What are your biggest inspirations/motivation boosts?

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions! I certainly agree that relying on sudden lightbulb moments of inspiration is no viable strategy. However I relying on hard work and routine alone probably isn't a safe bet as well, when it comes to something like photography, which (to me) is a combination of art and craft. So for me it seems to work best to look for something I can attempt with a childlike curiosity. This way it doesn't feel like work, even though I'm putting a lot of time and effort into it.

Sure, the achievement of hard work and struggling through something has its merits, but at least in my case it has (so far) never been responsible for me thinking, I've taken another real step on my photography journey. For some people it might be though... But I've often heard the advice: "Just keep shooting and you'll get better", but without the addition of "Try to find something you really enjoy shooting". I think many people buy a camera, thinking, that they'll take some nice shots of their family and pastime activities, just to find out that it doesn't give them any real enjoyment. Then one day they find out, they really like shooting stars at night, or perhaps IR/UV. Someone I've seen share his story online, started shooting great looking and unique longtime exposures of interesting houses at night, making something useful out of his insomnia.

I have a very different experience with the bolded part. Some of the worst periods in my life, were the most fruitful in terms of creating and there can be plenty of inspiration in bad experiences, bad moods, even tiredness, lack of sleep etc. It's certainly not advisable seeking those out - I'd agree there. But if you have to struggle through something anyway, why not try to make something creative out of it. It might not work in many, perhaps most cases, but if it does it can be quite rewarding indeed and even help you get out of your bad place. I wouldn't trust anyone who claims to have a universal solution for getting over bad feelings, regardless of their popularity or accomplishments. People are different and so are solutions. (Just my two cents)

Absence can be felt. by simple.joy, on Flickr

I think @DonaldB has a point here. We feel a connection to Nature, because we're part of it. Doesn't mean that everybody has to enjoy the sight of raindrops on a leaf (as @LeeJay can probably confirm 😉) but It's likely as simple as that.

Action coming out of dire necessity definitely is a thing, but it is not a thing to strive for. A man needs to know hard times and navigate them, but hard times are not a solution either.
My text comes from experience with hard times. While I feel gifted after managing these, it is not a thing of recommendation.
Only what I do is the encouragement for discipline, self-care/love and such. Bad times come for everyone. No need to seek them.

I find it far bigger than simple and trivial. The feeling of connection and belonging might have more meaning to it.

A second source of motivation for me, and not the least
The history of digital photography, already over 30 years old

www.flickr.com/photos/maoby/albums

The point of collecting digital cameras with interchangeable lenses (DSLRs) and also MLs (mirrorless). It's all about getting them to work properly and evaluating their respective performances.

In my early days (1996), I remember how difficult it was to find photos taken with the first cameras. And even harder to find comparisons, with the first Kodak DCSs and so on.
I thought it would be interesting to remedy this problem, at least in part. By proposing a series of comparisons based on my own collection. And today, I'm in the process of making my 294th.

In general, for each comparison, I take between 15 and 20 photographs taken in different situations.
Always in RAW or TIFF, if possible. With a minimum of intervention in LR to remain as fair as possible.

Then I publish the results on Flickr, two full-size photos of the two cameras involved, and Crops at 100% and/or at 50% and 100% or a prorata.

Another good reason for making these comparisons is that it's an excellent excuse to use my cameras cyclically.
With an average of three comparisons a month, it takes me a minimum of 15 months to go through my entire collection.

And it's a lot of fun!
Even if some of the comparisons may seem crazy to you ;)

Kodak DCS 100 (1991) / Nikon D500 ( 2016)

Kodak DCS 100 (1991) / Nikon D500 ( 2016) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Kodak DCS 460 (1995) / Kodak DCS 760 (2001)

Kodak DCS 460 (1995) / Kodak DCS 760 (2001) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Kodak-Canon EOS-1n DCS 5c (1997) / Kodak DCS 520 (1998)

Kodak-Canon EOS-1n DCS 5c (1997) / Kodak DCS 520 (1998) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Minolta RD-3000 (1999) / Pentax EI-2000 (2000)

Minolta RD-3000 (1999) / Pentax EI-2000 (2000) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Fujix DS-300 (1997) / Fujifilm X100 (2011)

Fujix DS-300 (1997) / Fujifilm X100 (2011) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

etc www.flickr.com/photos/maoby/albums/page2

Sorry, if I wasn't clear enough. I agree of course. Would never try or recommend to seek them out. But because - as you say as well - bad times come for everyone: If you feel inspired to create something during these trying periords, it can actually help you cope sometimes. At least that's my experience (particularly with music).

In my humble opinion simple doesn't mean meaningless... so there's no contradiction there.

Good question! I would say I have a couple of motivating factors and inspirations.

Probably my biggest inspiration is curiosity. I first got into infrared photography a long time ago because I was curious how it would look and what options it would give for landscapes during the time of day we are "not supposed to shoot" them. That has led me down a rabbit hole of creative experiments with various spectral combination shooting, and these days I probably capture more IR than conventional light for my personal projects.

My biggest motivation, at least for the summer months, is a positive feedback loop between cycling and photography. A photography excursion is a great way to get motivated to hop in the saddle, and the spring/summer/fall ride helps get me in a positive headspace to exercise that creativity. I don't tend to do nearly as much personal shooting over the winter, though trips to milder climates serve a similar purpose.

What's the difference between "capture the moment or occasion" and "documenting that"?

His statement isn't true, and it's trivial to understand why - it's a generalization about people. People are unique and diverse. It's certainly true that not everyone follows that rule.

I apologize for asking you that question - that was unnecessary, because you've already made it clear (on another thread) that you think photography can't do anything beyond documenting. As I might have stated there, that's perfectly valid in my opinion. But I absolutely don't want to have that debate here. Again, sorry, that was my fault entirely!

Hmm... interesting - perhaps I misunderstood what he said exactly. I understood it as "motivation to live" which I assume to be true (at least when we're born). Possible there are exceptions, but I've never heard of such. Later on in life... yeah, there it would be a generalization.

I totally get that - thanks again for sharing your interesting camera history overviews here. I'm no camera collector myself (even though I might have a thing for lenses...) but it's very interesting to read about and see all those cameras - some of them forgotten, some considered incredible milestones of photography technology - so well presented and accompanied by some great shots as well. Bravo! 👍

Thanks a lot! That's a great one, indeed! Curiosity can be an incredible driving force and the field you're describing (which I know very little about unfortunately, even though I find it very interesting from afar) seems like a perfect one for that. I've seen some very inspiring IR/UV shots in the subs here already, but so far always hesitated to get into all of that. Do you remember when you first shot something that really convinced you to keep at it?

That's also a very good one. I'd love to combine those two things as well in the future... not that I'm a big cyclist, but it's a perfect tool for getting a little bit further away while still having the option to look out for interesting things to cover... Do you go for longer trips or just little tours usually?

First, thank you for an interesting thread that asks a thoughtful question. Inspiration and motivation vary for me over time, and not necessarily together. Often I'm motivated but lack inspiration. Beauty in nature always inspires me, and that can be as simple as a morning fog or as complex as a trip to Iceland or the Canadian Rockies. But I also find inspiration in living animals (human, furry, or feathered) doing interesting things. Travel has always been a huge source of inspiration but covid followed by personal health issues created some limits I haven't yet overcome. I live in the least photogenic state in the US so I have to work hard at motivation here. My inspirational safety net here at home is a decrepit water management dam that is the chosen home of a few dozen water birds who provide me with endless opportunities when all else fails.

I'm posting a few images and apologize for their small size but my computer is inaccessible today and I've pulled these off my online portfolio. My style is probably the opposite of yours (simplejoy's). You squeeze incredible beauty out of the tiniest of common objects with controlled lighting and technique, and I enjoy every one of them. I, on the other hand, look for a big stage to catch my images on, a larger story with context and often too much stuff in the frame.

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I'd say that the first time I got IR results I loved was probably a trip to Mexico back in 2010. Here's a sample from that trip:

A bit of both. My longest tour was a trek around most of Prince Edward Island- I was there with a partner, cycling and camping for about a month. I do a lot of day trips in the 50-100km range including out to a lovely provincial park that's about 35km each way. I try to do at least a couple of multi-day camping trips each summer. Plus, when I visit British Columbia, I usually get around by bike including at least one coastal route that's a good 60-80km.

That is counterintuitive though to even using a camera. You start at the point of no knowledge whatsoever. Back then, it starts with loading film, now, it's powering on. To use a camera is to accept and engage in that challenge. It is impossible not to.

Also, who strives to make bad photos? What person out there shoots with the lens cap on and goes, "perfect"?....now I gotta make a 60x60 print, slap a $100,000 price tag on it, and do that.

There are people out there that give paint brushes & paint to Chimpanzees, let them go nuts and then do a similar thing. Not too far removed

I think I do. Your life.

I've been fascinated by the idea of what giving creatures with no humanity access to art means, does, represents, says about humanity, and expresses, for a very long time. I do not see these two things as remotely similar. What those animals do, for whatever reasons they actually do it, is much closer to what art actually is, than some schmuck trying to make a buck because Duchamp set the standard for what you can slap a price tag on and pretend is art. None of us will ever achieve the free state of mind those creatures have in our artistic pursuits.

A long time ago, I stumbled across this blokes work. Absolutely brilliant. Breaking all the rules shooting portraits with an ultrawide, using a widely derided lens, that's got to be inspirational for anyone who's picked up a camera & tried shooting ultrawide. It certainly gave me a kick in the pants to try harder, that's for sure.
photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=17936146

Some fabulous work.
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