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I've been doing photography for a long time but over the last few years had phases where I got bored of it and tried something new. I had a long time when I wa

I've been doing photography for a long time but over the last few years had phases where I got bored of it and tried something new. I had a long time when I was bored and carried the camera in my pack but never took any pictures, then one day I looked out at the sports center out my window and decided to start shooting sports. Posting photos to socials I found flower photographs were popular so I take a lot of them and find ways to not get bored. (Maybe I will start focus stacking one of these days) Since the beginning of the year I have been "going out" as a character who is a bit like a Disney cast member who gets photos like https://mastodon.social/@UP8/116326541009492328 https://mastodon.social/@UP8/116326541009492328 from people who recognize my character. Like the Disney cast member it works better when people have seen the movie so i hand out these tokens https://mastodon.social/@UP8/116086491667959840 https://mastodon.social/@UP8/116086491667959840 which spread virally around a university campus, particularly among Chinese students who recognize the huli jing and all the time I have experiences "that could only happen in a manga" when, for instance, somebody who's heard the rumors is waiting at the bus stop for me. Laugh but all my marketing KPIs have an extra zero on the right!

eitally 7mo ago
Same, but not the same. I've also been doing photography for a long time and when I had kids I added some gear & skills to shoot them playing sports. After a few years of this I realized since I was already there I might as well shoot the whole team, or both/all teams, since everyone's families would value the photos. When I was laid off at the end of last year I decided to formalize this and now have a side gig (real, insured business) where I shoot local youth & high school sports for free, but make a few bucks (to cover my equipment costs plus spending money) doing portraits, headshots and team media days. It's proven fulfilling, mostly because since I do the events for free I tend to receive a lot of goodwill and word-of-mouth referrals. Far more than I can handle given my day job.
- EvanAnderson 7mo ago
  That gig is something I tried to do w/ my daughter's sports for the past 5-ish years. I loved shooting her games and distributing the photos both teams. It was so much fun. I had a nasty altercation with a parent last fall and now I can't pick up the camera w/o getting PTSD-like symptoms. I'd love to know how "pros" handle dealing with that kind of thing. I had a similar situation years ago w/ a guy who got in my face for shooting on the street at a festival. My solution there was to just stop doing it.
  - hermitcrab 7mo ago
    You need to be extremely careful about taking photos of children without explicit permission from the parents.
    - eitally 7mo ago
      You need to know the law. That is being careful, but it doesn't mean it's always illegal to photograph children in public.
      - EvanAnderson 7mo ago
        For sure, but it didn't help me because I don't have the fortitude to stand my ground. I'm very non-confrontational. (Yikes-- I feel my pulse in my neck and chest just writing about this.) I likely need to see a therapist about it. Wow.
        DANmode 7mo ago
        That’s the first step. Good for you - well done.
    - EvanAnderson 7mo ago
      At least on the street and in sports my experience is people using purpose-built cameras get harassed. People using cell phones as cameras get a pass (at least in sports).
      - PaulHoule 7mo ago
        It's common that they don't even let you into the venue if you have a interchangable lens camera. I wouldn't even try going into a pro game with a camera if I didn't have a credential. At my Uni I usually go right in without any trouble, the only case I got hassled was a woman's hockey game and that time I kept repeating "I've never had trouble getting into a game before" (true) until they gave up and let me in. (Which doesn't leave me inclined to try again, but I'd already bought a ticket and didn't want to back and stash my gear in my office) I hear in hockey they are really worried about wildcat video streams. Some of the sports at Cornell are exceptionally laid back. We are one of a few schools that plays sprint football which is 100% the same as regular football except players have to weigh less than 178 lbs [1], I know the head coach, I know people in the parent's association, they leave the gate unlocked and i go right down to the sidelines. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprint_football https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprint_football
hermitcrab 7mo ago
Insect macro photography is an interesting and challenging niche within photography. Trying to find insects and then get a sharp photo, when you have less than 1mm depth of field, is quite a challenge! It also opens up a whole world that you wouldn't normally see.
- PaulHoule 7mo ago
  I've seen photos by people who use the native focus stacking in Olympus Micro 4/3 cameras to get awesome shots of insects. I am firmly in the Sony camp but I have been thinking of getting an Olympus body and a lens or two for birds (lens+body is much less than the Sony lens and it can be hand-held) and macro work... Like once I saw focus stacked flower pictures I couldn't be 100% happy w/ the ones I take) See https://learnandsupport.getolympus.com/om-system-ambassadors/ben-salb https://learnandsupport.getolympus.com/om-system-ambassadors...
  - hermitcrab 7mo ago
    Stacking is difficult with insects. Unless you kill them first, which I don't want to do.
ares623 7mo ago
A sub-niche of this I'm currently into is film photography. It's a bit more cost over time and much more "work" for objectively inferior results. But for personal and family photos, I feel more connected to the photos I take with film. As an example, we've just came back from a holiday trip, and if I had taken a digital camera I would've taken a photo of a beautiful scene, looked at the screen and feel dissatisfied with it, and try to take another, and another, eventually heading back to the hotel dissatisfied and thinking I could've done better. But with a film camera, I end up taking one or two photos and then continue enjoying the place. Two weeks later at home I either get surprised or disappointed. I don't share it on social media. I don't even share it with friends and family anymore. It's just for me, and every now and then I share it with a small online community who are also into film photography. I'd love to get into darkroom printing next but financials and physical space is limited at the moment.

eitally 7mo ago

Same, but not the same. I've also been doing photography for a long time and when I had kids I added some gear & skills to shoot them playing sports. After a few years of this I realized since I was already there I might as well shoot the whole team, or both/all teams, since everyone's families would value the photos. When I was laid off at the end of last year I decided to formalize this and now have a side gig (real, insured business) where I shoot local youth & high school sports for free, but make a few bucks (to cover my equipment costs plus spending money) doing portraits, headshots and team media days. It's proven fulfilling, mostly because since I do the events for free I tend to receive a lot of goodwill and word-of-mouth referrals. Far more than I can handle given my day job.

EvanAnderson 7mo ago
That gig is something I tried to do w/ my daughter's sports for the past 5-ish years. I loved shooting her games and distributing the photos both teams. It was so much fun. I had a nasty altercation with a parent last fall and now I can't pick up the camera w/o getting PTSD-like symptoms. I'd love to know how "pros" handle dealing with that kind of thing. I had a similar situation years ago w/ a guy who got in my face for shooting on the street at a festival. My solution there was to just stop doing it.
- hermitcrab 7mo ago
  You need to be extremely careful about taking photos of children without explicit permission from the parents.
  - eitally 7mo ago
    You need to know the law. That is being careful, but it doesn't mean it's always illegal to photograph children in public.
    - EvanAnderson 7mo ago
      For sure, but it didn't help me because I don't have the fortitude to stand my ground. I'm very non-confrontational. (Yikes-- I feel my pulse in my neck and chest just writing about this.) I likely need to see a therapist about it. Wow.
      - DANmode 7mo ago
        That’s the first step. Good for you - well done.
  - EvanAnderson 7mo ago
    At least on the street and in sports my experience is people using purpose-built cameras get harassed. People using cell phones as cameras get a pass (at least in sports).
    - PaulHoule 7mo ago
      It's common that they don't even let you into the venue if you have a interchangable lens camera. I wouldn't even try going into a pro game with a camera if I didn't have a credential. At my Uni I usually go right in without any trouble, the only case I got hassled was a woman's hockey game and that time I kept repeating "I've never had trouble getting into a game before" (true) until they gave up and let me in. (Which doesn't leave me inclined to try again, but I'd already bought a ticket and didn't want to back and stash my gear in my office) I hear in hockey they are really worried about wildcat video streams. Some of the sports at Cornell are exceptionally laid back. We are one of a few schools that plays sprint football which is 100% the same as regular football except players have to weigh less than 178 lbs [1], I know the head coach, I know people in the parent's association, they leave the gate unlocked and i go right down to the sidelines. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprint_football https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprint_football

hermitcrab 7mo ago

Insect macro photography is an interesting and challenging niche within photography. Trying to find insects and then get a sharp photo, when you have less than 1mm depth of field, is quite a challenge! It also opens up a whole world that you wouldn't normally see.

PaulHoule 7mo ago
I've seen photos by people who use the native focus stacking in Olympus Micro 4/3 cameras to get awesome shots of insects. I am firmly in the Sony camp but I have been thinking of getting an Olympus body and a lens or two for birds (lens+body is much less than the Sony lens and it can be hand-held) and macro work... Like once I saw focus stacked flower pictures I couldn't be 100% happy w/ the ones I take) See https://learnandsupport.getolympus.com/om-system-ambassadors/ben-salb https://learnandsupport.getolympus.com/om-system-ambassadors...
- hermitcrab 7mo ago
  Stacking is difficult with insects. Unless you kill them first, which I don't want to do.

ares623 7mo ago

A sub-niche of this I'm currently into is film photography. It's a bit more cost over time and much more "work" for objectively inferior results. But for personal and family photos, I feel more connected to the photos I take with film. As an example, we've just came back from a holiday trip, and if I had taken a digital camera I would've taken a photo of a beautiful scene, looked at the screen and feel dissatisfied with it, and try to take another, and another, eventually heading back to the hotel dissatisfied and thinking I could've done better. But with a film camera, I end up taking one or two photos and then continue enjoying the place. Two weeks later at home I either get surprised or disappointed. I don't share it on social media. I don't even share it with friends and family anymore. It's just for me, and every now and then I share it with a small online community who are also into film photography. I'd love to get into darkroom printing next but financials and physical space is limited at the moment.