What Should I Do?

[Bryant_Tsu]

Hey everyone! Bryant here,

I've been a member of the forums for 11 months, I've liked my experiences and met a lot of cool people on the forums, but I may "change up the gears" a bit.

I'm becoming increasingly busy with projects and whatnot. That means I have little time to practice magic or cardistry. Now, I've lost my creative drive with magic and cardistry (as sitting down creating tricks takes a lot of time, and may yield nothing), but I have NOT lost my interest in the two. Both are fun to perform for others (and justify the need for a 300+ deck collection).

Recently, I've found more interest in photography and notice I have the desire to put in time shooting photos. Now these aren't the types of pictures seen on my instagram account, but rather scenery and nature photography (this doesn't mean I mind taking pictures or cards, just that I'd choose other subjects over a deck of cards.)

Now this brings me to my proverbial "fork in the road". I can either continue down path A where I practice and buy magic on a intermittent basis and continue to grow my card collection, or I can use my limited funds to buy a serious camera and lens to jump further into photography.

The dilemma is I like both magic/cardistry and photography. Magic is fun and amazes others through wonder and cardistry is captivating with the knacky tricks and displays most people never dream of. On the other hand, photography also amazes others by displaying and preserving the beauty the world has.

I have a spending budget of lets say $2,000 that I never touch. I can use this to last me a looong time with magic/cardistry/card collecting or I can use it on a camera in which case I may be able to use $3000 on a camera like this or this.

What should I do? If I continue down my current path you can bet I'll be here one year from now, but if I jump deeper into photography I may check in once in a great while and reduce my spending on magic/cardistry/card collecting closer to $0.

You all are part of an awesome community and any advice on making a decision is welcome. I will respond to this thread later on in which I'll either be saying "Goodbye for now, thanks for the memories!" or "I'm in it for the long haul!"

Regards,
-Bryant

 

[RealityOne]

Life isn't an "either or" situation. Why can't you do both? Neither requires an all or nothing commitment. If you do both, I suspect that the time spent on each will vary over the course of a year. Also, sometimes focusing too much on something results in burn out -- it no longer becomes fun.

Learning magic doesn't have to be expensive. Get a bunch of books and work through them. The Art of Astonishment books run $100 for all three and they will give you at least a year's worth of material.

As I've said before, creating tricks is what makes a magician. Peforming magic is what makes a magician. If you focus on learning material that you will perform, rather than trying to create material, you will waste less time.

My advice is to get the camera. Explore something new. Enjoy taking pictures. But keep up with the magic and cardistry -- maybe less than before. Try to perform more. Accept that it isn't necessary to get every new trick, DVD or deck of cards to be considered a magician or cardist. You are defined by what you do, not what you buy. As I've posted in another thread, I really don't pay attention to the newly released material but focus on reading books and buying materials only for effects I intent to put into my shows.

 

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

It's perfectly okay to take a temporary hiatus. Remember, you've been buying decks and magic like a hard-charger and may be experiencing burnout.

I had a bit of a burnout with cardistry for about 2-3 weeks from the end of July through most of August; wouldn't even touch a deck or think about doing it. I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Just go with the photography. Don't go crazy with it, but just enjoy it for a bit, come back when you can. It's all good.

 

[Josh Burch]

Money isn't an issue with either of these hobbies in my opinion. This isn't Lego, or video games. You don't just buy a magic trick or a camera, you INVEST in these things. Magic and photography both have the potential to pay you back and they should pay you back. About 5 years ago I told myself that I would not spend any money on magic that I did not make from magic. It took me about a year ad a half but with time I was able to slowly work up until magic had earned me more money that I ever spent on it, and now it is a part of my income. I really can't give it up now. The same thing could easily be said about photography, it can easily pay for itself in the same way that magic does, you just have to have the discipline to not purchase something you have not earned. If you follow that plan then soon money will not be an obstacle.

As was said above, you don't need to do either or. You don't need to be a one trick pony. It is always a good idea to look for other things outside of magic to inspire you and as a magician you will ave a unique perspective on photography. Look at Homer Liwag, he loves magic AND photography, and has been successful at both.

 

[Bryant_Tsu]

Good advice everyone. As I have less free time, I will stick with photography now and use the tricks I have already acquired. I can see myself perfecting certain ones like Counterfeit, and I'll probably keep a couple Break gimmicks on me. Based on how I planned this out, I should have bought my camera by May 2016 at the LATEST. None of the money I can spend will be used on non camera items (as I have to purchase essential gear such as the lens and an external flash). Therefore at the latest I can jump back into magic/card collecting (financially) in May where I'll buy The Art of Astonishment if it has that much content, and work foward with that book.

I wouldn't say I'm burnt out with magic, I'm just in a tight squeeze (financially) between my two hobbies. For example, I was considering purchasing some tricks and decks on Monday, which could total close to $100, but if I save that money I could use it towards a new camera. Within the next year I need a new camera as I will no longer have access to my current one (it's a long story which I won't go into) so I figured I should prepare and look around. I could either take a horizontal step and get a similar camera, or I could take a vertical leap and get something better (essentially my dream camera) and I figured if I'm spending a ton of money on this I shouldn't settle.

As for Josh's suggestion I'm not in a place where I feel comfortable monetizing my hobbies. Sure I could perform on the streets but a paying audience is a whole new ballgame. I could also sell the rights to my photos or framed photographs but I don't want to yet. If I ever find myself in a position where I don't mind selling my things I will take that option. One thing is for sure, the equipment that I am saving up for will last a long time and can pay itself off in the future should I choose to monetize, so that option is always available.

 

[CaseyRudd]

Hey Bryant,

Believe it or not I have been going through almost the same predicament. For years I've always wanted to get into cinematography/photography but never really wanted to take that leap of faith and splurge a good amount of money on a camera and extra equipment. I've always hesitated to spend so much money on a certain thing, taking into consideration other expenses that are a tiny bit more important. However, I plan on taking the plunge fairly soon and getting my camera, but let me leave you with this piece of advice, which I'm sure others may have said already.

You don't have to put every cent of your budget into just a camera. Keep in mind you will have to buy things like SD cards, tripods, extra lenses, etc. You also don't want to spend all of it on the camera plus equipment either, considering you are exploring this as a hobby to start out with. You can buy a much cheaper DSLR to get you started to see where it takes you. If you keep it in great condition you can always sell it if you wish to upgrade. You can buy the most expensive camera your budget will allow, but it's the lenses you get that can really transform your image into something great. The hardware in the camera helps but it only scratches the surface. You won't get much out of your expensive camera if your lenses don't do its job.

My advice is to start small (a DSLR under $1,000), get an extra lense or two, an SD card, and a tripod. See where that leads and see if it's something you want to continue pursuing. You don't want to blow all of your money away on something that you might lose interest in later on down the road. Like David said, don't give up on the magic/cardistry, either! With the money you save from going the smaller route you will still have a bit leftover to build your collection if you wish.

Hope this helps!

 

[Bryant_Tsu]

Hey Bryant,

Believe it or not I have been going through almost the same predicament. For years I've always wanted to get into cinematography/photography but never really wanted to take that leap of faith and splurge a good amount of money on a camera and extra equipment. I've always hesitated to spend so much money on a certain thing, taking into consideration other expenses that are a tiny bit more important. However, I plan on taking the plunge fairly soon and getting my camera, but let me leave you with this piece of advice, which I'm sure others may have said already.

You don't have to put every cent of your budget into just a camera. Keep in mind you will have to buy things like SD cards, tripods, extra lenses, etc. You also don't want to spend all of it on the camera plus equipment either, considering you are exploring this as a hobby to start out with. You can buy a much cheaper DSLR to get you started to see where it takes you. If you keep it in great condition you can always sell it if you wish to upgrade. You can buy the most expensive camera your budget will allow, but it's the lenses you get that can really transform your image into something great. The hardware in the camera helps but it only scratches the surface. You won't get much out of your expensive camera if your lenses don't do its job.

My advice is to start small (a DSLR under $1,000), get an extra lense or two, an SD card, and a tripod. See where that leads and see if it's something you want to continue pursuing. You don't want to blow all of your money away on something that you might lose interest in later on down the road. Like David said, don't give up on the magic/cardistry, either! With the money you save from going the smaller route you will still have a bit leftover to build your collection if you wish.

Hope this helps!

Hey Casey,

I've been a photographer longer than I've been a magician. I already have a entry level DSLR (which is kinda old), a tripod, 18-55mm and 55-300mm VR NIKKOR lenses, and close to 150 GB in SD cards. Now, I want to upgrade my equipment by purchasing a much better camera, an all-in-one lens (18-300mm VR), and a speedlight (which I don't own yet).

Thanks for the suggestion anyway.

-Bryant