How did you get your mojo back?how

Johnmcl7

Good idea for a thread as I'm sure it's something we all go through and have to deal with and it's a frustration when I suffer from it.  For a while I was very into photography and spent ages trawling the forums, buying new equipment, lots of experimenting etc. but as time has gone on my interests have changed and the photography has been pushed aside.  I actually miss all the silly mundane shots I took when experimenting as you forget a lot more than you realise plus I don't have the same confidence when taking more tricky shots.

Over the last year though I've been getting back into photography with a few different approaches.  The first and I think I'm unusual in this regard is I love digital photo frames so rather than my photos gathering digital dust, I see them all the time.  Since I enjoy seeing my older photos that gives me motivation to make more effort to take photos.  Since the digital photo frame market is mostly dead I purchased a Dell 4K tablet which I managed to get a deal with a refurbished one and did want to have a personal machine to keep at work rather than cart it back and forth.

I've really got into cycling over the last few years which is what has put me off photography as it's not practical to cart a DSLR with me so I just mostly stopped taking photos.  I decided to fix that by initially looking at an A7 series camera I could maybe take with me and ended up with an RX1 which can just squeeze into my backpack along with the bike gear plus offers a lovely FF sensor and a sharp F2 lens.  I absolutely adore this camera as it can capture the bright sunny days and it can take incredible low light shots this time of year when out riding at night.  

It's totally not my type of camera as I like my all fancy stabilised long zoom ranges but I think I also like it as it forces me to think more about the shot and how to take it.  I hate saying that as it's getting dangerously close to people going on about the Leica effect but it has been the case for me.  This year I've been working on doing a photo a day again all taken with the RX1 but this time trying to work on variety, last time I did it I ended up with a lot of similar shots.

As much as I like some of my mundane shots it's always good to get out and do something a little different, the D750 hadn't seen much action for a while but when I headed out to the Nurburgring it got hammered all weekend long.  It's where it excels as it nailed so many shots with ease and despite getting heavy use I never had issues with batterylife which is what I love about it.

snerkler

Not on the Tamron lenses, don't know about Sigma. However, others have reported the same issue with the Sigma f6.3 lenses on the D500 and D850 but whether Sigma will bring out a firmware update I don't know.

snerkler

I have a digital photo frame plus I have a lot of my photos set as the screensaver slideshow on my laptop. It is nice to see memories, plus it helps me see some merit in my photos. What I mean by this is that when I first take and edit my photos I'm always disappointed, but then sometimes I'll look back at them a few months/years later and think that actually they're not that bad.

I also get frustrated as I see many great shots online and I have no idea how to achieve them, let alone then being able to go out and do it. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with lighting but some photos just have great rendering and clarity, and have that kind of 'publishable' quality about them. I wish I knew the secret I've no doubt some of it is photoshop skills as well.

And then there's the shots that I just don't see. For example I was looking at some photos of New York the other day and they were taken in such a way that they looked like a cracking portfolio of 'artwork' whereas you look at mine and they're just 'holiday snaps'. My photos are always 'picture postcard' or 'technically good' but generic and bland, I don't ever seem to see that 'artistic angle', something that takes it away from just another generic photo to something interesting, if that makes sense. And that tbh is my biggest frustration and a large part of why I periodically lose my mojo.

Take this for example, whilst it's 'just' a picture of the Guggenheim, but it's got some interest in the composition which makes it different to yet another generic photo of the Guggenheim. I wouldn't see this shot to then take it.
Outside Guggenheim

Snake79

I last used my camera over Christmas and before that mid November on an autumn fashion and portrait shoot. I don't like the cold one bit so I shoot less during the winter.

I was extremely busy in the run up to Christmas with work and family commitments, then I was ill early January which meant I had no time or energy to go out shooting. It did get a bit frustrating but I have been putting my energy into it in other ways.

I bought a new monitor and an x-rite i1 Pro last year I and have been going through some of my favorite images from the last 12 months and printing them at home on my Epson R2880. I find this really satisfying as it is the final stage in creating your own art. I think you get a better sense of achievement when holding an actual physical print compared to just seeing it on screen.
I have an archival storage box that I keep my larger prints in and a photo album for 6x4 inch prints.

Another thing I have been doing is slowly changing my workflow and storage so it is more efficient. I've added more RAM to my PC, I now have 32GB @ 3200Mhz, an nvme m2 ssd that is running the OS and programs. I save my work to two internal ssds which are backed up to a Seagate 10TB external hard drive. I plan to use Amazon photos as a second backup which will also backup my mobile phone photos.

I do need to start planning shoots for this year though so I should just get on with it.

Snake79

That's a good picture. It's more about the abstract form and lines.

I too struggle to see images like that often seeing too much and being able to see the details. I do think practice and experience can help a great deal in seeing the picture within a scene.

Snake79

Having said that I did take this photo in Miami last year which is a bit similar.

                                                                       

=adrian=

I lost my photography mojo years back. I'm sure you all know, since there were a few post about it over the years here. I've not managed to get it back since. Even buying the 70-200 2.8 II which I dreamed about for years didn't change it. Used the lens twice since I bought it months back.

Snake79

That's a shame. I would try to find a day or half day and just go somewhere you have not been before, take a camera and a lens or two and see what happens. Don't put a lot of pressure on yourself to get a particular shot as you may get frustrated if things don't go to plan. Just experiment and go with the flow. You might find it helps ease you back into it.

I have on occasion taken my camera and a lens to work with me and gone for a walk during my lunch hour. I found it both relaxing and rewarding. It helps to keep me in the game so to speak.

KyleS1

I’ve thought many times about selling all my kit and getting something like the RX1. I think I’d genuinely use it more but I can’t bring myself to pay all that money again.

Johnmcl7

It's a frustrating element of photography that it's difficult to know what gear you'll get on well with and too expensive to try out too much equipment.  As much as I like using the RX1 and it has practical benefits with its size I couldn't give up my D750 setup for it as the RX1 is limited in what it can do while the Nikon is very flexible.

John