geezer talk!

This thread reminds me years ago Joe started a geezer group on Flickr.
Because I'm not very active on Flickr I was going to forget it...but worthwhile to give a look at it.

robert
 
Love the Shawdows and Darks, Kirk!

shells%20n%20weeds.jpg
 
Perhaps I was not foolish concentrating on just image capture over the past decade with little regard for printing. I captured a decade's worth of gentrification and a disappearing NYC through redevelopment.

It likely will take many decades worth of printing and editing to complete this work. Perhaps it was wise to use and exploit my mobility as a resource, and put off printing like Kirk as solace for when age and mobility limits set in.

I know that if I have to leave NYC that I have the images to take with me.

Cal
 
I was never into LF, so all of my cameras could be carried on a strap on my shoulder. So at 66, I haven't given up anything other than an F4 with that ED 80 200 zoom, which I do not miss at all.
 
Well i have just got back from five days walking around the monuments in Washington DC, took a Hasselblad SWC/M, Rolleiflex 3.5F and a Nikon D300. Gave the nikon to the wife. The first day my hips were killing me, then my feet two days later. Noticed i was hardly using the Rolleiflex, so left her resting in the Hotel room after the second day. Hitting 60 this year has had many drawbacks but I was determined to get images of the monuments that would be wall worthy. Developing the films this afternoon and will be printing next month. The Super Wide Hasselblad lens was perfect for that city.
Like someone else said, I also need to reconvert some fat back into meat again. The thought of not being able to carry any of my Hasselblad collection around with me while on vacation, frightens me.
 
jmpgino said:
Like someone else said, I also need to reconvert some fat back into meat again. The thought of not being able to carry any of my Hasselblad collection around with me while on vacation, frightens me.
Click to expand...

J,

This young 28 year old who is a MMA fighter told me the older you get the more time one needs to train. At almost 60 I'm not in too bad a shape, but to stay lean, mean and youthful it does require constant and steady work.

I tend to take the stairs rather than the elevator, I walk 2 1/2 miles to and from work to save the $2.75 Metrocard fare, but most importantly for some basic minimum exercise, and then I hit the gym when I can. At this point it seems I need to hit the gym more to gain my youth back.

Also know that the stamina I one had when younger is diminished, and that for an hour of strenuous exercise requires additional sleep. Seems even more important to eat and sleep right as I age.

Anyways it requires lots of time and commitment to maintain quality of life as we age. We need to stay on top of keeping our health, and it in itself is a lot of work.

Cal
 
davidnewtonguitars said:
...
Forgetting stuff, people's names usually, has really caught me off guard.
Click to expand...

I've been experiencing some increased "absent mindedness" in recent years as well as my Geezerhood progresses.

I'm a reasonably fit 66 (BTW, I was at Forest Park HS, Class of '69) and find I can walk miles on reasonably level terrain (preferably paved). I walk 3/4 mile to work 5 days a week. I do have significant difficulty with any method of shooting from a low angle that requires any posture other than standing straight. The fully articulated rear panel on my Panasonic m43 camera is a great aid.

I can wear a light balanced backpack, and do on my daily commute, but I can't use a conventional shoulder bag or waist bag due to nerve and muscle issues. I had to abandon the classic "giant camera bag holding everything" way back in my late 30s. I can wear a light sling back with my Pany and a kit lens, but nothing heavier.
 
Like an old computer I get a "Blue Screen." My guess is that my hard drive is at capacity, and like an old computer I need to get "de-fraged." My thinking is slower, and like an old computer it seems like I have to search through more memory and sort though more data which takes more time.

I don't think this is really beyond normal aging, but I can also say I need to be more patient with myself because I am getting worse at multitasking and can't handle stress so well.

I kinda have to focus on only one thing or problem, but I believe I function on a higher level than when I was younger. For photography in particular I am a better Photographer due to my advancing age because of accumulated experience.

Basically my best advice is a simple life is best for aging and avoid stress as much as possible. Also know that I never knew anyone who had a complicated life that was happy.

Cal
 
I recently celebrated the 35th anniversary of my 39th birthday. My issues are not related so much to strength as to balance and hand tremors. I have to walk with a cane if I am going any distance. In the house and the yard I mostly use a Hasselblad 500 C/M on a Gitzo GT2542LS tripod. My favorite lens is the 120/4 Makro. I use the same kit when I can shoot within 50 yards or so of the car.

When I have to carry my gear any farther the whole picture changes. Everything has to fit in a Filson Small Field Bag. My usual kit is an LTM Leica with no more than two lenses and associated viewfinders, a Leica table top tripod, and my trusty Weston Master IV meter. I use the table top tripod on any immovable surface I can find and, when that doesn't work, I use it as a chest pod.
 
Not disclosing my age. It frightens me to think about it. :)) I was never a heavy gear sort of guy. Shot most pix of my kids with a Rollei 35 that I bought in 1969. I just gave it to my younger daughter who is a shooter in L.A. She said she will put a roll through it. I did and it still works.
These days I shoot serious stuff with a Nikon D300 and carry a Canon S90 in my pocket most of the time. Great camera but a bit slow in processing.
I am about to sell a Rollei MX that I have owned since I was 18 and a Leica iiiF. I am puting a roll of B+W through each of them to make sure they still work fine.
 
I am thinking digital or film Leica + 3 lenses.

There is a professional photo cart that can carry plenty with 6" dia wheels so it need not be on pavement. There is a Lowe Pro giant for it, 12 x 12 on end and 24" long.

hold 2 Pro Nikons like D5 and 3 or 4 zooms and a bunch of primes. You laugh, but pro Nikons do not fit any bag.
 
I do remember Sexton & Adams going to Point Lobos. Ansel picked where the tripod went, John put it there, A aimed the camera and John did everything else.

Guess we all get old
 
50 year old temporary "Geezer in training" here due to chemo. A stage IIIB colon cancer tumor got carved out of me in May, the cancer should be all gone from surgery, the chemo is "insurance." Anyway, chemo fatigue limits my photography to what I can do inside, or just using the iPhone or Panazonic LX-5 if I want something better. What's worst for now, and possibly for a few months after the chemo is done, is that the medi-port in my chest lines up exactly where straps from a backpack would go, so I can't use my Ebony 45SU like I used to, but maybe I'll just get more use from my Travelwide pair of cameras if I have the 4x5 bug. I'm going to order an X-E3 soon to upgrade my X-E1, and the slight reduction in size is nice, especially since I'll order it with the 23/2, and that combo should be a nice, light, option if I want a bigger sensor than the LX-5. After chemo, the plan is to get into better shape, so hopefully I won't enter proper geezerhood for another decade or three. My knees have been crap since my 20's, though.
 
Hello, Drew-
Chemo fatigue is a really limiting condition, and you can't expect it to go away as soon as infusions end - this potent chemistry will be at work for weeks or months longer. Don't be discouraged when fatigue decreases /energy returns only gradually.

Though it's not a 4x5, the lightest gear affording high image quality that i could find was an A7r2, which I used with the Leica MATE and MATE. This allowed a nice range of focal lengths from 16 to 50 mm for intimate landscapes. (These are retrofocus lenses, so no problems pairing Leica with Sony.) And light carbon Gitzo. Very portable, just right for post-rad or post-chemo.

Image detail can approach 4x5, the problem being that you won't have the same 'toe' and 'shoulder' in your tonal curve. My goal hasn't been to mimic 4x5, but simply to squeeze max IQ out of 'light-weight digital.'

Good luck with prompt recovery!

Kirk
 
Rest lots drew, and get healthy. Your plans make it look like you are keeping your spirits up!
We need to keep this thread alive and add some "Geezer pictures" to the group. I know my pictures have changed a lot since I began shooting. I used to use up a lot of film on "rusty nails" now my favorite thing to shoot is people and anything with water, the beach, and boats if I get lucky.

sabine%20pass%20rig%202.jpg
 
thompsonks said:
Hello, Drew-
Chemo fatigue is a really limiting condition, and you can't expect it to go away as soon as infusions end - this potent chemistry will be at work for weeks or months longer. Don't be discouraged when fatigue decreases /energy returns only gradually.

Though it's not a 4x5, the lightest gear affording high image quality that i could find was an A7r2, which I used with the Leica MATE and MATE. This allowed a nice range of focal lengths from 16 to 50 mm for intimate landscapes. (These are retrofocus lenses, so no problems pairing Leica with Sony.) And light carbon Gitzo. Very portable, just right for post-rad or post-chemo.

Image detail can approach 4x5, the problem being that you won't have the same 'toe' and 'shoulder' in your tonal curve. My goal hasn't been to mimic 4x5, but simply to squeeze max IQ out of 'light-weight digital.'

Good luck with prompt recovery!

Kirk
Click to expand...

Kirk,

Thanks for the encouragement! I'm 8 sessions down, 4 to go for my FOLFOX (well, one CAPEOX, 11 FOLFOX, but 12 total), so I'm learning about the joys of "it gets worse!" Yes, chemo always gets worse with each session. The temperature sensitivity is becoming really annoying as the weather gets colder. Last disconnect is 6 January, it can't come soon enough.

The Travelwide with the fixed focus 65mm is lighter than my Fuji! I also haven't really used them (I got one of each, 90mm and 65mm, from the Kickstarter campaign), so this is a good excuse to get some use out of them. A while back, B&H was havng one of their one-day sales on a very portable and light Mephoto travel tripod in "Titanium" finish. I had been looking at that tripod in black, but for almost half off, I happily took my 2nd preferred color. It should work well with the Travewides. Finding the time and energy to develop the film might be the problem, though. Worst case, my little Panasonic still makes some fine images.

Since I spent my 50th birthday in the hospital due to an extreme (as in 1 in 10,000+ patients extreme) reaction to Xeloda* (thus the switch to infusions), I didn't get to treat myself to a proper gift, so that's where the X-E3 with 23/2 will come in. I also need a new computer, so one will be a late birthday present, the other a winter holiday present.

And now a public service announcement: Everyone, get your colonoscopies!

*Care to learn how to lose 25lbs in 2 weeks? Trust me, you don't want to!
 
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