Retirement, film photography, and travel

[Prest_400]

Were discussing 645 SLR's when ozmoose popped up and had some discussion about costs. Remembered this thread and revisited after a long time.

The work environment has become more toxic and more ageism is happening. I'm the kid of person that gets bored easily and I'm too young to retire, but as soon as I turn 60, I'll be retiring from the university if I make.

To us oldsters, this might seem dismal. Millennials entering the work force, they have a different attitude towards work which I think it's a lot healthier. They don't identify with their work. Work is just a means of supporting a life style. With a gig economy, they won't stick with one career but will have many concurrently. It's doing what they have to in order to put food on the table. The good side of this is there will be less people stuck in soul crushing career for decades. . I hope instead, the new workforce will have work with a greater sense of purpose other than climb the career ladder.

Most truly. This situation is what relates me with you guys in that I tend to enjoy "small glimpses of retirement", as I call them. Good thing is that I can focus it towards advancing photography and other things.

I've worked in a bank branch under temporary contracts, which aside of being a sort of torture given the understaffed and overworked nature of the environment... has been an interesting experience and showed me that point you express (plus disliking banks a bit more). One of the veterans aged 55 is awaiting his early retirement and the others were aged about 40. Their wages and conditions aren't simply available to any entering now, like my 25yo coworker. The ultimate career of staying and increase status in the hierarchy is something simply unthinkable to me and rather ridiculous. Also, it seems a lot like the one egg in a single basket situation. I did get some vibes on soul crushing as well, boxed, routine centered people.
The gig economy is less stable however. I make some from here, then nothing a while, etc.

As of enjoying glimpses of retirement, I'm possibly taking a couple months to study towards a certification and continue advancing education and complete a move in a year or so. Proper preparation is not very compatible with full time work, so I may try some different gigs too.

Vaughn, congrats! I feel so weak and lazy reading about your indecision of which LF cameras to take when I am not going to places and shooting my so convenient 6x9 RF.

I do want to do more travel. SE asia is one place, where aside of having relatives, I want to deepen knowledge of. Saved a bit of cash, and if during autumn things go well, I might finally go. Aside of being rather thrifty, I tend to not spend money thinking about its usefulness in trips!

 

[pmargolis]

I'm hoping to pull the pin and retire in 7 months and 6 days... I was the photographer for a municipal agency for many years, until a new, much younger boss came in and wanted to get rid of the "old guy." While she couldn't fire me because I'm a protected bureaucrat, I was sent to evaluate budgets and contracts -- in other words, I became a true paper-pusher. That was the kick in the pants that I needed to hire a financial planner and figure out what I needed to live on in modest comfort so I could retire when I became eligible for full Social Security at 66. Probably if that hadn't happened, I would have died in harness, forced to use digital until the end.
So, I'm looking forward to roaming with my old Leicas and black and white film, doing documentary projects and writing about my adventures in the U.S. and overseas. Over the past few years, I've gotten a rep/manager who has organized lecture and exhibition gigs for me, which will become my full-time "job" when I no longer have to do the 9-5 one. I'm approaching retirement with both excitement and a certain amount of trepidation.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

I'm hoping to pull the pin and retire in 7 months and 6 days... I was the photographer for a municipal agency for many years, until a new, much younger boss came in and wanted to get rid of the "old guy."

They tried the same with me. I got too expensive and a a younger supervisor tried to get rid of me by writing a letter of expectation after I got a satisfactory review. I sic'd the union on him. He got in over his head. Proves the saying that "Youth and inexperience is no match for old age and treachery." Ageism is alive and well.

 

[Vaughn]

Had the same problem at the university I worked for for 24 years -- new photo professor wanted to emphazise digital and use my office/stockroom/repair room for the darkroom for inkjet printers. When I would not quit due to the bullying the Art Dept dumped on me and they started to lose to the union (I was presenting a serious challange to the professor-over-staff relationship), they finally transferred me to the Anthropology Dept. Stuck it out for another year until I realized I could live with the pension numbers, and retired.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Had the same problem at the university I worked for for 24 years -- new photo professor wanted to emphazise digital and use my office/stockroom/repair room for the darkroom for inkjet printers. When I would not quit due to the bullying the Art Dept dumped on me and they started to lose to the union (I was presenting a serious challange to the professor-over-staff relationship), they finally transferred me to the Anthropology Dept. Stuck it out for another year until I realized I could live with the pension numbers, and retired.

Good for you! I work at a university too. As for me, I need another year to make 20 years so my wife and I could get our healthcare paid for. I'm 55 and I'd like to work another 5 years and retire at aged 60 from where I'm working at. I've seen my work place where it was a truly a public institution into a corporatized entity. More admins, execs and the worker bees getting squeezed. I feel lucky that I'm so close to retiring and had a wonder career so far.

 

[Vaughn]

My numbers are not great -- I worked halftime for all those years, but with Soc Sec (12 yrs with the US Forest Service, also) added to it, and health benefits for me and my boys (20 yrs old)...and the house paid for, I can't complain too much!

Our Art Dept has grown more inclusive, so it goes. Enjoy your last 5 years to top off your great experience! I retired at 61!

 

[CMoore]

Whether by Intent or Not.....your house being paid for is a Huge Thing at retirement.
We will still have 2-3-4 years to go when my wife retires.
We may just pay it off before hand. It is, basically, our only "write-off" at this point. Not sure how big of an asset that is anymore.
Amway.....YOURS is paid...Well Done...!!

 

[Down Under]

Tempus fugits. Or is that fuggits? Whatever,whichever, time does fly. Tomorrow I will have been retired for FIVE YEARS, oi! So far, the best five of my life. For decades I planned my life in seven-year periods. Now with less time left and the clock ticking faster, I take everything as it comes, day by day, and plan month by month or (when traveling) week by week. Easier, simpler, and a lot more fun.

This has been a year of change. I'll turn 70 in four months. The "three score and ten, and then". To which I say, well, so what? Being me, I will ignore the big day, maybe pop the corks on some cheap French champagne and a good Tassie Pinot, whip up a small gastronomical masterpiece, and celebrate in low key with partner and two friends. Then it will be life as usual. Have any of you tried our Tasmanian beers, BTW? Bloody good stuff, something to do with our pristine and pure water, so I'm told. Not easily found off our small island, the locals sensibly drink almost all of it at breakfast, lunch, dinner and any time in-between. Nectar for the gods...

I wonder how our early posters in this thread, have done in their retirement?

Vaughn, I admire the way you keep "reinventing" (here I lack a better word) and how so many new opportunities seem to land at your door. It's all to do with your mindset, I reckon. A mindful attitude to life must help you. Like most of us, you too have good experiences and blessings small and big to be thankful for. And many more to come, we hope.

Prest_400, again many thanks for your posts - it's great to get glimpses of life "on the other side" and I never cease to wonder at how your experiences so often match my own in my twenties. Some things change, others remain the same. Shooting with good film cameras is nowadays so easy, even 'tho film prices (here and in Asia) are going up and services like processing, down. Two big price increases in the past year mean I'll again buy a bulk order from the USA) with two other photographers, so we can buy more and may less in P&P. Shipping charges across the big bathtub to Australia are high, but for a big bulk order, well worth it. No way will I pay A$20++ for 120 color negative film as some Melbourne camera shops want! You are also lucky to be in Europe and travel easily (if not always cheaply) to many countries. Life must be good for you...

I'm now back home in Tasmania for two months, for my "fix everything" time at home. Our winter has been mild so far and I'm planning a few treks with my Rolleis, to shoot and reshoot some of our beautiful mountains and glens. Our plans to move to the mainland (Victoria) are on hold, for two reasons: (1) my partner's contract job will end in July 2018 and we will then be free to relocate to anywhere we want, and (2) a friend in Victoria (state) passed away and left me a half share in an old house in a pleasant country town (called Ballan), which has so far resisted mass property development and kept much of its old charm but is well serviced for shopping etc and only an hour by train to and from Melbourne. The other 'half' owner wants us to lease for five years with a second five year option, at a good rent. So we may do. Money isn't tight, but the kitty has shrunk due to my overseas trips (three times to Asia in the past 12 months) and while I'm now planning to step back a bit from my globe-trotting, there are places in Asia I want to revisit and trek in, with cameras of course. I am a diligent saver (= miser) and my travel costs me half or less than what I spend here in Oz anyway, so an easy decision there.

Health remains good, 'tho I don't have the energy I did at sixty. Otherwise no bits and pieces have fallen off yet. Maybe a cataract op on one eye in 2018. As for the rest, I'm reasonably fit, I can still walk 10 or 15 kilometers in one go, and I've taken off four kilos this year. More small blessings to add to my list.

Photographically, my film stash is reducing - a recent count showed about 300 rolls of 120 and 150-175 rolls of 35mm left,also a few bulk rolls. A lot of Kodak Panatomic-X yet to be used. Paper stocks are overflowing in the second fridge after generous gifts from friends who not longer D&P, two 100 sheet boxes of French Guilbrom FB and two of Kodabromide G (also FB), all 8x10 and still sealed, came my way in 2017, also ten packs of 11x14 and 16x20 Ilford Galerie, so I can finish printing my oldest negatives, if/when I find the time.

We will do our gala North American trek (California, New Mexico, Texas, the Civil War battlefields, Eastern Canada and across to Vancouver) in 2018, after my partner retires and we have more disposable dosh, allowing two to three months of leisurely driving with many stops. It will be expensive, but as my last "return to my roots" it's important to me, a must do. After that, fewer trips away for me, a month or six weeks at a time to revisit places like Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and maybe brief tours to beautiful super expensive Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Then the rocking chair with the cat on my lap - maybe, when I've used up the Guilbrom, Kodabromide and Galerie to print my old negatives and caption, eyword and archive the best prints.

It's all fun, and long may it last - for all of us.

 

[Vaughn]

Well, Ozmoose, if you make it to northern Claifornia, please stop by! I'll take you to my favorite redwoods - though your travel plans seem to keep more to the south. One of my boys has been working in Oz for the last two months (has dual citizenship, Oz/USA) and he's now heading up to the Reef before coming back for his second year at Berkeley. Taz for me one of these days, but perhaps Kyoto this winter as another one of my boys will be at Uni there.

I was lucky with the house -- an Aunt left me a little money -- enough to buy the worse house in the best little town. Spent a lot of time with foundation work two summers ago (a little still needed this year, but might wait until next year) and a darkroom still to build. Winters are interesting as the heater is miminal and the insulation lacking. Amazing how nice a 1qt water bottle filled with boiling water can be in bed! The outside sill of my bedroom window has rotted away, but I am in the middle of making a real cool gate. Which is really stupid because I have a local show going up in one week and I still need to print a bunch of platinum prints for it. Frames arrive tomorrow.

I just got back from our micro-brewery/pub -- had a nice salad and a couple of great beers. Life is good.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

My numbers are not great -- I worked halftime for all those years, but with Soc Sec (12 yrs with the US Forest Service, also) added to it, and health benefits for me and my boys (20 yrs old)...and the house paid for, I can't complain too much!

Our Art Dept has grown more inclusive, so it goes. Enjoy your last 5 years to top off your great experience! I retired at 61!

Most financial experts always say the numbers can always be better, but I can't complain either. I try to practice gratitude. I'm at the tail end of my career and my job at UC has allowed me to have a great life. I have health care, a decent salary to buy a house and money to travel. Most of all, I've got my lovely wife and my health. Some of my coworkers are not happy at their job and they try to max out their pension and they many years to go. May your retirement be long, happy and healthy!

 

[Vaughn]

The mother of my triplet boys was smarter than I thought and divorced me when the boys were 14 -- which makes my retirement even sweeter and I'll live longer...and she'll stay out of jail since she won't be tempted to kill me. Being a SAHD was great, the boys are off to colleges now (one is taking a break this year and living on his own), and I am going outside to put some stain on the boards for the gate I am building. Then some platinum printing tonight in the kitchen!

 

[Sirius Glass]

Before I went to Greece for a month, I was doing 30 minutes each on two aerobic machines at level 2 five days a week. Because of all the climbing up stairs and trails up with 20 pounds of camera equipment to the top of various acropolises, now I am doing 30 minutes each on two aerobic machines at level 5 five days a week. I feel better and life is good at three score and eleven.

 

[CMoore]

Before I went to Greece for a month, I was doing 30 minutes each on two aerobic machines at level 2 five days a week. Because of all the climbing up stairs and trails up with 20 pounds of camera equipment to the top of various acropolises, now I am doing 30 minutes each on two aerobic machines at level 5 five days a week. I feel better and life is good at three score and eleven.

Wow.....Damn Good for you my friend.
I have recently bought a Bicycle, and am waiting for it to be assembled. We live in a Very Flat Area, so it is great for bikes. Right now about the only real exercise i get is the 30-40 minute walk i take each day.
But even with just that, it is "amazing" how good i feel after a walk. I have noticed that some of the best benefit is when i DO NOT feel like "Going For My Walk"...but i push myself a bit, and i am (99% of the time) always glad i do.
Anyway.....like with most stuff in life, Some is better than None. Especially for us retired Guys/Gals..... do whatever you can to move your body around.

 

[Vaughn]

I was photographing in Death Valley in March. Each day building up a little more -- going farther and longer on my exporations with 60 pounds of camera gear. Then on the last day climbing up a ravine, I tweaked my right foot pretty bad and I had to cancel my summer backpack trips. I should have gone on the easier one anyway, dang it. Still seriously bothering me 4 months later -- can't walk around the house for long without supportive shoes, and bicycling is so-so (okay for local trips to the grocery store - 2 miles each way and sort of ok for trips into town - 8 miles each way). Foot doc appointment in a couple weeks...my foot pisses me off more than my A-fibbing heart (there is a country song in there somewhere).

My uncle told me 50 years ago not to wait until I retire to do the things I want to do -- too many of his friends did; and died or got too sick (or partners got sick) before they were able to 'enjoy' life. Took his advice and have done a heck of a lot of exploring and creating instead of putting my nose to the grindstone. But it does not mean that I should be taking all this health shit sitting down. I need to learn to push past the beta-blockers, wear heavy boots, and live with whatever pain, wearyness and discomfort that is coming my way. Alas, I use to be a one strong SOB -- now I am just a SOB.

Me in my hay-day -- packing mules and making trails in the Yolla Bollys! 35mm camera, machine print. And for added pleasure, a 2 1/4" sq platinum print of my shadow on my 60th birthday on top of Shell Mountain (solo backpack trip). Shell Mountain is the far peak that is above my head in the color image...I spent 24 hours up there.

 

[Finny]

My uncle told me 50 years ago not to wait until I retire to do the things I want to do -- too many of his friends did; and died or got too sick (or partners got sick) before they were able to 'enjoy' life. Took his advice...

This may be the reason why younger people have a completely different "work life balance" than we had! My nephew e.g. Just finished his studies and his wife both accepted only a 75% job to have more time for their children and their hobbies... they want to have "a lot of money". Just enough to spend a quiet life. That's completely different from what we used to do. Luckily!

 

[ted_smith]

I'm 40 with two kids under 9 and a whopping mortgage and a fair few debts. Retirement seems a lifetime away for me so I tend not to think about. I do however have the financial battles with film photography.

I have a hasselblad 501cm which I love using but the costs of using it are astronomical. Film cost plus the costs of a lab to develop and scan and often print means an average roll costs £20 to get the finished product.

For that reason I have been looking at affordable but decent scanners for, I joke not, 6 months! Because even paying £170 for an Epsom perfection v550 (which I did today!!) for what is essentially a hobby in my position seems like stealing from Peter to pay Paul. I had to verbalise a business plan to the mrs to explain how buying that and the development chemicals and tanks will pay for the scanner after about 8 rolls. So all I now need to pay for is the film itself, the odd big print and the chemicals once in a while.

So not really relevant to the retirement subject but financially shooting film can be hard but I am hoping I can do more of it now for less

 

[benjiboy]

Tempus fugits. Or is that fuggits? Whatever,whichever, time does fly. Tomorrow I will have been retired for FIVE YEARS, oi! So far, the best five of my life. For decades I planned my life in seven-year periods. Now with less time left and the clock ticking faster, I take everything as it comes, day by day, and plan month by month or (when traveling) week by week. Easier, simpler, and a lot more fun.

This has been a year of change. I'll turn 70 in four months. The "three score and ten, and then". To which I say, well, so what? Being me, I will ignore the big day, maybe pop the corks on some cheap French champagne and a good Tassie Pinot, whip up a small gastronomical masterpiece, and celebrate in low key with partner and two friends. Then it will be life as usual. Have any of you tried our Tasmanian beers, BTW? Bloody good stuff, something to do with our pristine and pure water, so I'm told. Not easily found off our small island, the locals sensibly drink almost all of it at breakfast, lunch, dinner and any time in-between. Nectar for the gods...

I wonder how our early posters in this thread, have done in their retirement?

Vaughn, I admire the way you keep "reinventing" (here I lack a better word) and how so many new opportunities seem to land at your door. It's all to do with your mindset, I reckon. A mindful attitude to life must help you. Like most of us, you too have good experiences and blessings small and big to be thankful for. And many more to come, we hope.

Prest_400, again many thanks for your posts - it's great to get glimpses of life "on the other side" and I never cease to wonder at how your experiences so often match my own in my twenties. Some things change, others remain the same. Shooting with good film cameras is nowadays so easy, even 'tho film prices (here and in Asia) are going up and services like processing, down. Two big price increases in the past year mean I'll again buy a bulk order from the USA) with two other photographers, so we can buy more and may less in P&P. Shipping charges across the big bathtub to Australia are high, but for a big bulk order, well worth it. No way will I pay A$20++ for 120 color negative film as some Melbourne camera shops want! You are also lucky to be in Europe and travel easily (if not always cheaply) to many countries. Life must be good for you...

I'm now back home in Tasmania for two months, for my "fix everything" time at home. Our winter has been mild so far and I'm planning a few treks with my Rolleis, to shoot and reshoot some of our beautiful mountains and glens. Our plans to move to the mainland (Victoria) are on hold, for two reasons: (1) my partner's contract job will end in July 2018 and we will then be free to relocate to anywhere we want, and (2) a friend in Victoria (state) passed away and left me a half share in an old house in a pleasant country town (called Ballan), which has so far resisted mass property development and kept much of its old charm but is well serviced for shopping etc and only an hour by train to and from Melbourne. The other 'half' owner wants us to lease for five years with a second five year option, at a good rent. So we may do. Money isn't tight, but the kitty has shrunk due to my overseas trips (three times to Asia in the past 12 months) and while I'm now planning to step back a bit from my globe-trotting, there are places in Asia I want to revisit and trek in, with cameras of course. I am a diligent saver (= miser) and my travel costs me half or less than what I spend here in Oz anyway, so an easy decision there.

Health remains good, 'tho I don't have the energy I did at sixty. Otherwise no bits and pieces have fallen off yet. Maybe a cataract op on one eye in 2018. As for the rest, I'm reasonably fit, I can still walk 10 or 15 kilometers in one go, and I've taken off four kilos this year. More small blessings to add to my list.

Photographically, my film stash is reducing - a recent count showed about 300 rolls of 120 and 150-175 rolls of 35mm left,also a few bulk rolls. A lot of Kodak Panatomic-X yet to be used. Paper stocks are overflowing in the second fridge after generous gifts from friends who not longer D&P, two 100 sheet boxes of French Guilbrom FB and two of Kodabromide G (also FB), all 8x10 and still sealed, came my way in 2017, also ten packs of 11x14 and 16x20 Ilford Galerie, so I can finish printing my oldest negatives, if/when I find the time.

We will do our gala North American trek (California, New Mexico, Texas, the Civil War battlefields, Eastern Canada and across to Vancouver) in 2018, after my partner retires and we have more disposable dosh, allowing two to three months of leisurely driving with many stops. It will be expensive, but as my last "return to my roots" it's important to me, a must do. After that, fewer trips away for me, a month or six weeks at a time to revisit places like Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and maybe brief tours to beautiful super expensive Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Then the rocking chair with the cat on my lap - maybe, when I've used up the Guilbrom, Kodabromide and Galerie to print my old negatives and caption, eyword and archive the best prints.

It's all fun, and long may it last - for all of us.

I'm not a Latin scholar, but my wife was and she tells me although time flies is the popularly accepted translation of the phrase"tempus fugit", the correct one is "time flees".

 

[Down Under]

benjiboy (#94), I would never dare contradict a wife, whether my own or anyone else's - that said, yours happens to be correct in this case. Please onpass my thanks, and I will have an extra half glass of good red tonight in her honor.

ted_smith (#93), at forty you still have time in your favor yet AND a Hasselblad 501 to enjoy now! In a few years your financial situation will have improved and you will be more free to indulge in your film shooting. I like your 'business plan' approach to SWMBO to get a scanner and set up a minimalist darkroom, admirable indeed, and you did your calculations well - in very little time your basic costs will have been covered - you can then come up with another BP to buy more film...

In the '70s when I shooting with Nikkormats, I saved up for a year to buy the 35mm OC f/2 wanted so badly (I still have it). When I hit forty I had just changed careers and was establishing my architectural practice. Even B&W film was an extravagance on my rock-bottom budget at that time. My beloved Rolleiflex 3.5E2 (I still have it) lived in a cupboard for two years. I had a good stock of Kodak bulk film and a loader and reusable cassettes, so I shot for that time but didn't get around to processing my films until 1990 (almost three years later) when I had paid off the establishment costs for the business and clients were paying us in reasonable time and there was enough left over after paying Peter, Paul and Mary for me to eat, drink wine again and buy photo chemistry. By then I had 100+ rolls in the fridge and I recall it took forever to process the lot in a two-roll Patterson tank. All this seems nostalgically amusing and even pleasant now but it wasn't great fun at the time. Now in my retirement I have yet to scan all those negatives...

Prest_400 (#78) good on you for doing in your twenties what I was doing in my twenties, living life, traveling and enjoying new experiences. Life is a long process and there will be (I hope) more than enough time to do all the "oldie" things. Go to Asia, look at temples, visit markets, walk in ricefields, swim in warm seas off exotic beaches, eat local food (most of it is amazingly good), and soak up all the wonderful new cultures.It's what I did, and am still doing at almost seventy. The camera is incidental. Just take the one (or two) you know best and enjoy most. The images will set themselves up for you, wherever you go. (I was about to write "go now before it's too late", but with Asia, I've learned it's all about the here and now, so it's really never too late...)

 

[Sirius Glass]

I'm 40 with two kids under 9 and a whopping mortgage and a fair few debts. Retirement seems a lifetime away for me so I tend not to think about. I do however have the financial battles with film photography.

I have a hasselblad 501cm which I love using but the costs of using it are astronomical. Film cost plus the costs of a lab to develop and scan and often print means an average roll costs £20 to get the finished product.

For that reason I have been looking at affordable but decent scanners for, I joke not, 6 months! Because even paying £170 for an Epsom perfection v550 (which I did today!!) for what is essentially a hobby in my position seems like stealing from Peter to pay Paul. I had to verbalise a business plan to the mrs to explain how buying that and the development chemicals and tanks will pay for the scanner after about 8 rolls. So all I now need to pay for is the film itself, the odd big print and the chemicals once in a while.

So not really relevant to the retirement subject but financially shooting film can be hard but I am hoping I can do more of it now for less

Go to the Epson and HP websites and see if you can get a reconditioned scanned for a whole lot less than the list price.

 

[Finny]

... but with Asia, I've learned it's all about the here and now, so it's really never too late...)

I have learned this when I passed my 50th only. And I have to force myself every day to accept that. But it's true! Life is NOW! Not in 10 years or when I retired!

 

[Prest_400]

I have learned this when I passed my 50th only. And I have to force myself every day to accept that. But it's true! Life is NOW! Not in 10 years or when I retired!

You guys want to make me take the next flight to Asia and forget everything else

After graduating I became quite aware of some responsabilities and given hard estned money I became quite a strategic spender. Growing up in the recession did its part too.

I do have more thoughts about retirement than an average 20 yo, not for myself but because my dad is nearing his retirement, waiting and hoping for an early one (at 61) that hasn't yet come.
He feels quite lucky as his job is quiet nowadays and feels "sorted out for life". When he was 55, some Stupid boss tried to kick him out and that would have been dire. Sadly, those who get unemployed at 50s lose a lot of pension and may not recover from it. Thankfully that did not happen.

He always said: I feared becoming a poor old man. And in the talk about it he wants me to become aware of retirement.

Anyways one cannot even look at plane tickets now as algorithms keep em high. I spotted 500€ return trip rates to Asia for Oct, Nov and January. That, in a month or so.

I am taking a couple months to prepare a certification that might allow me getting into a masters and moving abroad to another part of Europe. A bit of square one and a journey in itself, but with new boundaries. That is keeping me a bit more conservative and not making me book that flight.
ATM I am enjoying my hometown fully, because leaving won't make me a resident anymore! Not all trips are far away. (Got a few spots with pending daytrips for Sept. August is too impossible here)

Maybe I can subtly ask for some of those spare retirement funds he ain't gonna use for a modest little expedition to SE Asia. 2K may be enough for a month around.


Actually I reminded he told me a few years ago about doing a tour together around there.

 

[wwilliams]

Great thread - particularly for me since I just turned 65 and plan to retire in about 9 months. I'm also an architect and have spent most of my career working for a public agency, thankfully with a great medical plan and a pension. I feel I’ve been blessed professionally since I enjoy architecture more than I did when I started (which was quite a lot) and my agency has been mostly a dream to work for (a few bosses notwithstanding).

I’ve bought (and sold) many too many cameras but still own a gamut from 8x10 down to a Rollei 35. I’ve always fought the battle between quality (a Pentax 6x7 for a while) and portability (a much beloved Nikon F) which recently came down to a Nikon D800E and a Fuji xpro1. I still do a lot of film and I have to admit I get more keepers with my Hasselblad SWC than anything else (maybe everything else put together). When paired with a Rolleiflex Automat, the pair provide a great, lightweight combo. Back to the Nikon DSLR I’ve fought digital bloat by sticking with not very fast primes, sometimes manual focus, to keep total carrying weight down. My kit now is an 18 MF, a 28pc, a 35f2 af and hope to acquire an 85 1.8 af. The bottom line for me is that it is still a noble goal to keep the camera kit weight down, enjoy walking around, and don’t obsess over lost shots too much. Throwing everything into a plain (not to photo looking) backpack really helps

 

[Down Under]

Hey, we've hit the C-mark! I want to be the one to claim the big hundred - here goes!

This is also an anniversary day for me - five years ago, on August 4,2012, I shut down my computer, threw the keys to my desk and my door keys on the new administrator's desk, thanked everyone for everything, patted my final buyout certified cheque ("check" to some of you) in my shirt pocked, and walked out of my office for the last time ever. I've not been back there since - okay, mostly due to the fact that the practice closed down about 12 months later, never mind.

That was the second best day of my life. The first best day is, of course, today.

Prest_400, may I offer some travel advice learned from much flying, and which has worked well for me in Asia? If/when you are ready to go, buy the best BASIC fare you can find from a reliable airline. Don't fly with buckets. Check out those cheap-cheap fares and do comparisons - the so-called "discounted" fares add up to a lot more when you include all the extras (leg room, better seats, food, luggage) they now charge for. I did this many years ago and I was astounded at the realisation that flying with the good carriers often works out to at most 5%-10% more than going with the cheapos.

Fly to the first RELIABLE airline destination you plan to travel to/from, and go from there. "Reliable"means Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and one or two others. Avoid Jakarta, Bali, anywhere in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh. You will pay too much to get out of those places. Some Immigration officers in Bali are notoriously corrupt and try to heavy young/casual travelers for a payment to grant a visa. I've seen it happen. Sri Lanka was the ONLY Asian destination where I was physically threatened with arrest at the airport if I didn't give the Immi officer a bribe and I had to part with US$10 and got my visa. I've never been back to that country and I won't return, ever. Stick to the big air centers.

Next, go OL and look up Traveloka. I use them to plan my Asian travels. Often you can get discounts of up to 50% of advertised airfares for the same routes bought in Europe, North America or Australia. Pay by credit card or set up an account with your bank and use a Visa debit card.

Remember that some Asian countries (Indonesia and Bangkok are the worst for this) won't let you in unless you show an onward ticket. As an example, if you intend to fly to Bangkok, buy the cheapest onward fare from there to wherever you plan to go (KL, Singapore, Saigon, Manila) on the day you plan to fly. Most ASEAN countries usually give 30 day visas either free or at a nominal cost. Calculate for 29 days to be sure,or exactly 30 days. Use a calendar (not your fingers) to count. Buy the ticket OL and you are all set.

Some time before youleave your first country, you should buy an onward ticket out of your NEXT Asian destination. Some countries want to see an outward ticket to issue a visa. Indonesia does. Malaysia and Singapore usually don't.

A few countries see tourists as walking wallets and charge accordingly for visas. The Indonesian visa system is truly idiotic in parts,they insist on immigration agents to do a lot of the basic work. Also Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, with 30 day visas renewable forever if you want them, but you must either leave the country every month and then return and pay for a visa again, or slip someone a good bit of corruption money to fix things up for you. The corruption is usually more than the visa fee and I've always refused to pay it, better to fly out, enjoy a few days in some civilised place, and then fly back in. Others may differ here, but that's my way.

Try not to travel heavy. Go light. Some airlines allow 10 kilograms of free cabin luggage included (most give seven kilos but a few will add an extra three kilos). How much stuff do you need anyway? Two changes of clothing, a few basic cosmetics, camera(s) and of course film.Buy T-shirts, underwear, cosmetics and almost everything else you need, on the spot, it's much cheaper.

Japan, Taiwan and Korea are beautiful but hideously expensive. In the past Taiwan immigration officials were somewhat paranoid with young travelers arriving in jeans, sneakers and T-shirts. This may hae changed. I plan to next year after 19 years of absence. Except for the infuriating bureaucracy, it's a lovely place. Ditto South Korea- but not in winter.

This isn't really a travel advice thread for APUGgers, so I'll stop here. Maybe we should start one. Does anyone want to go with this?

Enough for this post. Some of you have posted some truly amazing information in this thread, and I want to post again in the next few days, to say a BIG thank all of you who have let us reach the big C-note. On to the second hundred now!

 

[jscott]

This is a great thread, as I turn 61 next week... Frankly I'm not thinking about retirement because I see very few guys who seem to do it well, and there are so many older working guys who are at the top of their game. A few of you are reassuring that it can be done, so I'm taking notes.

Rather than retire, I plan to work fewer hours, raise my rates (self employed), and take longer vacations. I bought into the 8x10 Intrepid camera, hoping that the lighter weight might make 8x10 a possibility through my 60's and beyond. Also took a course in wet plate and got all that gear. Still shooting all formats and running a fairly large darkroom.

One thing that I have discovered is that it's best to do a dedicated photo road trip in order to have a chance at getting anything really good. That way you have time to reconn shots and sun angles and other logistics. Those things rarely come together by chance, or when you are traveling with an impatient non-photographer. I just spent a night at Devil's Tower, and found that to be a tough subject for a short stay... Then went on to photograph Medicine Rocks, near Ekalaka, MT. Excellent site but difficult to get the right lighting in a pinch. Then we went over the Beartooth highway. More great stuff with bad harsh lighting. I lugged my Deardorff special around all these places. Any one of these areas would take days to do correctly. And you always have the basic problem of making a "meaningful" landscape photo... quite a challenge. Then we drove through Yellowstone and didn't take a single photo. Seemed uninteresting after the other three places I mentioned.

 

[Jim Jones]

I first retired in 1969. A military career and good security clearance qualified me to then work overseas in the aerospace industry for a few years at three times the military salary. Sacrificing a "normal" lifestyle while young can be a great investment towards a rewarding old age. However, don't delay too long in pursuit of many pleasures. Cameras feel much heavier now than decades ago. Hills are steeper. Gone are the days of driving 24 hours in one day on vacation. OTOH, a reliable modest income and other retirement benefits are priceless. Photography gets easier and better. My first Leica cost over a month's pay in 1953. A new camera with better performance and convenience costs less than a week's retirement income. Life is good.