Photographing Solo or with a Group?

Me and my dog Elmer at Chiricahua National Monument

Man's Best Friend

One thing I struggle with regarding my photography excursions is how I often wish I had someone to talk to besides my dog Elmer. He is a fantastic listener, never interrupting my discourses, but it seems like he doesn't contribute much to our conversations. Perhaps he's shy or intimidated by my wealth of knowledge!

When I started on my photographic adventure in August of 2013, Elmer was there to share in the experiences. He patiently waited next to me while I shot photographs of a gully in northern Arizona for probably two hours. Okay, he wasn't real patient - since we were just starting out he didn't realize that I didn't like him wrapping his leash around the tripod legs. Eventually, however, after three years or so, he's gotten really good at staying away from the tripod.

The Yin*

Campsite at Pine Flat Campground, April 3, 2015
Oak Creek, Arizona

During that same three years I've found myself wishing for more human interaction in my photography trips. In 2015 I was able to get out close to every weekend and a lot of those were over-night trips. When I did set up camp somewhere I really found myself wanting someone to talk to during the times that I spent sitting at the campsite, especially if they could talk photography and even better if they could teach me about photography.

I have made new photography friends and especially enjoy learning from them. I fantasize about going on weekenders where I watch them get amazing photographs and see how they go about it. Can you imagine what would it have been like to tag along with Ansel Adams or Galen Rowell?

Instead, it has been me and Elmer for most of my photography outings. As you can see, he's exploring our campsite in the image above. And, on a side note, he's also the only one that sits in my studio room at home while I process the images. Well, one or more of my other three dogs might join in at times. Elmer, however, is always there beside me; he got his name from Elmer's Glue - he's white and he sticks with me.

The Yang*

I have tried going out with one or more photography friends on various trips, all of which were just day trips. I've invited photographers on overnight trips too. I've had one person accept an invitation in three years for a short visit to Canyon Lake. I had another outing for some night photography that a couple of friends accepted. That's 2 outings with 3 people in 3 years.

On the other hand, I've accepted invitations from others and gone out with them to shoot places or things they were interested in. I've even looked into local photography groups and tested the waters with one to shoot the Perseid Meteor shower.  I have had or tried some "group" outings. And, I have enjoyed some of the discussions I've had during those shared experiences.

Channeling my Inner Hermit

While I still go back and forth on this issue, I really think that I end up producing more when I'm alone. I have read online, for example in a DP Review forum discussion, how a number of other photogs gravitate to this conclusion as well.

While it's fun to talk about camera and other equipment, even when I've been out with others I find that we don't set up our tripods next to each other. There are no 3-legged bonding moments.

Personally, when I'm shooting, I like to concentrate on what I'm doing. Perhaps it's because I'm getting older and have a hard time multi-tasking, especially compared to when I stood Officer of the Deck watches in the Navy. I have the exposure and composition considerations going through my head when I'm looking through the view finder. I have a hard time dealing with distractions at those moments, especially if the shot is tricky at all like when shooting the moon or milky way.

When I've been with groups I've found that either someone else is right where I want to shoot from or they're not at all where I want to shoot from so I walk away. They're either talking when I want to concentrate or they're concentrating when I want to talk. They're shining bright flashlights around at night when I'm doing a long exposure. They want to go on a trip to shoot mid-day wildlife while I want to shoot early morning sunrise landscapes.

Me at Seal Rock, Oregon, 8:52 PM

It could be that there is someone that shoots exactly like I do and is willing to get out of the house when I do for as long as I do. But that would be like finding the perfect spouse!

I enjoyed myself last year when I was on the Oregon coast. I could stay on the beach in the dark and cold until I no longer wanted to shoot and when I left no one was complaining that it was too soon or too early to leave.

I can take a break to eat when and where I want or decide to only eat the Jolly Ranchers and jerky I normally have in my Explorer. I can decide to call it a night and settle in somewhere at any time or I can decide to drive around the next bend to see what is waiting.

I think it might be good to go on a trip with another photog if they drove themselves and if we tried to meet at some point during the middle of the day. But I like to shoot sunrises and sunsets and night shots. I'll shoot mid-day if there's nothing I can do better, such as when I'm travelling and I'll only be at a certain location during the day like when I drove along US 395 beside the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada last September. I was in Lone Pine during mid-day only. I didn't even take my DSLR out of its case. That kind of sucks too, because I liked Lone Pine more than any of the other towns along Highway 395 for some reason.

I'll keep extending invitations for photography trips once in a while but with the response I've had, I've kind of quit doing much of that. Likewise I may accept an offer once in a while to go with someone else when they ask. But because I tend to prefer wandering off by myself anyway, I'm just not that excited about invites. I like sharing my photographs but I think that the process of capturing them is more of a private thing. Well, I will likely take my dog Elmer!

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* In Yin and Yang, Yin refers to the dark or cloudy while Yang refers to the bright or sunny.