Thursday, December 4, 2014

More ideas for those times when you’re simply out of things to photographing.

I can expect that you’ve found photography an essential, amusing and challenging pursuit and that you’ve set some goals aimed at becoming a better photographer. But as we told last time there could be days when you’re out of things.

 What’s going to push you to achieve your goals? Here are more ideas for you.


You could choose a title for your self-assignments before shooting. There are examples for you:
-    10 strangers,
-    Dreams,
-    A shadow of your smile,
-    Full of grace,
-    Alone.

The idea is that you choose a title for your assignment and then try to find your subjects to be photographed. The second idea is that you’ll become interested in something new.

For example I chose the title “Alone”. While thinking about the subjects for my photographs I decided to understand clearly the difference between “being alone”, “loneliness” and “solitude”.
I found that the word “alone” describes a person in a physical sense when there is no one around. The word “loneliness” describes a state of mind. It's a feeling of having no one who loves you and it can easily turn into a state of despair. Loneliness comes not only when you're alone, but even when you are surrounded by people.
“Loneliness” is associated with being alone. The lonely person wishes he/she could have more friends or deeper connections with people.
“Solitude” brings feelings of peacefulness, enjoying one's time alone. I found an interesting quotation: “Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone and solitude expresses the glory of being alone”. (Paul Tillich).
When I found my subjects I need to choose the words to describe them: “aloneness”, “loneliness” or “solitude”.

Photo “A girl” - little girl was enjoying the calmness and beauty of the Mediterranean Sea… At that moment she was without her parents who were sitting far away, that’s why she was alone and the image could be called “aloneness”.

Photo “A bench” – I think that even inanimate things are able to convey the melancholy sadness. I called this image “The white-blue loneliness”. It looks as if an old bench in the winter park was dreaming about warm sunny days with kid’s laugh and blossoming flowers.

Photo “A cup of coffee” – I remembered the beautiful Engelbert Humperdinck ‘s song “The Way It Used To Be”:
“Lonely table just for one
In a bright and crowded room
While the music has begun
I drink to memories in the gloom
Though the music's still the same
It has a bittersweet refrain…”
 The hero was not alone in the crowded café, there were people around him and even friends, but he was apart from them and was full of vivid recollections about his love. The song is not sad, it’s “bittersweet” and it brings the feelings of peacefulness. That’s why for me this image can be called “solitude”.


By the way, let’s keep in mind Mark Twain’s words: “The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself”.

Thank you for reading! Happy shooting!


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