Why do you take pictures?

[MarkBarbieri]

Why do you take pictures? Why not just buy postcards? They're almost always better than any picture an amateur is likely to take. Why not just use other people's pictures? You can find someone willing to give you a picture of just about anything Disney related here.

Once you're done with all the bother of buying a camera, figuring out how to use it, taking the pictures, and doing whatever else you do to get them ready, what the heck do you do with them?

 

[orchjoe]

I do it for the rush. The one you get when you have a spectacular shot that you just took and you can’t wait until you get on the computer to see how it really turned out.

You get that feeling when you finally check it out – “wow I just took that”

Right now I just end up printing the best ones (8 ½ x 11) and putting them into cheap $2 frames from Wall-Mart and I am hanging them down a hallway.

 

[Master Mason]

Well, first off, I have never seen either of my boys on a post card, so that means it must not be too readily available.

I take pictures to capture the memories of my travels though life and that of my kids lives. This is my first and foremost reason.

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.

As to what I do with them, I share them with others, isn't that what art is supposed to be for?

 

[MichelleVW]

I do it for the rush. The one you get when you have a spectacular shot that you just took and you can’t wait until you get on the computer to see how it really turned out.

You get that feeling when you finally check it out – “wow I just took that”

.

Same here....

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Well, first off, I have never seen either of my boys on a post card, so that means it must not be too readily available.

I take pictures to capture the memories of my travels though life and that of my kids lives. This is my first and foremost reason.

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.

As to what I do with them, I share them with others, isn't that what art is supposed to be for?

Why pictures? Why not video? Then you capture their sounds and motions.

 

[MichelleVW]

Honestly "why do I take pictures??" Because it's a sickness and I HAVE too....ask my kids about the meltdown I have if my batteries die, or my memory card is full...I always have my camera and I always take pictures....

 

[Master Mason]

Why pictures? Why not video? Then you capture their sounds and motions.

because I know that I will look at the pictures again, I have a video camera, I have used it about 6 times in the 5 years I have owned it, and I have not once gone back to look at the video I took.

I think I just came from a picture family as well. When my parents passed, I literally had to go though 1000's of pictures going back to the late 1800's that my parents had taken, and/or recieved from their parents.

I have pictures of all four sets of my great grandparents hanging on my wall, in a day when most folks couldn't tell you a single thing about their great grandparents.

 

[Sha]

I take pictures for my own enjoyment, to share with others, to be record of history (whether of my existence or someone/something else). It can relax me... and I can learn from it. And maybe, I will take up painting something I capture in a picture one day.... and be a 3rd generation painter. I take pics to take me back to a memory, to place and time that was special, to be there for a moment with someone I loved, or a place that touched my heart.... and I try, when time permits to record it in a scrapbook, so others can know what it meant to me.

 

[fitzperry]

because I know that I will look at the pictures again, I have a video camera, I have used it about 6 times in the 5 years I have owned it, and I have not once gone back to look at the video I took.

I think I just came from a picture family as well. When my parents passed, I literally had to go though 1000's of pictures going back to the late 1800's that my parents had taken, and/or recieved from their parents.

I have pictures of all four sets of my great grandparents hanging on my wall, in a day when most folks couldn't tell you a single thing about their great grandparents.

Ditto to all of this; however, we do use our video camera a little bit more than you--maybe two or three times a year. We rarely watch our videos though, yet just this morning I was flipping through a scrapbook I made of my kids' first trip to NYC a few years ago. You also can't display video. We have pictures we've taken all over our house. I love to glance at them and remember a special trip or party or whatever as I'm walking down the hall.

I also come from a picture taking family. I have many wonderful old b&w photos of my parents and grandparents displayed in my home. My dad recently gave me thousands of slides that he and his father took over the years. My dad rarely touches his camera anymore. I think it reminds him too much of his brother, also an avid photographer, who died rather suddenly about ten years ago (I have a couple of his photos displayed as well). Someday I hope to scan and catalog all the slides.

 

[handicap18]

Very interesting question. I've always been a picture taker. Got my first camera when I was 10. I did take audio/video courses in college, but even now I really don't use the video camera as much.

I've taken tens of thousands of pictures in the last 25+ years. There is something about capturing a memory on film (or in todays case digital). Then having it displayed around your house.

I'm pretty sure I've seen it/read about it, that having pictures displayed around your home creates a very positive atmosphere.

I like having video's, but its pictures that I always go back to. We have dozens and dozens of pictures displayed around the house on shelves, walls, the fridge, and other places. Our main computer is in the living room next to the TV and when no one is using the computer the screen saver is a picture viewer. It displays a different picture every 6 seconds and varies it among over 1,400 images taken over the last few years. I've also started re-scanning some of my older film prints to add to the screen saver.

Pictures are a quick reminder of my own history. Helps keep those memories forever. Always seems to put a smile on my face too.

 

[Lizziejane]

Several reasons. One, it's a creative outlet. I can't sing, dance or draw. But I can learn to capture better pictures and get creative with them. Two - it has taught me to look at life differently. Things I never noticed before have now become photo ops. I think I've learned to appreciate the finer details in everything like never before. Third - there's nothing like capturing "the moment". It's especially gratifying if you manage to capture someone else's moment and they express their heartfelt appreciation. And lastly (and perhaps the more important) - the challenge!!!!

 

[KrazyPete]

I think my problem is that I'm always looking for a creative outlet and photography is just another one. I'm sure it drives my DW insane. I play guitar a bit too. When I really started to grasp what taking pictures with an SLR camera was all about, it felt like playing guitar to me. You practice with it and your muscles begin to remember the movements and bit by bit controlling the thing begins to become second nature.

So this is where I get a little sappy (I apologize in advance). Taking a picture is like playing a song with light. Someone else may have written the music but you bring something to it by the way you play it. God sets the mountain and the sunrise in front of me. I get to show people my particular interpretation (vision?) of the scene through my photographs. To me it's not about just preserving some fraction of a second in time. It about communicating happiness, or beauty.

Or whatever... sorry

 

[Michele]

Why pictures? Why not video? Then you capture their sounds and motions.

I do plenty of both. I prefer video to pictures for really active things, especially their sporting events. It's much better to watch a video of your son running for a touchdown than seeing a picture of it.

What's really funny is seeing me at their home football games. My husband does the announcing so he can't handle the videocamera or the camera, so I am usually carrying both, alternating.

But I think pictures are necessary especially to share with others, Grandparents, etc. Most other people don't want to sit and watch hours of video I have taken but they do like to see the pictures.

 

[miss missy]

I dunno, but I am my own worst enemy! As far as Disney pics goes, I take about 800 per trip I cant delete much, I just cant! Here is what I do when I get home.

1. go through them ONE by ONE and fix red eye and crop or whatever.
2. put them in a NEW folder, dated and renamed in order they were taken!
3. Upload to Kodak's site folder by folder.
4.Again, go through them and choose to use or not use zoom and print and perfect touch.
5. Order prints (some for wall frames, most for albums)
6. get prints and make sure they are in order the way they were taken, compare prints to my folders!!
7. Put in album, usually takes 3 albums per trip
8. frame and hang others.


I also back these up on an external drive and on the second computer in the house. I have no freaking idea what to do otherwise. I cant burn a gazillion cd's! I really miss the 35MM I tell ya!! I have over 5000 pics on this puter! Lets not talk about how many photoshop files!!

I AM NUTTS!

 

[madge]

Why do you take pictures? Why not just buy postcards? They're almost always better than any picture an amateur is likely to take. Why not just use other people's pictures? You can find someone willing to give you a picture of just about anything Disney related here.

Once you're done with all the bother of buying a camera, figuring out how to use it, taking the pictures, and doing whatever else you do to get them ready, what the heck do you do with them?

Why do I take pictures ...

I take pictures, because I scrapbook. Or, maybe I scrapbook because I have the pictures But ultimately, I take pictures to have some sort of tangible history of my life and the life of my family. Even if the pictures aren't "scrapped" in album, I make an effort to keep them organized by year. (admittedly, I need to do a better job at that. LOL)

Just in the last year or so have I had the desire to take better pictures. So, I've enrolled in a class that I hope will help me do that. I've enjoyed learning about photography. Because I enjoy it, I want to take more pictures.

It's a dangerous cycle. LOL.

 

[barrie]

For me it has to do with how much I enjoy looking at great photographs. When I see beautiful or interesting photos, I get inspired to try to create my own. I am still very much in a learning phase and as long as I feel like I am learning something new it keeps my interest. I like the sense of accomplishment I feel when I take a good photo. And to be honest, I like the praise too. It feels good when someone tells me they like a photo I've taken.

I like the way it has changed how I look at the world too. Now when I look around I "see" photographs in the things I'm looking at, even when I don't have my camera with me. It evokes a different emotion in me than the scene does on it's own. I find that pleasurable. Not that I'd rather see photos than the real thing, but thinking about the way a camera would capture that moment brings an added dimension to it.

 

[Anewman]

Photography has always been a hobby, but I got away with it when I got married in 1990. When our kids started playing sports I noticed I was a very intense/loud/vocal sideline parent, I realized I needed to do something about my attitude. So I started taking pictures again(at all their games) and found it to be very relaxing, and my kids like the fact that I shut up. My hobby grew from there and it lead to earning some hobby money from it.

 

[Master Mason]

I dunno, but I am my own worst enemy! As far as Disney pics goes, I take about 800 per trip I cant delete much, I just cant! Here is what I do when I get home.

1. go through them ONE by ONE and fix red eye and crop or whatever.
2. put them in a NEW folder, dated and renamed in order they were taken!
3. Upload to Kodak's site folder by folder.
4.Again, go through them and choose to use or not use zoom and print and perfect touch.
5. Order prints (some for wall frames, most for albums)
6. get prints and make sure they are in order the way they were taken, compare prints to my folders!!
7. Put in album, usually takes 3 albums per trip
8. frame and hang others.


I also back these up on an external drive and on the second computer in the house. I have no freaking idea what to do otherwise. I cant burn a gazillion cd's! I really miss the 35MM I tell ya!! I have over 5000 pics on this puter! Lets not talk about how many photoshop files!!

I AM NUTTS!

Well I would say your a bit nutts (in a very nice way) for not burning them to cd's or dvds, electronic media will fail, it is not an if it is simply a when, why take risks with your pictures.

 

[Anewman]

I also back these up on an external drive and on the second computer in the house. I have no freaking idea what to do otherwise. I cant burn a gazillion cd's! I really miss the 35MM I tell ya!! I have over 5000 pics on this puter! Lets not talk about how many photoshop files!!

I AM NUTTS!

Well I would say your a bit nutts (in a very nice way) for not burning them to cd's or dvds, electronic media will fail, it is not an if it is simply a when, why take risks with your pictures.

To me is sounds like she is has the images on at least 3 hard drives(2 pcs and an external), yes "electronic media" will fail. But I think the chances of all 3 failing at once are very low.

 

[Master Mason]

yes it might be small, but it could happen, massive power surge, some sort of power snap, her airconditioning could go out and they all 3 over heat... Just a few possiblities that could cause all 3 to go at once.

Working for a large computer company you would be amazed at some of the things I have heard of happening, and that is with systems that have rooms especially built just to protect them.