Is it just me or,......

[faeriegodess612]

......does it seem like every photography website that you come across all has the same damn things, just different locations, and taken by different people.

I'm so sick of seeing the sunset beach shot, the mountain lake with the mountain reflected in it, the bird in the sky or in a tree, the close up of a flower, the close up of a bug, ( I mean, really? Macro is not limited to flowers and bugs! ) the girl in water/ girl with sunset behind her with lens flare/ girl in bedroom, the starry night in the mountains shot. Even street photography is starting to look the same. It's almost always in black and white, and of old people, or teenagers or 20 somethings. You see the African kids, the African animals.

I'm so sick of seeing the same damn things over and over and over again. This is one reason that I don't pick up my camera much. I dont want to take the shots that look like everyone elses. This is also one reason why I'm interested in urbex and architecture. And why I bought the Tamron 70-300 because its like having two lenses in one. I have ideas for Macro, but not enough money to buy the studio lights/equipment that I'd need to pull it off properly. My ghetto lighting isnt working well for what I have in mind. I've tried it.

Am I alone in this, or does anyone else feel the same way?

[Izzy]

I get like this - no normally I am like this.

See last weeks rant about bobblehead babies.

I have been known to be so jaded as to not shoot for a month straight. Sometimes I just get out of it through time, other times I have to be pushed. Right now I don't care, I am in a funk and I will just enjoy the shooting funk. Besides I am supposed to be a hack so no one will be missing anything.

You know what you don't like - don't shoot it that way. Shoot a totally different way. I am watching the series from Karl Taylor. Real inspirational. There is loads of his segments on YT. Most are short snips from the main program. I watch the way he shoots in comparison to how I shoot. He makes me look like a spray and pray. Maybe I will slow down and my shutter will thank me for it.

As for urbex - scouting and research is about 80% of the deal. The remaining is used up in learning to overcome garbage lighting and learning to BS your way around the cops if needed.

Need urbex inspiration?

Access All Areas ~ Written by ninjalicious who started the whole movement. And coined the term urbex. Reading this will get you old school.

Amazon.com: Access All Areas: A User's Guide to the Art of Urban Exploration (9780973778700): Ninjalicious: Books

Beauty in Decay: The Art of Urban Exploration
This is a great book to inspire and amaze. The only thing that burns me about this book is that the vet teaching hospital listed in there I will most likely never make it to. (problems with passport)

Amazon.com: Beauty in Decay: The Art of Urban Exploration (9781584234203): RomanyWG: Books

North of Amarillo is LOADED with old dead gas stations and abandoned cars/industrial junk. They are just the thing to get your buds wet. I think you are in Tex.... anyway you get what I mean.

[Skoropada]

Have you visited 1X - Fine Art Photography & Prints

[yulchick]

Originally Posted by Skoropada

Have you visited 1X - Fine Art Photography & Prints

Some great photos on that website

[milosh]

I think if something really radical doesn't happen to our world, it's going to be like that more and more. Good cameras are available to larger amount of people (we all know it's cameras that take those great pics ), people are surrounded with great photography more than ever, people read and hear about photography more than ever, more and more folks want to do photography every single day...
I think it's already almost impossible to be unique, and it's going to be harder and harder to be different. That said, what's wrong with doing and offering what you love and standing out from the rest by means of quality? It's not impossible, but only a few percent make it, thanks to their passion and persistence. It's only a question of time when architecture and urbex will become just like landscapes, macros and portraits...

[faeriegodess612]

Originally Posted by Izzy

I get like this - no normally I am like this.

See last weeks rant about bobblehead babies.

I have been known to be so jaded as to not shoot for a month straight. Sometimes I just get out of it through time, other times I have to be pushed. Right now I don't care, I am in a funk and I will just enjoy the shooting funk. Besides I am supposed to be a hack so no one will be missing anything.

You know what you don't like - don't shoot it that way. Shoot a totally different way. I am watching the series from Karl Taylor. Real inspirational. There is loads of his segments on YT. Most are short snips from the main program. I watch the way he shoots in comparison to how I shoot. He makes me look like a spray and pray. Maybe I will slow down and my shutter will thank me for it.

As for urbex - scouting and research is about 80% of the deal. The remaining is used up in learning to overcome garbage lighting and learning to BS your way around the cops if needed.

Need urbex inspiration?

Access All Areas ~ Written by ninjalicious who started the whole movement. And coined the term urbex. Reading this will get you old school.

Amazon.com: Access All Areas: A User's Guide to the Art of Urban Exploration (9780973778700): Ninjalicious: Books

Beauty in Decay: The Art of Urban Exploration
This is a great book to inspire and amaze. The only thing that burns me about this book is that the vet teaching hospital listed in there I will most likely never make it to. (problems with passport)

Amazon.com: Beauty in Decay: The Art of Urban Exploration (9781584234203): RomanyWG: Books

North of Amarillo is LOADED with old dead gas stations and abandoned cars/industrial junk. They are just the thing to get your buds wet. I think you are in Tex.... anyway you get what I mean.

I knew you'd be one of the first to respond. LOL,.You know me too well. You recommended books. I *heart* books. Unfortunately, they will have to wait, as I'm about to go on vacation. And I am in Texas, but I'm in Central Texas. Dallas is about 4 hours North, Austin only about an hour South.

There should be some interesting things here as far as urbex, considering this areas history. I found a burned out furniture warehouse the other day, (small, one story and the floor was concrete. Had small trees growing in the middle. The door was wooden and I could see between the planks) but it was on a busy street ( surprisingly, for the one horse town I was in. )

Skoropada-Yes, but I havent been there in a while. Maybe I need to go back. 1x is how I found Dave Nitsche. I have him on my FB now. I like him and Adam Voorhes. Adam is in here in Austin, and also does work for Texas Monthly. If you do a Google search, you'll find him.

[nickbedford]

It has to be said: "Everything has been done before." and this applies to urbex and any other genre.

All these photos are like that because they are a genre of photography. They're a style. A landscape is a landscape, whether it's on a generic looking beach or some exotic desert mountain thing. A sunset is a sunset. A portrait with a single umbrella above the photographer shining onto the subject is just a style.

People take these photos because they want to, they may make money from it, or they want to try things, or they want to simply want to get out there and have some fun.

By not picking up your camera and shooting the things that will inevitably be similar to many other people's photographs, you're wasting your time in photography, you're not going to grow, and you're going to become bitter, just like you sound in this topic.

I hate to disagree, but it's just the same with any other field. Graphic design, music, art. The best thing you can try to do is have your own methods and style in the genres you find most enjoyable.

I'm personally focused on becoming the best portrait photographer I can be. I take a photo and if I'm proud of it, I show people. Next time, I try to improve on that photo and my style matures and my skills improve. It's inevitable that some of my photos will be like other people's or they may fall into a common style, but I'm having fun doing it and have grown a lot since starting, not to mention I'm getting a reputation in my social circle.

[Bruce A]

+1 Nick.

I think the other problem is when this genre is "old hat" or this genre is the "in" thing - sort like HDR and colour selection being past fads - I think that's crap. I think this sort of labelling puts some people off. I say photograph and process in any fashion you like and to hell what others think. You never know - by combining many different genres and ideas one just come up with something quite unique. You either like photography for yourself or you don't like photography and it's something else you're after.

[mshockley]

I think you have the right idea by thinking outside the box of what you normally would shoot and going out to try new things for yourself.

For me, if I'm doing something with photography that makes me happy then it's all good. If it seems familiar to everything else out there that's okay with me as long as I feel like I'm dancing to the beat of my own drum.

[windrider86]

I agree, it's up to you, as the artist to be creative and produce images that are different than anyone elses!