dave lackey
Veteran
Oh my, yes, in a chaotic world. I am reminded of the quote from a time long ago:
Paraphrased from memory;
“Life is simple. But humans insist on making it complicated.”
This topic could be discussed for millennia.😮 But in my real world, searching for the simple life is a journey, an adventure. A quest for our own happiness, in balance.
Over the past decade or so, somewhat unaware of the source of many of our stresses in life, our life in the suburbs has evolved in ways that apparently have been forgotten. Analog vs. digital? In some ways… yes.
Having been isolated thoughout the pandemic, we relied on our online presence for buying everything from food and clothing to communications. It is still a sensible way of life when things are in balance. However…We humans are dependent on in-person human connections. Virtual meetings and FaceTime are poor substitutes and are harmful to a degree.
Other problems with being housebound are also socially related. Family members and friends passed away and we lost them forever without spending quality time with them. We lost so many things, like the simple pleasures in life. Some of these we have re-acquired are:
1. Daily walks
2. Listening to vinyl records and local radio.
3. Picnics
4. Gardening
5. Restoring older possessions for use including our cars. (More on that later!)
6. Fly fishing
7. Family visits
8. Turning off the TV and ubiquitous screens on our electronic devices
9. Acoustic guitar
10. Reading books
11. Film photography and developing
12. Learning a different language
13. Writing letters, notes and journals
14. Fountain pens
15. Manual typewriters
And the list goes on… including watching the sunrise every morning.
Stresses have been reduced by balancing our needs and dependency on high tech and electronics with simple things. But it can be frustrating as modern life seems to be trending toward extremes everywhere.
Example: is it even possible to buy a new car or a simple pickup truck with little more than 4 wheels, a manual transmission, air conditioning, and a radio? It is after all a transportation mode, not a life pod imprisonment chamber … not for me anyway.
I don’t need or want internet connections or all the current “bells and whistles” in a car! I certainly don’t want to pay for it! It is impossible to buy just a simple car. So, I maintain our current vehicles in pristine condition and I have no plans for replacing them. I’m good with that!
Like the simple and everlasting Leica M2 I currently use, I am not planning to continue participating in planned obsolescence or complicating my life unless it is necessary. There is a place for everything in life. But for me, I don’t need “everything”! 😂
How about you?😇
Paraphrased from memory;
“Life is simple. But humans insist on making it complicated.”
This topic could be discussed for millennia.😮 But in my real world, searching for the simple life is a journey, an adventure. A quest for our own happiness, in balance.
Over the past decade or so, somewhat unaware of the source of many of our stresses in life, our life in the suburbs has evolved in ways that apparently have been forgotten. Analog vs. digital? In some ways… yes.
Having been isolated thoughout the pandemic, we relied on our online presence for buying everything from food and clothing to communications. It is still a sensible way of life when things are in balance. However…We humans are dependent on in-person human connections. Virtual meetings and FaceTime are poor substitutes and are harmful to a degree.
Other problems with being housebound are also socially related. Family members and friends passed away and we lost them forever without spending quality time with them. We lost so many things, like the simple pleasures in life. Some of these we have re-acquired are:
1. Daily walks
2. Listening to vinyl records and local radio.
3. Picnics
4. Gardening
5. Restoring older possessions for use including our cars. (More on that later!)
6. Fly fishing
7. Family visits
8. Turning off the TV and ubiquitous screens on our electronic devices
9. Acoustic guitar
10. Reading books
11. Film photography and developing
12. Learning a different language
13. Writing letters, notes and journals
14. Fountain pens
15. Manual typewriters
And the list goes on… including watching the sunrise every morning.
Stresses have been reduced by balancing our needs and dependency on high tech and electronics with simple things. But it can be frustrating as modern life seems to be trending toward extremes everywhere.
Example: is it even possible to buy a new car or a simple pickup truck with little more than 4 wheels, a manual transmission, air conditioning, and a radio? It is after all a transportation mode, not a life pod imprisonment chamber … not for me anyway.
I don’t need or want internet connections or all the current “bells and whistles” in a car! I certainly don’t want to pay for it! It is impossible to buy just a simple car. So, I maintain our current vehicles in pristine condition and I have no plans for replacing them. I’m good with that!
Like the simple and everlasting Leica M2 I currently use, I am not planning to continue participating in planned obsolescence or complicating my life unless it is necessary. There is a place for everything in life. But for me, I don’t need “everything”! 😂
How about you?😇
dave lackey
Veteran
Images forthcoming…😇
No batteries required:
No batteries required:
dave lackey
Veteran
No batteries required:
D
Deleted member 65559
Guest
No batteries
D
Deleted member 65559
Guest
No batteries here either....
dave lackey
Veteran
A walk in the park;
dave lackey
Veteran
Beautiful!😃
dave lackey
Veteran
Delicious dinner ahead… no batteries here either!😂
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
A few weeks ago, I watched the movie "Mirror" by Andrei Tarkovsky. I didn't get it at all but kept watching it anyway. The reason for it were the images of the life in the suburbs, living in a wooden house. Reminded me of my childhood holidays, I could even smell the musty wood smell. I loved it but I wouldn't want my life now to be like that no matter the temptation.
I live a very frugal life, my car has a 1 litre engine and struggles a bit on the hills. My smart phone is not very smart (galaxy s7). My wife doesn't know how to switch on the TV- she only reads books. I watch movies on tv that i download from YouTube. When they call me to "upgrade" to cable TV and tell them this they think I am lying. We have never (ever) ordered a take away meal and since we have the kids we never went on a night out (with the exception of being on holidays at grandparents).
It's a miracle that my scanner and my laptop still switch on. By the way, I bought my laptop in 2011, battery is not working, I use it as a desktop. It has a significant amount of gaffer tape on it to keep it together. The most expensive thing in my house is probably my Nikon F5 with the AF nikkor 35f2.
But I don't feel like I am missing something. I like jumping on a plane 4 times a year and go on holidays. We eat out when we are there. And if the F5 breaks one day, I will go and buy an F6. I come from a working class background and so is my wife and we are brought up with having what we need. We can also have what we want but we don't find it necessary.
When I have a flare up of bad back and can't even bend to put my shoes on, then I keep adding things on the "essential" list. When life is "business as usual" I tend not to think too much about it. Although recently I saw a Seiko 5 for £40 and wondering if I really need it.
I live a very frugal life, my car has a 1 litre engine and struggles a bit on the hills. My smart phone is not very smart (galaxy s7). My wife doesn't know how to switch on the TV- she only reads books. I watch movies on tv that i download from YouTube. When they call me to "upgrade" to cable TV and tell them this they think I am lying. We have never (ever) ordered a take away meal and since we have the kids we never went on a night out (with the exception of being on holidays at grandparents).
It's a miracle that my scanner and my laptop still switch on. By the way, I bought my laptop in 2011, battery is not working, I use it as a desktop. It has a significant amount of gaffer tape on it to keep it together. The most expensive thing in my house is probably my Nikon F5 with the AF nikkor 35f2.
But I don't feel like I am missing something. I like jumping on a plane 4 times a year and go on holidays. We eat out when we are there. And if the F5 breaks one day, I will go and buy an F6. I come from a working class background and so is my wife and we are brought up with having what we need. We can also have what we want but we don't find it necessary.
When I have a flare up of bad back and can't even bend to put my shoes on, then I keep adding things on the "essential" list. When life is "business as usual" I tend not to think too much about it. Although recently I saw a Seiko 5 for £40 and wondering if I really need it.
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
I have to live and work, commute trough Covid. Can't visit my parents and they were gone without me.
But I have family to care for. Me and wife aren't politicians, managers or government workers. We are both essential services workers. She contracted virus through workers who were younger and from more crowded places.
Three adults at our home in total. I had long time to recover while working.
They have dumped entire news channel at our department with no department expansion.
It is Sunday and I'm on fully packed train for work. Alone on site today to deal with post power lost at hundred channels facility. I have Leica X2 in the bag. No time to waste it on film anymore. No interest in film either. My digital cameras works way better than flaky film Leicas.
But I have family to care for. Me and wife aren't politicians, managers or government workers. We are both essential services workers. She contracted virus through workers who were younger and from more crowded places.
Three adults at our home in total. I had long time to recover while working.
They have dumped entire news channel at our department with no department expansion.
It is Sunday and I'm on fully packed train for work. Alone on site today to deal with post power lost at hundred channels facility. I have Leica X2 in the bag. No time to waste it on film anymore. No interest in film either. My digital cameras works way better than flaky film Leicas.
Attachments
D
Deleted member 65559
Guest
Still no batteries.....
D
Deleted member 65559
Guest
No batteries in the "flaky film Leica" 
either...
either...
shawn
Veteran
Battery...
... but not essential.
... but not essential.
dave lackey
Veteran
Gotta love an X2…simple enough for anything.👍
D
Deleted member 82967
Guest
A bit retro: raw only - no flash - single point AF - 1.7 crop - 3.4 MP - 2268x1512px - over 100 ISO a waste of time - 9 EV DR - 1.8" LCD, no live view, no touch-screen, etc.
D
Deleted member 65559
Guest
still working, original bellows w no pinholes.... 1938
Bob Michaels
nobody special
Is not all of this discussion just one point along the continuum where another step is to record nothing but only see, hear, smell once at that time and later simply remember the way it was?
jbielikowski
Jan Bielikowski
D
Deleted member 65559
Guest
Yes, that's one way of looking at it. But many of the posts refer to one or another of the numbered items on Dave's Essentials list.
12. Learning a different language
PHP, HTML, Javascript, and C++ in the last year.
PHP, HTML, Javascript, and C++ in the last year.
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