Real collecting happens very slowly and in stages. There are collectors who buy something in large quantities or even buy an entire collection at once, but in this case the very process of searching and admiring what they have obtained is lost.
I collect a lot of things: interesting rocks, fossils, gum liners with cars, pocket calendars...
And now there is a whole collection of Turbo inserts on sale for quite serious money at once, for example...It's boring. When I was a kid, I used to collect them, buy them at the store, exchange them with friends, and even find them on the street...It was really exciting.
Right now, collecting is all about who has the most money...
I wanted to say that I also collect my photos, but not only the pictures themselves, but also places and themes.
I'm putting different graphic themes in a separate folder as a collection.
I also like to highlight a certain theme in street photography and photograph only in that direction.
For the most part, the collecting process takes place in the head.
A year ago, I highlighted a topic like people on phones. Now they are people with umbrellas.
You can sit down at a table with a piece of paper and a pen and make a huge list of various topics, and then go and shoot. It's simple....but it's not interesting, it doesn't fit into my picture of collecting, where everything is done in stages, gradually, to my liking.
That is, the topic should be to your liking, if desired, it should arise on its own and then result in a photo essay.
And if you make a list and follow it, it will be like completing a soulless technical task, as well as buying the entire collection of something at once.
This is what happens with dugouts: I could travel around the entire region in a year and photographically capture all the places with cellars.
But I act according to my heart, namely, I go to some place when there is a sincere desire to visit among the vegetable stores, and not a desire to close the list of places as soon as possible.
...I photographed people with umbrellas three years ago and since then I have not returned to this topic.
Cyclists may be the next topic, as they have been stealing my attention for a long time.
Only what steals attention can be considered a topic and revealing it will be the most honest and sincere way to add to the collection.
There are times when some short topic steals attention for a very long time and drags out the project. Example: dugouts and night yards.
Night Yards is a completed project. Dugouts are active.
In general, if at least something steals your attention, then it's already very good!
It happens when people who are photographers have been looking for themselves for a long time and can't find them.