What (if anything) would make you give up photography ?

Calzone said:
John,

I always know that you have my back. Thanks.

Anyways at this point the disease is idiopathic (no known cause) and could disappear as quickly as its most recent discovery. At this point I will just need extensive careful monitoring when the weather changes.

Cal
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Hmmm...Cal, I did not know that. So sorry to hear about that situation. Hey...it is warm down South. How about making a winter home down here? We would love to have you for the duration of the cold weather!:)

Regarding the OT, Cal is quite right, BTDT.
 
Aside from blindness and loss of ability to use arms / get around, I doubt there's anything that would cause me to give up photography. However, I am an avid film user and, whilst I'm in no way anti-digital, I would probably not use a digital camera anywhere near as regularly if that was the only option. Can't really explain it but I've given my Nikon D700 to my wife and the only digital camera I have is a Panasonic Lumix LX3 which spends its life in a drawer.
 
"What (if anything) would make you give up photography?"


An M10 with wi-fi and GPS based around the android operating system ... I'd know then it was over!
 
dave lackey said:
Hmmm...Cal, I did not know that. So sorry to hear about that situation. Hey...it is warm down South. How about making a winter home down here? We would love to have you for the duration of the cold weather!:)

Regarding the OT, Cal is quite right, BTDT.
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Thanks Dave.

My disease is both rare and idiopathic (no known cause in my case or underlying condition). It could go away as fast as it was suddenly diagnosed, I'm hopeful that this is the case, and otherwise I'm very healthy.

In the meantime I will be closely monitered when the fall arrives, and I will certainly protect my vital organs by staying indoors as much as possible. The problem is that my blood thickens in response to the cold and this can cause progressive damage to vital organs like my liver, kidneys, lungs and heart.

In another thread you stated more or less: don't wait, its later than you think. You are a wise man. Would hate to leave New York because its my home, but I'm already looking to move if I have to. So far no damage, and we will have to see how this disease progresses. I'm very close to 55 and intend on retiring early at 62, but I'm not financially prepared yet to retire any earlier. Meanwhile it kinda pays to keep the job I now have for as long as possible.

Anyways this is the second time I've had to see a Hemotologist at a Cancer center because I have very unusual blood. Three years ago was diagnosed with Cold Aglutinin Disease where my Red Blood Cells clump together in response to cold. This is a rare disease that effects 1 in 80,000, and out of NYC's 8 million people perhaps less than 100 have this disease.

My new disease is Essential Mixed Type 2 Cyroglobulinemia and it is even rarer (1 in 100,000), but is usually associated with people with Hepatitis C. What makes my disease so unusual is that I do not have any of the usual underlying Cancers or ever had Hepatitis and otherwise am a very healthy male.

Cal
 
A mailaise has finally set in. I haven't photographed anything during July and August. Septemeber is likely to be the same. I remember when I was an amateur artist and I did free watercolors. It was fun. Then I became a commercial artist and the watercolors became tight wash drawings (looked just like photographs). Even after abandoning commercial art long ago I never regained the freedom or inclination make artwork anymore.

During the ensuing years I always operated a little photo business on the side. I did what I wanted since I was not dependent on it for primary income. After retirement, I looked for a way to supplement my retirement income. Microstock and I found each other. But, photographing a certain way according to their stringent standards has taken the fun out of it. I will have an income stream for many years but the cost seems to have been my creativity. I'm bored. I've photographed everything within a fifty mile radius many times over.

At my age I am more interested in maintaining my fitness than foisting more photos on the unsuspecting public. Less photography. More cycling.

At least I still have my X-Pro 1. It reminds me of a day when the life cycle of a camera was ten years and after that it was a classic.
 
keep on shooting, dick. i will be glad for you to foist your photos on me.

and cal: what kind of sunlight do you get in your abode? are still lifes a possibility for you? and it seems to me there should be some kind of electrically warmed clothing that might help mitigate your condition. then again, you've probably already thought of that ...
 
I was so set on being a pro musician, I moved to New York City to pursue it at 19. After 4 years barely eating/making rent with nothing to show for it, I realized it wasn't going to happen, and had to move back in with my parents. I made music as a solo act because I couldn't stand working with other people. I'm a control freak in my creative endeavors. This is why I like shooting manual on film. No credit to the camera.

I got into photography because you can do it anywhere, with anyone else around, any time of day. More people are likely to be interested in wanting to see what I've made, and I have a much more satisfying collection of stuff to look through now than the songs and albums I've recorded. People love seeing pictures of themselves and having my friends ask to see them feels really good, especially when they like them. I never thought I'd get burnt out on music, but it's good to look elsewhere. Photography is more fun, and a lot quieter.

Also, finally getting the balls for street photography makes me feel like a badass.
 
I have been involved with photography and the arts since I was 3. I make my living with it as well. There have been hard times where I thought, "What if....". You only go around around once. It is important you do something you enjoy, through good times and bad. Hopefully, it will outlast you.
 
thegman said:
HCB stopped taking photos before he died, and whether you like his work or not, you can't deny he made his mark. But in general I agree with you.
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HCB first love was painting and drawing. He was told at an early age that he wasn't very good. He worked in film until taking up photography. I guess his first love was constantly nagging at him as he retired his cameras and began drawing again.
 
Calzone said:
I was a painter for over a decade, but I gave it up because of always having to move around and not having stability in my life. Photography is more conducive to my lifestyle which dose not require a large studio/work space.

For health reasons I may have to stop shooting in cold weather and will likely have to remain more or less indoors all winter. In short, the cold will allow a rare disease to advance that will adversely effect my vital organs and shorten my life.

I'll likely do some "wood shedding" with a guitar this winter and get some chops, smoothness and work through a lot of music theory during the cold months. I expect with the mild weather renewed passion for photography.

Seriously for those posters who say death: life is better than photography.

Cal
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Cal,

I am just catching up on this thread and read your posting.

Comes winter let's start a "Winter's Blues" thread and see where it goes. In winter, I do 100% table top pictures in my basement. "The entire universe is only what you see in the viewfinder".

I tried painting . . . "forget it".

Snowblowing the driveway is my one outdoor task in winter.

Comes December, remind me . . . . "Winter's Blues" . . .
 
daveleo said:
...Comes winter let's start a "Winter's Blues" thread and see where it goes. In winter, I do 100% table top pictures in my basement...
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your comment reminded me that during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, Joseph Sudek stayed home and photographed still-lifes for the duration. If anyone thinks still-lifes are dull (I used to), look up Sudeks, they'll change your mind.

I guess as long as I can see something, there's something to photograph, and maybe even if I can't. "blind photographer" yields over sixteen million results on google, and Gerardo Nigenda's work is vastly better than the majority of sighted photographers, so Death is the only thing that is going to stop me from taking pictures.
 
daveleo said:
Cal,

I am just catching up on this thread and read your posting.

Comes winter let's start a "Winter's Blues" thread and see where it goes. In winter, I do 100% table top pictures in my basement. "The entire universe is only what you see in the viewfinder".

I tried painting . . . "forget it".

Snowblowing the driveway is my one outdoor task in winter.

Comes December, remind me . . . . "Winter's Blues" . . .
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Dave and Paul,

Not sure if you have followed other threads, but I bought a M9M and will face a very steep learning curve exploring digital for the first time.

Also began shooting more and developing less. At this point I have about 80 rolls of film in the fridge that need development.

I have thousands or perhaps tens of thousands of images to edit through over the winter, and this is going to be a major huge task.

I have had a very disrupted life so not shooting for a winter is really no hardship. I still strongly identify myself as a photographer, and I am more passionate as ever.

One great thing about my health crisis is that I know that I have the love, support and understanding I need to get through this time.

At this point its still early, and only last week I went for a test to confirm the diagnoses of Mixed type 2 Cryoglobulenemia. If the diagnosis is validated at this point all is required is careful monitoring because other than the bluing of my hands and exposed skin due to blood circulation loss I have no adverse symptoms, and know that this only happens in the cold. These "Blue Attacks" could be due to the Cold Aglutinin Disease that already has been confirmed over 3 years ago.

Cal
 
Natalie Portman? That would just inspire me to greater and greater heights in photography!

I've often thought of this, probably some form of disability is all I can really think that would truly stop me.
 
For me, unlike many here, photography is a passion born of another passion. It's something I developed (pardon the awful pun) an appreciation for as I used it as a tool to document other aspects of my life. As I did obsessive product research (as I do for any relatively large purchase) I realized how deep and involved photography could actually be, and how it offered everything that the tinkerer, gearhead, wannabe-artist, and counter-culture misfit inside me wanted in a hobby.

So while I love photography, and would miss it if I had to give it up, for me, it's a bit like starting to date your second high school girlfriend. Same excitement at the beginning, but if it were to end, you know you'd survive.

Oddly enough, the shortest answer for what'd make me give up photography has already been mentioned:

cjbecker said:
Fly fishing
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