I seem to be totally lacking the inspiration or drive to go and do any photography recently. No great photo ideas seem to pop into my head any everywhere around here seems very boring and lacks interest or won't fit with the months theme. Worst part is it's been like this or about 2 months. Nothing seems worth pulling the camera out of the bag for What is it that you guys do to get inspiration/where do you get your inspiration from? And for anyone that knows the area, have any ideas for great photo opportunity's locally (up to about 20 miles)? I just seem to have been to every local place of interest and found it to either be over done or just lacking interest.
go to a gallery? of course, that may have the unwanted effect of making you depressed and never want to take a photo again. the key to photography is not a cool location, it's about finding a new way to show it. go wild
I like what fod said there - definitely putting a different perspective on everyday locations/objects can be fun and inspiring. Personally I just like to grab my camera and walk, shooting whatever inspires me while out. Being right on the North Downs, I can walk for miles, and always find new nooks and crannies to explore Get an ordnance survey map and follow the green lines to the blue bits. You're sure to find something!
Unless i have to drag my mountain bike up a mountain to get a photo i just take pictures of EVRYTHING! Yes obviously just trying different things as i go along but when you get home just delete (or as i do keep) all the crap ones and keep all the best ones in a "best of" folder. I have all my photos for about 4 months in this routine. All of the photos organised by date. Takes up tonnes of space but i have plenty to spare.
I find it's like writers block. The best for that is to just start writing, even if it's just gibberish, untill it comes back. Same for photos. Go out and take a few hundred horrid snapshots untill it starts to look like something. I find that a few minutes behind the camera settles my mind and I get my focus back. The trick is to get behind the camera and taking pictures, the good ones will find you; rather then looking for the good pictures and then getting the camera out.
revisit your good locations and look for somthing different. That or else go someplace new and just wander around. I'm lucky that way in that my g/f s condo has a private beach so when all else fails I can always go take pictures of the birds or the sunset or whatever else. Beyond that I have a few places where I can almost always come up with somthing good. My secret weapon for the really dull days is a solid red filter which totally changes the way even the most boring scene looks. Another idea is to try somthing different with a familiar scene. Long exposure, shooting at night, different perspective (over and under, perhaps).
You're lacking for inspiraiton in Portsmouth!? How damn, if only I could live somewhere that interesting. I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere surrounded by fenced of MOD land and lots of very brown drab forest. Not good forest full of flowers, greenery, and wildlife. No, just brown, and drab. Surely you've got the whole coast to explore, the marina, boats, beach, rocks, the Spinnaker, sunrise and sunsets over all of teh above? If you're not so much in to your landscape shots, try embarking on a slightly abstract urban documentary mission. I'm thinking something along the lines of what Grant Hamilton produces. Maybe not with a polaroid, but that style of shooting?
