Need help.....can't see anything in my boring home town

[AussieQ]

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I have reached a low spot.....lost complete interest in my local home town. I live in a very small rural town in NSW, Australia.

Nothing interests me anymore here. I cant travel at the moment and so am stuck here. 

How do you get around the photographers lull, losing the mojo and drive to see something of value locally. 

 

Anyone else in this captive portal of creative stress?

[Pyrogallol]

It’s all about it being so familiar to you. I can imagine plenty of pictures to take of a small rural Australian town, because I have not been there. If you came to a small English seaside town I expect you would find plenty to photograph. So we both need to find something new or different to take. I have been photographing the breakwater on the beach for more than 60 years, the sand on the beach changes with every tide. Get something good occasionally. Hope you find some new angle/detail you haven’t seen before.

post a few pictures, I won’t have seen them before.

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[AussieQ]

3 minutes ago, Pyrogallol said:

It’s all about it being so familiar to you. I can imagine plenty of pictures to take of a small rural Australian town, because I have not been there. If you came to a small English seaside town I expect you would find plenty to photograph. So we both need to find something new or different to take. I have been photographing the breakwater on the beach for more than 60 years, the sand on the beach changes with every tide. Get something good occasionally. Hope you find some new angle/detail you haven’t seen before.

post a few pictures, I won’t have seen them before.

Thank you for the reply. I agree, the local surrounds have been in my eyes for 50 years and I have just lost the sight to see anything new and exciting.

[dpitt]

Maybe dive into the macro world? It can be surprising what you discover around the 1:1 mark.

Or maybe take out a lens FL that you are not used to. For me that is 21mm or even 15mm.

[Lelmer]

I am sure you have plenty of photo's to take...look for details and post them here.

[pop]

8 minutes ago, AussieQ said:

lost the sight to see anything new and exciting

How about telling perfect strangers how you see the all-too-familiar, then?

[250swb]

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Order yourself a bunch of flowers and do some still life photographs. Start with the obvious and set up a table with a background, then you may begin to see props around the house as an alternative backdrop for photographing the flowers, then the flowers start to die and you have another project, etc.

[wda]

Pick a familiar subject, such as a church or other religious building, and find out how many different viewpoints you can find. Note how time of day affects your results. If you can, go inside and explore all you can see there. Be sensitive if other people are also inside.

If you share your home with other people, try portraiture using only natural light. Note how lighting varies, seasonally and diurnally. That should give you plenty of opportunities. 

 

[FrozenInTime]

Try some creative techniques such as shallow depth of field with ND filters, shutter drag or black and white after dark.

Maybe Trent Parke can inspire you https://www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/trent-parke-minutes-to-midnight/

Or rather than chasing the spectacular, try for quiet subjects and subtle colours with a fine art look https://www.joelmeyerowitz.com/cape-light

[Almizilero]

This is a very interesting topic! I'm at my hometown over the holidays and I didn't pick up the camera once because it all feels so drab and boring and familiar. And I was immediately like "Wow, a rural town in Australia, that sounds awesome!" Maybe we should try to see things through the eyes of a newcomer. I can find stuff to shoot in the most boring little towns when I'm traveling, so why shouldn't that work at home?

Edited December 28, 2023 by Almizilero

[AussieQ]

2 hours ago, Almizilero said:

This is a very interesting topic! I'm at my hometown over the holidays and I didn't pick up the camera once because it all feels so drab and boring and familiar. And I was immediately like "Wow, a rural town in Australia, that sounds awesome!" Maybe we should try to see things through the eyes of a newcomer. I can find stuff to shoot in the most boring little towns when I'm traveling, so why shouldn't that work at home?

Valid point, I too have been to towns far smaller than ours and found lots of photograph. I think it has to do with the fact that I don't see anything exciting or intriguing anymore locally. A bit like having an new car, its fun and exciting at first but soon the novelty wears off and its just a car. Perhaps the town is just the same old town that I am used to.

[fotografr]

Someone in my area saw a lone tree out in a field and decided to photograph it every day for a year. Even though he was shooting the same thing every day no two images were alike. You don't need to go to different places to get the creative juices flowing. You just need to find different ways of seeing the same things.

https://www.ttbook.org/interview/year-life-tree#:~:text=Photojournalist Mark Hirsch noticed a,same tree — for 365 days.

[Aram Langhans]

I once gave my photography class an assignment that might help.  The school was in a small (1000 people) town in Washington state.  The topic was "A day in the Life..." and they went out at all hours and took photos document things that happened in the town over the 24 hour period I chose for them.  They had to seek out events and people they had not really looked at before in that way.  People doing their everyday jobs like working in a store or fixing a car and the fire department or kids getting ready for school.  Some even stayed up most of the night wandering around taking pictures of familiar things that look different when you are seeking out photos at those hours.  They had fun and we ended up choosing 20 photos that they printed up and had on exhibit at a few different places in town.  The locals loved it.

[Indeepthought]

Instead of walking around, rent a wheelchair for a week and get someone to push you around...  Your view on your town will forever change..

Stick with a 35mm, lens and go full Monochrome...  🍷

[KFo]

Walk away for awhile.  Do something else.  That's what I do.  I have found that reading provides inspiration in the form of alternative prospectives that are often useful in image making.

Even here, a city of modernista master pieces and vibrant culture, I have occasionally felt I have nothing left say.  It comes back.

For example, I picked up Iberia by James Michner (written in 1966 I believe) which has refreshed my prospective on this culture in which I'm swimming.

Edited December 29, 2023 by KFo

[M11 for me]

Am 28.12.2023 um 07:47 schrieb AussieQ:

I have reached a low spot.....lost complete interest in my local home town. I live in a very small rural town in NSW, Australia.

Nothing interests me anymore here. I cant travel at the moment and so am stuck here. 

How do you get around the photographers lull, losing the mojo and drive to see something of value locally. 

 

Anyone else in this captive portal of creative stress?

Hi, you reached the point to go for a new hobby 😊

[Pierre68]

Maybe it's time to read this book: https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Photographer-Sophie-Howarth/dp/0500545537

 

[David Cantor]

9 hours ago, Pierre68 said:

Maybe it's time to read this book: https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Photographer-Sophie-Howarth/dp/0500545537

 

I bought this book and returned it the same day.  Each chapter starts with a quotation taken from a third party and then weaves a direction for the un-mindful photographer to follow.  I found it trite and one of the poorest books on photography I have had the misfortune to read. Obviously, Pierre has thought it worth recommending but I would suggest caution.

David

[Pierre68]

6 minutes ago, David Cantor said:

I bought this book and returned it the same day.  Each chapter starts with a quotation taken from a third party and then weaves a direction for the un-mindful photographer to follow.  I found it trite and one of the poorest books on photography I have had the misfortune to read. Obviously, Pierre has thought it worth recommending but I would suggest caution.

David

That's a bit harsh I think. But nevertheless you have given it a try.

As I went through the same lack of inspiration I have don a lot or research on the web but mostly ready books. Most of them being photography books. And some being books about a different way to practice photography.

Here are some photography books that helped me develop a new sight on my surroudings

https://edition.lammerhuber.at/en/books/maximum-shadow-minimal-light#:~:text=Award-winning Brazilian photographer Gustavo,world with his pictorial language.

https://www.anasamoylova.com/imagecities

https://brilliant-editions.com/products/refractions-2-book-by-ralph-gibson

and another one about a different way to practice photography

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83995.Tao_of_Photography

Hope this helps and happy new year to all

Pierre

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[evikne]

On 12/28/2023 at 7:47 AM, AussieQ said:

I have reached a low spot.....lost complete interest in my local home town. I live in a very small rural town in NSW, Australia.

Nothing interests me anymore here. I cant travel at the moment and so am stuck here. 

How do you get around the photographers lull, losing the mojo and drive to see something of value locally. 

 

Anyone else in this captive portal of creative stress?

I feel exactly the same way. I live in a small, sleepy town where I feel like there is nothing left to photograph. The cost of living has gotten so high that I can't travel anywhere anymore. Plus, it's winter, which is almost like a photographic hibernation for me.

But this spring we're moving to another part of the country, where living is cheaper and the landscape is completely different. I hope 2024 will offer many new photo opportunities!

Edited January 1 by evikne