Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

"Is photography your hobby or do you just happen to own a camera?" This question has brought out a very broad range of responses. I have not thanked each responder so here is a blanket thank you for the many areas that were mentioned.

Artster Loc: Venice, FL

Wikipedia defines Hobby as: "A hobby is a regular activity done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Participation in hobbies encourages acquiring substantial skills and knowledge in that area." I believe that someone that just owns a camera doesn't put as much effort into acquiring skills & knowledge as a person that has photography as hobby.

badapple Loc: Twin Lake, Michigan

Right on!

aellman Loc: Boston MA

I agree. I think the OP's title/subject is not workable.

10MPlayer Loc: California

Like any other hobby of mine, I drift in and out of how much time I devote to it. Lately I've been working on my golf game and for the last six months, maybe more, I've been working on getting better on the saxophone. Sax or any instrument takes everyday practice for an hour or more if you want to advance. And it has to be every day, every week for a long time to really become proficient. That limits the time available for other things.

I take the camera with me on trips and make sure to try to get some keepers but photography isn't something I do every day or even weekly right now. I've been working on putting together a book for printing my Netherlands pictures from April. It's mostly ready but the slow editing process isn't nearly as fun as the traveling to new places and looking for inspiration.

rick_n_wv Loc: Charleston WV

Hi, interesting topic. I think a lot of it is when it changes you from taking a picture to seeing the image before you push the button.

revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson

There's a difference?

BillyP Loc: Cedar Point, NC

Please answer that question for me... I can go a few weeks without taking a photograph but every day I am in Lightroom and Photoshop fine tuning photos. I am also reading manuals, taking online and courses at the community college... man I spend a lot of time on this "owning a camera".

Do I have a hobby or do I just own a camera? You tell me.

BillyP

James R. Kyle Loc: Saint Louis, Missouri (A Suburb of Ferguson)

==========

Yup! Agree.

OKay! Write down your ideas. (First Draft)

Read over what you wrote about the ideas of how you wish to convey your ideas to others. (Go to Re-Write phase.)

Grab a "thesaurus", and look up some ten dollar words to replace the mundane ones. (Makes anyone read smarter - like if you have some sort of a college degree in anything.) (This is the second draft.)

READ Over AGAIN...

Begin to cut out the "babble clutter", and smooth out the narrative. -- Then READ Over AGAIN...

When you have reached the point where you feel comfortable with what you have written thus-so-far. Delete it and go into "ReWrite"....

After three times of doing the above - and about 18 cups of coffee, and a half bottle of Scotch). You just might have something where your ideas as convincingly conveyed to others.

Good Luck - And remember to always make the wording that of a good compositional essay of pleasantness. ((The words you write may come back to bite you on your arse.))

Yeah! = You are on your own.

-0-

papaluv4gd Loc: durham,ct

ELNikkor, I love it.

Silverman Loc: Michigan

I am a 68 year old "Advanced Beginner" in DSLR Photography. I bought my first DSLR approximately 3 years ago, a Nikon D3300. I would consider myself to be a "Fair-Weather" Photographer, living in a northern State where temperatures get cold and Snow accumulation is sometimes ridiculous, I tend to hibernate inside my warm home. Now I do enjoy spending some of those Winter months in Florida, so that offers a whole new outlook on my Photography. I am starting to realize why their are so many Retiree's living full time in Florida. I enjoy Landscape and Nature Photography, a walk in the Woods, on a winding trail. Walk along a quiet Beach in the early morning, as the Sun begins another day.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Sounds like your hobby is postprocessing.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Like me, your hobby is photo editing. It's more fun editing your own than others, so you need to take pictures to feed your hobby.

kmpankopf Loc: Mid-Michigan; SW Pennsylvania

Last November I posted an answer to you question: for me.

If you are interested: https://kurtpankopfphotography.blogspot.com/2018/11/where-do-i-fit.html

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

Once more, thank you all for your inputs. I feel I should share with you my thoughts after reading all of the contributions. Here then is the preliminary draft of my article.
"Is photography your hobby or do you just happen to own a camera?"
A hobby is something you like to do, it is a pleasant way to spend your time, and generally on no particular schedule. You may have started it as a child and continued devoting time to it throughout your life or it might be something that you found interesting as an adult. For you the pleasure is in the doing; if you do it well and people express compliments about your work, so much the better. But whether you show your photos to others or not, whether you make money from the hobby or not, it is the creating of the photos that bring a certain joy to you. You may strive to improve your craft but not at a level of fanaticism. It is a gentle learning process, one which takes place at your own pace. New equipment generally adds another level of enjoyment … it’s nice to buy something – it’s like a gift to yourself, and it generally feels good. Your equipment offers you paths to improvement of your photos but you understand that the equipment are tools; the improvement must ultimately come from you. As for improvement, there may come a point where you no longer wish to learn more, or keep up with the technological changes that are ever present and that will be just fine for you. It is your hobby, to do with as you see fit.
If I had to pick one thing that a hobby must have in order to properly answer the topic question, I would say it was the time you spend with it. Generally, the more time you spend, the more you learn and the better you become … or not … and it doesn’t matter. Determining whether something is a hobby is not measured by how well you do it. If you do not spend time with your camera, you simply own a camera and occasionally take photographs with it. Time is the most necessary ingredient for something to be called a hobby, not skill or equipment.