Finding new inspiration in the same old locations?
Even though I've taken photos in some capacity for a long time (various point and shoots, iPhones), I started getting much more into it at the beginning of the pandemic. This has meant a whole lot of landscapes (vs. people, events, etc.), and a whole lot of going back to the same places, and often taking the same shots over and over again. Even though I am constantly seeking new places to take photos, truthfully I don't mind the repeat visits, especially because here in New England, a location can look different every month, if not every week. It was comforting to hear Mattias Burling say he does the same thing, with a small body of water near where he lives.
Do any of you do this as well, and have you found ways to not just take the same photo over and over? If so, do you challenge yourself to find at least one new thing each time?
Quote from denniscrommett on November 21, 2021, 3:29 amEven though I've taken photos in some capacity for a long time (various point and shoots, iPhones), I started getting much more into it at the beginning of the pandemic. This has meant a whole lot of landscapes (vs. people, events, etc.), and a whole lot of going back to the same places, and often taking the same shots over and over again. Even though I am constantly seeking new places to take photos, truthfully I don't mind the repeat visits, especially because here in New England, a location can look different every month, if not every week. It was comforting to hear Mattias Burling say he does the same thing, with a small body of water near where he lives.
Do any of you do this as well, and have you found ways to not just take the same photo over and over? If so, do you challenge yourself to find at least one new thing each time?
Here's one example: one of my favorite spots near my house to photograph, from earlier this fall, and from the first snow last year, a little later in fall:
Road to Graves Farm, September 2021 by Dennis Crommett, on Flickr
First snow, on the road to Graves Farm by Dennis Crommett, on Flickr
You’re not alone in this, I do this a lot with the gardens, and nature preserves around my home.  Likewise in Minnesota, we have all the different seasons, different light, different weather.  Sometimes I just take the same photos that I’ve been able to before with new equipment just to get a feel for it.  I think it’s a great concept of forcing yourself to be creative, and find a new composition to photograph.
Agreed! I too have a few areas that I walk consistently. Great example of different times of the year.
These things have helped it stay fresh for me:
- Go at different times of day
- Take a different focal length or change up aspect ratio
- Walk the opposite direction on a trail (There's a loop I walk often where I'm naturally drawn to different areas depending on which end I start)
- Find areas nearby where you normally go. Did this last night, instead of taking the loop trail, I walked a few side streets to get on the trail in the middle.
- Only shoot JPEG instead of raw if that's something you normally do.
- Change the camera profile to black & white instead of color
- I rarely do this, but trying to do a self portrait in a familiar area is an interesting exercise.
- Try using flash, definitely a stretching exercise to figure out good uses in a nature environment.
Looking forward to hearing other's thoughts!
The late great Neil Peart, drummer from the rock band Rush, is regarded by many people as one of the greatest rock drummers that ever lived.  Their biggest hit was "Tom Sawyer" and it is played ad nauseum on radio and  I guess they felt compelled to play it every night live. There is a famous little solo mid song, that is so dynamic and amazing- in a pop rock song air drummers all over the world are familiar with it.  When asked if he ever got sick of playing it he said, "No, because it's so hard!" "When I do it right, it's so fulfilling"  < something like that.
that's the way I feel about photography.
I shoot the same old places over and over. Mostly wildlife. I shoot a whole lot more than I make public. Most of it is junk. Sometimes I shoot pictures of sparrows, and starlings just to keep in practice. Â That's a thing, I guarantee if you don't practice shooting BIFs you'll choke when the moment arrives.
The largest thing I aiming for is an uncluttered background, a soft buttery one so the image stood out. Â I used to follow this Polish guy on FB, hobbyist photographer, roofer by trade. guy shot with an old 300mm f2.8 with TCs on some kind of old Nikon body. Â Man they were EPIC. Â You didn't even have to look at who shot it.
Unfortunately, wildlife typically don't appreciate open areas, and certainly they really don't appreciate weird people pointing black objects at them.
I can honestly say that I shoot maybe way less than 5 images per year that I really like, probably less. Now over 11 years of having a descent digital camera, boy I bet I have certainly 20-or thirty shots that I consider really good. Â Maybe 5 that I would enter in completion, and zero I would consider perfect.
Quote from Beau Carpenter on November 21, 2021, 3:27 pmAgreed! I too have a few areas that I walk consistently. Great example of different times of the year.
These things have helped it stay fresh for me:
- Go at different times of day
- Take a different focal length or change up aspect ratio
- Walk the opposite direction on a trail (There's a loop I walk often where I'm naturally drawn to different areas depending on which end I start)
- Find areas nearby where you normally go. Did this last night, instead of taking the loop trail, I walked a few side streets to get on the trail in the middle.
- Only shoot JPEG instead of raw if that's something you normally do.
- Change the camera profile to black & white instead of color
- I rarely do this, but trying to do a self portrait in a familiar area is an interesting exercise.
- Try using flash, definitely a stretching exercise to figure out good uses in a nature environment.
Looking forward to hearing other's thoughts!
Thank you @beau-carpenter, those are great ideas that I will definitely try! At the moment, I only have a Fuji X100F, and I do shoot RAW, so I could imagine going to one of my favorite places and switching to JPG, using one of the great film simulations, and using the "digital teleconverter" to switch the fixed 35mm focal length to the 50 or 70mm options. Thanks! And @kankrat, thanks for your thoughts as well!
I find something that is interesting to me, is to either go out with black and white film or force myself to use the in camera black and white mode for digital. Or only go out with one lens, especially if it is one that I wouldn't normally take like a 30mm Macro and just keep looking in the viewfinder and see how things are with those limitations.
I find that sometimes restrictions will spark creativity from me. Taking out a TLR for example forces me to change so much that I just end up seeing different things.
There is a cool looking oak tree in the woods near me. The forest preserve folks are estimating it to be 600 years old. which would predate white person settlement where I live.
I had a thought of doing 4 shots of it representing each season. i was thinking of reserving 1 card for the project. this way it would aid in framing the shot. I could look at the previous shot and toggle back and forth in live view. Would have to figure out a way to repeat the exact tripod placement.
Print those for my den so I can sit around stare at them when I listen to Vivaldi. 🙂
something that almost always works for me is going out with a different focal length as it kinda dictates what I actually look for while shooting also messing with the camera settings eg.( white balance, saturation, even exposure compensation) does help me take a different look at things especially with an evf.
another thing that I feel works but haven't isolated or tested out alone is the type of music I'm listening to while out shooting can get me in different modes hence different vibes to the shots.
These are all great thoughts. What a great topic. I used to go out more often for planned photographic opportunities, but the last few years have been really busy with work and a growing family. I’m going to bet that you all are busy too, whatever stage of life and things you have going on. So, like you most of my photography takes place around the same things I see most everyday, and this topic has definitely been something I’ve thought about.
Yes to everything mentioned already. I implement most of them, and will plan to try some of the ones I haven’t that you all listed.
One thing that was really interesting that happened last year to me was getting into a totally new type of photography based on my everyday surroundings. I bike some mountain bike trails behind my house a couple days a week. It’s not the most scenic, and I was getting a little creative block from it. But I started noticing more and more birds, and eventually even saw an owl and decided to work my way into wildlife photography. Now I am really loving it. Turns out my woods aren’t super for landscape photography, but pretty good for wildlife! So, when you feel like you’ve exhausted a location, maybe look for totally new subjects!
One of my favorite things to do in my favorite places to shoot is to force myself to use one lens, specifically lenses I wouldn’t typically use at that spot. This really forces me to search for subjects I feel confident capturing or perhaps try a new spin on a shot I’ve taken before. I would also say I do occasionally “go back” to places I’ve shot before by revisiting photos I didn’t end up editing in my archive and trying to edit those shots. I find that a lot of shots I’ve passed up before seem a lot more interesting after I’ve had time and perhaps new inspiration. Hope some of these suggestions help with new ideas and inspiration!
happy thanksgiving!
