Photography is a passion of mine but like all things sometimes I'm into it and at other times I'm happy enough just with my mobile phone camera.
I went through that phase of reading about all the camera gear, learning about composition such as the rule of four thirds, wanting more and more camera and lighting equipment and just generally getting into all things photography.
I have to admit I think I was generally more creative during my learning and initial phase in photography. With more knowledge things get more methodical and consistent but perhaps less personally satisfying as photography almost feels like a job.
By this I mean that instead perhaps just looking and enjoying a scene and looking for a great composition or something different my mental approach can sometimes be, what aperture do I use, what iso should I set, make sure I hold the camera as steady as I can and the actual joy of taking the photograph is lost.
Of course this happens to be a two sided coin or trade-off. When you get out of focus shots, the composition isn't just right, you wish you used fill-flash or had a flash with you, there's too much noise or whatever, you can wish you paid more attention to the basics of photography.
So yes, the happy go lucky approach can also be unsatisfying. I don't know about you but if you have learnt the basics of the exposure triangle it's hard to unlearn and just shoot.
For the technical person I am not the person who will just shoot in "program" mode and let the camera select everything. That just would never mentally satisfy me.
Anyway, this is a somewhat rambling post somewhat akin to what happens with passion itself. Sometimes you are "full" of passion and at other times you're not. Sometimes the technical means a lot, sometimes it gets in the way.
Photography is funny and sometimes accidents, the unintentional and life lessons come to the fore. You can look back over old photo's particularly those taken with compacts and mobile phones and it can often be all about the memories, life's intimate moments with family and friends and just the joy of life.
Do you need all that equipment to make memorable photo's? Definitely not. It's nice to remember this sometimes. Technical image perfection can add to your life but so can living your life and living in the moment. Think of any overseas travel. Sometimes "taking photo's" takes over and the excitement and joy of experiencing a new culture and being somewhere totally new is "lost".
Anyway, hobbies are meant to be fun. So, whatever hobbies provide you enjoyment and add to your life keep on doing it. We are only on this planet for a limited amount of time. Enjoy your passion.
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