# What gets you off your ass?



## joshuatdlr (Dec 30, 2016)

I am simply curious about other peoples thought process on getting out and taking pictures. Where does your drive come from? How did you build the confidence to hit the streets, the patience for long exposures and time lapses, the determination for landscapes? I want to know what pushes your tenacity for photography. Tell me why this is your passion.


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## zombiesniper (Dec 30, 2016)

I have and "A" type personality and like to learn things. Most of the things I like to do have some form of learned skill.
I've taught myself to weld, play drums, build CNC machinery etc. just for the adventure of learning how to do it.
Right now I play airsoft and shoot wildlife. The two have some similarities in that you are trying to get as close to the objective for the best possible shot without detection.

The drive part of it for me is the hunt and getting the shot. It helps that Jr. will ask sometimes to go shoot up to 3 times a day.


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## limr (Dec 30, 2016)

joshuatdlr said:


> I am simply curious about other peoples thought process on getting out and taking pictures. Where does your drive come from?



The first thing? Light. I don't do any studio work. Most of my shooting is outside in natural light. There are times when I'm not even thinking about photography but then I'll see a certain quality of light and all I'll want is a camera. 

The second thing? Self-expression. When I'm feeling like I need to work out some emotions, I'll grab a camera and see how close I can get to matching an image to the way I am feeling.



> How did you build the confidence to hit the streets, the patience for long exposures and time lapses, the determination for landscapes? I want to know what pushes your tenacity for photography. Tell me why this is your passion.



Confidence? I don't know how much of it is confidence rather than a sense of "What the hell, it's just a picture." If it comes out badly or not how I intended, what are the consequences? Nothing. I'm not shooting for anyone else or hired to get a specific image. I shoot for myself, so if I try something new and it doesn't work, the only thing that happens is that I shrug and say "Oh well" or I try again and again until I get it right. Depends on how badly I want to accomplish a certain look. 

The reason for my tenacity or passion? Again: self-expression. My first choice is to express myself through writing, but there are times when words fall short. That's when I turn to photography.


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## SCraig (Dec 30, 2016)

"Passion" and "Tenacity" would infer to me that photography is something I couldn't do without.  That I strive to improve my photography to the exclusion of all else and would never dream of going anywhere without a camera.  For me that isn't the case.  I enjoy photography very much but it doesn't rule my life.  I have other things in my life that deserve part of my time.

I shoot when and where I want to and it's been that way for decades.  If my cameras sit in the bag under my desk for a month it doesn't bother me because I know they will be there when I want them.  I shoot a lot of motorsports from spring to fall and birds and wildlife in the winter.  But if I want to go to a race or a walk through the woods in the morning and leave my camera at home I do so and never think twice about it.

I learned long ago that for me being passionate and tenacious about a hobby leads to eventual burn-out.  I've enjoyed photography for a very long time and I think that one of the reasons is that I don't allow it to rule my life.  I think I'll keep doing it that way.


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## tirediron (Dec 30, 2016)

Beats the Hades outta me... it's just there.


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## Dean_Gretsch (Dec 30, 2016)

We have a boxer that requires a few walks per day so she doesn't get into trouble, so I take the camera with me and sometimes opportunities present themselves. I have always enjoyed photography though. I took a class in high school and learned to develop B&W film. It made me LOVE digital, lol!


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## jcdeboever (Dec 30, 2016)

This year, my motivation was to try and understand the exposure triangle. I was obsessed with it.  The other was getting it right in the camera.

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## SquarePeg (Dec 30, 2016)

Sometimes the motivation is the inspiration to get a certain shot, whether it's a landscape that I want to capture at a certain time of day or something interesting that I've seen and decided I have to shoot. 

Sometimes I see something that makes me think of something else which makes me think of something else which makes me think of something else which gets me thinking about how I could photograph it in a certain way and then I have to make that work. 

Sometimes I'm just bored and want something creative to do.


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## snowbear (Dec 30, 2016)

Sometimes it's a challenge, sometimes it's another photo I see, sometimes it's an event that's going on.


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## Solarflare (Dec 31, 2016)

Having spare time + opportunity.


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## MSnowy (Dec 31, 2016)

There's always a better picture out there waiting to be captured


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## Nevermore1 (Dec 31, 2016)

I've always had an interest in photography.  I haven't done much this past year but want to change that this coming year.  When I first started doing photography it was just because it was something I loved to do with my spare time.  For the past several years it was both something I loved to do and I got to do it with my best friend who took up wildlife photography when he gave up drinking (the camera replaced the beer as his addiction).  He is one of the few people I know that I can say really had a "natural talent" for photography.  We would spend hours hanging out in swamps or the woods looking for things to photograph so for both of us it turned into something that gave us an both an excuse to spend time together and an opportunity to just get away from reality and think (we had one of those relationships where we could just sit together and not say a thing for hours and be perfectly comfortable and content).  As I mentioned, I haven't done much this past year since he died last Christmas and I've just lacked in the motivation department since then.  I'm starting to make myself go back out again as it is a good stress reliever to just get out and away from everyday things and I already have a few days trips planned to force myself to get back out there.  I really miss having someone to go with but I enjoy photography too much to just give it up. So I guess you could say for me my "drive" is to be able to get away from things and de-stress for a few hours.  Sometimes I don't come back with much and other times I can come back with hundreds of photos and a few keepers among them.


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## DriedStrawbery (Dec 31, 2016)

Few years back I used to say "there is no way I'll be lugging a huge N heavy camera all around N take pics, it will never be for me!". 

I ended up buying DSLR after my kid was born since you are supposed to get good pics with a SLR . Bought a crop camera. It still dint get me to take too many snaps. 

Things changed when I started seeing more N more amazingly sharp pics taken and shared. 

In the attempt to get me there, I got reading and learning about the techniques and technology. As time went by, slowly I got drawn into aspects of art in pics. 

Now, armed with the technical possiblitties, familiarity with artistic aspects a picture, it becomes a challenge to produce those type of pics myself. 

The challenge is what gets me going now. Challenge with subjects, lighting, post processing (not extreme PS editing, only LR based). 

I feel, as a newbie, I dint know the potential (tools) that was there to be utilized to be able to take up the challenge everytime I have a camera in my hand. 


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## nerwin (Jan 2, 2017)

It maybe sad, but it's true for me. 

My depression and anxiety it was drives me to keep shooting because when I'm out shooting and doing my thing, I feel happier and the problems in my life fade away during that period of time.


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## Nevermore1 (Jan 3, 2017)

nerwin said:


> It maybe sad, but it's true for me.
> 
> My depression and anxiety it was drives me to keep shooting because when I'm out shooting and doing my thing, I feel happier and the problems in my life fade away during that period of time.


I'm kinda the same way and that's how my friend was.  When he broke his computer and nonlonger had a way to view and edit all the photos he'd taken he went downhill very fast.  It helped him mentally to get out and focus on taking photos and not worry about day to day things he had no control over.

Sent from my SM-N915T using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app


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## Drive-By-Shooter (Jan 4, 2017)

not sad at all!  anytime you focus (pun unavoidable) intently, it clears and strengthens the mind, like meditation.
i got started when a friend in college showed me a simple b&w photo he took on a bus in NY.  it was art.  art i could do, so i got started processing b&w, then color and 2 years later won 4 awards in the university (a huge one) photo show!

others here share some of my other ones:  motorcycle track days (on a racetrack), weightlifting, firearms especially hundreds of yards away, amateur radio...


nerwin said:


> It maybe sad, but it's true for me.
> 
> My depression and anxiety it was drives me to keep shooting because when I'm out shooting and doing my thing, I feel happier and the problems in my life fade away during that period of time.


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## Samuel.z (Jan 5, 2017)

How to get off your ass:

1. Look at your camera.
2. Look at some great photo.
3. Look back at your camera.
4. Look at another photo.
5. You're already standing.
6. You did it! Now go get them!

That is pretty much my everyday process.


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## chuasam (Jan 7, 2017)

Being offered money, or the potential to created something really good.


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## Vtec44 (Jan 7, 2017)

Love.

I love what I do.  I love that I make money doing what I love.  I love to know that my work will be as part of someone's history long after I'm gone.


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## Nature_Photo_Mastery (Jan 11, 2017)

This is a great thread!

For me, it comes from a few things...

I love the final result of fine art nature images - I'm a very "visual" person, and so looking at awesome images feels...awesome (including my images and other people's images)
I get excited about a particular subject, or a type of image, or some concept, and then it motivates me to work at capturing it. I just get this energy from the excitement.
I like being creative, coming up with set ups, field craft techniques, DIY gear, etc, and it makes it more fun to go out and do these things
Sometimes I enjoy being out in nature and experiencing the wildlife, scenery, peacefulness, discovery, whatever (but it's not my primary goal - my main goal is creating the image I want)
To a lesser extent (and it's really a "bonus" as opposed to a goal), I like getting positive comments and likes from other people on my work. Many people won't admit that they like positive comments, because others sometimes put a negative label on having that desire ("egotistical"). But I'm not afraid to admit it - yes, I feel good when people like my work. But I'm not delusional or arrogant about it, nor do I thrive off of comments. I am well aware that I can always be improving and learning.


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## Samuel.z (Jan 11, 2017)

Nature_Photo_Mastery said:


> This is a great thread!
> 
> For me, it comes from a few things...
> 
> ...


Are we the same person? I could not have said it better myself.

I might just go outside now. This was inspiration enough for me to get up to shoot. I'm a simple man


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## ZombiesniperJr (Jan 11, 2017)

Having nice birding spots near me


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## DanOstergren (Jan 11, 2017)

Coffee gets me off my ass. Beautiful people and beautiful clothing inspire me to take photos of them. Being good at something also encourages me to keep doing it and to keep getting better at it.


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