Advancing age and changes in physical condition

fwnative54 · Sep 9, 2020

How as your advancing age and changes in your physical condition affected your photography? I find I cannot do near as much physically as I used to be able to. Days of long walks with a camera are over it seems.

dpurdy · Sep 9, 2020

Yep, younger people need to understand that nothing can be taken for granted. You lose your energy, your vision, your inspiration your stamina your motivations and your desire. Those people who decide to leave making their artwork until they retire are probably in for a disappointment. At 68 I am still doing my photography and my body of work is growing. I did not leave it till I retired, I spent my life doing it. However now my vision is terrible, one eye won't even focus. My energy runs out much quicker than it did. I have to wear glasses to see anything and judging print quality is much more difficult. My advice is do your art work now and do whatever you can to maintain your strength and health.

Alan9940 · Sep 9, 2020

At nearly 70, I certainly wouldn't say that I can do everything I did even 20 years ago, but I walk & hike regularly (used to hit the gym regularly until all this craziness started) to maintain as much leg/body strength as possible. No, I can't pack my 8x10 Deardorff anywhere near as far as I used to, but I replaced it with an Intrepid 8x10 when wanting to go out on longer hikes. The full backpack is under 25 lbs and with a carbon fiber tripod I can go pretty far afield. Like dpurdy, my eyesight ain't what it used to be, I've lost some energy, and the inspiration to go out wanes occasionally which it never did. But, I've been pursuing photography since I was about 12 years old and my interest in the craft has never wavered.

Irrev.Rev. · Sep 9, 2020

Was wondering why those low angle exposures had slowly disappeared!?! (At 80, the knees seem reluctant to fold, the eyes are growing dim,
must be at f45 by now) Yet, I'm taking the Rb67 and the F5 for a trip to the shore this coming week w/family and friends. Someone has to use
all that film that keeps showing up in the fridge!

Vaughn · Sep 9, 2020

I am really liking 5x7 these days, but I have a whole bunch of 8x10 and 11x14 film in the fridge. General health...not great but still probably better than 80% of people my age...could still drop dead at any time like most of us, but trying to enjoy it all until then...granted, not always easy. Still limber enough to sit on the ground for days and enjoy it. Some pains that hint of pains to come, some mental changes that hint of interesting times ahead (difficult to tell wisdom from wishes at times).

I can still take the 5x7 backpacking if I am selective on where I go. The below is from a much earlier hike (~1993) with the 5x7. I backpacked in the same area over this July of 4th. I started with a dayhike with the 11x14 down to this spot (from the trailhead: about 3/4 mile on a steep trail down, then 3/8 mile sort of level and then a little bushwhacking). In the afternoon I took the 11x14 back up to the van and start backpacking with the 5x7 the next morning. Light, wind, me, and all, were not right, so I exposed no 11x14, but had better luck with the 5x7 over the next four days.

My left elbow has been semi-useless the last couple of weeks...trying to baby it, but a 66 year old elbow doesn't like being babied. But since noon it has been as dark as dusk...I am very glad to have my home...my son arrived safe from his CalFire job on Monday and is starting a year-long appointment in his field today. Fortunately this week is orientation and classes via Zoom that he can 'attend' from anywhere -- very good because the highway is closed between here and Ukiah (where his job is) due to fire.

My other son has begun a 9-month course of advanced study in Japan. I just put up a decent looking small show on the walls of our local gallery this morning...have a little more to do, but the pressure is off...my elbow does not like mat-cutting, even though it is my non-dominate hand. The show has more old work than I hoped (including the below), but so it goes with Art in the Times of Covid.

I am pretty f**king lucky.

5x7 platinum/palladium print
Two Redwoods, Emerald Creek Drainage
Redwood National Park

George Mann · Sep 9, 2020

Are any of you in a wheelchair?

PonySoldier1887 · Sep 9, 2020

Closing in on 80 the list of things I can't quite manage is growing at an alarming rate (not helped by the enforced captivity of Covid19). I gave up 8x10 a few years back but still manage 4x5, 6x6 and 35 (but with much less of an arsenal these days). What is surprising is that I find that a Wista SP and one of the early Fuji 135 f5.6 lenses seems to be the "perfect" camera/lens and I wonder how much more I could have "seen" if I had limited my choices years ago. The old "less is more" adage comes to mind and I celebrate the paucity of equipment in my pack as well as the realization that my photographic "vision" - not intended to be pompous - is of much more limited scope.
Joel

guangong · Sep 10, 2020

My goodness. Now in mid 80s i still have lots to do. I got smart some decades ago and stopped carrying multiple cameras and a gaggle of seldom used lenses and now confine myself to one camera at a time supplemented by an additional lens or two. Eyes are 20/20 with aid of sophisticated contact lenses, so no problem with looking through viewfinder. I can still lift and use my Arriflex 16 mm camera. My main problem is lack of time (and incoming cash due to Chinese virus).
I maintained my body the same as my cameras...regular CLAs and regular use.

Alan9940 · Sep 10, 2020

guangong said:
My main problem is lack of time (and incoming cash due to Chinese virus).

Since retiring many years ago, I've commented more than once to family and friends that I don't know when I had the time to work! If you're in decent health and the desire remains, retirement can be a busy time.

jeffreyg · Sep 10, 2020

Having reached eighty this year I am fortunately in good health and active. Still work one day a week and workout at the gym three days a week ( can still do fifteen pull-ups and fifty push-ups). I currently have a major (for me) exhibition of thirty photographs and nine sculptures at the IPC Artspace here in Miami. It was curated by the multi-award winning photo journalist Carl Juste. The title is REFLECTIONS and should you be in this area free tickets are https://www.eventbrite.com/e/opening-of-reflections-tickets-117484670813. Between the exhibition and c0vid-19 and the heat i haven't had time to get out to capture many new images.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

http://www.sculptureandphotography.com/

Alan Edward Klein · Sep 10, 2020

At 75, I just got a 4x5 kit and four lenses. But it's actually lighter than my Mamiya RB67 with four lenses. However, I don't do hikes, usually working close by where I park the car within a couple of hundred feet. I have back aches at times. When I travel on vacation, I leave everything home except my P&S digital that I can keep in my pocket. Having had a triple bypass last year, with diabetes and other stuff, I thank God and consider myself lucky I'm still here much less still able to take pictures.

logan2z · Sep 10, 2020

At 55, I feel like a baby around here

Great to see so many of you in your 70s and 80s still passionate about photography and feeling well enough to get out there to take pictures. Hoping I can follow in your footsteps.

Mainecoonmaniac · Sep 10, 2020

I turned 58 last July. As I get older, I get wiser. When I travel, I pack camera gear smarter. I carry less and make more out of the gear I carry. As for shooting view camera, my presbyopia is keeping me from focusing so close on the ground glass. I could still drive without glasses. My artistic vision has matured also. I will resist aging with my every breath. I'm lucky that I work at university so I work with millennials that keeps me young. I keep very active by swimming, yoga and weight training. I also have friends in their 80's and 90's that are very active and are looking for the next new thing. They are my mentors. I'm recovering from a heart attack that almost killed me a little over a year ago, but I still workout at least 5 days a week. I plan to retire in a year and my best years are still ahead of me.

Old_Dick · Sep 10, 2020

At 72, my biggest problem has been a long time autoimmune disease. Fortunately, it was relatively easily controlled. Immunosuppressant injection once a week and I was fine. Over time the disease has progressed and has caused more problems. Peripheral neuropathy, spinal stenosis (bad). Now the list of drugs go on. Medical cannabis is the only "good drug" I use, does help with creativity People always ask if I'm taking any "good drugs" for pain.

The fact I hiked and worked out before things got worse help a lot. Like most of you, I don't go for a hard hike or carry a 90lb pack any more. I hate taking most meds, even when they work. It's a balance between the meds helping and side effects. Having photography as a hobby helps keep me sain and focussed.

Sirius Glass · Sep 10, 2020

As I get older I am less inclined to use 4"x5" cameras and even think about using 35mm cameras for vacations instead of the Hasselblads if I am not planning on working on taking the time to compose a photograph.

George Mann · Sep 10, 2020

logan2z said:
At 55, I feel like a baby around here

I'm going on 52 if that helps you any.

logan2z · Sep 10, 2020

George Mann said:
I'm going on 52 if that helps you any.

Thanks, now I feel old again

jeffreyg · Sep 10, 2020

logan2z and george mann
my oldest child is older than you guys
don't smoke and eat your veggies also wear your mask -- you can make it

Sirius Glass · Sep 10, 2020

Vaughn · Sep 10, 2020

Yeah, and the young can't handle getting old either. They don't have the experience.

DWThomas · Sep 10, 2020

Back in early July I turned 79. Yeah, I'm not as robust as I usta wuz, but I'm still doing things.
I recall there was some old saying about "Keep moving so the axe can't getcha."

David A. Goldfarb · Sep 10, 2020

At 53, I’m wondering whether I should have my 5x7” Press Graflex repaired as it gets harder to see the groundglass through the chimney hood. I might need another pair of glasses to see that distance, along with my bifocals and music reading glasses.

Sirius Glass · Sep 10, 2020

David A. Goldfarb said:
At 53, I’m wondering whether I should have my 5x7” Press Graflex repaired as it gets harder to see the groundglass through the chimney hood. I might need another pair of glasses to see that distance, along with my bifocals and music reading glasses.

Consider contact lenses. Correctly fitted, they could make a world of difference.

dpurdy · Sep 10, 2020

Growing old is not for pussies ....as my father in law said. What caught me by surprise was vitreous displacement. Turns out it is natural and happens to everyone between 55 and 70. Some people don't notice it but a visual artist will for sure be very affected by the loss of sharpness, the floaters and the visual noise. My non dominate eye had partial displacement which warped and wrinkled my retina and then resulted in my eye creating a membrane to cover it. Which means that my vision is wack. Luckily my dominant eye is still sort of sharp along with the noise and floaters that I am always swatting at like flies flying around my head. I can still do my work.

Alan9940 · Sep 10, 2020

Alan Edward Klein said:
Having had a triple bypass last year, with diabetes and other stuff, I thank God and consider myself lucky I'm still here much less still able to take pictures.

I had quadruple bypass about 1 1/2 years ago and, like you, I feel very fortunate to still be kicking around. Luckily, I don't have any other ailments--other than occasional vertigo--and, during my recovery, I worked very hard--cardiac rehab, then at my local gym--to get back to where I was before. Before all this craziness started, I was hiking regularly, too. Today, I feel that I'm actually in better shape than I was 20 years ago! I, also, feel fortunate that I can still pack my favorite format out into the wilds; albeit an 8x10 Intrepid and lightweight Fuji A and C lenses.

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