People get bored, easily.
I am the same.
Rolleiflex, Fuji Pro400H, HajiLane (2017)
I get bored shooting at the same place too much. I get bored using the same camera (sigh). I get bored shooting the same theme for too long a period.
However, it is not an issue for visiting the same place often to shoot because things change every day. The thing you cannot see today, you might notice it another day.
And I am lucky to have more than one camera. So I can just switch between Leica and Nikon FM2, or Rolleiflex and Hasselblad.
For now, let’s talk about the photography theme, niche, genre or whatever you call it.
At the start (Sept 2016), I wanted to label myself as Street Photographer. After all, I started photography shooting street.
Looking back, actually, I got bored of street and I went to shoot architecture or this genre called abstract photography.
Anyway, I am now experimenting with minimalist photography. And at the same time, I also play around with Lightroom, editing my film photos.
Within minimalist photography, there are also many types of genre. I don’t know what to call or define them. But to sum up, minimalist photography is about keeping your photo simple.
It can be only having one subject against a plain background or maybe just pattern, or juxtaposition. As long as you think everything in the frame is necessary.
I am never good at minimalism. My characteristic shows that I am a random and untidy person. This characteristic is naturally reflected in my photography.
Lomography CN 100, Thieves Market (May 2017)
I think in life, we always need to avoid being stagnant. So that we can sustain for a longer time.
In the day job, people jump from company to company, on top of the pay rise, they also get to learn new things.
In photography, especially hobbyist, it’s good to try different genres. It freshens you up and prevent you from getting bored and unmotivated.
For me, I do street to architecture to abstract to minimalist.
Although I am not good at keeping my frame simple, but these are my baby steps:
Kodak Proimage 100 (2017)
Fort Canning Park, Fujicolor C200 (2017)
As I mentioned, I am currently playing around Lightroom to edit my film photos. This is quite a contradiction because I used to hate editing and think that editing photos is cheating.
(As of now, all the photos I posted in this blog are non-edited)
As I progress, I thought why must I close up my bubble and new idea?
Closing up and the reluctance to try new thing are what lead to stagnation.
Hence, I conclude that it’s very important to experiment with new idea, concept, genre and just have fun in photography. This can also be applied in other hobby.
