A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

taking pictures

Flickr… where have you gone?

There was a stretch of time where I was really into Flickr.

I mean really into it.

I’m not sure where that ceased, but it likely has something to do with Instagram and such.

Time to get back into it.

Time to get back into it.

Still, I miss Flickr. Quite a bit, actually. It’s a really good community of photographers and a great place to get inspiration for photos/projects etc. It’s also a good place to just see what other people do, get tips and such. And I miss it.

A few years ago, I’d upload many things to Flickr. I’d have albums and all sorts of things. It was fun. The community was cool. It was fun to comment on other people’s photos and, sometimes, get comments on yours.

Somewhere, though, it got tedious. I’m not exactly sure where that happened, but it did. So I kind of stopped using Flickr, outside of uploading things I needed for blogs and such.

In 2014, I kind of got away from “real” photography. I call it real because by it I mean using my real camera, not relying on iPhone and such. Even with the monthly photo blogging challenge, a lot was done via the iPhone.

That is all hopefully going to change now.

My Canon 7D has been acting up recently and I had to start deciding if I was going to continue to try and get it repaired, or upgrade. I’ve had it for nearly five years and I’ve had to have take easily more than 100,000 photos with it. That means, eventually, the shutter would probably go on it, too. But it’s been dropped and such… the focus is off, it doesn’t read a battery even when fully charged and… well, you get the picture.

That meant decision time. After hemming and hawing for a bit, I finally decided to dive in and upgrade and I got myself the Canon 7D Mark II. My initial thoughts on this camera are that it’s amazing. But that’s not, for now, the point of this post.

My main decision is that I need to challenge myself photographically again. I want to be able to take photos and enjoy doing it. I want to share my images. I want to understand this new camera and learn all of its functions and capabilities. Basically, I want to really dive into photography again.

And, with that, I think I need to get back into Flickr. There are so many amazing photographers out there and a lot of them are on Flickr. It’s fun to see what people do and sometimes find out how they do it.

That also brings me to the one reason I wanted to do this post — it seems I’m not the only one who got away from Flickr. When I started up with it years ago, I found many really good people who took photos and shared. It’s cool to see or try and see what people were thinking when they took a photo. Be it an angle, a setup or something else.

As I looked through those I follow, so many of them haven’t uploaded anything in more than a few years. That’s too bad, too, as it would be nice to see how they are all doing. Some of those I truly used to enjoy aren’t even part of Flickr anymore.

That just means I need to look up some new people to see what’s out there. I’m looking forward to photography again … without it just being the iPhone.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Back behind the lens: Time to start snapping away again

It’s time to start getting back into photography with more than a phone.

It’s time to get back into photography.

And, no, I’m not talking about taking more photos with my iPhone. I mean get back into it for real — with my DSLR camera and multiple lenses and trips with the idea of taking photos.

For most of my life, I’ve been into photography. I started with a newspaper when I was in middle school and I’ve always enjoyed taking photos. I went in the direction of journalism as it allowed me to mix and match writing and photography.

But in the past year or so, I’ve let it go. Take, for example, the photo blogging challenge I run. For the bulk of the past several months, I have used photos taken with my phone. Though I am totally addicted to things like Instagram, I totally have ignored my camera, outside of if I needed it for something like work etc.

Finding different things to shoot makes it easier to keep with it.

Part of the problem is ease of use, without a doubt. The phone is always with me. It’s easy to grab it and snap a shot. Carrying a regular camera can be cumbersome at times and get to the point where it’s annoying to have. But… if I am using it more often, maybe it won’t be as cumbersome.

I have a pretty good messenger-style back for my camera, but at times, I just don’t want to carry it around. I have ideas to see if I can do other things with it, so we’ll see.

One good thing is recently getting a new lens (a 28-75 2.8, so a nice walk around lens) and having something different to use. This will allow me to do more without having to change lenses so often, or so I hope.

Still, I need to come up with some sort of a plan – for carrying the camera around, for where to go and for what to do. I’ve recently been thinking about this while my camera was at Canon getting repaired.

My plan:

  • To find a new, comfortable backpack bag where I can carry my equipment as well as other needed things (health etc.) for day trips. I’ve found one that has two side pouches for water bottles, which is outstanding.
  • Plan in two or three days per month where my goal is to go out and take some photos.
  • Rent a different lens or two (such as a Lensbaby) to try and get into different things.
  • Use some different things (lenses, attachments etc.) I’ve gotten over the year to see if that helps.
  • Get back into Flickr, post photos, interact and, hopefully, get inspired.

I know a lot of people put transfer their photos and put them on Instagram. I’ve done that once or twice in the past, but I think I’d rather keep my images there as ones taken with the phone. That might change from time to time, but for now it’s good as is.

Sometimes, one needs a personal challenge to think outside the box for cool photos.

Unfortunately, I don’t live in an area where photographers are rampant. Therefore, it’s rare to find people interested in, say, a photo walk. Depending on the weekend of Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk, I may actually try and run one in my area to see if there are some locals who enjoy shooting. I have loved attending other walks, but I always travel for them … so we shall see how that works out.

It also helps if I am going places where photography will be something I can concentrate on. Let’s be honest, I’m pretty worn out with my area for photos. I’ve taken things over and over. And though I can always find something new when out and about, it’s tough to plan a photo day, per say. So I have a few places I want to try and go this summer/fall, as time and cash flow allow.

Possible weekend/long weekend trips include:

  • Maine (specifically Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park)
  • Montreal
  • The beach (as I try and do each year)
  • New York City (which I try and do at least once a year)

If I can pull these places off, maybe I can get back into it.

One thing I am hoping to really get me going is to start thinking deeper about the one challenge I am in, and maybe even look at one of the older challenges I was involved in. But I did notice that challenges are hard for me because I sometimes rush them and don’t think about them until the last minute. I need to actually think more about each of these and see what happens.

Long exposure/night shots are something that could help me get back into it, too.

Finally, I think I’d like to try and learn some techniques or ideas. These may come from books or photo blogs or whatever else. But I need to start thinking outside the box some to make sure I am not doing the same things over and over. One example of this is to learn lighting a bit more and maybe learn about off-camera flash and things like that. This will likely require the purchase of a new flash, but I’ve wanted to do that for a long time, anyway.

So it’s time to start snapping away. I always love seeing what I can do with a camera and beyond and I’ve taken too much time away from it. I’m not saying I’ll shy away from the iPhone camera – far from it as I like apps such as Instragram etc., rather I’m saying I want to add something back into my life in hopes I can have the same enjoyment with it.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!