Photo Hunting

[kiley9806]

Just thought Id ask what everyone does when they feel the urge to take pictures, and are looking for a good photo opp? What do you do to 'practice'?

I tend to get in my truck and go for drives through the countryside (I do live in Northern Alberta), looking for good barns, trees, graveyards, etc that catch my eye. Therefore, lots of my pictures are of nature or my surroundings. Any tips for trying to expand my portfolio? Where do you get inspiration from?

[Travis]

This is pretty much what I do as well... I live in Northern Ontario and just explore the country side.... I take pictures of barns and things.... and so does everybody else... it's all been done before... but these things help our basic skill set...

What I most enjoy is stumbling upon things that are unique to the moment... yesterday I was shooting a local old age home that burnt down (nobody was hurt)... anyways I thought the shoot would be inspiring and different... turns out it really wasn't... the sun was in a bad place... BUT... behind my tripod was a little stream... and floating in that stream were perfectly burnt pages from a book. They had obviously risen in the flames of the fire and landed in the stream. I had more fun photographing the burnt papers... this was unique to me...(I'll post these tonight.. they are still in the camera card)

I understand what you mean though about inspiration... sometimes I'll take my camera on walks and come home with an empty memory card... it's just the way it is sometimes... If your really stuck then drive outside your environment... there will be lots of new things.... or try portraiture...or macro's... they can be neat...

[tegan]

Try macros, patterns, and textures around your house.

Tegan

[AcadieLibre]

I try to take my camera with me whenever possible just in case, but macro shoots of anything and everything, I have more moon photos than I could ever want, I walk out the door and just hit the main and side streets and shoot anything that is interesting or I think is a challenge for composure, technically or both. I also hop in my truck and throw the gps on and go where I don't think I have been or routes that I may not have tried. I just try to look at everything as if that was a photo how would I shoot it, most of the time they are crap but once in a blue moon I get a photo that knocks my socks of. Now the warmer weather is here I am going to be practicing a lot of night and low light shooting.