF excursions exclusively to road trips in a Hertz rental. I believe pet dogs and Deardorffs belong on the ground.

[robc]

downsize!

[Brian C. Miller]

Chris Jordan finds photography to be stressful?? Oy, vay, that's an odd one!

To make some of my photographs, I've gotten up at 3am and been out the door at 3:30am, on the road to catch a sunrise, and back to start work at 8am. That doesn't stress me, it just makes me feel woozy from lack of sleep.

"First, how much do you photograph for the actual experience, and how much is it for the end result, the photographs?"
I photograph for maybe 25% of the experience of photographing, but the other 75% satisfaction is seeing the final print.

"Honestly, would you still be doing outdoor photography if there were no photographs resulting from it?"
Would I do anything if there was no end result from it? Would you slave at a job for no pay and no promise of pay?
From Despair.com, home of the demotivational poster:


Losing: If a first you don't succeed, failure may be your style.
Defeat: For every winner, there are dozens of losers. Odds are you're one of them.
Failure: When your best just isn't good enough.
Futility: You'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take. And, statistically speaking, 99% of the shots you do.
Humiliation: The harder you try, the dumber you look.
Ineptitude: If you can't learn to do something well, learn to enjoy doing it poorly.
Risks: If you never try anything new, you'll miss out on many of life's greatest disappointments.
Stupidity: Quitters never win, winners never quit. But those who never win AND never quit are idiots.
"Second, do any of you have any advice or words of wisdom on dealing with this type of stress?"
To dementedly paraphrase a song:
Don't worry, be happy.
Got no style, got no grace?
Got an alien sucking on your face (http://www.alien.com/)?
Don't worry, be happy.

"This is the day the LORD has made;
 let us rejoice and be glad in it."
          Psalm 118:24

One of the things that helps me with "stress" (of photography? Bah, humbug!) is perspective. I have been through more than the average bear, and here I am. Photography isn't stressful. Winding up on the side of a concrete divider at 60MPH on a Suzuki GS450 and faced with the task of getting back down alive is stressful. Crawling around on the floor in abject back pain wondering how to pay the bills is stressful. Four years of military service with morons is stressful. Loading a camera and clicking a shutter isn't stressful.

If someone finds Chris Jordan's style of photography stressful, the first thing I would recommend is figure out exactly where all the stress is coming from. I mean, really, stress from photographing a stack of shipping containers?? There isn't any stress from that action. The stress has to be coming from some other place, outside of the actions associated with photographing static subjects. Deal with that, and then there isn't any stress associated with photography.

[Michael Kadillak]

Give me a break.

How could you possibly expect to participate in landscape photography if there was not some form of exposure to the elements and inconvenience?

I regularly venture into the wilds many times with 4x5/5x7 up to and including some big ass cameras many times with minimal conveniences with absolutely no expectations and more than a few times I do not even take the camera out of the pack. Rain, snow, wind and lighting round out the festivities and I would not have it any other way. Most of the time I have the entire mountain to myself. Am I disappointed? Sure, we all wish that God would grace us with the dance of the magical light on our schedule, but it rarely happens that way.

The way I look at it I am truly blessed to be in the Rocky Mountains breathing thin air and the more I am out, the more I can get the statistics to work in my favor and the more compositions I can work on for coming back when the conditions and/or light are better. That could be a year away but even without an image to bring home it is still a most thrilling experience even when I have 70# on my back and ten miles in the rear view mirror.

If it is not for you, then by all means find something alse to make photographs of that will not stress you out so much.

Onward!

[Bruce Watson]

To be sure, stress is relative.

While I'll admit that 5x4 isn't the easiest thing I've ever done, I hesitate to call it stressful. True, there's lots of planing. Yes, there are tons of details and it's easy to make a mistake (a third of a stop here, a third of a stop there, and pretty soon it adds up to loss of shadow detail). No one is going to disagree that dealing with film holders in the field is just a PITA. There are some locations that I've been returning to for years without successfully photographing the scene I'm trying to capture. But stress?

I spent 20 months as the CTO of a web company right before the Tech. Bust of 2000/2001. That, was stress. I had Hurricane Fran go directly over my head, and didn't get power back for 10 days. That was somewhat stressful. I've worked for clueless bosses on long projects involving dozens of people, only to see the entire effort flushed down the rat hole in the end. That is it's own kind of stress.

But I've never been in combat. I've never been homeless. I've never been debilitated by disease. I've never had my life turned upside down by divorce. I've never been on the front lines of medical care like an EMT or a nurse. I've never been a policeman. So in many ways, I don't think I've ever seen stress. For that, I am most grateful indeed.

Photography for me mostly entails putting my 5x4 kit on my back and hiking into the woods or up the mountain. Without a doubt, I love it. While it is absolutely hard work, for me it's not stress - it's the exact opposite. It's a release. I use it as a way of concentrating, or really "seeing" what's there in front of me. It's one of the ways I communicate; it's a language for which I don't have the words.

Would I do the field work if it didn't result in prints? Absolutely. The actual image capture is what I really enjoy. Doing the process of grinding out prints is what I do to make everyone else happy. Not that hanging a nice print of one of my photographs is a bad thing, and that sense of completion is nice. But it's the finding and composing that I really enjoy. Clicking the shutter is just the period at the end of the sentence.

[Eric Leppanen]

I photograph for the end result, while (usually) enjoying the experience. However, I found I had to undergo something of a cultural transformation to keep my LF stress level low.

I had been a hard driving manager in the high tech industry, constantly driving for high quality results in an accelerated timeframe with little tolerance for failure. Needless to say, when I applied this same approach to LF it totally drove me nuts. Here are some of the things I learned:

- Nature gives and Nature takes away. I assume perhaps only 50-75% of planned stops in a photo trip will be successful due to weather/lighting issues. Therefore, when a weather/lighting problem arises, I am not as aggravated.

- For me at least, it usually takes several attempts before I get a particular shot "right."

- Failure is not a bad thing; it's part of the process.

- Be flexible.

Stress to some extent is a result of expectations deviating from reality. The above helped my expectations get back in line.

As for some of the specific LF sources of stress you've listed, here are some of the stress-reduction techniques I've learned:

Packing the car...

I've dedicated half a closet at my home for my photographic trip regalia, including not just the camera equipment but related items that accompany me on the trip. I keep everything up-to-date and ready to go, so when trip time arrives, I throw everything into the trunk and I'm ready to go. I don't have to go through any elaborate last-minute scrambles, or worries regarding forgotten items.

Driving hundreds of mile...

In our post-9/11 world, I too find flying with LF too much of a hassle, so arduous long drives are unavoidable. The best thing I've found to deal with this is to purchase or rent a more upscale highway cruiser with better sound insulation and a great suspension, so that the pounding of the open road doesn't impact you as much. Of course if you drive off-road and need to take the 4x4, then there's not much you can do here.

Sleeping outdoors...

As I have gotten older, I've solved this problem by sleeping in motels when possible: easier on the body and a lot fewer bugs! For cases where there's no choice but to camp, I bought a big, comfortable camp cot.

Lugging heavy gear for miles...

My suggestion: buy a home treadmill and train on it wearing your loaded backpack. Those long miles get a lot shorter when you are in shape! My alternative solution: forget hiking with LF and take a smaller camera. :-)

Having the weather turn bad...

For multi-day trips, have a flexible itinerary that can be modified on-the-fly to accommodate the weather. Make bad weather days driving days, etc. I used to take a laptop computer so that I could monitor the weather via the Internet, but most motels now carry the Weather channel or equivalent, so I get most of the info I need via cable TV. Carrying a portable weather radio may also be helpful.

Having the light be terrible...

I agree there's nothing worse when this happens, all you can do is plan for the weather as described above to minimize chances of a failure.

Dealing with onlookers...

Frankly, I avoid tourist meccas or travel off-season to avoid distracting crowds.

Having equipment break...

Not much one can do here if something critical gets busted. Even though I shoot mostly 8x10, on longer trips I also take the 4x5 just in case of equipment failure.

Also, if you haven't already, I suggest getting a good elastic darkcloth, which fits tightly to the rear standard, so that a moderate breeze does not interrupt focusing. Getting rid of my original lightweight horse blanket darkcloth (which blew everywhere when the wind kicked up) was perhaps my biggest single exercise in LF stress reduction!

[David A. Goldfarb]

http://www.echonyc.com/~goldfarb/temp/lo-stress.jpg



As much as I love the backcountry, my wife just isn't into it, so I'm learning to become accustomed to some of these "low stress" locations. If the trail is becoming wearisome, there's no harm in going to the beach occasionally (Maui above).

I haven't had too much trouble on the airlines. I put all the stuff that seems to attract the attention of the security people in a small case that gets checked with my tripod. The film goes on board, and I don't worry too much about X-rays. If I can ship the film or use a lead bag to reduce exposure, I do, but I don't go through a big procedure at the security gate every time, and I usually don't get stopped for a hand inspection.

[Armin Seeholzer]

I never have stress if I work for myself.
But sometimes I work to get paid for an architectural mag and I have deadlines this stesses me if the weather is not good for a long time. Or if I see the building and don't like it.
With an LF camera do landscape is for me the conterpart of stress!
Just me expirience and meaning!

[Brian Ellis]

John Sexton has a saying that I think sums it all up accurately: "Photography is 90% drudgery and 10% Christmas."

[Brian Vuillemenot]

Thanks for the words of wisdom, guys. Don't get me wrong, I do find photography to be mostly stress relieving, especially when everything goes well (which, unfortunately, isn't very often). I think that perhaps I just need to redefine my priorities and outlook. Part of the problem is that I recently moved to California from New Mexico, and haven't yet found my "photographic stride". I had many sites in New Mexico that I would return to again and again to photograph, and had a better handle on the whole experience. I'm sure places like this exist here in Cali, but I haven't discovered them yet (it's only been three months). One of the things that precipitated this post was the fact that I went to a crowded national park over a holiday weekend, which is probably not the best place to go for peace and quiet... (Let's not get into one of those national park bashing discussions, please!)

[Jack_5762]

I always like to think that the journey is enough. Photographing in cities, mountains deserts etc.

is not work, it is fun even with the 8x10 and 100 degrees. I like to think this but when I am in the darkroom and see that "Oh my god" print emerge I know that that is why I did all the work out there.

[Craig Wactor]

I enjoy shooting very much. I rarely stress when I am in the field. I also do not have an art career dependent on my success. I have another job that takes care of the bills. In fact, I find myself shooting all the time, but have to force myself to see it through to the final print. Seeing that is secondary to the experience of being there and shooting to me, personally. I wish I had the motivation of the print to get me more into printing and all. I get frustrated by my own perfectionism in that process!

[paulr]

"If you find the process and the encounter with nature so stressful, why not shoot something else or with something else?"

I think Ed sums it up well. If your love for doing it isn't enough to keep you doing it, then you're drawing from a pretty shallow well--doing anything creative purely for the results is a recipe for burnout, sooner or later. It's happened to me before. I had to hang up my camera for a few years and take up music before my reasons for photographing became clear to me again.

Not that the answer for everyone has to be that drastic. But if the stress is outweighing the love and motivation, it's time to ask a few questions. Why are you photographing? Why landscapes? Why the places where you're going? Why a big camera? And why now? You might also just need a break.

[Kevin Crisp]

Brian: I am sorry, I can't relate to this. I enjoy driving hundreds of miles looking for things to photograph. (Last trip 4125 miles in 10 days.) I enjoy camping. I enjoy bad weather. I enjoy almost all the people I meet when I ask for permission to enter their land. I find the new discoveries exciting and I enjoy trying to find the best image I can in what I run across. I have learned that interesting things which have been just sitting there for 50 years may be gone in the next couple months, so I make the most of things which interest me because that may be my only chance. That is exciting, but not stressful. The equipment is heavy and inconvenient to carry but I figure out the best way to carry it and then just do it. There is a tradeoff which comes with wanting a negative with a lot of square inches to it. I broke a couple ribs on that last trip, but would take off on something quite similar if I had the time this month. All my vacations would consist of the above, except for demands of my family. It beats any day in the office and I wish I could do it more often. I would still travel by car and hike even if I didn't photograph, but then I know when I got there I'd kick myself for not bringing a kit so maybe I wouldn't. I enjoy the darkroom time except for film developing, but that I can live with because without it the negatives are a bear to print. I find the above more relaxing than traditional vacations, it is the furthest thing from stress for me. Suggestions for you? You might consider MF, which is much lighter and involves less paraphenalia. With modern films the results can be close to LF except in larger print sizes. You might try simplifying what you carry. Take a trip with one lens, do the best you can with it. You might try photographing closer to the car and/or driving a vehicle which can get you closer to what you want to photograph. You might try making sure everything fits in one bag so when you head out you have a bag and a tripod in your hand and that's it. Nothing hanging off you, no secondary bags, just one bag and tripod. I'm not clear on the source of the stress -- there will be trips where you come back with nothing worthwhile. That happens. If you are prepared to accept that and are not constantly thinking you are "falling behind" on exposures or not being productive enough, then relax and enjoy it. If you genuinely don't like the things which inevitably come with landscape photography, then maybe it isn't for you. If a big tank on your back bothers you and you hate being wet and cold then I'd advise against scuba diving. Did you ever enjoy it more than you do now? If so, what has changed? I find revisiting places I've been before very productive, I know what to expect, I've figured out the best time to be there and if I have something worthwhile at the place already I find I am less conservative in approach to the subject.

[Ed Richards]

> Part of the problem is that I recently moved to California

I get stressed just visiting CA. Maybe it is not the photography that is the problem.:-)

[John Kasaian]

No stress for me. Quite the opposite really...but I don't do it for a living. My real job(s) are stressfull enough, playing havoc with my blood pressure, blood sugar and all that stuff. Being out in nature is, for me, a cherished time. Do I worry about missing a shot? No---if it was meant to be I'll get it, if not at least I took the time to pause and appreciate the view while it lasted (and a bit of exercise lugging around the ol' 'dorff) I can't ask for much more than that.

Cheers!

[Don Miller]

- Have a smaller format to fall back on when stressed by the equipment

- Figure out what you want to shoot using a smaller camera.

- Have a closer to home project to fall back on when long trips become too much

- The number of thoughtful days you spend in the field will directly determine the amount of good work produced in a year. Some weekends will always be a wash out. Just make the effort to be in the right place at the right time. Some trips will not produce great photographs. That's O.K. and expected.

- When traveling with a non-photographer, negotiate that the beginning and end of days are yours, and the middle of the day is hers.

- Music when driving and looking

- Physical fitness

- Hit your prime seasons hard and don't "force it" at other times of the year. Most people do best with cycles in their work. I am exhausted by the end of my fall shooting, but since I have a plan I feel that I'm O.K.

- have rules for dealing with both 1) curious and 2) hostile people. Mine are simple if the light is good: 1) "I'm sorry I can't talk. I have to get this shot before the light changes" 2) "If you think I can't take this picture, then call the sheriff. But if you keep harassing me, I will call the sheriff". Number one is only modified for attractive women. I'm not suggesting you use my rules, but decide ahead of time how you will handle expected interpersonal situations.

- Define a project with the intent to exhibit the work. If you can't find inspiration in New Mexico, perhaps you were meant to be a studio photographer? Learn and love the area and you will figure it out. Good luck.

[Brian C. Miller]

Ah, this makes sense now. Driving in California (L.A. region, in particular) has always driven me nuts. I've learned to stay away from popular places like that.

I'd recommend taking a trip without the camera, just tool around. However, with gas prices what they are now, I'd definitely rent a high-MPG car to do it.

BTW, I looked in the LF archives and I couldn't find anything about Chris Jordan and travails of LF photography. If you could point me to a link, I'd like to read the original article/post.

[Stephen Willard]

I leave for the Colorado mountains in early July with two llamas, two LF cameras, 9 lenses, film, tents and anything else needed to sustain life and my addiction to photography. All toll, everything weighs in with about 240 pounds of gear. I do come out periodically to refuel and tell my beautiful wife I love her, but I remain there until the snow flies in mid October.

Is it stressful? At first yes, but if you persist and do it long enough, then you become familiar with the patterns and behavior of nature. She becomes your lover, and you know all of her moods. You know when to shoot and when to leave your camera cased. You come to realize her moods, that most deem hostile and stressful, are absolutely essential for your exploits, and you take them only when she permits.

[paulr]

Quite a few reactions here that like, "I don't relate to this at all ... for me it's all roses and bla bla bla ..."

The first time I heard people complain about being blocked, or anything similar, my reaction was the same. I couldn't relate to it so I thought they were whining about nothing. Then a few years later, my motivation hit the wall and I was lost. It took a long time to find it again.

The short version of the story is, telling someone who's feeling blocked that you never feel blocked is NOT helpful. Ever. About as helpful as you having food poisoning, and me consoling you by telling you that I feel great.

[Brian Vuillemenot]

Thanks Paul for your empathy,

Most of you folks are misunderstanding my post. I'm not stressed out by the act of photographing, or being in nature, but all the events that must precede it. Being an outdoor enthusiast is actually what got me into photography, not the other way around. To all of you who claim that your photographic endeavours are completely stress free, what do you do when you're stuck in a traffic jam on the way to a site? Or wake up in a tent, covered with muck and water? Or go three nights without sleep because some yahoos in a NPS camp site next to yours decided to get drunk and party around the camp fire last night? Any time you enter the outdoors, events will be out of your control, which can be stressful to anyone. I'm just looking for ways to cut down the stress- thanks to all of you who've answered the question for your good ideas.

Brian, here's a link to the Chris Jordan post for you and anyone else interested:

largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/501270.html#543435 (http://largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/501270.html#543435)

I'd like to hear from Chris if he reads this how often he feels that way.

[Brian C. Miller]

Paulr, interesting that you should mention being blocked.

Piers Anthony, author of the Xanth fantasy series, would put a "blog" of sorts in the back of his books. In one of the books he talked about the word processor he used, which was written specifically for book authors. As he would write, thoughts would pop up, and he would put the thoughts in a side-bar column, and then zip back to writting his novel. He said by doing that he never got blocked.

I think that a creativity block comes from blocking other thoughts. When all the thoughts flow, then the thought stream you want flows, too. If you get a creative blip about music, write it down. If its a creative blip about pottery, write it down. If its a creative blip about (fill in the blank), write it down. Let them all flow, and your main idea stream will flow quite fast indeed!

Brian:
OK, now I see what it is you're getting at. I thought the post was about Chris Jordan.

I do my best to take a Zen approach to things. If you can get it, read The Zen Way to the Martial Arts, by Taisen Deshimaru. Also, read A Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi. These are small books, crammed with a lot of stuff. I have to reread them every once in a while.

There is a little maxim:
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference." --Reinhold Niebuhr, The Serenity Prayer

You cannot change the rate of the flow of traffic. Therefore, focus on something else, like where you will visit when you arrive at your destination. You can't change the yahoos (without going to jail) or the muck and water, so the best thing to do is camp somewhere else. When I owned a Suburban, that was my mobile campground. I slept in the back of it, far away from people. (Come to think of it, the park rangers might like to have a chat with the yahoos about their noise and being drunk and disorderly.)

Once upon a time my job stressed me out so badly that I was stressed doing photography. Now there is something that I can change. I quit that job, and it was way overdue that I left it.

[John Kasaian]

Paulr,

I don't think the term "block" as an artistic block is neccesarily synonymous with stress, although I agree that a block probably would cause stress and stress would also be a major contributing factor to an artistic block. If a person is under the gun to produce, because of forces outside or internal, it can be either a motivating factor or a perilous misfortune. Different people react differently in these situations. Controlling stress isn't an easy thing (and in some arenas stress is, if I remember the professional development courses I had to take, a neccesary component) but IMHO stress often masks other things going on in One's life. It isn't that I don't understand---quite the contrary---but an art/hobby/passion whatever ya callit, I find represents itself as a challenge that, if not surmountable at least isn't fatal. Victories are sweet and defeats are a ticket to experiment with some other subject/process/ whatever you will (if you choose to accept it in the first place---fighting, even for a lost cause---is so much more interesting) Stress OTOH, especially too much of it, can kill you---or at least mess you up real bad.

Hey, I'm not a psychologist but I know what I've seen happen too many times to ignore it or not sympathize with someone troubled by stress OTOH what works for me works---at least for me.
If your art ever stops being fun---I mean so much fun you can't stop smiling when you see a shot and uncase your camera---then I think it has also stopped
being something worth expending your energy on. Give it a rest or consider moving on

Unless of course you're getting paid for it---and even then its iffy.

I remember a really fine lad who lost an arm in egypt while circumnavigating the globe by himself in a sailboat. A real outdoorsman who spent the rest of his days in an Dilbert cubicle in the bowels of a huge regional insurance office building. He had a collection of photos he'd taken of his boat and the ports he'd called on mounted on the walls of his cubicle and changed them regularly. It was his way of dealng with his particular brand of stress.

If OTOH it is the things that lead up to a shoot that stresses you out---the logistical stuff---I don't
know what to suggest except to read one of Vittorio Sella's accounts of mountain climbing with a huge camera that used glass plates to put your own frustrations in perspective.

Good luck!

[julian_4860]

Having suffered a number of times from 'the block' I now see it as a positive sign. As someone once told me, its a sign that there is a gap between the pics you want to make and the pics you are making, so if you get through it you'll start to see something exciting. One thing you can do is change your routine - go to different places or use a different camera - try a holga, 35mm, MF, ULF. If you just repeat your usual behaviour nothing will change. The best move i ever made was to stop shooting on the street and go shoot BW landscapes for a while. So if you normally shoot landscapes, spend some time on still life, portraits, architecture. Try thinking of pics in a different way - one of the best teachers (in any subject) I ever had was Charlie Harbutt - he'd give assignements like 'go take a pic of a point of view', 'go show me a moment' ( he also had a thing of stop trying to make 'good' pics and just make pics'). basically just relax and know the block is the sign of somethin good!

[Struan Gray]

I am an ex-marine with Himalayan first ascents in my resume. Camping doesn't stress me.

I have a PhD in experimental Physics, and have spent many years doing original, blue-sky research with equipment whose dimensional tolerances are measured in fractions of a nanometer. View cameras don't stress me.

I am an amateur and photograph only for myself, to find out how my personal way of looking at and valuing the things around me accords with the wider flow of visual culture. Photography doesn't stress me.

That last one's a lie.

For me, getting serious about photography has meant dispensing with the cosy reassurance of anonymous amateurism. I don't sell, show, or publish my work, but I feel a strong compulsion to treat it as if I do: to take it seriously, to judge it. It no longer does me any good to shrug my shoulders and say "mañana". Partly it's a Calvinist guilt thing about how much time and money is going into photography, but I am also beginning to see what artists mean when they talk about a responsibility to their talent.

The really hard thing is that I take my best photographs when I just pooter about and see what turns up. The controlled aggression that drove me through my Commando Course is of no use whatsoever. Neither is the sort of theory-informed, wide-picture motivation that inspired my best science. I have had to learn to trust both myself and providence in equal measure, and that is stressful in a whole new way. Sometimes it feels like walking the plank above a sea of Great Whites.

I don't have any magic cures, but one thing that does help is to go for a walk without a camera, and kick myself over all the wonderful photographs I am missing. This reassures me that the urge to photograph and to see photographically is still there. Another pep pill is to review my earliest photographs and take comfort from the fact that my work has improved, but also that the germs of a personal view of the world have been there all along. Looking at other people's photographs generally depresses me - other photographers always seem so self-assured, goal-focussed and productive - but looking at art in general is a great way for me to refresh my visual wellspring.

[Emrehan Zeybekoglu]

These days my source of stress is the soaring cost of gas..

[evan clarke]

Stress was not invented too many years ago, sort of like the subconscious. We got along for many centuries before these concepts were foisted on us. You are born, you exist and then you die. You must keep your mind entertained along the way and I think this LF stuff is way better than MTV ( how about all the people who are "stressed out" over television???!!!)...EC

[Ellen Stoune Duralia]

Struan, don't take this the wrong way but I am so amused by the thought of an ex-marine "pootering" about. It takes a real man to admit that he pooters! LOL

But I do understand what you mean... some of my best work is from 'random' findings as opposed to organized photography trips.

Pooter on, Dude!

[Steve Bell]

I never get stressed when using LF, it relaxes me compared to a busy day at work. I'm an amateur, but I can visualise how a professional may get stressed out. It can be stressfull geting to and from a remote location, but not the act of taking the photograph. For instance on Sunday I climbed a steep path, to find the path zig zaged to the ridge top, stones were loose and I had to clamber over rocks. When I got to the top, the path I intended to take looked unsafe for my walking abilities, and I didn't fancy going back down. A quick look at the map and I moved off in another direction. I'd taken my photographs earlier, all I was doing now was carrying a heavy bag and admiring the wonderfull views. Not knowing if I would come across anything I couldn't hack was a little stressfull, but at the end of the day I'd no regrets and would do it again.

[Dan Jolicoeur]

The most stress comes when you are the only one shooting large format in a family situation. Especialy with teenagers; "Daddy you realy don't want to take a picture of that stupid stream do you" After they shot about a roll of the same scene, not trying different prespectives. It is hard to teach a know it all kid, and hurry up and do your thing at the same time. It is much more rewarding going alone or with just my wife, who like to take my notes and such.

[Struan Gray]

Thanks Ellen. On reflection, "Pootering" should have a capital "P".

Of course, I could be bluffing to attract chicks.

There's more than one sort of photography. I have great respect for the arrangers and still lifers, but I know my own abilities tend more towards journalism than poetry. Physics, not Maths. When I set out to take a pre-visualised photograph the results are usually dull and predictable. My images always seem more interesting when I use my imagination to interpret the world and not subsitute for it. Photography thus involves cultivating humility while knowing my own worth.

One of my all-time favourite climbing routes was once described as "Overhanging an infinite drop on one side; and steeper and longer on the other". Taking myself seriously - in the nicest way, of course - can feel much the same.

[Steve J Murray]

For me stress is not being able to do something creative every day. Photography is my favorite medium. I "see" things everywhere, all the time, in all situations and places that just beg to be photographed. Its stressful not to be able to photograph all of these things. The "best" moment is seeing something in the viewfinder/groundglass that is wonderfully captivating and knowing that I'm going to get a picture of it. Having a print on the wall later reminds me of those moments and brings me repeated satisfaction and gratefulness of having the opportunity to see and photograph the image. I could see how for some people stress comes from putting pressure on one's self to do something "artistic." I think this is the wrong reason for doing it. I would suggest for those people to try to loosen up a little and think about what things really make him or her feel relaxed and satisfied.

[Al Seyle]

Stress: Sitting on your roof for a week in 90 degree heat watching bodies float by, etc....

Suddenly I have no knowledge of stress in my own life--certainly not my photographic one. I hope this perspective lasts.

[Don Miller]

"Stress: Sitting on your roof for a week in 90 degree heat watching bodies float by, etc....
Suddenly I have no knowledge of stress in my own life--certainly not my photographic one. I hope this perspective lasts."

I expect most of us here have a relatively risk-free life compared to the rest of the world. I think Brian is trying to find more of that quiet, in-the-zone feeling. I know that's my most productive time. Maintaining perspective is certainly one aspect of achieving that balance, but I've found that a conscious effort to manage the smaller things makes a big difference. Given the choices now available, LF is probably not the right choice for a large majority of landscape photographers.

[Kirk Gittings]

Sometimes the process is fun, sometimes meditative and sometimes a nightmare. But ultimately it is all and solely about the image. I dream about images. I daydream about images. All of my rare vacations are organized around making images etc. etc. My wife lives is under the curious notion that I am a workaholic. Imagine that. I call it passion. I have made great images during a stressful process and during an easy one, but I consider obstacles a test of my commitment and overcoming them to get a good image is especially sweet. The most memorable images (not necessarily the best) come from difficulty. They result in the best stories. I have been shot at, almost drowned, beaten up, accidentally started a forest fire, totalled a fcouple of vehicless and arrested twice in 27 years of large format photography. In retrospect I cherish those trips and the images they produced (or failed to produce).

Ed Abbey either told me or wrote somewhere or both, I can't remember which, that he wished the bears in the wilderness would eat more people. It would keep out the tourists. That the outdoors should be more dangerous or would degenerate into theme parks.

I am on my way in ten minutes to be interviewd by the local newspaper about my upcoming show. It will be full of artspeak and bull.... and won't be half as interesting as talking about the stressfull events that occured in the process of making those images.

[Don Miller]

I'm a little envious of "shot at". I've only been threatened by a man with a gun. I wouldn't say it's fun, but it is necessary. Most of my family/friends don't understand that these type of events will happen and don't matter.

[Christopher Perez]

For me, stress in shooting LF and ULF is two fold. The first involves the gathering of equipment. Having too much makes choosing difficult. The second involves what happens when I'm on location.

I can't tell you how much time I spend noodling what to take, what not to take, is it light enough, will it meet my needs. It's really quite silly, when I look at it. But this effort comes from not being able to photograph on a regular basis. I have a day job that pays the bills and I have far too much time on my hands to consider "all the angles".

Recently I started noodling what to carry to South Asia while away on business. It started with a simple proposition: get the verticals lined up right and avoid "keystoning" architecture. The 120 cameras I usually carry 1/2 way around the world failed in this one area. So the mossy rock starts rolling. The next thing I know, I have a super light weight 4x5 camera, a bunch of really light lenses, and a Kodak ReadyLoad film holder. In the arena of carrying LF gear to the other side of the world, I'm still working it in my mind. But I leave this Friday!

Which leads to the other thing that I spend too much time thinking about. Worry sets in about how much impact I will have on my co-workers (I travel on business, afterall). I only have so much room in my suitcase and I carry-on everything (I never check bags through for fear of having things get lost). After I get there, I'm worried that as we are wandering around various temples and places that 1) I'll be working on a scene and my co-workers will get bored of me taking so much time, 2) what kind of attention I will draw when I whip out the focusin cloth with a "fancy" camera sitting out in open heavily populated spaces, and 3) that I'll be able to even use a tripod at all. Many locations prohibit the use of "stands" (aka: tripods). Then there's the strong concern that I'll not be able to react quickly enough to a portrait situation (which is where the 120 format gear excels). And then there's the setting up of a scene. Foreground/background and interesting subjects properly framed.

All this noodling, just to get a big image onto a big piece of film and to have the architecture line up right from the otherside of the earth. Ack! It's nearly too much.

Sometimes I think I should just sell it all and cut back to one camera. But I can't do that. Hence the stress.

[Scott Davis]

Christopher;

I can't speak for all of South Asia, but you may find that there will be places you are going that will let you use a 35mm on a tripod, but will expect you to pay a (sometimes hefty) fee to get a permit to use medium or large format gear, and the process for obtaining the permit may well be somewhere between convoluted to impenetrable. I know that at Angkor in Cambodia, large format gear requires a separate permit, and in Thailand, there are some places where even medium format stuff is forbidden outright (to protect the licenses sold to local photographers and their profits from selling "professional" images of the local landmarks). Do some advance checking before you go to make sure that wherever you are going with the 4x5 will let you.

[Christopher Perez]

Scott,

Thank you for your comments. I heartily agree with you about the impenetrable nature of getting permits in South Asia.

South India regulations regarding tripods vary widely. For instance, at Belur I was told immediately to put the tripod away. At Halibeedu I used the tripod extensively. Until, that is, the guy who monitored such things returned from an extended lunch. And at Shravanabelagola they had no issues with my tripod at all.

I'm thinking that I'll just try to buy a "permit" on-site if I'm told I can use the tripod. But this puts me at risk for getting any images. I can carry only one camera in my carry-on. The super-lite 4x5 kit weighs the same as my Mamiya 7 with two lenses. So the LF is very attractive. But... [stressed]

[David Karp]

For most of my adult life, my worst days of photography have been better than most of the best days at work. When photographing, I am doing something I love. At work, until recently that has not always been true. True, sometimes things are tough photographically. Nature does not cooperate. I break something. I pull the darkslide on my last sheet of film with the lens still open. Whatever. The truth is, as frustrating as it might seem at times, I always feel great when I get home, always feel rejuvinated.

This summer, I went on several day trips with a LF friend, and we had great times. I am sure I captured some images that will please me. One of these days, I will get around to developing the negatives I made. So, obviously it is not just about the image for me. The process and the experience of those days in the field was just great. I am excited about the final prints, but time spent with my kids and wife and fixing up my house was more important to me than developing the negs. I think that I will get around to it by the end of the week, but if not, I will do it eventually, and no matter what, I had a great time making those negs.

If LF stresses you out, try pulling out the 35mm for a while, or give it all a rest. If it is not fun, and it is not your means of putting bread on the table, maybe a break will rekindle your interest.

[Otto Muskee]

LF, my personal therapy after a stressful day. I consider it very relaxing to be just out there and enjoy the landscape around me. Weight and other LF related problems are to be ignored. My eyes are searching for the right place, the right angle, the right timing. It seems that my mental state is more important than my physical condition at moments like these. After being in the military for a long time, the backpack isn't a problem anymore, just part of my body. How can it be stressful to anyone..Setting up the camera, fixing the magazines, focussing, filter selection, I take my time doing everything in a calm routine, and than enjoy the surroundings and wait for the right golden moment. Only with a few exposed 4x5 sheets I'll return after a relaxing day. I make sure to be careful not to waste them in the darkroom. The actual printing is the final creative moment that gives total satisfaction. Than I realize that I've been there, where the rest of the world probably is stressing in a daily job routine, the same that is waiting for me the very next day.

I would say, don't take it that seriously...enjoy you being there, its your unique moment.

Otto Muskee

[jonathan smith]

When I was young I was a very serious photographer, but I gave it up for decades because of the stress/hassle of all the equipment. And that was when I shot 35mm. I was a little worried about getting back into photography with an 8x10 but it has been uplifting for me.

For one, I'm not obligated to "always carry a camera" which I did before. I think that's what I got tired of. Now I casually hunt for scenes I like and when I get a chance I grab the stuff and go.

As far as dealing with the equipment, I have what I need in shoulder bags so it's all ready to go. And another thing, I make it a point to only take one photo at a time (two copies usually) and so the "work" phase is quickly over.

For me the rigamarole of the LF camera is a pleasant preface to the big moment of clicking the shutter. That part doesn't stress me out at all.

[Doug Dolde]

Yeah but Chris Jordan shoots in landfills, dumps, industrial sloughs and the like. I'd probably get stressed out shooting large format in places like that myself. Might not even want to go under the dark cloth; who knows what might attack me when I can't see.

But in the woods, desert, or mountains? How could I ever get stressed out there? Only the presence of people might make me worry a bit.