
Photography is fun. It is. This is how you find the Fun in Photography.
It’s also a never ending journey into self.
What do I mean by that?
Well, my own experience of photography is all about discovering the magic that surrounds us all. And, I’d love it if more photographers would come along on the same journey.
The Fun in Photography is all Around You
Inner journey, magic, a better world. Wow, that’s basically what you look for in a life that is enjoyable, meaningful, and full of excitement, right?
Understand the Magic, not the Machine
Well, photography is bound into the world of arts. That means that it has depth, a space, a place of magic that every human being can explore in their own personal way. That’s a truth.
False Concepts of Art
Many people are brought up with a strange idea of what art is. It’s all about some weirdo stuff that leads to nothing much, or that it’s a special practice only for special people. It’s not really any of those things, it’s human endeavour.
Art is creativity in practice. And creativity is very much in fashion these days. You need to put your creative powers to the test with your camera.
Schooling gives young people a smattering of an idea about what creativity is; and so they spend the next few years believing that creativity is a romantic world of tortured artists. It doesn’t look attractive, and it wouldn’t be a personal choice. It’s far from the truth.
Many young people who end up going to art school, or study a creative pursuit, have their eyes opened and their stereo type version of art and creativity heavily challenged inside the walls of a good art school.
You cannot Harness Creativity, You must experience it Motion
Business tries to harness creativity, individuals become more creative as jobs become more idea based – new ideas are gold-worth these days.
A creative photographer learns how to use her camera through practice and experiment. Get those three basic ideas down with shutter speed, F stop, and ISO, how to use them effectively, how to practice setting the balance of these three magical transformers of light quickly and effectively. Practice getting the photos that you see in your mind.
Don’t be a Slave to the Machine, Choose to be a Creative person
That’s the point of photography. To create a visual idea of the world you see, not to find a super setting, or an ideal set up that is no better than taking photos on automatic setting.

Work with what you have, Find Happiness in a small Bag of Tricks
Really, what’s the point of spending good money on expensive equipment, lenses, camera body, lovely camera bag and lighting equipment, go out, take photos, and just set the camera on “P” setting to make life easy for yourself? It’s not practising photography, it’s getting a machine to do things for you.
You own the doorway to an exciting world of visual exploration when you have a camera in your hands. You don’t need much, just a camera and a lens. Don’t worry about upgrading equipment just yet, let creativity show you how you can create fanstastic – and mindblowing photos with a 50mm lens and camera. The camera can be a crop-sensor, full-frame or an anologue camera that you found on the market for 20 bucks. The whole experience of photography is an inner thing. That’s why you have things to learn, and there is no end to that learning.
Learning to take great photos requires a certain attitude from you. The first and foremost is that you must want it, you have to have the feeling that drives you to want to improve on the basic skills mentioned above. You must have an attitude of self confidence in your own way of looking at the world.
Think about What You See
Understanding self leads to you putting things together, grasping the meaning of those little niggling ideas that you have about how you want to find a certain type of light, a different setting to frame your shot in. These are the clues to your own inner world that is trying to get your attention and make stronger connections between your mind and your camera.
If you want to take better photos, then learn about the world that you are looking at. Ask yourself questions about why you see it the way you do. How does it relate to your attitude towards life?
Street Photography
I love street photography. I’m always observing the movement and the flow of crowds. If you do this long enough, you begin to see patterns. People are creatures of habit even when they are just drifting along the street on a sunday afternoon. People going to work, taking the tram, the underground, sitting in traffic. People repeat movements because they respond through memory muscle.
A person who goes out for a walk will want to relax, enjoy the sunshine, maybe buy an ice cream and sit on a bench to take in the fresh air and local sights. Observing humans gives you a basis for solid thoughts about what you are looking at. We are all individuals, but we can see similarities in each other.
Normal People and Odd People – all over the Place
In spite of that, we also see odd things, odd behaviour in people which offers an insight into a different lifestyle. Some people have very different world views, it shows up in their daily activity.
Right now, amidst the social distancing due to Cornavirus and Covid19 fears, people have developed two points of view – that can be observed. One of them is a defiant attitude towards social distancing, the other is observed as a responsible attitude about how to act in public places. These two attitudes are set to clash. They create a tension among strangers, one is dominant and one is passive. Being responsible seems like the person is being obedient to rules. Acting defiantly against the rules shows a false sense of courage in the face of threat.
Look for People who want to express their Identity
People need to express their identity, so they use social trends and expectations as a framework to stand on; they bend rules just enough not to get arrested, they shrug their shoulders when they are reminded that Covid19 is a real threat to everybody. Set that against a person who acts responsibly and you see interactions of boisterousness and timidity clashing on the street.
Street Fights, Trains, and Desires
Yesterday, I was on the Berlin S-Bahn. Headed to Lichterfelde West. Before leaving home I packed my camera and lenses in my camera bag, just in case I saw something worth a photo. Then I left for the train, and forgot to grab my camera bag on the way out. Oh well.
I sat in my seat, masked up, and a young woman sat opposite me. People are sitting two persons to a four seater to allow enough space to be sensible about distance. In a train it’s difficult to have 1.5 metres between everybody – partly due to people who don’t care, and mostly because the interior is designed to pack people into a tight space. You gotta sell tickets, right?
I read a book, glasses steaming up from hot breath drifting up from under my mask. I could hear two men speaking in what I thought was an Arabic language.
Lack of security
Two security guards boarded and stood close to the doorway. The doors closed and the train pulled out of the station. For some reason, one of the security guards walked over to the two Arab men and started to speak to them authoritatively, as if he was giving instructions – in Arabic.
A conversation ensued, the three men seemed to act responsibly, chatty and at ease with each other. But the last word was said with a forceful tone from the security guard.
The security guard walked back to his colleague, and leaned against the panels. A moment later one of the two men sitting in the seats stood up, took several steps towards the guard and challenged him. He raised both arms and balled his fists. He was fit and muscular, and clearly stood in a well practised boxer’s stance. The guard lost his professional attitude and squared up to the large man.
Square up in a Small Space
The moment squaring up happens, the fight is on. It’s like the challenge has been accepted and any punch that finds its home, is considered fair.
The large man quickly shuffled in and delivered a punch to the security guard’s stomach. The guard was thrown back and landed against the panelled wall with the clattering sound of his work utensils hitting the panel.
Winners and Losers
That first punch was already a good sign about who would come off best in this fight. The guard forced himself up and took a blind swing at the Arabic man, his fist scraped past his chin, but he was fit enough to bring his left fist in and deliver a direct hit on the side of the Arabic man’s head.
The sound of shuffling feet, groaning metal standing poles being pushed hard, and thumps, elbow knocks, and hard breathing filled the train carriage for a few seconds.
Most fights last as long as ten breaths, then nature takes its course and these hard minded men with bodies pumped with protein powder and Creatine, started to sap. The strength is used up and tired hands are placed on the knee caps to support an exhausted upper body. That’s what happened.
The sound of heavy breathing continued, the murmur of passenger’s voices became louder. I looked around and saw a few frightened faces, I asked the young woman sitting opposite me if she was okay. She nodded nervously, that she was still in one piece.
The Fun Year of the Monkey
Observing other people is mostly a peaceful and subtle pastime. Sometimes, you are presented with unique situation. Street fighting used to be common, in some parts of the world it still is, but these days? A bar room fight, a squabble between men in a back alley, I get the impression that youth has changed its ways and would rather avoid physical conflicts in everyday life. But when you do get to see it happen, it is a moment of human nature to observe carefully.
It’s Still Fun to See without a Camera
Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me. Nevertheless, it gave me a lot to think about; how important it is to always know what the setting is on your camera, not to walk into a train carriage with bright sunshine settings, but have a it ready for low light. It’s a tough call to get a setting for low light and fast movement – but with the quality of ISO that many cameras have today, you can achieve a good photo that’s worth space in your catalogue of great photos.
We live in strange times, people are nervous, they feel changed, sometimes the city feels like its reverting back to a jungle and we’re living in the year of the Monkey.There’s still plenty of funin photography despite the Coronavirus situation.
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