Wed, June 30th, 2004 by Matt Shadinger
With the upcoming Independence-Day 3 day weekend (for me 4 days, he he) I find myself planning to do a lot more than I usually do. I'll be hitting the beach for sure, and taking a trip out to the local Channel Islands. My first thought is that I want to have a good time, I want to forget about work and school. My second thought is that I want to make sure I bring enough film, make sure my batteries are charged and that I have a place for all my gear. This brought to mind an interesting conflict. Which is, am I letting my photography hobby interfere with my vacation?
I can already picture my wife rolling her eyes as I pack on all my cameras and stuff my tripod into my backpack. I want to get a chance to use all my cameras, but I wonder if maybe it would be better to just leave them all behind. I do not want to find myself in a situation thinking "If I only had brought my camera." Yet I can't really bring all my gear out onto the beach or I'll risk having it stolen while I'm out in the water . Although since I started getting serious about photography as a hobby, which has been since January this year, I feel naked if I don't have at least one camera with me at all times. I've always got my Canon S400 tucked into a pocket, or my 110 SLR in my backpack at least. There have been a few occasions where I lugged around a few cameras and never took any pictures.
I want to enjoy myself and not feel pressured to take photos, but I want the ability to, should the opportunity arise. Of coarse I'm not talking about the obligatory family photos, but I don't really consider that of much interest and I'm usually in those and not behind the camera so I'm not worried about them. What do you think? Does a vacation mean a vacation from photography too? Do you ever take breaks from photography? Or are you always ON when it comes to taking photos?
I'd love to hear all your thoughts!
June 30th, 2004 at 2:48 pm
This is totally up to you, but I would at least bring a point and shoot. The s400 isn't big is it?
But yeah, shoot man, do what makes you happy...I brought my gear on a small vacation I had and didn't take many photos....It felt good not worrying about shooting, but it also felt good knowing that if I saw something I wanted, I could go get it.
June 30th, 2004 at 2:57 pm
I will go places just to take photos, but if I'm going somewhere for other reasons, I usually don't take my cameras unless I'm in the mood. But you know, if you don't take your cameras to the beach, I bet you'll regret it.
That happens to me all the time, but I try not to let it get me down because you can't always look at everything through a viewfinder.
I don't think it's a bad thing to take your camera everywhere, though -- I find that I've become more observant since taking up photography as a hobby. Even if I don't have a camera with me, I pay more attention to what's around me. It helps if your companions are patient. My husband doesn't care if I'm always taking pictures because he likes to look at things and doesn't mind standing around. Other people I know, I wouldn't do it around them because I know they would get testy.
June 30th, 2004 at 3:01 pm
I have to shoot while on vacation, when will you get another chance to capture something far from home? BTW, I am on vacation and I'm shooting everything in sight:)
June 30th, 2004 at 3:14 pm
It's strange - I find myself wanting to plan vacations around 'interesting places to shoot' whereas before it was always just about seeing new or interesting buildings.
As well I'm going to be away for the next few days and my immediate concerns were 'how am I going to update the photoblog?'. Sad indeed.
In the end, I have a simple deal with my wife when we're on vacations - I have photography days and non-photography days. But as others mentioned, I feel like I'm missing something when I don't have the camera with me - I carry it everywhere I go!
June 30th, 2004 at 3:39 pm
Since discovering I enjoyed photography in the last few months, I am never without a camera. Just in case I see something compelling. The odd times that I have left it behind, I have regreted not having it though ...
...packing for our vacation last night left me wondering, do I really need all this stuff and wouldn't it be more fun to just go and enjoy my vacation. And then I realized that I would enjoy it more if I could capture at least some sense of the trip. Case in point - a couple of years ago, I was whale watching in Tofino and a grey whale came up to our boat. At the time I was shooting with a dv cam and while touching the whale, getting blow holed with lovely stinky ocean water, I somehow managed to tape the event without completely trashing my cam. Its been two years and I still love the fact that I can pop it on and watch, makes me feel like I was there all over again.
I think somehow I have always equated vacation with photography even back when I wasn't into photography ... the memories that sustain me through the long cold bitter snowy winter, lol. Luckily my two guys are also bringing their cameras so I figure I'll be in good company : )
I will, however, be taking a vacation from photoblogging : )
Whatever you decide to do, enjoy your vacation!
June 30th, 2004 at 3:43 pm
first of all have a great trip mark! i agree with others who suggested maybe taking one camera, if you miss something you will probably regret it.
photography is part of my life, so yes, i take pictures everywhere, especially when i go to new places. i have the next few weeks off and am planning several day trips to places i've been meaning to shoot in the area.
i'm more likely to take a vacation from photography when i'm at home. just putting away the camera for a couple of days always inspires me when i return to shooting daily.
June 30th, 2004 at 3:44 pm
I always have a camera with me on trips, even if I don't end up shooting that much.
Just so happens I'm heading for the Big Apple the middle of next month. The plan is to travel light. I'll shoot b&w with the Leica and color with a Nikon and Holga or Diana. I may bring a tabletop tripod but nothing big.
One of my goals is to shoot as many subway shots as possible with the Leica, assuming the photography ban is approved by the MTA board (god forbid). I also want to go back to some spots where I had originally gotten shots of the World Trade Center (Battery Park and Liberty Island) and try to do a before and after. I'll also try to convince my wife to bring her Olympus and I'll probably let my 11 year old son use my little Canon ELPH APS camera.
June 30th, 2004 at 3:46 pm
ooops! i meant have a great trip MATT. geesh. my mind is already in vacation mode. :O
June 30th, 2004 at 3:51 pm
Im on perpetual vacation :-)... so no I don't take a break... but I still on occasion leave my camera home and invariably I will see something I wish I could shoot. Like right now for instance. My hubby is outside laying under the car. I need a picture... and I agree with daisies.. vacation=photograhy.
June 30th, 2004 at 4:11 pm
I always bring a camera with me on vacation; usually, the fact that I'm free from thinking about work inspires me enough to take shots that don't suck (or shots that suck less, I suppose).
Now, given that you said "cameras," I assume you have a large camera backpack or case. What sort of case do you use? I need a new one, myself....
June 30th, 2004 at 4:14 pm
I have the world's best wife
She's the one who's always making sure that I don't forget to bring all of my gear.
June 30th, 2004 at 4:58 pm
>>There have been a few occasions where I lugged around a few cameras and never took any pictures.
This is true for me. But a photographer will always carry a camera with 'em.
I have stopped taking photos of when my friends and I gather. However, I do bring it along with me just in case. I despise snapshots now. I'm spoiled and have become a photo snob. My photos must have content and meaning and thought.
However, on vacation my husband wishes I wouldn't take my camera with me. I view is as on-location and as long as there are people, the whole world is my canvas.
June 30th, 2004 at 6:05 pm
It takes a painful, deliberate effort for me to be willing to drive down the street to Sonic for a corndog without bringing my camera. If I could somehow also bring my laptop and stay wirelessly connected to photoblogs.org while I waited for my food, I probably wouldn't take vacations from that either.
June 30th, 2004 at 6:08 pm
ooooohhhh, sonic. i miss those cherry limeades.
any chance you could pick me up one next time and send it over?
June 30th, 2004 at 6:14 pm
are you crazy!?:) i'll take a vacation to be able to shoot photos. and i consider my hobby to be a kind of resort, where i can do things the way i like them, so the terms "vacation" and "photography" certainly aren't complementary in my world. in fact, this very moment i'm thinking of how and what gear i should bring to an upcoming family vacation...
June 30th, 2004 at 7:57 pm
On the last vacation I took, I carried so many cameras I ended up not taking many photo's at all! I'm thinking that i had so many options (Holga, Lomo, Digital, Film SLR etc.) that I couldn't decide which one to use. Next time I will just take a couple and hope to burn many rolls through.
June 30th, 2004 at 7:58 pm
Yourwaitress: You know... I was almost named Mark, lol, and people always call me that by mistake.
I have a Canon Powershot camera bag, I can stuff my Starmite, my Minolta slr and my Polaroid plus extra film in it. Then I just carry my other slr on my shoulder and put the tripod in my backpack.
I will bring all my gear with me to the islands, but for the beach I think maybe I'll either rig up something to waterproof my digital camera or I'll pick up a disposable waterproof one. I really want to take some shots from on my bodyboard out in the ocean. I hope that they waves are too good to allow me enough time for a good photo, because otherwise I wouldn't have much fun bodyboarding, but I'll see what I can manage as sort of a fun experiment. I'm not going to expect too much from those photos, but what I see in my head when I think back on being out there would look cool if I only could capture it on film. (right now my budget wouldn't afford the right gear to do that kind of shot justice however)
Daisies: the boat that takes us to the Islands is also a whale watching tour boat as sometimes whales come through the channel on their way south. Last time all we saw was a whale's tale come up about half a mile away so I'm not expecting much this time.
Thanks for all the replies :). I wanted to get back and post sooner but I got terribly busy at work.
June 30th, 2004 at 8:09 pm
I was surprised that someone would suggest taking a vacation from taking pictures!
I wouldn't think it could be a vacation without a camera. But i just have a small digital - I very rarely use my tripod, and I rarely bring my other cameras (three old polaroids) on long trips. In other words, i'm very portable. I do see, though, why bringing multiple (big) cameras and a lot of other gear would be a problem. I wouldn't want to lug around a whole extra bag while sightseeing.
June 30th, 2004 at 9:35 pm
Vacations with the right sort of partner are the best. Not only can they brighten your day with their wonderful company, but they can fulfil a whole bunch of photographic functions:
1) For carrying additional lenses, camera bodies or tripods
2) To be used as an emergency subject in that composition that lacks just that extra bit of oomph (think of Cartier Bresson's girl running up the stairs in Greece)
3) To soften up strangers for street photographs with charming conversation/flirtation.
4) To provide convenient cover/decoy when photographing candids.
5) Have I mentioned the carrying of the extra lenses?
6) To be richly compensated at the end of the photographic odyssey with love, affection, and gorgeous photographs.
July 1st, 2004 at 1:34 am
Keep it simple. One bag, maybe leave the tripod. I like the previous comment about having a proper companion, especially for softening up strangers and carrying gear.
July 1st, 2004 at 2:06 am
I don't feel pressure to take pictures, so much as I feel desire to take them, so it's not something I feel I need to take a break from.
Because my photography is driven purely by my desire for it, if the desire is not there, I don't photograph. The last time it happened, it lasted about 12 years. In retrospect, those times seem barren, empty, wasted.
I usually take a camera wherever I go, vacation or otherwise. This used to be an Olympus XA/XA2, then it was my Canon S400, which I'm now selling. For the past few weeks, it's been a Contax T3, which I think is the best of the lot.
I do find it takes discipline to always carry a camera. when I leave for work in the morning, a voice tells me not to bother because I won't see anything worth photographing. I reply to it: 'Maybe so. But I'm taking it anyway'.
I used to be very geeky, carrying lots of equipment and trying to look like a "Photographer". Now I only take one camera, and one lens. Anything more is just too distracting. I also never carry a camera bag/case, unless I'm carrying a big camera and need my hands free.
If it feels like pressure to you, I'd wonder if you're doing something wrong. If it's not enjoyable, why do it? Or am I misunderstanding your use of the word 'pressure' ?
July 1st, 2004 at 2:56 am
My solution: have a camera suited to every occasion and always take the right one(s) with me whever I go. I'm never without a camera. Ever.
I don't feel bad about taking a camera everywhere. I don't even care if I take pictures or not. I just like knowing that I could if I wanted to.
Maybe get a cool and reliable point-and-shoot, like an Olympus Stylis Epic 35mm? It's pretty heap! And it goes anywhere you go because it's weatherproof!
July 1st, 2004 at 9:28 am
By "whever" I mean "whenever" and by "heap" I mean "cheap".
And by Guinness, I mean Guinness
July 1st, 2004 at 12:30 pm
Have a great weekend everyone
(be safe)
July 1st, 2004 at 4:13 pm
i'm very lucky - my girlfriend (http://www.fotolog.net/bea_trix) shoots as crazy much as i do. very often we're taking pictures together, even at the same places, often choosing the same subjects, smiling at each other while shooting, knowing, that later we'll once again be wondering about how different our approches are, and the results too, of course.
we both love photography, so there's never a question about taking the camera along or not.
July 1st, 2004 at 8:01 pm
I always tote a ton of cameras, and there are two reasons... 1) for class when school's in session 2) because I want to.
Since regular school's not in session, I don't have that excuse now, but I still bring at least two with me.
July 3rd, 2004 at 5:20 pm
I am naked without at least one camera, although I prefer more than one. vacations and special trips mean more unchartered photo opprotunities for me. Plus if I don't have at least something shot from an occasion or trip, I feel like it didn't really happen.
July 3rd, 2004 at 8:00 pm
In the years I was taking normal non-digital photos, wasn't worrying about checking e-mails or similar addictions, I was able to truly enjoy the vacation and in the sense of escapism, really forget everything else that makes my each and every day. I mean it's about vacation, right? So I think it's good not to make yourself a busman's holiday, but really relax... Now things have changed, however, I'm not sure if for the better. Last year I was for 2 weeks in a small tourists' village at the seaside and ran almost every day to an internet cafe just to check my e-mails in case something important arrived. Nothing did, but adding it all up I spent several hours when not a whole day at the seaside just sitting in front of the computer. Same Is with photograhy. I already am thinking if this year's spot will have a place where they'll burn me a cd with the photos, because obviously the digicam has joined the must-take list together with the portable, the cd player and maybe the guitar. Well, and if the digicam, then the tripod too. I still don't know, maybe it's true that it's best when some experiences remain in your mind and that THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHS IN YOUR LIFE ARE THE ONES YOU ACTUALLY DIDN'T TAKE....
I also find it difficult to believe, or to live with, but even though photography is extremely important, LIFE IS MORE THAN JUST PHOTOGRAPHY and PHOTOGRAPHY IS NOT EVERYTHING.
33.
http://picturethis.fotopages.com
July 4th, 2004 at 5:08 am
This vision is my vacation: broken into little bits and small victories.
http://www.apocketwatchplum.com
July 4th, 2004 at 5:09 am
This vision is my vaction broken down into little bits and victories.
http://www.apocketwatchplum.com
July 4th, 2004 at 5:45 am
Things aren't going as planned though :(. But I'll take some pictures....
July 5th, 2004 at 10:53 am
To get back on the topic of taking a vacation from photos....
I shoot a lot of live concert photos in and around Toronto. It's the perfect blend of too passions for me. My love of photography and my love of the independent music scene here in Toronto. Admittedly, always being ON can actually take away from my enjoyment of a show.
It's not uncommon for me to shoot during the entire show. It's also not uncommon for me to fill up a one gig card at one concert.
a) yes there are occasions where I leave the camera at home .. and take a vacation for shooting for the night. (usually if i am seeing someone whom I have shot a lot of photos for in the past.
b) I take my camera and don't shoot at all. It happens.
c) I will shoot for the first song or two.. or maybe the last song or two. This is difficult though, cause it is easy to just continue shooting without stopping.
As for going on Vacation.... Hell I plan my vacations around being able to shoot pictures.
My problem is that I tend to over pack and bring 2 or 3 cameras too many and about half a dozen rolls of film too much. Although if I left my digital camera at home, I'm sure I would be able to shoot through those rolls in a breeze.
July 5th, 2004 at 6:04 pm
This is a tricky one. My wife isn't too keen on me taking lots of holiday time to take photos. This is understandable, as it cannot be much fun being a photography widow or widower.
I tend, therefore, to restrict myself to holiday snaps and I rarely bring out the DSLR and go out of my way to get something more interesting.
I must admit I'm not totally happy about this. It seems like an opportunity missed. I've just come back from two weeks in Florida and, although I took a few worthwhile shots, I would have liked to have spent more time off the beaten track satisfying my photographic needs.
Perhaps we'll have to work something out for the future...
July 5th, 2004 at 11:37 pm
there is a time for everything under the sun.
a time for making photographs, a time to wonder, smile or simply breathe.
July 7th, 2004 at 5:14 pm
i once had a photo professor who said that avid photographers should remember that there are some events/activities that should be "experienced". he was suggesting that we photographers will often stand back and record and watch events, rather than participate and experience them.
so, though in my daily life i carry a camera (or two) with me at all times), there are some events when i do not take my camera.
don't forget to be a participant as well as a documentarian of life. a cautionary tale by a wise man, retold by a foolish girl.
July 7th, 2004 at 5:24 pm
Good point, Ana. Very good point.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:34 am
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