In Praise of Laziness – Why Staying at Home Might Make You a Better Photographer

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In our work-obsessed civilisation, laziness is anathema. For centuries, philosophers, politicians and self-help gurus have criticised idleness. Solon, the founder of Athenian democracy, supposedly said that ‘laziness is the mother of all evil‘. One suspects that Solon had never owned a camera, or considered his carbon footprint.
Like everything else, photography has swallowed the productivity myth whole. We are encouraged to go to far-flung places. Far places. Exotic places. Ideally, places that require several flights, a special visa and a very large hat. The promise is always the same: interesting photos are taken elsewhere.

In unserer arbeitsbesessenen Zivilisation ist Faulheit ein Gräuel. Seit Jahrhunderten kritisieren Philosophen, Politiker und Selbsthilfe-Gurus die Untätigkeit. Solon, der Begründer der athenischen Demokratie, soll gesagt haben, dass „Faulheit die Mutter aller Übel“ sei. Man könnte vermuten, dass Solon nie eine Kamera besessen oder über seinen CO2-Fußabdruck nachgedacht hat.
Wie alles andere hat auch die Fotografie den Mythos der Produktivität vollständig übernommen. Wir werden dazu ermutigt, weit entfernte Orte aufzusuchen. Ferne Orte. Exotische Orte. Im Idealfall Orte, die mehrere Flüge, ein spezielles Visum und einen sehr großen Hut erfordern. Das Versprechen ist immer dasselbe: Interessante Fotos werden anderswo aufgenommen.

Our neighbouring church in Wiveton, a few years ago.

So, we travel. We return. We discover, usually while scrolling through Instagram in the airport lounge, that everyone else has taken the same photos. Same angle. Same light. The same sacred viewpoint, carefully marked by tripods and exhausted dreams. The only original thing we have contributed is extra pollution.
In a world obsessed with optimisation, efficiency and ‘seizing the day’, we would like to propose something radical: doing less. Or better yet, doing nothing — at least for a while. Let us raise a toast (or perhaps a cosy pillow) to laziness!

Also reisen wir. Wir kehren zurück. Wir entdecken, meist beim Scrollen durch Instagram in der Flughafenlounge, dass alle anderen die gleichen Fotos gemacht haben. Gleicher Blickwinkel, gleiches Licht. Der gleiche heilige Aussichtspunkt, sorgfältig markiert durch Stative und erschöpfte Träume. Das Einzige, an dem wir beigetragen haben, ist zusätzliche Umweltverschmutzung.
In einer Welt, die von Optimierung, Effizienz und „den Tag zu nutzen“ besessen ist, möchten wir etwas Radikales vorschlagen: weniger tun. Oder besser noch, gar nichts tun – zumindest für eine Weile. Lasst uns auf die Faulheit anstoßen.

Same photo with two layers of vertical and horizontal motion blur.

Who decided that good photography requires constant movement? That creativity can only happen when you’re jet-lagged? That if you’re not chasing light across continents, you’re failing somehow?
Our approach is scandalously unambitious. We stay at home. We work with the images we already have. We look again at the pictures already sitting on our hard drives, waiting patiently to be discovered. We experiment.
Working this way feels oddly liberating. No pressure to produce new images at all costs. No frantic collecting of visual souvenirs. Just curiosity, time, and the pleasure of discovering that a photograph doesn’t end when the shutter clicks.

Wer hat entschieden, dass gute Fotografie ständige Bewegung erfordert? Dass Kreativität nur entstehen kann, wenn man unter Jetlag leidet? Dass man irgendwie versagt, wenn man nicht quer über Kontinente dem Licht hinterherjagt?
Unser Ansatz ist skandalös ambitionslos. Wir bleiben zu Hause. Wir arbeiten mit den Bildern, die wir bereits haben. Wir schauen uns die Bilder, die bereits auf unseren Festplatten schlummern und geduldig darauf warten, entdeckt zu werden, noch einmal an. Wir experimentieren. Diese Arbeitsweise fühlt sich seltsam befreiend an. Kein Druck, um jeden Preis neue Bilder zu produzieren. Kein hektisches Sammeln visueller Souvenirs. Nur Neugier, Zeit und die Freude an der Entdeckung, dass ein Foto nicht mit dem Auslösen des Verschlusses endet.

The photo is tweaked with an adjustment layer levels and an overlay of textures.

A Lazy Technique for Restless Times

Eine bequeme Technik für unruhige Zeiten

For those familiar with SheClicks, the platform for female photographers, and the work of Janine Wilde, who uses multiple exposures combined with intentional camera movement (ICM) and teaches architectural workshops around the world, this is our homage to her cross-hatching style.
No travel required! No new files are needed. Just Photoshop and a willingness to experiment.

Für diejenigen, die mit SheClicks, der Plattform für Fotografinnen, und der Arbeit von Janine Wilde vertraut sind, die Mehrfachbelichtungen in Kombination mit bewussten Kamerabewegungen (ICM) einsetzt und weltweit Architektur-Workshops leitet, ist dies unsere Hommage an ihren Cross-Hatching-Stil.
Keine Reisen erforderlich! Es werden keine neuen Dateien benötigt. Nur Photoshop und die Bereitschaft zum Experimentieren.

  1. Open a straightforward photograph of a building in Photoshop.
  2. Duplicate the background layer.
  3. Apply horizontal motion blur to one layer.
  4. Apply vertical motion blur to the other.
  5. Change the blend mode to Darken.
  6. Merge.
Hovis Hill revisited.

That’s it. No flights. No gear upgrades. No more chasing the golden hour as if it owes you money. Just an old image, reimagined.
So, yes, call it laziness if you like. We prefer to think of it as resistance: Resistance to the idea that creativity must be exhausting, expensive and harmful to the environment. Resistance to the belief that the next great photograph can only be taken elsewhere.
Sometimes, the most radical thing a photographer can do is to stay at home.

Das war’s. Keine Flüge. Keine Ausrüstungs-Upgrades. Kein Jagen mehr nach der goldenen Stunde, als ob sie Ihnen etwas schuldig wäre. Nur ein altes Bild, neu interpretiert.
Ja, nennen Sie es Faulheit, wenn Sie möchten. Wir sehen es als Widerstand: Widerstand gegen die Vorstellung, dass Kreativität anstrengend, teuer und umweltschädlich sein muss. Widerstand gegen den Glauben, dass das nächste großartige Foto nur anderswo aufgenommen werden kann.
Manchmal ist das Radikalste, was ein Fotograf tun kann, zu Hause zu bleiben.

Siri and Selma, the wise Bookfayries, largely whispered this to us. Thank you very much.

Das haben uns Siri und Selma, die weisen Buchfeen, weitgehend zugeflüstert. Vielen Dank
Hanne-Dina 🙂 & 🙂 Klausbernd


© text and illustrations, Hanne Siebers & Klausbernd Vollmar, Cley next the Sea, 2026

134 thoughts

  1. Although I have never been a big fan of photo-manipulation techniques, I wholeheartedly agree with the point of this post. There is much wonder to be found and photographed close to home.

    Love to all from Beetley.

    Pete. x

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Pete

      I prefer photomanipulation to ‘normal photos’ as normal photos are all the same. As you know, I live here surrounded by wildlife photographers, and I find it utterly boring to look at a picture of some bird or otter or whatever. Even when the bird is rare, it doesn’t make it an interesting picture. Most of the pictures in the net are not creative. Photomanipulation gives a picture an individual touch. Besides that, I admire how these photographers play artistically with the different computer programs. Nowadays, everyone can make a good picture (even I could do it), but I think the editing shows the quality of a picture.

      With love from the grey sea
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  2. Dear friends, what a striking of capture of Wiveton Church! The cheeky bookfayries take me by surprise over and over again. I’m not a photographer and don’t know anything about Photoshop but I certainly like the effect of the cross-hatching as you call it. How very appropriate for a church to be cross-hatched in this arty fashion.
    I have just started reading James Rebanks, “The Place of Tides”, which takes place in North Norway. Have you read it?
    Talk soon, take care.
    Klem
    Per Magnus

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Our dear friend Per Magnus

      What a coincidence, yesterday we met a neighbour who told us about this book. He really liked it.

      For us, working with the different programmes for editing pictures is an art like the brushwork in former times. It makes a picture interesting, and the alienation effect makes us see beyond our automatisms. That’s one reason that modern art uses it that often. It’s like Brecht’s V-Effect (alienation effect). You remember the lectures we attended about Brecht’s theoretical writings

      Do you have lots of snow on Svalbard? We don’t have any. Therefore, we go to the Peak District in a couple of days for a little holiday of a fortnight. We hope to have some snow there. We are thinking of having a big holiday going to the high Arctic, Greenland, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, at the end of this year. We’ll consult you about it, and we may meet on Svalbard.

      With lots of love from the little village next to the big sea
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  3. A wonderful post to start this spring. There are so many wonders, right in front of us, most folk just don’t see them, but here you are exploring the world just around the corner. Don’t become trapped indoors though, Covid and lock-downs have certainly changed me and it’s not for the better. Does Hanne paint? The last picture of Wiveton church reminds me of a Turner! Have a happy springtime together. 🙇‍♂️💓🙇‍♂️

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Ashley

      No, Hanne doesn’t paint, but she makes collages on paper and with the computer.

      Turner was my first association, too, when I saw these pictures.

      We always have to lure Kb out of his reading chair. For him lock-down was heaven. Nobody asked him to go out. But he gets better now. He does his little walk daily and enjoys it.

      Thanks
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Very beautiful photos, I love them! I very rarely leave Las Vegas so the only photos I take are in the Mojave Desert. Travel isn’t as fun as it used to be for me as I age so being home is where I want to be.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear John

      Thank you very much for liking Dina’s pictures.
      Indeed, there is so much interesting to photograph just a few steps from where we live that we are happy that we don’t have to travel. Well, nevertheless we do. As we don’t have any snow and ice here will have a little holiday in couple of days up north.

      Thank you very much
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      P.S.
      Kb is like you. Being home is the place he wants to be. Age …

      Liked by 1 person

  6. I applaud that and completely agree. Seek and you shall find, as the saying goes. There is a treasure on the hard drive to be retrieved and let creativity lay its hands on. Search locally but work globally!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  7. I agree that some of the best photos may emerge just a few steps from home. I’m not one for post-processig – not yet. Maybe it’s a skill I’ll be inspired to take up later – but it looks as though it might consume time I don’t seem to have at the moment. Happy snapping close to home!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Margaret

      You are right, this editing takes a lot of time. First of all, to learn it. Hanne had a teacher who is a digital artist, and she worked with him for years. And secondly, the post-processing takes a long time. For some pictures, Hanne needs many days to make them interesting and arty. Fortunately, we are in a position where we have enough time.

      Thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  10. I enjoyed your post and you got me thinking, which brought me to the photographer’s eye. Like a writer’s voice. It’s unique. All their own. Unreproducible by all those IG wannabes. That special photographer knows exactly the moment/angle/emotion to catch.

    No argument about avoiding flights and lines and crowds though!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Jacqui

      Actually, this alienation effect, which makes something that’s familiar strange, comes from Brecht’s theoretical writings about writing. It should prevent the recipient’s emotional identification to encourage critical reflection. An alienated artefact lets us understand the object beyond our automatism. It’s basic in modern art as in writing, painting, photography etc. It prevents cliches as well.

      Of course, it’s fun to play with different programs. And when producing a picture or text is fun it’s very likely that’s fun for the recipient as well.

      Thanks for your comment
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Fantastisch! Your reinterpretation of some old photographs is excellent, and seriously creative. alas i now no longer use Photoshop, no longer have fine motor control, no longer have th kind of patience neeeded for some creative endeavours….But Ii shall see what I can achieve

    Liked by 1 person

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  13. Das sind sehr schöne und auch kluge Überlegungen, wobei Reisen in andere Länder zumindest für mich in erster Linie mit meinem großem Interesse an Land, Leute und Kultur begründet ist und erfahrungsgemäß hat auch ein jeder seinen ganz eigenen Blickwinkel… nicht nur beim fotografieren.😉
    Da ich selbst auch immer wieder mal gerne, passennd zum Beitrag im Blog mit meinen Fotos “spiele”, begeistert mich hier gerade eure Kunst, auch wenn das Bild der Hovis Hill meinen Augen etwas Probleme macht.
    Liebe Grüße von Herzen zu Euch auf die schöne Insel.🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Liebe Hanne

      Für uns ist das ein wenig anders; das Reisen hat für uns seine Magie verloren. Das heißt aber nicht, dass wir völlig auf das Reisen verzichten. Aber Fernreisen finden wir heutzutage nur fürchterlich. Jedoch in ein paar Tagen fahren wir für zwei Wochen in den Peak District auf der Suche nach Schnee und Eis, die uns hier leider wohl für immer verlassen haben. Und für Ende des Jahres planen wir eine Reise in die Hoch-Arktis, Svalbard, Grönland, Jan Mayen. Also ganz so asketisch sind wir (noch) nicht geworden.

      Mit Bildern zu spielen und sie im Sinne des Verfremdungseffekts zu verändern macht Spaß und lässt die ewig gleichen Bilder wieder individuell werden.

      Mit lieben Grüßen vom Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  15. Thank you for the tip on photo manipulation. I don’t have Photoshop, but I have a knock-off program that may allow me to do the same, so I’ll give it a try.

    As for laziness, I think it’s deserved every so often. One of the goals in life is to enjoy ourselves, and a bit of idleness is perfectly acceptable in my opinion. Especially with a good book and a warm cup of tea.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Richard

      We wish you good luck with manipulating your photos. You’ll see it’s fun.

      For us, idleness is similar: sitting in our favourite reading chair with a good book and a drink.

      Keep warm and happy
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Vielen Dank, liebe Ute, für deine freundlichen Worte.

      Wir glauben, die Kreativität beim Fotografieren liegt heutzutage in der Bildbearbeitung. Mit einer guten digitalen Kamera kann jeder nette Bilder machen. Kein Problem. Aber aus den Fotografien etwas Sehenswertes zu machen jenseits des Gewohnten, darin liegt die Kunst.

      Mit lieben Grüßen vom Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Danke dir, Klausbernd. 🙂
      Schade ist nur: Ich benutze für die Bildbearbeitung nicht photoshop, sondern paintshop pro von Corel. Und die Anleitungen, ein Bild so zu bearbeiten, wie ihr es beschrieben habt, fällt mir schwer, bzw. ich bekomme es nicht hin. Denn folgende Befehle:
      Open a straightforward photograph of a building in Photoshop.
      Duplicate the background layer.
      Apply horizontal motion blur to one layer.
      Apply vertical motion blur to the other.
      Change the blend mode to Darken.
      Merge.
      …sind ja in meinem Programm wohl leider anders benannt, so dass ich sie nicht finden kann. :-/
      Anyway – der Input ist jedenfalls geweckt! 🙂
      LG Bea

      Like

    • Liebe Bea

      Hanne benutzt hauptsächlich Photoshop & Lightroom und Luminar – auch weil das professioneller Standard ist. Das hilft beim Austausch.

      Liebe Grüße vom Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  20. I’m of two minds about this. I take the large majority of my nature photographs close to home. True, some subjects become routine, and I find myself seeking new ways of portraying them, but I keep coming up with images that I find worthy. On the other hand, there’s the excitement that comes with new places that have different different species and often landscapes of a different type and on a grander scale than what’s available at home.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Steve

      We are more concerned with the quality of the image than with the object depicted. The images are similar, whether they show a bird or a lion. We have seen it all before. Similarly, the polar regions are photographed in the same way as deserts. We do not need new objects, but new ways of photographing objects.

      Thanks for your comment
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Hi Mike

      As I just answered Steve (just above), if you don’t see photography as documentary than the photographed object isn’t that important, but the way it’s photographed. We have seen pictures of churches in evening light before, that’s nothing new. New is the way of editing. A picture like the first one can be produced by everyone with a good camera. The art of photography is the way of editing a picture.

      Thanks & cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I would be proud if I’d taken that first photograph and happily hang it on my wall. but those other images are just a blur to me and would be confined to the bin I’m afraid. We will have to agree to disagree I think. Sorry!

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hi Mike

      I was brought up with modern art, and my sister is a specialist in modern art in the biggest German museum for modern art, so I am accustomed to the alienation effect of temporary art. In my lectures about aesthetics, I was always struggling against the misconception that beauty is subjective (I wrote a blog post about it https://fabfourblog.com/2021/01/12/beauty/). With a good camera, everyone can make such a picture as the first one – even I 😉 I have seen such pictures quite often. Well, they are nice, but no more or less. It’s what we are used to looking at, just conventional. But those other pictures are special; they break our expectations and automatism.

      Thanks & cheers
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • I think even you would agree though that not all art is good. (You should see some of my drawings!) And yes, whilst the original picture may be just a photograph, which anyone standing in the same place with a reasonable camera could take, I find it much more pleasing to my eye than the other images. But it would be a strange world if we all liked the same thing!

      Liked by 1 person

  24. What a brilliant post!! I agree wholeheartedly that there’s something quietly freeing in the idea of staying put and looking again. I believe that it is trusting that what we already have can still surprise us. I love the reminder that creativity doesn’t always come from movement or accumulation, but from attention, time, and a willingness to experiment. Your approach feels less like “doing nothing” and more like giving space for images to keep becoming, long after the shutter has clicked. Sending much love and many hugs to our dear friends, the Fab Four of Cley!!!!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Our dear friend Rebecca

      One of the problems is that every animal and plant, every landscape and every city is already many times photographed. But what makes digital photography special is the way how we edit a picture. The object is not that important, but the style. And, of course. it”s fun to play with the different programmes. How the Dutch masters played with their pigments, so we play nowadays with the pixels. We don’t need to travel to other places.

      Wishing you a GREAT rest of the week and thanks for your comment.
      Love and hugs
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  27. Vive la difference . . . I may be taking the ten millionth photo of the Eiffel Tower but it is how I see it at the time and how I shall remember it from my photo . . . with no ideas from ‘clever’ programmes needed . . .

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Hi Eha

      The ten million photographs of the Eiffel Tower – and there are surely more around – are all quite similar. They are predictable.

      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  28. The last image, Hovis Hill revisited, reminds me of a Japanese print.

    Perhaps every photographer, amateur or professional, should do an exercise in photographing within 50 metres of their back door at home. Whether it be country, city, suburb or beach.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • We absolutely agree, dear Linda.

      It was boredom that made us play around with different programmes, and we surprised ourselves with what came out of it.

      Thank you very much 🙏 🙏
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  32. Some really good ideas. Thank you. I like both home and away but photographs for me are a story fit not of much value in ‘production’ terms or equipment, lighting , lens as much as I admire the products of this in others with professional know how.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  33. Excellent. I do agree about taking the same thousands of pictures. I’m also increasingly wary of ‘overtourism’. I do respect everyone’s right to travel and ‘see’ far away places, but crowds do tire me. (Gettin’ old, I know)

    Last year we did two major travels, one to Asia, one to Europe. I’m wondering whether to stay at home this year… Who knows.

    Take good care of yourselves…

    Brian

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  35. I love everything about this post! I have thousands of photos, just waiting to be rediscovered and maybe reimagined. I work in Lightroom for editing, so I’ll try some of your suggestions. Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  37. It’s certainly become very clear to me over the years that my best photography happens in my home region. Since I live in the American West, “home region” can arguably encompass a quite lot of ground, but still… And especially as my photography trends more and more towards the intimate and abstract, I really have to question how I can justify the expense and impacts of travel for the sake of images I could make with less stress near my home. It gets awkward, though, since I do still have some travel ambitions, but I’m wrestling with the realization that my reasons for wanting to travel do not realistically include serious artistic photography.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Jackson

      Indeed, we feel like you. We have the feeling that the more our photography gets artistic, the less we need to travel to take pictures.

      Thank you very much 🙏 🙏
      Wishing you a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  38. Ja, es muss alles mehrfach belichtet werden…finde ich, dann erkennt man erst was…

    Ihr habt in diesem Blogbeitrag mehrere Sätze formuliert, die ich abschreiben und an meinen Wänden aufhängen werde.

    Der Faulheits-Glückscode, gibt´s schon als Taschenbuch? Oder “Faul war gestern- heute: Self-Care” (das holpert, kann man so nicht nehmen…)

    Cool: “Und Zwei zum Sehen ” (wie beim Pokern) oder “Augen auf – was siehst du wirklich?!” (geht auch nicht)

    Bilder tauchen aus dem Nichts auf, auch wenn man zuhause bleibt! So isses!! (nur nicht für andere sichtbar…das ist ja dann doof…)

    Herzliche Grüße vom Pialein, die jetzt nicht nur Tanzpädagogin, sondern auch Tagesmutter ist, bissel wie Mary Poppins fühlt sich das an…schwupps – werden die Treppenschutzgitter an die Wände gezaubert…(wer´s glaubt)

    Kinder dürfen heutzutage alles, habe ich im Kurs gelernt, also so ziemlich alles, man darf ihre “Bildungserfahrung” nicht stören, heiliger Aussichtspunkt, das wird noch was….Prüfungsthema war u.a.: wählen Sie drei prägnante Sätze aus der Pädagogik und gestalten Sie ein Impulsevent dazu. Ich wählte u.a. “Einladen, ermutigen, inspirieren” Der Auto ist aber inzwischen auch ganz schön k.o…

    Vielleicht würde ich doch noch das Buch “Lichtverschmutzung” schreiben wollen…mal sehen…

    Happy Weekend!!!! Gutes Ausruhen!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Guten Abend, liebes Pialein

      Schön wieder von dir als neu gewordene Tagesmutter zu lesen. Also Siri und Selma durften längst nicht alles bei uns. Das hätten wir viel zu nervig gefunden. Es gibt ja nicht nur ein Recht der Kinder, sondern auch eines der Eltern.

      Faulheit ist in unserer Gesellschaft völlig negativ belegt und das schon seit Jahrhunderten. Also sucht man ein neues Wort für diese Haltung und das soll ‘Self-Care’ sein. Erstaunlich, wie man mit einem Wort eine Haltung verschleiern kann. Wenn Kinder das sind, was man früher ‘ungezogen’ nannte, verschleiert man das als Bildungserfahrung. Also Siri und Selma hatten andere Bildungserfahrungen und sind damit sehr schlau geworden.

      Dann viel Glück mit dem Schreiben deines Buches über Lichtverschmutzung.
      Ganz liebe Grüße
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Und wiiiiiiie schlau die sind, erstaunlich!!! Einfach clever!!! Pausen sind gut!!! Manchmal mache ich Nachdenkpausen…oft…ich gestehe…

      Siri und Selma brauchen weniger Pausen, das ist klar. Manchmal kommen sie zu Besuch, pssst! Dann unternehmen wir Ausflüge mit dem neuen Dacia Jogger, 7 Sitze!

      Herzliche Grüße!

      …Tolle Fotos…krass, wie sich die Formen auflösen…

      Like

  39. Love this! 😎👏 It’s so true, and not something we often think about. We know our own neck of the woods like the back of our hands… but not so for others. What better way to show them than by creatively capturing our local favorite places? 📷 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  40. So true, and a refreshing read… ‘doing less’ in photography is a perfect recipe for improvement, as creativity will take over. And, it also involves one of my favorite pastimes… being lazy. Being lazy is actually when I feel I’m at my creative best, so it’s a perfect marriage of two ideas. There is also much truth about the ‘postcard’ shots that are the focus when I travel. I can’t tell you how many times, when I’ve framed up a shot, that I’ve wondered similar thoughts with what you wrote: “Same angle. Same light. The same sacred viewpoint, carefully marked by tripods and exhausted dreams…”

    For the past decade, I’ve wanted to attend an artistic post-processing course to understand Photoshop’s potential … and your Hovis Hill revisited photo is a perfect example of why I want to do this. Post-processing is an artistic continuation of seeing rather than an afterthought. I love this post, a future photo trip for me will definitely happen on the hard drive and in my imagination. Cheers to the Fab Four, 👩🏻‍🦳 👨🏻‍🦳 🧚‍♀️ 🧚, and the photos here are truly inspirational (closer to painting and poetry than any travel shot).

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thank you very much, dear Dalo.

      Years ago, when we looked at photos on the internet, we realised that the internet is full of similar photos. And because they are all similar, you only glance at them briefly. We thought that couldn’t be all there was to it, and so our artistic aspirations grew. Hanne then looked for a teacher who considered himself a digital artist. And so began the journey into a new way of photography, which Kb, Siri and Selma also find much better than the usual postcard photos. We realised that the art of photography lies in mastering editing programmes. What brushwork is to painting, mastery of editing programmes, including AI, is to photography.

      Thank you very much for your kind comment. With kind regards from the sea
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • For more than thirty years of my life, I had to travel worldwide, living in posh hotels and dining in fine restaurants on one hand, but also travelling rough as a student. Nowadays, travelling has lost its magic. It has degenerated into mass entertainment. One doesn’t need to go away to take interesting pictures. People go to Africa, and they all come back with similar pictures (lion eats zebra f.e.). It’s boring, isn’t it? With Asia and the polar regions, it’s the same.

      For us, the art of photography is nowadays the art of working with editing programmes inclusive AI.

      Thanks for commenting.
      Wishing you all the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  43. I love going to the bush and seeing animals. I like to take photographs while I’m there, capturing these amazing moments. Going to the bush helps the conservation effort as we pay to be there. I use my photographs to promote Southern African wildlife for conservation purposes. Visitors who come to see our wildlife are contributing towards their conservation. I also like staying at home so I have time to process my photographs and paint some of my photographs as acrylic paintings.

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    • Dear Roberta

      At ours, Dina is interested in photographing wildlife. Siri and Kb think that’s all the same. People coming back from Africa all took similar pictures, like a lion eating a zebra, etc. We have seen these pictures in National Geographic and similar magazines. Siri and Kb are more interested in arty photography. There, the style is more important than the object.

      Thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  44. Pingback: In Praise of Laziness – Why Staying at Home Might Make You a Better Photographer – Daily News N Blog

  46. Pingback: Email from WordPress this morning | FabFourBlog

  47. Very well said…as I sit at my computer, after trying different processing ideas on some photos I made yesterday about ten minutes from home. You can find beauty anywhere, even novelty! You just have to feel the wonder. 😉 Greetings to all of you from the West Coast of the US, and I’m sorry it’s been so long.

    Liked by 4 people

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    • Thank you very much, dear Lynn.

      We are just on holiday in the Peak District of England. Tomorrow we’ll go home again.

      With lots of love from England’s North
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  48. One of my personal favourites in this regard is to “tour your own neighborhood as though you’re a visitor”. You think you know the area until you treat yourself like you don’t. Invariably you end up saying to yourself, “Hmm! I had no idea THAT was around here!”

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  55. I love this perspective on photography! It’s a refreshing take on creativity no need to constantly chase new places or gear to make meaningful images. Staying home, revisiting old photos, and experimenting can lead to just as much, if not more, inspiration. It’s a great reminder that sometimes doing less can lead to more creatively and environmentally.

    Liked by 3 people

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  56. Many years ago, when I had just gotten my first DSLR and was learning how to use a “real” camera, I took a walk almost every day. 3 miles one way, then 3 miles back. Always the same route. I would take my camera along, and challenge myself to find one new & interesting photo each time. Of course the 3 miles is optional; looking at the same thing in new ways & making it interesting is the challenge. I only got a few “keepers” but I learned a lot trying & I stand by the drill.

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  57. Pingback: In Praise of Laziness – Why Staying at Home Might Make You a Better Photographer – Côté lumière, light side

  58. After years of chasing and worrying, and while a single parent, I found a second love and we retired together in 2021, while moving 900 miles north. It was nice to slow down and enjoy down time. We can travel more, but the hurry-up attitude rises its head and we have to remember this is OUR time. Wonderful post!

    And huge congratulations for being selected by WordPress for your efforts! 💖

    Liked by 1 person

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  59. Love this fresh perspective! Staying home and revisiting old images is a liberating, creative approach that challenges the “always-on-the-move” mindset. It’s playful, environmentally conscious, and a great reminder that the next great photo might already be on your hard drive.

    Liked by 1 person

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