No photographing

Do you live your life through the lens of your camera? Should you? This article looks at how we can fall in and out of love with photography, and how it’s okay not to want to take photographs all the time.

The inspiration for this post came from a couple of places.

First of all, hearing from a few other photographers who were giving up their craft. One of them was a professional who was retiring, and was disinclined to take any more photographs than necessary to be a grandparent. The other was an amateur who took photographs for the joy of it and no longer felt that joy.

Secondly, a little while ago I was walking across Hampstead Heath on my way home after photographing the changing scene from Parliament Hill as the daylight faded over the City. There had been a lot of rain and there were a few puddles around. I’m a sucker for a puddle – the reflections in them always make great photographs. This one was particularly good – the trees overhead reflected in perfect symmetry against a dark sky.

To take the photograph would have meant taking my camera bag from my back, getting the camera out, setting it up on the tripod, composing the image, moving the tripod, recomposing the image (with a lot of bending down involved!), focussing, setting the exposure, recomposing (again!), checking the focus and exposure (again!) before finally firing the shutter. And then packing everything up afterwards. It was dark and it was cold.

It looked like a great photograph but it doesn’t exist. I kept on walking. I had stood on the hilltop for over an hour as the sun set and feeling the cold through my back.

I am really a glorified amateur photographer, making a little bit of money on the side. I have undertaken a few commissions but most of my work is self-directed. I tell you this because obviously the experience is different for a professional photographer. They have to take photographs to put bread on the table (until they retire – see above) and philosophical notions about their relationship with their craft are less relevant.

Falling in and out of love with photography

I started photographing when I was a lot younger and I was extremely passionate about it, photographing at every opportunity. I would carry the camera with me everywhere. First of all, it was one of those bulky Russian cameras, a Zenit; then I graduated onto a Topcon (whatever happened to them?) before going medium format with a Mamiya 645. Along the way I completed an A Level in photography and even applied to study the subject at a higher level. I remember thinking that I could not envisage a time when I might not want to take photographs. It just seemed to be a part of me and define who I was.

And then I stopped. There was a time when I didn’t even own a functioning camera.

Back in love

Eventually, though, I started again. Now, as before I carry a camera almost everywhere I go. Not just my phone but a proper camera, sometimes one that takes film photographs! Photography again defines who I am. I spend a lot of time taking photographs and possibly even more time thinking (and writing) about taking photographs.

I also try to make time every week to go out taking new photographs, whether it is just a walk around the block, or a visit to somewhere further afield and new. It can help to clear my head and it gives me an opportunity to explore.

Is it always good to photograph?

But this has got me thinking. Is it always good to take photographs? Am I hiding away behind the camera?

When I go out with friends for a walk I take my camera with me and I am on the lookout for photographs almost all the time. I am pleased to say that one or two of them have even been encouraged to take the occasional photograph themselves. However some of them think it is a good walk spoiled.

For them the photography is an interruption (and sometimes it usually is – they have to stop and wait for me every so often!). They argue that I am not experiencing something properly; taking photographs is just getting in the way, living life secondhand.

Some people do seem to live the world through the lens of their camera or phone. Witness the number of selfies that are taken everyday. If you go to an event chances are you will see a lot of people focussing on the process of recording every single moment rather than living the event. I have seen this myself (and been guilty of it!). I am a keen cyclist and a watcher of cycling events. When the riders come by I tend to lift my camera to the eye to capture every moment.

There is also a school of thought that because we take so many photographs we are losing our memories. We are allowing the photograph of the moment to represent our memory of it. We don’t capture it with our mind, just with a cellphone. And that memory drifts down the bank of photographs, floating somewhere on a cloud that we never access again.

Seeing the world anew

There are positives to viewing the world through a camera lens, though. I personally feel it can be a way of living more deeply in the moment and experiencing the world around me, seeing it anew every time.

When I am out for a walk or on a cycle ride and I pause to photograph something, I always start by looking more closely at what has caught my eye. I notice other details around it and how it fits into its surroundings. I experience other sensations as well; perhaps there is the warmth of the sun on my back, or the scent of flowers drifting across a meadow, the sound of the wind in the trees.

Later on, when I get home and look through the photographs I can relive each moment. My memories are enhanced by the experience of taking the photographs.

And if I am at some event where I spend most of the time behind the camera? As long as I am still experiencing the enjoyment of being at the event, does it matter?

Could I imagine never photographing again?

It did happen to me and it could happen again. Life changes. What was important becomes irrelevant.

There are times when I do put down the camera. I see something worth photographing but decide not to do so. It doesn’t matter if the picture didn’t get made – I could still appreciate the moment and walk on. It’s great to take a break and not feel that I have to capture that perfect moment every time I take the camera out.

Putting down the camera can also help me become a better photographer. As an exercise I go for a walk without the camera and notice what is around me. I am looking for what could make a great image without taking it. It is a good exercise to improve my compositional skills; as I walk along I watch how the scene in front of me changes.

So, returning to photographing after a pause – can re-invigorate my creativity.

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I have written here before about falling back in love with photography, and I have suggested different ways of doing that, but there are times when it is alright not to want to photograph. As a hobby photography is a passion but it one that you should set aside when you want to. Do not feel guilty if you do not inspired. Set the camera aside. Return to it when or if you are ready. If you do enjoy each moment you look through the viewfinder and fire the shutter.

I hope that you found my reflections on taking photographs interesting and I hope that some of my thoughts resonate with you. I would love to know your experiences. Do add them in the comments below!