SSD?....Seasonal Shooting Disorder Anyone?

Theres some referance to a seasonal disorder,people who get depressed in the winter...My mom kind of goes through that....

But what about for shooting?.....The winter months i cant seem to get anything.Unless theres snow....Snow makes everything better but like this last few weeks which seems like forever the weathers mostly been over cast and rainy...

You should be able to go out in any conditions and get a good solid images.But with the flat light and dreary days i am completely uninspired....Is this just me?...I did a drive up to the Sultan Basin to shoot a couple of waterfalls that i knew of. Well the road was closed off due to slides. I did a few forrest shots but with the low light cause it was over cast and low clouds i had to tri pod every shot.

I have a shoot tomorrow with a girl named Yoko...Shes very pretty shes Laocean and black.But i have to come up with something impressive and i'm just not motivated. And i should be able to go out and get some really good shots just going for a drive and finding whatever, but my drives around home of late have been nothing more then a waste of gas.

I wonder if other photographers often go out and end up with nothing or little to show for their venture...When i go out i just pick a direction and drive and explore side roads. The summer time its very effective but then i have blue sky and longer days to work with and the warmth from a thing called the sun which we dont get to see all winter...In the winter i just have a much harder time coming up with the shots. Very frustrating...

Today...51(F) degrees and raining all day,over cast very little light...Blah....

I like the winter because I forces me to work in the studio, improving my techniques and tools. Even when I don't have an client assignment, I'll work on a project of my own.

Winter is a great time to go back and re-examine all those shots from the summer to see if there are any that would benefit from a little (more) post processing or creative cropping or....

It's also a great time to make outdoor portraits under that huge softbox sky. No bright shadows, no hiding under trees to get rid of the squints....

Hi Erik,

You have my understanding as I find myself having similar feelings occasionally. In such situtations, rereading this "I Can't" -- A Photographer's Phrase From Hell! thread helps a lot .

Cheers,

Charles L Webster said:

I like the winter because I forces me to work in the studio, improving my techniques and tools. Even when I don't have an client assignment, I'll work on a project of my own.

Winter is a great time to go back and re-examine all those shots from the summer to see if there are any that would benefit from a little (more) post processing or creative cropping or....

It's also a great time to make outdoor portraits under that huge softbox sky. No bright shadows, no hiding under trees to get rid of the squints....

Click to expand...

Very good advice Chas. I am currently cleaning up my pictures and reorganising my DAM workflow and paying some due attention to the past shoots which have never seen the daylight before.

Cheers,

ErikJonas said:

I have a shoot tomorrow with a girl named Yoko...Shes very pretty shes Laocean and black.But i have to come up with something impressive and i'm just not motivated.

Click to expand...

Hi Erik,

Well, I think you've answered your own question! Concentrate on your subject, and not on the surroundings. Get close, use a wider aperture for a change (or just experiment with it if it scares you) and blur that uninspiring background distraction. Try making a nice portrait, head only, head and shoulder(s), let her look over her shoulder, let her look down and then up as you take the shot, try motion, etc., etc.

Good luck.
Bart

Hi Erik,

I think we all get like this from time to time, and can get into that "creative funk" just about anytime of the year.
But for me, ... I love this time of year. It is the perfect season for training your mind.
Outdoors, ... there is less clutter, lots of clean or fairly clean lines and curves, softer light, etc.
If one can keep themselves "out of mind", forgetting about their day to day events or troubles, then one often can find the world that surrounds them a bit different.

I feel that I can't express myself well today, (my wife's car was stolen yesterday), but here is something I wrote a while back that might give you some ideas.
"The Perfect Season For Training Your Mind" - Compositions In Nature
Maybe I can say it like this.
Hey, ... why shoot things perfectly exposed?
Why shoot something that is tack sharp?
Why do something today that you always do?
Why not find something that is old school, ... then experiment. (Like stretching some ladies tan colored hose over your lens, and shoot wide open, ... maybe cutting a hole in the middle of the hose, .... etc.

There's always something out there for you.
It's up to you to see the possibilities, ... then use the skills you have to create.
So Erik ..... got get'em dude!


Man, ... I have not been here in awhile and posted anything.
Hope that everyone has been doing well, and I hope that this year will be the absolute best ever for all!

Michael

Hi Michael how are ya =) Thanks for the words of advice...I know its just kind of a reforming of ones thinking but too combined with the dreary rain,over cast skies and cold. You get kind of blah...I am extremely behind on my editing. I could do some catching up there and have been. If only we had snow....Thats why i went east of the mountains the first of the year. The precious snow.....Right now today...Over cast,rainy and 50 degrees. I need some coffee and eggs..

Thanks Cem and everyone else.....I am planning another all day road trip east of the mountains...More barns and snow pictures. It seems the farther from home i get the better pictures i get.