Too Old to be a Photographer?

..."But my photography defines me and my life"..."it’s a different time and a different world. Frankly, however, I think it’s important to remember how things once were and how those things will never again be the same."...

Inspiring read, I appreciate very much. And these two sentences are summarizing so much...

For sure Never Too Old when young inside :)

Thanks for the link, robert
 
Thanks, Dave. Very inspiring. It reminds me of a Stephen Covey quote:

To live. To love. To learn. To leave a legacy. When they overlap, you have voice – your calling, your soul’s code.​

John
 
Photography is as necessary as breathing to me... without the ability to express oneself through art, where is the joy of being who we are?

Stare age in the face and smile because we know the power of art.:):):)
 
I still photograph and probably will as long as I can push the shutter button. My big regret in life is I didn't take more photos. Thanks for this post.

I like this one by Fred: ' The images – good and bad – are irreplaceable.'
 
charjohncarter said:
I still photograph and probably will as long as I can push the shutter button. My big regret in life is I didn't take more photos. Thanks for this post.

I like this one by Fred: ' The images – good and bad – are irreplaceable.'
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And we are the more blessed the more you press that shutter button!:)
 
I had decided to retire a couple of years ago. Next year marks 50 years as a commercial photographer but when faced with it I just couldn't do it. I love what I do too much to quit. A good friend who died two years ago had a 70 year career as a commercial photographer. He just couldn't quit what he loved too.
 
x-ray said:
I had decided to retire a couple of years ago. Next year marks 50 years as a commercial photographer but when faced with it I just couldn't do it. I love what I do too much to quit. A good friend who died two years ago had a 70 year career as a commercial photographer. He just couldn't quit what he loved too.
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You guys inspire me... thanks so much!:)
 
"Too old to be a photographer?"

My bloody eyes are. I find it extraordinarily hard to use my Leica M these days even when I have a correction lens in the finder. Fortunately my other digital cameras can help with manual focusing (focus peaking etc). Other than this the only problem I find is that I find it harder to lug around heavy equipment all days without back problems and here the answer is smaller lighter so called evil cameras.
 
When I was retired on disability, my first inclination was to keep working at something, even if it didn't pay anything. Well, especially no pay since that would have cut my pension off.

I volunteered, mostly doing stuff that others didn't have the time to do. I helped a friend clean out his house before moving out of state to live with his son. That was an adventure in dealing with someone who couldn't take a hint that he was doing it all wrong.

Then I did a lot of work for a model railroad club I belonged to when we got thrown out of the mall store we rented, and had to move to the basement of a museum. Lots of time spent setting up the layouts, and rehabbing the rooms which had been flooded out at one point.

Then I started volunteering at the museum itself, eventually becoming the Facilities Director. That was very interesting work, but when it got to the point I was spending six to seven days a week there, I had to give it up. There was no budget to speak of, and the Executive Director kept wanting to do stuff with no staff to take care of it.

So I made a choice. The museum and model rr club both took too much of my time, with no return in investment, and most times without even a "Thank You". I figured the money I was spending on the model trains, and the time at the museum could be better put to use rekindling my love of photography.

Since then, I haven't looked back. My first and last thoughts of the day (and even some of my dreams) are about what the next project will be. Even if it is just planning on taking a different road to someplace familiar, it's because I'm always looking for new sights to shoot.

I'll turn 64 this year, and that leaves me two more years before I can escape the disability stranglehold on my finances. That's time I plan on honing my skills, and maybe developing a style. Right now I'll try anything. But then, maybe that's what I'm supposed to do.

PF
 
I've had a lot of OLD friends. Another photographer friend passed away last year at 95. He was a true master of portraits and way ahead of his time. My friend Gordon started his photo career just after WWII and retired at 90.

Another friend Jeff was born in 1882 and started his photo career around 1900. Jeff lived until 1984 (102 years) and worked a little until his death.

Although not a photographer, I know Evelyn Johnson who was the second highest time pilot in history. She was an FAA flight examiner, helicopter and fixed wing instructor and managed an airport. She did flight exams, instructed and flew until she was 96 when she lost her medical because of eyesight. She had a car accident and lost a leg but managed the airport until she was 101. At 101 she retired and lived to 102.

I've known several others that have continued to work until extreme old age. One lady I knew and photographed played the organ until she was 106.

If your mind and body allow keep doing the things you love. The one common element of all of these people is having a reason to get up every morning. The reason is something you love and can't wait to do each day.

Another friend was the dean of the engineering department at the University of Tennessee. Bill retired years ago but plays the Wurlitzer theatre organ for concerts and show openings at our movie palace. The Tennessee Theatre. Bill is almost 89.
 
Thanks Dave, today I saw in the paper the Katherine Ross and her husband Sam Elliot are making a new movie. Even though I really didn't know Sam (well) he lived where I did and I had a photo of him throwing a football. So, like I said earlier take pictures of anything and anybody in any place. And 50+ years latter you can dig them out and send them to an old fraternity brother.
 
Hi,

Once I'd been retired for a month or two I wondered, as my father did, how I ever found the time to go to work...

Luckily, I'm mostly doing things I want to do.

Regards, David
 
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