The Tyranny of High Expectations

This is aimed mostly at the accomplished veteran posters in the group but everyone's input is welcome. I find myself shooting much less as I see fewer and fewer subjects/comps that I consider "NPN" worthy. Most of my recent posts have been more documentary than artistic and while I enjoy shooting them I'm not sure I get excited about them. Of course some of my funk may be the result of the severe drought we're having and the lack of the usual activity in our garden. I'll go outside and look around but rarely see anything I haven't worked before. I guess the question is, do your own high expectations stifle your motivation? Can one get to the point where one doesn't shoot enough to maintain enthusiasm? Any and all suggestions, commiserations, comments welcome. >=))>

Great topic Bill. In my case, I would say absolutely as I currently find myself in much the same situation. My motivation has lagged behind for sometime now because I'm pretty sick of shooting beach scenes. I always take a summer sabbatical because of the heavy tourist traffic here in the summer, plus it's so darn hot & humid down here during the summer. I hope that my enthusiasm will return by October. I've been thinking about a couple of photo ideas and concepts but like I say, I hope I still still the ideas and concepts when decent weather comes and the tourists go home. I would love to go on a serious road trip (a couple of weeks) but time and funds don't allow for that at the moment.

Bill, I don't know what exactly is NPN Worthy. I have a simple yardstick - every photo I make must satisfy me at some level. I also believe that creativity (in a objective sense) has no limits - so theoretically new compositions, techniques are always possible. I have even seen photos made with Ice Cubes as the lens.

But from a more practical sense drought as you mentioned, budget as Bill mentioned, health, one's own interest and bias etc can be hindrances to taking things to the next level.

As of now, I don't personally see this as a road block but I cannot say what my thoughts will be 5 years down the line. Compared to your long experience in Photography, I am perhaps a small kid. .

Trying to better what I did last year is something that is always on my mind. I cannot say I have done it all, just not yet.

Great topic Bill. Another member commented not long ago that he was becoming bored with static compositions of flower portraits and I think I have reached that point also. I still take those shots and post them to stay active in our community but they really don't excite me anymore. I do enjoy shooting wildflowers but it's more for my own edification than for presentation. Adding Nik Color Efex Pro 3 to my collection of editing software has made things more interesting and I've been having fun with that but I've been careful not to depend on it for making a photo appealing.
I took a close look at my NPN gallery and it's pretty heavy on flower portraits, blossom macros and landscapes containing mostly streams and waterfalls. Exploring new territory takes time and resources but it's an important part of growing as a photograhper. If I didn't branch out and set goals for myself to discover aspects of the art that are new to me I could see myself losing interest quickly and that's not going to happen. But as I said it does take TIME and resources.

Good topic Bill. I think it's safe to say that there must be a wide range of experiences, reactions and thoughts on this. My shooting styles and opportunities are of course much different than yours, and of course others. I did not pick up my camera between the beginning of May until just a couple of weeks ago; about 3 months without capturing an image. Partly due to the use of the large format and mostly due to opportunities and desires to get out and do photography.

I will say though, that without question, my image taking in the field has little or nothing to do with NPN. I look for and photograph things that move me. However, what I decide to post on NPN does directly relate to your topic of high expectations. I almost never post an image that doesn't excite me - I already know most it's flaws and I don't necessarily need to confirm that by posting it. I do post in hopes that what I like and have chosen to post do meet some sort of high expectations of myself. But the decisions to make the photograph in the first place have little or nothing to do with what I may or may not post.

Not sure if that makes sense, but that's my take.

Lon

Good topic Bill, and I think Lon's response is perfect. I will say I sometimes feel that what I shoot might be influenced to some degree by what I think would be appreciated on NPN... and I am a little worried about that. I am working towards separating the two as Lon is able to do, as I think that is the only way to be true to yourself, which ultimately will lead to truly meaningful images.

OMGosh Bill that is exactly how I felt here in the prairies for my first winter, snow was fun to shoot for a few weeks but after 8 months of the stuff I was defiantly losing enthusiasm. Being new to NPN 10 months under my belt now , I do find my own expectations are on a bit of a roller coaster. I like the way I shoot and strive to perfect my vision but over the few months of being on the site I also struggle with sticking to my style as it were and trying to meet my perceived expatiation of the other NPN members. It can get a little cloudy creatively for me and I had pull back for a little while be for surgery as yet again my own perceived ideas of others opinion of my images were clouding my enjoyment of photography. I think I was just in a creative funk , it can be hard to shake off so I feel for you . The Prairies have been a learning curve for me after coming from a rain forest and it has taken me a year to adjust. Hang in there this grey creative cloud will pass as I know mine is ,I am more committed to my vision and trying to shake out those voices of criticism that rattle around in my head.

(do your own high expectations stifle your motivation? )

They do , but as the saying goes this to shall pass! Keep shooting even if you are not inspired soon you'll start to see new opportunities and images you would not have seen before. Hang in there it will get better ,I know it was a long slump for me but the cloud of non-inspiration is starting to pass. Hopefully a huge creative sodden cloud will bring much need rain and inspiration your way ! Cheers

Great topic!

TIME is my biggest restraint, rather than enthusiasm. Although I am relatively new to all this (compared to you guys with 20-30 years of experience ) I still see potential in almost everything. Part of this is my striving to NOT be interested in only one thing to shoot (ie BIRDS or FLOWERS). I realized when my mother got sick and my time away was going to be severely minimized, that - to keep my sanity - I had to find things interesting to shoot much closer to home, rather than regular trips to birding spots. SO - flowers, bugs, scenery AND birds. The variety keeps my interest high. Every time I go food shopping, I cruise through the flower section, looking for an unusual bloom or curve. Lots of wonderful gardens - public and private - around here, too.

There are also a million new techniques to learn, if your interest is waning. Start playing with some of the available filters - I bet you'll get hooked on some of them.

Also, what I shoot has nothing to do with what I'll post on NPN. I shoot purely for my own joy and hope that never changes.
Summer doldrums hits us all, though. Keep the faith. Better weather WILL come, and with it - fall flowers, fall colours, bird migration, and renewed interest for all of us.

Sandy

Bill, I can definately relate/commissurate. I used to shoot mostly landscapes with some flora and fauna on the side. Unfortunately, living in Ohio, I found it impossible to compete with all the spectacular western landscape images posted here at NPN. This isn't to say that artistic landscape images can't be taken in the midwest, but I do think it's very hard to compete from a subject perspective. Finding my images to be inadequate, or, as you put it, unworthy, I was discouraged from posting and even shooting landscape photos. I am now posting mostly in flora. So to answer your question, I think, yes, high expectations from trying to compete with what others are posting at NPN has definately influenced my shooting/posting. However, I am enjoying new challenges and projects in flora photgraphy, and that has helped me overcome my personal malaise.

Bill, I think you (personally) might find this journal post and some subsequent posts to be interesting. I feel like it's relevant here in general, but if anyone will be annoyed at my sharing a "religious" perspective, I encourage you not to follow the link.

I do find myself posting less here at NPN. I don't know whether that's a bad thing in my case. It might be good for the community to let the turnover of images slow a little by having "veteran" members post more sporadically. The challenge is to simultaneously stay engaged through commenting, which I have found is difficult when I'm not also sharing my own work regularly.

I can't imagine this is the first time you have felt this way about photography, Bill. At least for me, in the more than 50 years I been interested, enthusiasm has ebbed and flowed. I've gotten away from it for years without picking up a camera. From what I have seen of your work, you have come a long way and I'd guess you will never really stop shooting. Is it not much like "trying to regain our youth", our innocense? Our wide eyed joy at learning something new? It doesn't stay new forever and the joy will vary.

You give alot here, Bill. If it helps you feel "worthy" I'd like you to know that I would not like NPN nearly as much if you were not a daily part of this experience. For images and inspiration you really help.

Charlie

I've only been on NPN for about 4 years, Bill, but I have certainly experienced times when I felt a lack of excitement about shooting and posting. I guess there's a pressure to be producing something different which you can't always meet. Maybe you just have to wait till you see the flower that rekindles the fires. I do, though, also think that the ` documentary ' shots you refer to can be great to see, especially when they are well crafted or of unusual flowers. I hope we will always get that kind of image on Flora, even if they lack the ` Wow ' factor.

Lon Overacker stated things quite well IMO.

I think almost every photographer has slumps at one time or another. They almost always pass with a bit of time, or go away completely with a new piece of gear or a visit to a new location.

I shoot only for myself - always have and always will as far as I can tell. When I started posting birds at NPN 11 or so years ago I wasn't at all in the mainstream, which at the time centered on Bird on a Stick style images that I found mostly too sterile and boring. I took a lot of negative comments about my style of Bird in Habitat shots, but I kept posting them anyway because that's what I enjoyed making. And after a few years some of the most ardent BOAS shooters "discovered" BIH style and started posting them. I try to post only my best work here at NPN, selecting from what I've already taken for myself.

I've been shooting for just over 40 years now and I still find lots of subjects to stimulate my photography. I was definitely more of a generalist when I started, with interests in birds, wildflowers, amphibians, entropy, buildings, boats, airplanes, and pretty much anything else I encountered. I've always had a diversity of gear for these diverse interests: wide angle, short and long telephoto, macro lenses, extension tubes, flash, remote flash cables, etc. I still find alll of those subjects interesting and will photograph any and all of them given the opportunity.

I don't shoot much at all during the brutally hot summer here in central AZ because almost all of my preferred subjects are outside. If I could get away to the high country for a few days as we used to do I'd keep shooting. But even when the temps are tolerable and I'm out to shoot birds I never assume I'll come home with good images. If the "Shots aren't there" I don't force them, and if I don't have new stuff for NPN as a result I don't post an image.

Bill, it sounds like the late summer doldrums. I can relate to that although I'm clearly not feeling them as strongly as you. I think part of it is external, there's not much happening with my garden flowers right now and the woods are a uniform dark green and full of insect eaten leaves. I try to get through these periods by avoiding what I call, "The destination mentality." That is, while I set out with a goal, reaching that goal is not what I emphasize. I try to focus on the journey and keep my eyes open for side tracks that may prove interesting. My photography is inseparable from my love of the natural world and that world is infinitely variable. When I see something interesting, I try to photograph it and share it. NPN makes that very challenging, but the responses to my posts have really slowed me down and spend more time with a subject and that's very good even if I don't get a "postable" shot.

Great topic Bill. While Lon and Richard infer it, Floris said it best, "You need to be true to yourself." It is easy to get hung up with wondering are the folks on NPN going to like this? I did for a while when I first joined NPN but soon realized the images I would have to take would not be me if I took what "they" liked. I love being in coastal areas with eerie light, especially those I know and love best, mid coast Maine and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. I was completely taken by surprise when I started posting images I took on a family vacation to the Canadian Rockies in the summer of 2009. Some of those images received 300, 400, 500 views with 50+ comments (very unusual for me). The Canadian Rockies are not me (don't get me wrong, it is an outrageously beautiful place as you know, but it is not my "home" turf and I was always worried about grizzly bears in the brush.) I was not comfortable being there.

I get a very different feeling when I stand on an empty beach in Cape Breton with the siren of wind in my head or the clacking of rocks being smoothed by the high energy waves, or the sound of the fog horn and work boats in Maine on a rocky and rugged coastline. I am emotionally and culturally connected to those places as well. This was when I realized many people focus on location rather than the emotional experience a photographer is trying to convey. For me, that is a disconnect.

Photography has been a hobby for me since 1972. I am a scientist in real life and tend not to sell myself as a photographer but photography is what I love to do in my down time. I do get low number of views on my posts here but do get a high number of quality comments to view ratio which means my emotional impact is reaching some. I am definitely not Photoshop savvy and that plays a role too (though Tony Kuyper's Luminosity Masks and Layers helped me quite a bit). I have dismissed my Photoshop inadequacies too (I hate spending time processing images in Photoshop and take the easiest way out. I always think to myself, how many here on NPN have printed B&W, color transparencies and negatives in their darkrooms, 35mm to 4X5? There are probably a few but probably not many. A completely different art form IMO.

I think the drought in Texas may serve as a spring board for you to express your emotion of that experience in your place. More importantly, be yourself or change yourself to suit yourself. That is what matters to me anyway.

I may not qualify as a veteran poster anymore as it's been some time since I've participated on NPN. I can absolutely relate, Bill, to your musings about high expectations. I have been in a funk for some time and I attribute a little bit to NPN and my own expectations of my posts. I felt unworthy in my imagery when I posted to NPN sometimes and after awhile, I found it less exciting, less interesting, less self satisfactory. Family activities (daughter's wedding, first grandchild) have taken up alot of my time this last year. My grandson melts my heart and I have really enjoyed learning "baby" photography. Now that's he 20 months old, toddler photography is a blast and I'm relearning photograhy. Little by little it has helped me to get motivated again to shoot the things I love such as flora but this time, I seem to shoot with a different purpose in mind. I see "fun" again in my shots. I hope to start posting again on NPN but even if I don't, I still love to lurk and comment now and then. Bill, you mention that you look into your garden and rarely see anything that you haven't worked before. Your shoot "documentary" instead of artistic. Well...why not take both methods and shoot the drought and its effect on the flora in Texas. It must be devastating to see all the flora dying a slow death with the heat. With your mastery of photography, I can only imagine some of the shots that could be made and convery the feelings that you're feeling right now.Anyway...enough of my ramblings. We can all relate to your dilemma and just know that it dos pass...sometimes sooner, sometimes later. And I always enjoy your shots, no matter docu or artsy fartsy!!!

Bill:
What you have said has struck a cord with me and many others as well from reading the threads. I have only done floral photography for 2 years and this is really a very short time compared to many here who have done this for decades. When I first started, I would go to the public gardens everyday but lately I find I am going there less and less because I am finding nothing 'new' to shoot. I know in parts this is only my lack of creativity as I keep seeing novel ways and angles in NPN gallery. To get around my lethargy, I explore new techniques such as scan, studio portraits, floral arrangements and radiography to keep my interest level up. I get fired up when I discovered novel ways (new to me) to make images and by alternating the various techniques, I find I can work with the same flower from many different angles.

When I feel I have exhausted my take on a particular subject, I always try to remind myself of Zen master Suzuki's quotation

"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few."

Could this be an example of Jung's collective consciousness theory? I too am experiencing bit of a slump. To some degree it is the local weather, a long range forecast has come to mean how long it takes to walk to a window. July and August have all been but washed out due to rain. In part it is also aging. The terrain here is very rugged and difficult to access unless you are in good shape and find that carrying gear is punishingly exhausting.

"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few."

One of the greatest joys I have had over the past few years is teaching photography to youth. I find their perspectives and and interests refreshing and invigorating. For the last three years I have been doing a series of abstract nudes in an abstract landscape setting and this year took along one of my adult students for some of the sessions. She was a pleasure to watch and be with. It was the first time she had the opportunity to work with professional models and rose to the occasion. Currently, for me, passing on the skills that were freely given to me by others and from my own experiences has come to be more rewarding than photographing.

What I do find a bit dispiriting is the reaction to work. Whether it is the advent of digital, social media, local conditions or a combination of these it would seem the awe that photography used to generate has diminished. While not wanting to take away the adventure and joy of photography from those who are new to it or don't practice it as a profession, there does seem to be a marked difference from the days of film when people seemed better able to admire the effort that went into a photograph.

A couple of years ago, being interviewed about an exhibition of student work for local radio, I was describing the benefits of digital photography. The interviewer asked "Then with digital people don't really need to learn about photography?" While I know it shouldn't, I suspect the attitude of some silicon chips are now photography, has robbed some of the joy of the art for me. While "in the experts mind there are few" might it not also be a case of they are more exacting? Perhaps it is just me, but since the digital photographic age has arrived, I am finding more "I could do that." than appreciation of the work that went into a photograph.

Several weeks ago I was asked to remove a selection of the nudes exhibited at the local 'Artists Run Centre' as they "offended family values." Some artists run centre. Very glad this topic got posted and trust any venting will be understood. Living in a remote location, the views of others on NPN are of great value in helping to deal with local conditions.

Great topic.

How do I maintain enthusiasm for photography?

First, my enthusiasm is ignited when I see another’s photo that shocks and awes me with beauty and style.

I am never sure what or where that special beauty will be. I scan thumbnails and galleries of NPN and photo.net looking for something…that special intangible. Indeed, I am a person bored with static flowers as Bruce K said. I won’t open a thumbnail that doesn’t have zing. Something new, beautiful, and creative. I search for photos not just of the wilderness or the garden, but people, structures, a starry night, or a pair of old shoes sitting outside a barn.

Zing is where you find it.

That brings me to style. I thoroughly enjoy seeing how others create using lines, mood, lighting, etc. Isubscribe to three photo mags. I think it is this month’s Pop Photo magazine that had an article showing photos of a Dutch Master-style that caught my eye. The few photos displayed in this Dutch Masters motif were cool…and had timelessness…staying power…a priority in style that attracts me.

I challenge myself to match those photos and hope I can learn the techniques necessary to create my own versions. Then apply the learned tools with my personal twists.

Change, evolve, grow.

Never stay in one place.

I haven't used my camera since last December. Quite frankly, I don't miss it. Not sure if that is a good thing or not.

Anil, it's a good thing IMO. Everyone needs a vacation, no matter how long Enjoy!!!

NPN doesn't affect whether or not I shot or what I shot. I love the outdoors and being in nature. My camera is a reason to be out. Just this morning I was out well before dawn and the image I wanted just didn't work, I was tired and not feeling very creative, but I just liked being out. As I walked, looked, set and thought something would catch my attention and I would make some images. Some of them were junk, but some of them I am very happy with.

The high expectations of NPN did affect what I would post for awhile, until I felt secure in my vision and decided that I really wanted to learn and improve. Also as I realized that what others thought of an image was very subjective. I have had very good comments and just the opposite comments on the same image.

I keep fresh by not being tied to any one topic in my photography. I have posted images in all the galleries except environmental. I just enjoy capturing all the elements of nature from the grand landscape to the macro, so there is always something to shot. I also know that there are going to be images that only mean something to me. I have shot images trying to capture a feeling I had in a certain place and it never came through. I still like the images even though others got nothing out of them.

I don't know if this fits the questions, but it is what came out.

great question, Bill. My time at NPN has definitely changed my idea of what's possible and of what standards to aim for in my work. I have definitely gotten to the point where (at least most of the time) I am my own harshest critic and when I load my photos from the camera onto the computer I virtually always feel like my results could have been better. It's not so much a question of photos being "NPN-worthy" as it is a question of them satisfying me. It's funny that the better I've gotten at photography the lower the percentage of my photos that I consider "keepers." But it hasn't affected my motivation so far--if anything it drives me to keep getting up in the dark and heading out for good light and whatever opportunities present. I do sometimes feel a little frustrated when I get up at 4am and come home a few hours later without having pressed the shutter button except for histogram checks...but I keep setting the alarm.

I often have to check my frustration (and I am doing better, Bill ) when I start thinking about posting for "NPN" worthiness. There are times still that I feel I will never post another photo when no one looks and I feel mortified and put out. Then I realize that I am not only here to learn from some very good photographers, but I am feeling an increasing need to "pay it forward" by participating in critiquing and teaching where I can. So I try to relax and participate. The keepers will come when they come (or not), but the chance to both learn and teach is worth it, and won't come around again.

I know I'm at that point with sunrises and sunsets--I have so many that I don't care much about getting them. That's why I've gone to more reflection shots and double exposures. If I ever get a decent rainbow and lightening bolts, I might have to switch topics altogether. After you've done everything, what else is left?

I must have been away when you posted this. As you can tell from the number of images posted this year... I'm in the same boat. I have hundreds of very good images in many categories, but few are exceptional. I just think that we have set a very high bar for ourselves and it is hard to jump over. I am trying to widen my interests and set challenges for myself. I think for all of us life sometimes gets in the way and we have to adapt and change directions. Photography for me is an escape, a challenge and a wonderful way to be creative. Find that there are ebbs and flows and the reward is a great "high" when you realize you are capable to more. Your talents are amazing and if for no other reason keep posting to give the rest of us inspriration.

Great read, great post-very thought provoking for sure! So, right now, I am ITCHING to get out and shoot, really I am. But there is absolutely nothing in my local area that I want to shoot anymore. I've gotten just about everything at least 5 times over. I don't typically like shooting people, but even thats tempting me right now. We are heading to Florida for Christmas, and of course I am taking my camera gear...just hoping to get some good ones there. I have a feeling, this coming year, one of my new years resolutions will be to start traveling to different places for different subject matter. I have been wanting to do a photo project of small home-town Churches throughout GA, so this might be a good time for me to start.

I was hoping this would be the year I quit my full time job to really focus on a business. However, it looks like I have at least one more year before I can do that. I just don't feel that my work is of the quality it needs to be to start really marketing, so I want to take this year to really focus on improving my work to a level I'm comfortable with marketing (without the fear of being laughed at!). I feel I am alllmost there, but not quite yet. Plus this will give me time to finish up my New York Institute of Photography course.

@Kent-that was a great read, really enjoyed it! I've been battling with myself for the past 4 months as I really feel God is leading me to really take my photography in what I feel is a very limited direction-and I don't even know if there is a market for it. Its photography with scriptures that match. I've done some of that already, but have not focused solely on that. We will see...I'm still praying about it.

Bill,

Touched a nerve here...I often wonder what is lacking in me and my images. Was I uninspired is the image not NPN worthy? I suppose if I judged my posts strictly from the comments of lack there-of I would be forced into believing that they are, but as as it has been so well stated that would not be "true to myself". Frankly after studying what I feel are some of my better images, I'm moved or the memory affects me or the nuances amaze me so I have to conclude what more can I want?

Paul

As a professional commercial photographer for 42 years I turned to nature photography a few years ago as a avocation to branch out. God gave me a talent to see things different and share and that is my motivation. To honor the Lord for his beauty and mystery.
We all get into funks as artists from time to time and then wake up and start all over again.
Keep on Shooting.

Frankly, Bill, you just need to come out to the "woods". I never find the same thing twice. I have been as pleasantly surprised by the annoying bug on my flower, as in the composition of the shot, itself. Sometimes, the thing that we were hoping to eliminate (the bug, for example), may turn out to be the best subject in the composition! Just be willing to be surprised by the ordinary, and you may be immensely overjoyed by the occasional lagniappe. .

I remember just walking along one day, and being awed by 2 bees mating...landing on the bush in front of me! Definitely, NOT what I was expecting! I took their photo....just wish I'd had a tripod - too fast for me.
My only expectation is to be surprised and enjoy the walk!

Where in Houston, do you live? Maybe, we can visit each other's backyard and get new vision. I live in Richmond...just North of Sugarland on the Brazos River. We have lots of interesting insects and fungi around here! A colorful alternative to flowers..... just a thought.

While this topic has some age to it I find the comment about "NPN worthy" interesting. As photographers we often strive to please our peers with our posts in the various forums. But when you stop and think about it, should we really be so concerned with pleasing other photographers? Are photographers going to purchase prints to hang on their walls? Will they be licensing images to illustrate books or articles? Will they be making decorating decisions for various offices and commercial spaces? The answer to those questions is pretty simple. No.

You can beat your head against a wall trying to please other photographers or you can strive to please yourself. When you're pleasing yourself you tend to enjoy what you're doing which helps keep motivation high and spawns creativity. When you shoot to please others it's very easy to get down on yourself, to doubt your abilities and to burn out.

I also saw someone comment that there was nothing left to shoot close to home... that they'd shot everything "at least 5 times." Well I say if you've only shot everything 5 times you haven't even scratched the surface of artistic exploration of those things. For many truly successful artists, not just photographers, it is subject matter found in "their own backyards" that does the best for them. There's a lot to be said of intimate knowledge of a place, its flora and fauna.

We all go through periods where we lose a little interest and motivation. We get the blahs or struggle to find inspiration. These times usually pass, often being precursors to an especially creative period or a jump up "to the next level." Like the old REO song says, "keep pushin, keep pushin, keep pushin on."

Bill, excellent subject, but difficult to answer. I was thinking about it many time in the past. What is a reason for trying hard, what is a result of my work, is it bringing more satisfaction in my life?
I think I can give a simple answer.
I'm taking photographs because I like it. I never tried to specialize in one particular area. I just carrying my camera with me and if I see interesting subject I capture it.
I've not special expectations but I am always happy when I see a nice or excellent result.
I am also happy when I see that also other photo enthusiasts recognize my good photo work.
Everyday I'm trying to improve, but I'm reasonable and can recognize my limits.
That why I returned to NPN, the professional comments help me continue with the improvement.
May thanks to NPN.