Why do you take pictures?

[Master Mason]

Nope. Your standard surge protectors can't do a thing about lightning. They don't blow fast enough to protect delicate electronics from the overwhelming blast of a lightning strike.

There *are* lightning arrestor surge protectors but they're really expensive and even they aren't 100% effective either. Though they usually guarantee your hardware -- your pics could still be fried.

that is exactly the point, you might end up with a shinny new computer, but you can never replace the photos that were lost.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

that is exactly the point, you might end up with a shinny new computer, but you can never replace the photos that were lost.

You got it. It's always best to have backup copies on CD/DVD kept somewhere other than your house. A fire or flood could wipe out all of it; prints, computer and DVD backups all at the same time!

We still have lots of pre-digital photos to scan and burn to DVD....

 

[barrie]

At the risk of getting us back on topic... Mark, why do YOU take pictures? And why did you ask?

 

[MICKEY88]

I take pictures because I am a photographer and wouldn't know what else to do with the thousands of dollars worth of gear that I have...

as far as the post card idea, funny you should mention that, I spent Saturday afternoon at the PA Renn Faire walking around taking pictures of employees that had contributed to care packages that are being sent to 2 young soldiers in Iraq, I had my local walmart print them Sunday Morning, then spent Sunday afternoon walking around showing each person what there final print looked like and getting their approval to send it along with the packages.., 2 different people, who asked if they could look at all of the pics{close to 100} kept commenting that they looked just like postcards...

although I wouldn't have called them postcards, it sure was an incredible feeling to hear it said over and over again...

so I gues that's one of the reasons I take pictures, it's my anti-drug,

seeing the shot I want is a rush, getting the shot is a bigger rush, seeing it on the pc is another rush, then seeing it printed and having other people react in a positive way is the ultimate rush

 

[BigGreen73]

Why? Because I just love taking pics and WDW has more that enough things to shoot. I too have a hard time deleting a "bad" pic as even a bad pic is still a WDW memory. The Pics are great for desktops, screensavers, albums, scrapbooking, photo CD etc etc.

I took 750 pics during my last trip in May. I am looking to break that mark when I go in Dec. I am shooting for 1000.

 

[rtphokie]

I take pictures because I enjoy a vacation so much more by stopping and taking the time to take in things around me. Not blasting my way through a theme park to get to the next big ride. Exploring more of the city I'm visting to get more shots to bring home.

All that plus all those photos give you the chance to enjoy it all over again whenever you like, and share them with others.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

At the risk of getting us back on topic... Mark, why do YOU take pictures? And why did you ask?

I take pictures for the WDW Weekly Photo Contest, of course!

Seriously, I started taking pictures back in the mid '80s. I got started because it seemed like an interesting hobby and, like others have said here, and approachable art form for someone with limited artistic skills. I quickly found that it made me think a lot more about a lot of things - composition, light, color, how our eyes work, how our minds translate sight into vision, etc.

It found that it was also a great tool for telling stories. I love the challenge of capturing not just the appearance of something, but it sense or essence. While you are constrained by what you can see, you still have tremendous opportunities to record it in different ways. You can chose different focal lengths and shooting locations to control the field of view and perspective. You can choose different framings to imply all sorts of things. You can adjust your shutter speed to stop the world or capture it's movement.

I see much more now that I take pictures. I notice the cold, shadowless light before dawn. I see the warm colors of sunrise and sunset. I enjoy the shadowy textures of early morning and late afternoon light. Cloudy days go from dreary to a source of soft light and saturated colors.

Taking pictures has taught me a lot about composition. We all have an innate ability to "read" compositions, but learning to take pictures has taught me how to "speak" it's language.

Taking pictures is something that I do to help me learn to see my world and tell stories about it.

In addition to taking pictures, I shoot video. I find that the two are much more different than they seem. In fact, I have a lot of trouble doing both at the same event. With a picture, I'm trying to reduce my entire story or at least one "scene" from my story down to a single picture. With video, I'm letting a story unfold over time. To me, they require a much different way of thinking about the story.

I find that I enjoy the pictures from trips more than I enjoy the video. The one area that I love video is for bringing back memories of how life used to be. To that end, I'm working on several home video projects. These include:

1) Annual interviews of the kids - Who are your friends? What's school like? What are you going to be when you grow up? What's your family going to be like? That sort of thing

2) A day-in-the-life - A little movie following each of us through a "typical" day showing our morning routine, how we get around, what school is like, what work is like, what we do for fun, what chores we do, etc.

3) A tour of our community and our home with a focus on the what seems "modern" today.

I'm doing these because these are the movies that I wish I had from when I was a kid or when my parents were kids. I love the notion that my great grandkids can see my world with me as a tour guide. I guess it's sort of like a presonallized Carousel of Progress show.

So why did I ask the question? For two reasons. First, I was curious as to why other people took pictures. Not just the snapshooters, but hobbyist photographers. I was also hoping to get people to reflect on why they take pictures. I think that stepping back and asking yourself why you do something helps you do that thing better. Maybe not better in some absolute sense, but in a way that is better for achieving what it is you are trying to achieve.

How's that for a long rambling answer to a short question?

 

[BigGreen73]

I take pictures because I enjoy a vacation so much more by stopping and taking the time to take in things around me. Not blasting my way through a theme park to get to the next big ride. Exploring more of the city I'm visting to get more shots to bring home.

All that plus all those photos give you the chance to enjoy it all over again whenever you like, and share them with others.

Nicely put. WDW isn't all about the rides for my DW and I. We like to take it all in, rides, shows, characters, atmosphere, and taking pictures just helps capture and preserve the Magic.

 

[fitzperry]

I find that I enjoy the pictures from trips more than I enjoy the video. The one area that I love video is for bringing back memories of how life used to be. To that end, I'm working on several home video projects. These include:

1) Annual interviews of the kids - Who are your friends? What's school like? What are you going to be when you grow up? What's your family going to be like? That sort of thing

2) A day-in-the-life - A little movie following each of us through a "typical" day showing our morning routine, how we get around, what school is like, what work is like, what we do for fun, what chores we do, etc.

3) A tour of our community and our home with a focus on the what seems "modern" today.

This is what I was getting at when I said that I enjoy old videos because they show me what something was like in the past, but I can appreciate a photo immediately after I take it. These are great ideas. The second one is sort of what I try to accomplish, albeit in a much more haphazard manner, when I remember to get out the video camera for something other than a holiday or birthday party. It's more journalistic than artistic. I love the interview idea. I keep sort of a journal of the funny, sometimes wise beyond their years things that my kids say. It would be nice to have some of that kind of thing on video too. They do tend to get camera shy, although a few months ago I took some video of my youngest playing the piano and they got into a big argument. Now that's a day in the life.

 

[jann1033]

good ideas for the videos mark, i can see wanting to have those...my kids were little in the days of camcorders that weighed 300lbs and were the size of a small truck but i do have some audio i like from them then.

 

[jtimmons]

My secondary is photography is probably the one area that I have any artistic ability, I can't paint, I can't draw, I can't play an insturement, but I can take a picture, and as I pay more attention to what I am doing, I can learn to create art, via the camera.

Wow, that pretty much sums things up. Great way to put it!

 

[AndrewWG]

I can't really nail down a reason that I take pictures. I just love it!

Video, however, I like because it tells what I would call a "true" story of what is happening. By this I mean, in a video you see and hear what is really going on. Leaves very little to the imagination, but that is ok. A photo does not show me the mannerisms of my grandfather or great grandfather, a video would have been awesome to see. I have no idea what they were like. I can just see their faces in photos and imagine it. I'd like to have both.

When it comes to my DD, I like to look at some of the older videos of her and just hear her voice. How different it has become over the past 8 years. She is still as goofy as ever, but her voice brings me back to those days. I'm sure it will do so even more as she grows up. Plus, it is something that I can have playing on her wedding day! I'm sure she'll love that!

 

[cpbjgc]

And if I didn't take pictures of my kids (they are my main subject) no one else will. There are many shots I am so glad to have where their character and personality shine through, and if I didn't have a camera, they would have been lost in my not-always-that-great memory.

The other thing is we are a picture family - that's our preferred method of documenting our life. We are also a tactile bunch and like being able to handle the pictures or an album while telling others the story behind them - its just not the same when everyone is staring at a screen.

 

[boBQuincy]

I have all these cameras lying around and they aren't good for much else. They make poor doorstops although they might be decent wheel chocks, which has been tempting occasionally.

Photography is a lifelong learning experience if you want it to be. To always improve, to be able to tell the story better in just one captured instant, is a challenge that never ceases.

When I download my images and carefully look at them, and see some little detail I missed... there's always next time!

It's like asking one of my co-workers why he races: "to put together that perfect lap, when I have done each corner to my absolute best." Like the perfect photograph, it's a goal we always reach for, knowing we will never get there. And the pursuit is *so* much fun! Usually...