Sunday Support Group: The S/G Index

You know, it struck me the other day that my "satisfaction/gratification index" in photography hasn't been particularly high lately. I been planning to try some film portraits last Spring and put the project off because of COVID-19, which was a bummer.

There are, of course, all sorts of ways that any particular interest can be satisfying and gratifying. I've heard of a lot of them over the years where photography is concerned. One guy I knew liked getting in his little airplane and going up in the air to take pictures. Another loved testing lenses. Another collected old view cameras. Some people take pictures, but that's far from the only way people enjoy photography.

Such things can be functional and purposeful or trivial and superficial—heck, I like "window" shopping, even (the window these days being the Internet, mainly)—that's one of the things I can find gratifying.

What I'm saying is that it's not really even connected to anything serious...necessarily. It's more like, are the old endorphins firing up? Are you getting the juice? You jazzed? Getting what you need?

I tried this: I stuck a number on it. From one to ten. I don't know if that would work for anybody else, but I seem to have little problem coming up with the number. I seem to have a sense for what I'm getting out of something. I know right where I am. Pool, for me, was up to a 9 earlier this year—I was playing a lot with friends, playing in a league, watching a lot of pool and snooker matches on YouTube, getting some coaching, practicing a lot, and just enjoying the heck out of it. (And I distinctly remember thinking to myself that nothing could stand in the way of that continuing—and then COVID-19 hit and that was that. Funny how we really can't anticipate what the future might hold. No matter how much we might imagine otherwise.)

Music just went from about a 5 to an 8 for me just by starting the free trials of Roon and Qobuz on my computer. I'm loving Roon. I've been getting to bed late because I can't drag myself away from the music.

Jazzed and juiced
As far as photography is concerned—always one of my top interests—if my S/G Index is at a 7 or higher, I'm fine. If it's a 6 or lower, something's gotta be done. That 6-to-7 juncture is the tipping point. A 6 or lower on the S/G Index means my hobby needs a B-12 injection, a little caffeine, some kind of infusion of interest. A pick-me-up.

Lately I'm fine—I shot a lot with the Panasonic GX9 (which I'm going to write about soon) and that did it; it got me out of the house and looking at the world and hunting that elusive next nice shot. I didn't do particularly well, but that kept the Index high enough. The GX9 has to go back to B&H tomorrow.

And looking at readers' prints for the Print Crits is also raising my S/G Index. I enjoy prints.

So I'm okay. Just gotta keep it above 6, which is the level at which the doldrums start to intrude. Whenever one of my main interests gets below 6, it's time for some kind of action.

Hope you're doing well with your own S/G Index in photography these days. If not, time to do something about it.

Mike

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

JOHN B GILLOOLY: "Great timing on this post for me. COVID-19 has me at a bit of a crossroads at the moment and it relates to this post. This lockdown has provided me with the opportunity and time for personal photography. I have really been enjoying documenting my world for personal pleasure—home, neighborhood, town, Boston and various places of interest as they look at this moment. My S/G Index for photography is very high: 9+.

"But there is another side that is quite scary. Commercial photography, at least the particular types of photography I do for my clients, has all but disappeared. Up until a couple weeks ago, I sort of kept the concern for the financial peril on the back burner because I was very optimistic that a great deal of the work would return in the fall. I am much less optimistic now. I'm 49 and this may indeed by a life-changing event in terms of my career in photography. I may need to reinvent what I do and how I derive revenue. That's a bit daunting."

Sroyon: "I also go through cycles on all my hobbies, but right now photography is about the highest it's ever been. I've never made any money from photography—even the idea didn't really cross my mind—until recently I sold a print (my first and only one so far) and ran a film developing workshop (pre-lockdown) as an Airbnb experience for which two people signed up. From this month on I'm getting some money to write for two film photography websites. It's only a small amount, but I used it to buy a used Minolta Autocord this month, and next month I'll buy some more paper for my makeshift home darkroom. Earning some cash, however little, to take photographs and write about it—something I like so much I would happily do it for free—is incredibly gratifying. Then again, you probably know all about it.  :-) "

Stephanie Luke: "I cheated and acquired two kittens! Since the heat of local summer has descended on us, I stay inside a lot at this time of any year, even before the pandemic. But having these two furry critters to watch is endlessly fascinating, and getting decent pictures of them as they race around and tussle with each other is a delightful challenge. I am shamelessly besotted, and I don't care what anyone else thinks! They have easily raised my number to an 8."

Mike replies: Cool. Kitty photography is not disreputable, merry jokes I've made about it in the past notwithstanding. Case in point, a famous little book called Ernie: A Photographer's Memoir by Tony Mendoza, a highly unlikely bestseller in both its printings. Tony set out to capture the character of his girlfriend's cat, and distilled a lot of work (play?) into a remarkable document. Thanks to Tony there are at least a few cat pictures in the permanent collections of august institutions such as MoMA and the Met. 

Aaron: "I've noticed that 'window shopping' for photography gear actually tends to lower my S/G index for photography (and I should know as I've done and do way too much window shopping for my own good). I think it gets me focused on what I don't have rather than being attentive to the amazing equipment and opportunities that I do have. And I also think that it allows me an unhealthy imagination about what will 'fix' my photography—the next camera or the next lens will do it! Except, of course, it doesn't."

Mike replies: An excellent thing to know about yourself! So you know one of the things not to do when you're trying to revitalize yourself.

Comments

[William Lewis]

Sitting at about 8. I'm really happy with my well used D7100 and the handful of manual focus Nikkors I've been able to buy silly cheap (~$800 over about 6 months for a D7100, 24/2.8, 35/2, 50/1.4, 105/2.5 & 135/3.5. :D ) Getting a bunch of landscapes that fit my taste in the genre.

My only desire is for a good printer so I can actually make prints but I can't afford it, so I window shop. Good enough for now.

Yeah, 8 sounds about right.

[John Krumm]

Yes, good post. I think I've been a 6 or lower the past few weeks. Need to get out more and spend time just looking at things and shooting. Did that yesterday and had a good time taking some shots I normally wouldn't. I can usually tell how my interest flows by the dates on my lightroom folders. If I see a number of folders dated close together, it means I am shooting more and rushing to process them. If I see folders with a couple weeks between them, then I'm usually shooting less and processing less.

[Stan B.]

One of the things I was anxious to do since first imbibing in digital image making was stitching photos into panoramics. Five years into it, it finally took Covid 19 for me to seriously attempt it since photo ops had diminished and I suspected the process itself would be rife with limitations- and it is. But I now have three panoramics I'm rather pleased with, three photos I would not have had otherwise, three photos that have paved the way to getting more in the future...

[John Camp]

I'm thinking porno selfies. Don't need anyone else, and it's sorta like portraiture, the lighting and all.

[Dan Khong]

Ah....the GX9. The micro 4/3 guy. Then the recent death of Olympus, the other champion of micro 4/3. We wait for your report and read in between the lines. Like deciphering the hieroglyphics, it might shed light into the future of micro 4/3.

[Jeff1000]

Being a long distance truck driver and all, and having gotten some fantastic landscape shots: the Sierra's in general, Mt. Whitney, Mono Lake, Mt. Shasta, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood, Joshua Trees in fog, Great Basin in Nevada--too many to remember--I've decided to turn my attention to casual candid portraits of my fellow road Dawgs. It really is quite a cast of characters, and their faces tell a story.

I think I'll switch from the Nikon Z6 to the Z50 with probably the 14-30 S fullframe lens (21-45mm equivalent). I like that the Z50 has a pop-up flash for daylight fill, and the crop sensor shouldn't be a liability for this application. Looking forward to it!

[TC]

I've always found it curious, this feeling of obligation to be interested and engaged in photography at any given moment. I hear so many people lamenting that they really should be "out shooting" (this goes way back, way before Covidian Times).

But photography has always been, even at its best, a side-product of other things in our lives. If you're a professional, you do the work you need to do, of course, but for everyone else: If you're not feeling into it, either for the moment or longer, it shouldn't be a mark of shame to grudgingly admit that. It's a simple reality; why not accept it and move on, for the moment or longer, to doing what makes you happy, whatever that may be? Ultimately, that is how photography will happen, if at all.

[Lynn]

I've taken up instant gratification. You can see some of it here https://www.rangefinderforum.com/rffgallery/showcollection.php?cid=10120

I'll return to my regular programming (95% b/w film, 5% color) when the novelty wears off.

For now, Instax gives me a daily happiness hit. There's something liberating and addictive about simple cameras and instant prints.

[Tex Andrews]

Ernie is the Odyssey and Iliad of cat photography, probably.

[Dogman]

Re: Kitty Photography.

Don't forget, Mike, one of your favorite photographers, Jane Bown, did a book of cat photos. Available cheap on Amazon.

[David Levingston]

RE: Cat photography. Don't forget Edward Weston's photos of his cats. He even published a book of them. https://www.amazon.com/Cats-Wildcat-Hill-Charis-Wilson/dp/B0006AR94E/ref=sr_1_1?

[JOHN B GILLOOLY]

jeff1000 that sounds like an incredibly rich topic to photograph. I envy your access into what i think would be a very difficult subject to enter. Ultimately, it begins with the access. Hopefully we can see some of that work at some point.

[Kodachromeguy]

Mike, during the last few months, having spare virus time available, I revived my 4×5" wood field camera. I have been cruising rural roads and photographing silos, old stores, faded towns, and old gas stations. My S/G index has definitely gone up. Sure, a large format camera is slow, expensive, not spontaneous, and does not allow spray and pray capture, but those fantastic big negatives! So much light, so much data. The keeper ratio has also gone way up.