Thoughts on Motivation, Ideas and Projects

Motivation: the necessary shove required to get me out and about with the camera.

I've been maintaining my photo blog for a few years now, and one of the biggest obstacles preventing a daily posting, apart from spare time of course, must surely be motivation. Reading other people's Blogs, and articles from other photo hobbyists, it seems as if this is quite a common problem. It seems that most of us go through a phase where the question of purpose raises its ugly head. In a moment of reflection I asked myself the following three questions:

Why do I write a blog?

Why do I take photographs in the fist place?

Why on earth do I display them for the world to see... knowing full well that there are many, very many, out there producing far better images than I ever will?

As far as writing the blog goes, it's pure fun. My blog rarely offers contraversial critic or in depth discussions about worldly stuff, it remains fairly neutral, relatively mundane and satisfies purely my urge to write.

I've been taking photos for years and years, so the question of why I take photos must surely be well and truly answered... I still enjoy it immensely!

I proudly display selected images on this site and on Vics' Blog for the world to see simply for fun, but usually the world doesn't bother to look – and why indeed should it?

Writing a blog, answering comments and maintaining a reasonably up to date homepage can make enormous demands on 'spare time'. But hobbies normally do eat up the hours, and the more time spent pursuing them, the less spare time one has.

If I'd have chosen gardening as a hobby I would happily spend hours trimming grass verges, pruning roses and carefully selecting the right plants for the right time of year, Would the world take an interest in that? With certainty, not at all! So it doesn't bother me or the public at large if my blogging goes unnoticed.

But despite the undeniable enjoyment gained from photography and writing, the urge to get out and take pictures is occasionally beaten back by some acute lack of motivation. Full of thoughts but remaining deed less. No Ideas, no motivation... may as well just sit and stare at the wall.

As long as ideas for photos keep on coming, motivation will remain high. Sit there like a vegetable with absolutely no idea what to shoot, then one is bound to just keep on sitting.

My experience shows that ideas, and the motivation to fulfill them, are stimulated by three main elements:

• Projects: Think of a good project and those photos will almost take themselves. My “37 Days....” project, for example, was a huge personal success. I was urged to carry the camera with me at all times. Images were appearing everywhere. Those I know who took part in one of those 365 Projects (a photo/day for a year) were producing an abundance of images!

• Location: Take a weekend off, away from it all, visit an unknown town, or a part of town rarely visited and you'll probably fill the SD card in no time at all.

• New equipment: Buy a nice new camera and suddenly you'll be seeing wonderful photo subjects in everything you look at. - Oh! That's a good idea;-)

To sum up then: If an idea springs to mind, then simply grab your camera and enjoy yourself! If you do embark on a project then try to see it through to the end, but don't let it become a chore because it will undoubtedly cramp your style and your pictures will surely be less than pleasing.

...and speaking of blogs, I haven't posted anything for ages! I really ought to think of a worthwhile project;-)

December 2012