I've decided to retire from photography...

[Shab]

All good things come to an end, nah !!
only Death is finite as in the existence we know

I really do not think One must totally retire...

Perhaps retire from the 'norm' You once lived
but the Eye , the Hand may find a different tool
a different way of seeing
and just be content with capturing a special moment

Best and Joy to You this Holiday Season !

Helen I appreciate a lot your photographic work. And I think we must keep it simple: we know the important is to photograph, to catch the moment, to express our soul's cry, our visions, our desires, our fears...

The camera, the system... is a tool. And yes, it is an important part of the creative process, but not the most important.

I hope you are fine.

Best wishes...
Xabier.

 

[DownUnder]

I quite like the fact that the thread directly under this on the home page is one started subsequently by the OP asking about taking lots of film on holiday!

In those places I hang out nowadays, that's known as karma.

Looking forward to your contribution to my films in Asia thread. Wisdom to be shared...

 

[DownUnder]

At 83, I sometimes wonder how long I'll be willing to carry on, how long photography will present challenges and interest for me. I don't range as far these days and so the phrase " Been there, done that," comes to mind. Yet, still the same old things seem to beg to be shown in new ways or with new aspects.

I have an added incentive. Even though I only shoot personal stuff these days, a certain percentage of images go to a stock agency. The sales from stock add a little to my retirement income.

My equipment is fairly minimal now: a Leica M with a few lenses and a Nikon D810 with an all-encompassing 24-120mm zoom.

I still ride a recumbent bicycle for health and pleasure and engage in photography for my mind's health. So far so good!

I'm 11 years your junior, but I truly hope to be in your shoes (or similar shoes) at 83...

Minimalist is the way to go in our 'late' decades. Eventually when I've worked up the courage (or madness) to lighten the loads of my Nikkormats, off Nikon SLRs, Rolleis and Zeiss and Voigtlander folding cameras, and the lenses, hoods, filters and other gewgaws accumulated over the decades, I too hope to go on recording what I see passing by in my life with a Nikon D800 and three or four lenses and my Contax G1 kits.

Interesting that you still submit images to a stock agency. I went that way in the past, but finally gave it away when the digicrap era took over and buyers opted for tenth-rate quality at big discount prices.

As I write this, from the vantage point of my small table at Pasar Atom in Surabaya, Indonesia, over a bottle of icy-cold Bintang beer, I observe what is going on around me and think, hm, can I sneak one or two quick shots with the G (HP5 loaded) before an eagle-eyed security guard spots me...

 

[David Hughes]

The problem with minimalism is that when I/you reveal that you take a decent, respectable P&S - film or digital - with you on your travels and not the latest from Leica, Sony etc you are looked down on and generally ignored because that is not "proper" photography. Try pointing out what a Leica and three or four lenses weigh plus a case and tripod to see what I mean.

Yet from time to time some of us are brave enough to do so and even publish pictures to show the results of relying on brains plus camera but little has changed. The fact is that "heavy" is a swear word to many photographers...


Regards, David


PS There's only one thing worse and that's saying that 3 or 5 mega pixels will do the biz for most people.

 

[back alley]

Retire from photography? I didn’t realize it was an option...

 

[David Hughes]

Retire from photography? I didn’t realize it was an option...

It isn't; the person (yuk!) who is tired of photography is tired of life.



Regards, David

 

[Alfasud]

After a recent move, and the consequent downsizing, I realized that I have spent many years "keeping my possessions in the style to which they had become accustomed". Three months after shedding some of these possessions, I find I can not even remember them, let alone miss them. I have yet to downsize my rangefinder collection, as I tell myself I will again shoot film with them. We'll see.

 

[ChipMcD]

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

I am retired and doing a lot of photography. There have been two or three multi-year periods since I started at age 14 when I lost interest in photography, usually either because of work or other hobby distractions. My experience has been that my interest in making photographs always comes back. For me, other than in my former profession (law), it's the only area in which I can create at least some things that I think are good. Don't reject the notion that the photo bug might come back.

 

[kram]

Beware, you want a light camera and 28/35mm lens for snap shots etc. The big jump to unclutter is a decent mobile phone with camera...the obvious digital conclusion (at the moment). My phography is either with film cameras, ortbe mobile phone. With digital cameras I only like the high end ones, but the thought of more time on the PC/laptop/tablet depresses me. See how you get on with a mobile. Sensors never need cleaning

 

[roscoetuff]

FWIW, I find whenever I need/try to give up an obsession, I have to replace it with a "new" and "healthier" obsession. Unless you have a plan to constructively occupy your time and imagination, it will be easier said than done. I've succeeded in moving from one to another, but giving up altogether? Very, very hard. Much easier to run to something new, and I hope that is the appeal. Bon Voyage and best wishes for your new adventure!

 

[DownUnder]

One (of many) good things about retirement is one can UNretire at any time, depending on whatever factors influence this decision or most often, which mood has taken hold at the particular moment.

As I've posted elsewhere, I'm now in Indonesia, shooting film with a pair of Contax G1s and enjoying myself. I've had (mild) withdrawal symptoms at being deprived of my digital Nikon kit, which has prompted some reflection as to exactly what my goals and intentions for this new year are, and how to best go about fulfilling those.

So my new 2020 resolutions are -

I love my G1s, but the limitations of shooting with rangefinders have made themselves felt during this so far very short journey. I am, I now realise, more an SLR (or DSLR) shooter, and in my future travels I will go with my Nikons.

As someone has suggested in an excellent post in this thread, in future I'll travel with a matched kit - in my case Nikon - of my D800 paired with a film Nikon, the latter camera yet to be made. I have several Nikkormats (ELs and FT2s) and two F65s (aka N65s) which, altho considered by many to be an amateur's toy, have always given me with careful use the results I wanted. So be it. With probably at most 3-4 lenses, carefully selected.

I will shoot more film. 35mm and 120 roll film stocks aplenty in my home freezer and I want to use this up before it rots or otherwise goes grey with age, like the shooter. This will keep me busy and happy for at least two more years and, I hope, several more Asian sojourns.

As we all agree, film imposes a certain discipline and rigorous of mind and technique on the shooter, for reasons of financial economy and complexity and time involved in processing, these being my own two reasons for limiting my use of analogue in future. While I fully intend to use up all the frozen stocks (hundreds and hundreds of 35mm canisters and 120 rolls, not to forget a good dozen or more 35mm bulk rolls), I plan to be shooting exclusively black-and-white film along with digital color.

(to be continued)