I'm finding photography purposeless.

[RacePhoto]

I snap, therefore I am.

Something in that is like Popeye as well. I do what I do, because I enjoy what I do. I'm not going to say my images are art, and they don't have some deep meaning and maybe they aren't perfect down to the last pixel. I don't do this for praise and sometimes I get some money, but profit is not my goal.

They are my personal joy and what I like. That's why I've never stopped taking photos for myself. If someone else likes one, well that's nice, I appreciate that they saw what I saw. Maybe?

And yes, learning, experimenting and diversity are also joyful. If my target is a close up of a sliced tomato, then that's what I work at, until I get one that I like. Then I'll probably move on to something else. Sometimes I don't get what I wanted, and I put that aside for another day, another attempt. Shooting the "perfect" triple cheeseburger has been an ongoing effort. Not even every year, but now and then, I go back and make another one.

Meaning? Purpose? Just because I like doing what I do.

Lincoln's Nose?

 

[greybeard]

If you enjoy it then it is not meaningless. Why do you need others to validate what you are doing if you are enjoying it?

 

[Brooklyn Albertan]

If you enjoy it then it is not meaningless. Why do you need others to validate what you are doing if you are enjoying it?

Bingo.

I like the shots that I save. That's rewarding enough for me...

 

[Grandpa Ron]

Except for vacation, family and travel pictures, that I keep for the fun of "looking back" and recalling pleasant memories, I was pretty well burnt out after decades of photography.

Then I recalled an old view camera my uncle had left me in the 1970. Just an old 4x5 cut film camera. This tweaked my interest, so I retrieved it from a shelf in the basement.

What an adventure this became. I added an old 127mm lens, and re-discovered photography. When it is a box with frosted glass, showing an upside-down image, holding the film and another box holding the lens, both connected by a bellows for focusing; this is a real photography challenge.

You read the light meter, set the aperture, shutter speed and focus the image for every shot. It is time consuming and difficult, but when you get it right, you could care less what other folks think of the results.

I love my digital camera for routine picture taking, it is fast and easy, thanks to some techno-guru at Canon. But when I shoot with the old view camera, good or bad, it is all on me. The photographer.

 

[Don Fischer]

I haven't stopped taking photos. It just seems that the hobby is meaningless. I'm the only one that enjoys the photos I create.

You are the only one that has to. Most of us are not great photograper's and don't need to be. Taking photo's makes us happy or not, we are siimply picture takers. Sometimes we simply get to taking ourselves to seriously! If ya can't have fun doing it, don't do it!

 

[K9Kirk]

I'm retired and will turn 70 in a month. I've shot photos seriously since the 1980s, except for a 6 year hiatus.
In the last 10 yrs I've post a few to Flickr here and there. My wife will look at some of them if I call her over. I have no kids to pass on my body of work. I'm discouraged w/ photography asking myself...why? I enjoy shooting and simple editing as a creative outlet but it seem pointless. So I'm thinking of selling my gear and get something really small and basic like Nikon Z30 w/ small kit lens, or similar, so I don't ask my self... why do this hobby and what to do with all these decades of photographs.
Does anyone else feel this way?

I get the same feeling sometimes but I remember why I started doing it in the first place, I enjoy it, it's a great hobby that passes time well, and when I do get a really great shot it seems to make it all worthwhile. I used to ride my motorcycle to pass time but my riding partner moved back to Ohio so I have no one to ride with, it just isn't the same. And I realize one of these idiots texting instead of driving while rolling down the road is most likely going to put me in the hospital or 6 feet under some day so I haven't ridden in months. I was talking to a friend just last night about hobbies because he needs one. I suggested he get back into gaming online, it's what he used to like doing and a new Xbox doesn't cost nearly as much as a good camera and lens. Not suggesting you get into gaming, I'm just rambling. I hope you find something new you like or find a new love for photography. Word of mention, I find I like photography more if I don't take it too seriously and pay less attention to quality and more to substance.

 

[HogPhotog]

I'm retired and will turn 70 in a month. I've shot photos seriously since the 1980s, except for a 6 year hiatus.
In the last 10 yrs I've post a few to Flickr here and there. My wife will look at some of them if I call her over. I have no kids to pass on my body of work. I'm discouraged w/ photography asking myself...why? I enjoy shooting and simple editing as a creative outlet but it seem pointless. So I'm thinking of selling my gear and get something really small and basic like Nikon Z30 w/ small kit lens, or similar, so I don't ask my self... why do this hobby and what to do with all these decades of photographs.
Does anyone else feel this way?

I've felt this way from time to time. I'm 71 and have found a new way to utilize the skills gained over a lifetime: I volunteer at the local senior center teaching computer basics and acting as "staff photographer" for senior center events. As a result, I've received numerous requests to take family portraits, and even a wedding or two. I do all of this gratis. The folks I'm helping are, like me, living on a fixed income and can't afford much. My payment is their gratitude and friendship.

 

[webestang64]

I must be lucky in that ever since I got my K1000 in 1980 I have loved, enjoyed and relished photography immensely.

 

[otherprof]

I'm retired and will turn 70 in a month. I've shot photos seriously since the 1980s, except for a 6 year hiatus.
In the last 10 yrs I've post a few to Flickr here and there. My wife will look at some of them if I call her over. I have no kids to pass on my body of work. I'm discouraged w/ photography asking myself...why? I enjoy shooting and simple editing as a creative outlet but it seem pointless. So I'm thinking of selling my gear and get something really small and basic like Nikon Z30 w/ small kit lens, or similar, so I don't ask my self... why do this hobby and what to do with all these decades of photographs.
Does anyone else feel this way?

I saw a quilt show decades ago at the craft museum that was across the street from MoMA. One of the works on display was a sphere, about 10 feet in diameter, made of quilts. The creator offered this explanation: Since this is totally unusable for any practical purpose, it must be art.

 

[Dikkie]

It's not your hobby that is meaningless... It's the whole meaning of life that is purposeless.
Some say our purpose is to procreate, but even then after million of years, the sun will enlarge and burn planet Earth.
So whether we exist or not...
Someone recently asked me the question (after watching the news with all the negative war things going on):
"would planet earth be a better planet without humans?"
Whether humanity exists or not... the earth will keep on spinning. Until the sun explodes and even the Earth will stop existing.

So yeah, we are meaningless, so is our hobby. But we have to keep on finding small stuff that makes us smile and happy, day by day, to make our lives bearable. Whether it's a hobby or something else. If you have a hobby that creates stuff, like photography, music, art, ... that you can share with others, online, gallery, museum, concert,... you influence others, indirectly.
Some people find your work helpful, find comfort or consolation in it., just by watching your pictures.
This way it's meaningful, to yourself and others.

 

[Grandpa Ron]

It's not your hobby that is meaningless... It's the whole meaning of life that is purposeless.
Some say our purpose is to procreate, but even then after million of years, the sun will enlarge and burn planet Earth.
So whether we exist or not...
Someone recently asked me the question (after watching the news with all the negative war things going on):
"would planet earth be a better planet without humans?"
Whether humanity exists or not... the earth will keep on spinning. Until the sun explodes and even the Earth will stop existing.

So yeah, we are meaningless, so is our hobby. But we have to keep on finding small stuff that makes us smile and happy, day by day, to make our lives bearable. Whether it's a hobby or something else. If you have a hobby that creates stuff, like photography, music, art, ... that you can share with others, online, gallery, museum, concert,... you influence others, indirectly.
Some people find your work helpful, find comfort or consolation in it., just by watching your pictures.
This way it's meaningful, to yourself and others.

This argument is on a par with "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin." There is of course no real provable answer.

All one can say is, the only person that can determine the worth of anything, is the person doing the judging, and that is just an opinion. If something is important to me, I care little about what others think. Listening to the opinions of other may broaden or even modify my viewpoint. However, I have always let others follow their own path.

I may feel obligated to express my opinion, but I am not offended if they think I am wrong.

Life is too short to worry about "what ifs", I prefer to think "what's next".

 

[SunriseAvenue]

Hobbies are not meaningless, their purpose is to bring joy in your life. If your hobby does that, then it's meaningful. If it does not or it used to but since has stopped, then you know it's time to try out other things. I used to be so keen on video editing, watched so many tutorials, did lots of videos from Brithday smartshow 3d cards to full blown Clipify montages, filmed my friends and family, etc, until one day I just stopped. It's not that it suddenly became meaningless, I just realized I don't want to, so I hadn't do that for a while. My next passion was photography and here I am several years later, still feeling very motivated. One day I may feel I don't want to do this anymore, so I won't, because there would be the next thing to discover. So my advice would be to keep it up while you want to and let it go once you feel you've got enough.

 

[smoke665]

I seem to be running into a "time wall", with to many things needing attention, I ultimately shut down and do only the bare essentials. Photography, hunting, fishing, woodworking suffer because they're way down the list on essentials. It's easy to get overloaded, and hard to get out of, but I'm learning too use "no" more frequently.

 

[DanOstergren]

I go through it from time to time as well. Like most things in my life though, it's a pendulum. For every upward swing there is a downward one as well, but the beauty is that neither last. I try to stay optimistic when I'm losing motivation, and try to truly appreciate when the energy and inspiration are easy for me to come by.

I doubt that was really helpful to be honest. I hope you find a passion again, even if it's not in photography.

 

[SquarePeg]

I go through it from time to time as well. Like most things in my life though, it's a pendulum. For every upward swing there is a downward one as well, but the beauty is that neither last. I try to stay optimistic when I'm losing motivation, and try to truly appreciate when the energy and inspiration are easy for me to come by.

I doubt that was really helpful to be honest. I hope you find a passion again, even if it's not in photography.

I’m currently at the low end of the photography pendulum. I haven’t shot much this year compared to recent years and most of what I have shot was here at home in my garden. Most of it is still sitting on my laptop unedited. My motivation will swing back at some point I’m sure. Right now, other hobbies and life obligations consume too much time and energy to even sit and edit.