I've decided to retire from photography...

Out to Lunch said:
My two cents...motor bikes and photography, as such have as much in common as bicycles and fish.
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Yep, I used to go on bicycle fishing all the time. Still very common where I'm from.
Have you seen couple on motorcycles thread here at RFF? World class photography.
 
I've always viewed photography as simply a means to en and -- traveling and exploring, getting out, meeting people ect. I'm no collector. I think some folks get in trouble when the gear head takes over and the obsess over equipment, ect.
 
Though I am two years younger than you I have chosen to go “full blast” back into photography when I retire in a year or so. I have been an active photographer since purchasing my first new Nikon F in July 1967, and my camera acquisitions closely follows yours. Along with the piano and guitar, a Camera has been a constant companion I’ll finally have time for.
 
I am 64 and I don't think I will ever completely quit. I also shoot a lot. Usually every day. So probably over 100K frames a year but most of that is what I do for clients. If I ever completely retire professionally I will still probably do my personal work as long as my health hold out and as long as it still brings me a lot pleasure.
 
I'm 77 and this first thing I did 20 years ago when I retired was to step up my photography game. I thought I was a decent photographer back then. But RFF and other sites have really made my photographic life richer. I've learned much in the last 20 years, and I hope to keep learning.
 
Different people may have different interests in life.
Do whatever you enjoy doing.
 
Yeah, understand the feeling. Just turned 70, and with the usual list of age related crap to deal with (but insomnia is the worst for me).
But, I did start late messing about with cameras, at about 20 years old. That’s late compared to some folks here who had darkrooms in there pre-teens.
To be honest I’ve slowed down considerably anyway and now get my kicks from building camera’s and hacking existing cameras.
Have become the quintessential grandpa, ‘puttering’ in the garage with my camera ‘toys’.

Another factor is that some here are quite good, both technically and artistically. That’s never been me. Was only attracted to mechanical cameras because they are such beautiful expressions of the designers art.
 
Interests can change and you can still maintain a good, enjoyable life. I just hope to stay as intellectually engaged in life for as long as I can.
Interesting thread - thanks!
 
Out to Lunch said:
My two cents...motor bikes and photography, as such have as much in common as bicycles and fish.
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If you are passionate about fish, and passionate about bicycles, then for you, the two have a lot in common, as both are your passions. And the loss of passion for something you are passionate about can possibly give you and others insights into the loss of passion for other things that you or they were passionate about.

OZMoose doesn't specifically state that he was passionate about photography, but from reading his history, it appears that might be the case. And as others have mentioned, and I wrote, at a certain point in life, things that have been our passions for decades, may lose their hold on us.

It's an analogy, I'm sorry it was lost on you.

Best,
-Tim
 
Out to Lunch said:
My two cents...motor bikes and photography, as such have as much in common as bicycles and fish.
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To me, that’s the antipathy of someone who's bitterness prevents them from finding any joy in the passions and joys of others. I avoid such people.

G
 
Best wishes, ozmoose. Sounds like you have gotten a lot of satisfaction from photography over many years. It is good you will archive your work.

With the one camera you are thinking about, I suspect you will never cease being the photographer you are- more limited equipment wise, but you will still see like a photographer, and when you want you will put that vision into an image. You may have to put some conscious effort into not letting the one camera interfere too much!

My story is a little different. I started out like you. My dad was a high school photography teacher, and I started around 12. By 14 I had a Baby Rollei and a Zeiss SLR. I started doing a little semi-professional work in and through college, and thought I might turn my degree towards photography (chemical engineering), but did not pursue that strongly. Over time as I started my career, then family, photography was pushed more out of my life. But I never stopped seeing like a photographer, even with point and shoot cameras in my hand. Over the last several years I kept thinking that I needed to get back into photography- I missed it. When my dad passed a couple of years ago, I reset my thinking, and started coming back into it. My daughters are grown up, and I am moving towards retirement (still have a ways to go), but I am setting myself up to have an active hobby by the time I retire (and am enjoying it in the mean time).
 
I think sorting out some of the 'stuff' we're surrounded with is a good idea.

My son is leaving home for uni next month and I've started a totally new career to mark this. I am trying to cut down on possessions, because they drag you down. I've sold a few guitars I don't use, a saxophone, old denim, some lenses, rare books, a couple of grand's worth of stuff, with hopefully my 52 Telecaster going next year. Our plan is also to clear out all our photos and collect them all as Bob Books. When I shuffle off this mortal coil, 30 years or 30 months from now, I don't want to leave anyone boxes and boxes of stuff to go through.

It's making me enjoy what I have left a lot more. I play my main guitar more now there's just one in the living room. I hope that by clearing out stuff, you'll enjoy what you have even more

And as got others' prescriptions on what we should like... I'm not going to go there. Life is too short.
 
I have a friendd that is in his 70s and he bought a Leica Q last year after selling a lot of his gear like a Contax 645 and Hassy stuff.

I think you are arriving at a point where you don't see a point having too much stuff. Stuff weighs you down. I've often fantasized about condensing everything down to one suitcase. That is a practical impossibility, but one can dream. What really matters are the important things in life.

If you don't have any children then save the photographs that give you joy. The rest you can get rid of. People have fantasies about being famous after they are dead like Viviane Maier, but the reality is if you aren't already famous when you die, you ain't ever gonna be! So save what you like, what gives you joy, and declutter your life. You will be better off for it in the end.

And 72 isn't really that old anymore. You could live another 30 years....
 
I like to think of these sorts of things as "rebooting the franchise"! Out with legacy baggage, and in with the freedom to discover things anew and be a beginner all over again.
 
PRJ said:
. I think you are arriving at a point where you don't see a point having too much stuff. Stuff weighs you down. I've often fantasized about condensing everything down to one suitcase. That is a practical impossibility, but one can dream. What really matters are the important things in life.
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This discussion resonates with me. I’m 68, retired, and confronting what to do with my remaining years, which includes trying to keep my better half happy. For whatever reason, I find myself feeling weighed down, as PRJ put it, by the stuff I own. What my wife owns for her interests doesn’t bother me, but the fact that I have so many cameras I can’t decide half the time what to take on a trip is making me nuts. Example: I flew out with my son to Monterey, California for Car Week when some of the best cars in the world descend on the Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach. In addition, we went to Laguna Seca Raceway to watch old F1 and other classics race — great fun. Three days before travel, I’m looking at this combination of SLR and lenses, or that RF and lenses, or a P/S, or a medium format RF, or or or...I think I really need to cut down so the focus is on making the photos, not on selecting the gear. Same goes for hifi — I’ve recently sold a Sonic Frontiers tube amp, a Nakamichi tuner/pre, a McCormack preamp, a classic Sansui TT, and so forth — too much gear weighing me down.

I won’t give up photography yet, one reason being that my memory may be slowing down, so having photos made over the next decade may help me, when I’m in my mid-80’s, remember what I did in my 70’s! As my mother is 96, lives alone, drives herself to town every week, my genes may dictate that I’ll be hanging around for a while, so “looking back 25 years to when I was 70” is a possibility.

I completely agree that OP should do whatever feels right — it’s your life, live it to make yourself happy.
 
Interesting thread. I am 66 and retired last week from a career as a public information officer and will focus on photography for a while.

Got a degree in photojournalism many decades ago and was able to study some art photography under Garry Winograd, so I will be getting back into photography soon, with more time now than I had been during my “career” years. My wife also retired on the same date so we have travel plans for a variety of new places to photograph.

I am giving away or selling equipment I will not use, like others have commented above, and look forward to a more simple life.

It does not sound like a retirement from your photography, more like a reboot. Good luck.
 
Don’t we all remember when we had one camera and one lens. (Fairly sure my experience is typical.)
I do, and was never happier with picture taking. At that time in my life, early 20’s and unmarried, was thrilled to have my first 35mm SLR, a Miranda D with a 50mm f1.9 Soligor. Didn’t feel the need for another lens until I kept running into things backing up, trying to get more in frame. That is when my friend and mentor said, ‘why don’t you get a wide angle?’

And thus it started.
 
Do whatever you want to do. Most advice would be to have an interest and get exercise - just enjoy and be happy. 72 is the new 50 - don't think short term.
 
It's probably heresy to suggest but if you ever get the itch to make photos again
you can always use your smartphone. :eek:

But think carefully before you sell/give away your gear.
Reacquiring your old kit could be costly! ;)

Chris
 
zuiko85 said:
Don’t we all remember when we had one camera and one lens. (Fairly sure my experience is typical.)
I do, and was never happier with picture taking. At that time in my life, early 20’s and unmarried, was thrilled to have my first 35mm SLR, a Miranda D with a 50mm f1.9 Soligor. Didn’t feel the need for another lens until I kept running into things backing up, trying to get more in frame. That is when my friend and mentor said, ‘why don’t you get a wide angle?’

And thus it started.
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So true …. for years I only had a 135 and a 50 and Kodak 64.
Still have the camera and lenses but as we all know Kodak 64 has long gone.
Happy days
 
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