Photography and Arthritis

[jmooney]

Hi All,

I'm looking to see what those of you that suffer from arthritis of the hands and wrists use and find that works well for you from an equipment standpoint.

Yes I'm young (33) but I have what's known as Rheumatoid Arthritis or RA, it's an auto-immune arthritis, not your run of the mill old folks arthritis.

It affects several fingers on each of my hands and also both thumbs and my left wrist.

What gear works well for you? What type of accessories have made it easier for you to photograph? What hasn't worked?

I shoot 35, MF, and LF, and some digi so any and all advice or opinions are welcome.

Take care,

Jim

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Jim,

Tripods.

Also the trick of using the first joint of the release finger, not the fingertip. Lay the finger across the release with the joint on the release itself. Flex the finger.

Cheers,

R.

 

[JohnTF]

Soft release as well? You have an ambitious list of equipment for anyone.

I have a few physical problems, cut all four quad tendons and the nerves in one leg, and use mostly lighter equipment now.

A lot of the issues I have now are centered around getting the equipment through the flights and airports, and getting equipment, and me, to locations.

Sounds as if you have a good attitude, nice to hear.

My quote is from Josef Sudek, who lost his right arm I believe in WWI, produced an amazing body of work, he used a tripod carried over the shoulder.

Regards, John

 

[pachuco]

Tripod for sure but when my shoulder is acting up I also like to hook up a cable release or a remote if I am using digital. I can keep my arm down at my side or in a comfortable position. I'm not sure if this will help you but best of luck!

 

[jmooney]

Thanks for all the advice so far. I'd be happy to hear any more if anyone has anything!

 

[Steve M.]

I have arthritis in my fingers from years as a pro mechanic. Worse in the thumbs, which is a real PITA. I try not to overuse them and it's not too bad. Mainly, the thing that helps is using an auto focus Nikon camera because they usually have a scroll ring on the front as well as the rear. I can put it on AE and change the speeds and aperture w/ the turn of one finger.

 

[maelswarm]

Hey Jim, I'm sorry to hear that. Do you have a rheumatologist? Are you currently taking a DMARD such as methotrexate or one of the new biologic agents such as Remicade, Embrel, Orencia? RA is a disease that has in recent years, become very treatable. Of course, everyone's disease course and severity is different, but it's not a sentence of disability if it's properly treated.

 

[Uwe_Nds]

Jim,
have you ever been tested for Lyme-Disease?

Arthritis is one of the symptoms.

Cheers,
Uwe

 

[Arjay]

You might consider a Nikon AH-4 hand strap to hand-carry a 35mm RF or a DSLR.

The beauty of this hand strap is that you slip your hand inside the strap and then you can carry your camera without having to close your hand or actively holding the camera. This is because the hand strap is a three-strap design that goes around both sides of your wrist. With this strap, the camera is always directly in your hand, ready for shooting.

This is what the original looks like.

Here's a suitable lookalike. Insist on a three-strap design. Scroll down to the second picture to understand the strap's concept..

 

[jmooney]

Hey Jim, I'm sorry to hear that. Do you have a rheumatologist? Are you currently taking a DMARD such as methotrexate or one of the new biologic agents such as Remicade, Embrel, Orencia? RA is a disease that has in recent years, become very treatable. Of course, everyone's disease course and severity is different, but it's not a sentence of disability if it's properly treated.

I'm on my second Rheumatologist and soon to be going to my third. All the RA docs in my area are used to treating much older patients and they aren't nearly as aggressive as they should be so I'm heading to UPenn or Jefferson. I need a research hospital.

It's compounded by the fact that I'm sero-negative and that creates a reluctance on their part to give me certain treatments.

I was on Embrel but had large injection site reactions so they switched me to Humira. The Humira works about 40% as well as the Embrel did. I've avoided methotrexate because we were trying to have more kids. We just had a second in November and that's probably going to be it so I'm open to it again.

So we shall see...

 

[jmooney]

Jim,
have you ever been tested for Lyme-Disease?

Arthritis is one of the symptoms.

Cheers,
Uwe

Yup, numerous times over the years. I've had multiple "everything and the kitchen sink" rounds of testing by several doctors. Last time they took 15 vials 😱

In fact I had to ask them to stop them for testing for Lyme for a while and look for other things.

 

[jmooney]

You might consider a Nikon AH-4 hand strap to hand-carry a 35mm RF or a DSLR.

The beauty of this hand strap is that you slip your hand inside the strap and then you can carry your camera without having to close your hand or actively holding the camera. This is because the hand strap is a three-strap design that goes around both sides of your wrist. With this strap, the camera is always directly in your hand, ready for shooting.

This is what the original looks like.

Here's a suitable lookalike. Insist on a three-strap design. Scroll down to the second picture to understand the strap's concept..

Thanks for the tip...I'm going to look into this for my DSLR.

 

[jmooney]

You might consider a Nikon AH-4 hand strap to hand-carry a 35mm RF or a DSLR.

The beauty of this hand strap is that you slip your hand inside the strap and then you can carry your camera without having to close your hand or actively holding the camera. This is because the hand strap is a three-strap design that goes around both sides of your wrist. With this strap, the camera is always directly in your hand, ready for shooting.

This is what the original looks like.

Here's a suitable lookalike. Insist on a three-strap design. Scroll down to the second picture to understand the strap's concept..

Thanks for the tip...I'm going to look into this for my DSLR.

 

[Ducky]

What a nice post. Thanks, Jim, and keep us posted.

 

[Darthfeeble]

I have it pretty bad in my hands and in my feet. I've found that the larger grips help as well as the soft release button that Abrahamsson sells. I never tried the wrist strap idea but it sounds good.

 

[sepiareverb]

Hands and hips for me, it is only the Rapidgrip made by TomA that has made the Leica comfortable in my hand. Without it I'd not be shooting an M.

Roger gave the release 'stance' I use as well, that second bit of the finger with a softrelease.

 

[jwc57]

This subject worries me. Ten years ago my hands became so bad that at weddings, my wife had to load cameras for me. A couple of months later, I could barely walk in the morning because of knee pain, both knees. For the past four weeks or so, it has been my left shoulder. Fortunately, none have hit me at the same time.

My doctor concluded it was a form of arthritis, but he couldn't tell me exactly. I thought it was Lyme Disease because I had found a tick buried in my skin two months before the symptoms began. Those tests were negative.

Good luck.

 

[paulfish4570]

i feel for you. only old folks arthritis/bursitis for me, but i have shake and strength issues because of an auto-immune thing called chronic inflammatory demyelating polyneuropathy. fine motor skills are gone, but i can still shoot long guns and cameras. i shoot 400 asa to get higher shutter speeds.
nice dogs in your pic.