Are we still on the air? It seems we are...
I'll hit the threescoreandten in a few weeks. I'm now in Sarawak (Malaysia), shooting away, and planning to fly to Indonesia next week so I can celebrate my 70th with friends and spouse in Surabaya, without champagne (that will wait for my return to Australia in 2018) but a lot of good Indonesian and Chinese food, Bintang beer for friends, one or two Anker beers for me, and a bottle of Guiness for my SO. Low key, but the guest of honor will be happy to be there and in quite good health!
This may be my last long journey for some time. We plan to move from Tasmania and back to the mainland (Victoria,Australia) next year, which will entail moving half a mountain to cull possessions, pack up the house, do the inevitable rounds of farewells, and then relocate, there to start the entire process all over again in reverse. Except for the celebrations with friends, which always seem to go on and on. Spare cash for overseas jaunts (which aren't as expensive as you would think, with some careful planning and budgeting) is running down a bit, the stock photo market is slow with fewer sales this year.
We are fortunate to have two incomes but our finances aren't bottomless and we need to save a little for what will likely happen in my next decade. So I'm trying to be more careful with money, and I'm not sixty now, so caution in every way is my new byword. Our planned North American gala trip in mid-2018 will be postponed by a year or two due to expenditure at home. A future overseas trip will be a brief visit to Japan, together as a couple as my partner has never been, with a fast stopover in Taiwan or Korea, when time and our stretched finances allow. One or two more visits to Malaysia and Indonesia for me over the next say, three years. More time at home, to catch up on darkroom work and mostly to scan the huge mound of old negatives and slides taken during my lifetime. One more trans Tasmanian driving trip. Future photo shoots in different seasons of the year in a few of the many beautiful botanical gardens in Victoria and other Australian states.
I'm still blessed with good health, but I'm slowing down a bit. Age has wearied me (well, a little), also the 10 kilograms I've put on in the past 12 months, from all that good Asian food and daily doses Anker and Tiger beer soI can stay hydrated in this tropical heat.
I'm shooting with a Nikon D700 with my old D90 as a backup. I had my newly acquired Rolleicord Vb as a film camera backup with me, but decided a few weeks ago to return it to Oz with a friend returning to Oz, to lessen and lighten the load. Another friend gave me a Nikon F65 with a 50mm 1.4 (early autofocus) lens to add to my collection, my third. They are good cameras. Finding film in Malaysia, well. Maybe in KL, when I get back there. Or Singapore. Or Tasmania. Here in Sarawak, no film. Nor in Brunei.
I hope to buy a Nikon Df next year, when good used ones are more available and prices come down a little. Which may be my last digital Nikon. My D700 has about 180,000 clicks on its shutter, the D90 just under 40,000. Both seem keen to go on for a while yet. The Rolleicord is a 1962-1963 model and somewhat rough cosmetically but the shutter is close to spot-on. With a 16 exposure kit, it's the ideal travel film camera.
I feel so fortunate in that I'm still able to get around and still make plans. Many of us are in this situation, I think. Every day is a small lifetime when one is 70...
So a lot to do. Always lots to do.