realspeed
Well-known member
or a heritage train ride in Brazil
Aging and limitations in photo outfits
- Thread starter rjselders
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realspeed
Well-known member
or waiting for a bullit tran in Japan
realspeed
Well-known member
Or watching traditional dance in South Korea (long pause after intro)
realspeed
Well-known member
or a courtyard in Sicily for snacks
realspeed
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lets pop over to Latvia for traditional music
realspeed
Well-known member
No changed my mind. lets meet Cleopatra instead
realspeed
Well-known member
or near me in the UK
realspeed
Well-known member
how about a trip to Russia
St C atherine palace St Petersburg Russia
This has been an interesting thread to me as a peek ahead. I’m in my early 50s so I still have some resemblance to vitality but have been pondering things like whether I should spring for a 600 f4 while I can (so to speak). Of course I have the 100-400 and 600pf so that may keep me from justifying a second longer telephoto.
mathjak107
Active member
i hit 72 .
my brain keeps telling me you can do this .
my body says you are an idiot
my brain keeps telling me you can do this .
my body says you are an idiot
I became aware of that concept many years ago from my brother who is a middle school teacher. He said he noticed after teaching the same grade for years that it’s not that you feel older but everyone looks younger.
I turned 78 last Sept. I began downsizing both size and quantity of photo gear several years ago. The writing was on the wall with arthritic knee and hip and other general old man aches and pains.
Never traveled specifically for photography even though when wife was alive we had great trips and always had camera or two along. Now it's just myself and my cat and no interest in traveling other than short local day-trips to try and make photos/video. I usually have an old Manfrotto lightweight carbon fiber tripod with me in my truck when out on the day-trips. I've noticed my hands are not as steady sometimes as they used to be for hand-holding shots plus the occasional long-exposure shot needs one.
After a months long hiatus I just put my backyard bird feeders and bird bath water-drip back in service. I'd kinda gotten bored with bird photo/videos but thought I'd give it a go some more this winter. Main challenge is finding an appropriate location for the new pop-up blind that has been setting for months in it's unopened Amazon shipping box.
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That does not sound like a terrible way to spend your summer!
Years ago, I was a fanatical bicycle rider, or so I thought. 250 miles each week was the goal during riding season. I was caught up in the quest for lighter equipment to lessen the weight of my bicycle, when one day the bike shop owner told me that while he loved selling me gear for my bike, the best way for me to do so was to go on a diet.
So, seeing that weight seems to be a frequent driver in making equipment changes, I've decided that I need to go on a diet!
I'll start the day after tomorrow!!
So, seeing that weight seems to be a frequent driver in making equipment changes, I've decided that I need to go on a diet!
I'll start the day after tomorrow!!
Calson
Well-known member
My wife has a Olympus MFT kit and it is very good and image quality is close to what I have gotten with my far heavier FX gear. But the Olympus bodies are small for my hands, much like the D750 camera and so not comfortable for me to hold for extended periods of time without my hands severely cramping. Otherwise the MFT gear that weighs half as much is worth serious consideration. More than a few full time travel and lifestyle photographers were switching to the lighter APS-C cameras and zoom lens and later moved to the MFT cameras and lenses. The resolution was more than enough for magazine publications.
I have a collection of elastic support bands that help with recovery when I have over done it. Sign of the times.
I have a collection of elastic support bands that help with recovery when I have over done it. Sign of the times.
Woody Meristem
Well-known member
For 52 years my vocation involved walking in forest and field roughly 250 days a year and my hobbies also entailed hiking over hill and dale. Now at 83 I have a bum leg caused by a fall in the forest about ten years ago and an artery supplying oxygenated blood to part of my heart is totally blocked and can't be opened or bypassed -- but I'm still getting out and walking 1-2 miles most days, just not rapidly or up steep hills. Oh yeah, I also have a bad back; so I really like my Olympus gear for its lighter weight and smaller size.
LOL. It's called, "Your brain is writing checks your body can't cash."
At 63, The only lens that had been putting me off a little was my fabulous 400 f2.8E FL VR as it had a supposed weight of 3.8KG but add in the hood weight and you have 4.13kg. I was mounting it on my Z8/Z9 and thus the FTZ had to be taken into account as was the 1.4x TCIII as I almost always shot with the TC on. That pushed the weight to 4.35kg. It was getting a little heavy to wield around handheld chasing birds and thus I was thinking of selling it off. There came a deal for a trade-in on my 400 f2.8 on a new Z 600TC that I couldn't pass up and as the Z 600TC weighed in at "only" 3.35kg, I decided to go ahead and buy it and trade-in my 400 f2.8. That is a 1kg/2.2lb saving and it does make a difference. So far, this is the only real step I have made to lightening my gear.
BlackRockArt
Well-known member
That I can relate !Years ago, I was a fanatical bicycle rider, or so I thought. 250 miles each week was the goal during riding season. I was caught up in the quest for lighter equipment to lessen the weight of my bicycle, when one day the bike shop owner told me that while he loved selling me gear for my bike, the best way for me to do so was to go on a diet.
So, seeing that weight seems to be a frequent driver in making equipment changes, I've decided that I need to go on a diet!
I'll start the day after tomorrow!!
Back in April, I started running for the first time in my entire life; 8 months later, I have done 5K, 10K, 12K, half, Full Marathon, 50K Ultra, along the way, I lost 35lbs of body fat.
For me, diet never worked, be it Keto, 16+8, Intermittent Fasting, pills.... only through running did I achive the goal of keeping my body weight in check.
Still I have got 10lbs of fat to lost in 2025; also Pilate class seems a good option for squeaking joints.
Oliver
That's great and inspirational, but I've given up on ever running or jogging again due to chronic joint problems. I envy you being able to.
My advice to my fellow geriatrics and near geriatrics:
Most of you don't know this about me. I am the Pastor at a Nursing Home. This has been my advocation for 41 years.
When it comes to vacations, I will relate to you the advice my congregations have given me over those 41 years. "Go Now! Don't wait because you never know when you will no longer be able to go, ever again."
The sad reality is that we don't always age gracefully. Sometimes we are going along just fine then one day our health line degrades like it is falling off a table. That happens more often than we would like.
But the flip side is that "Sometimes it is a mental test, not a physical test." When someone arrives injured, I ask them how it happens; they tell me. Yep, I think, "You thought you were young."
Being in a Nursing home is sad. Almost everyone is stuck there till they die. They never get better. They never get out. None of us can ever be sure we will avoid this end-of-life scenario, but we can make sure we live life to the fullest, both boldly and intelligently so if we are unfortunate an end life in this manner, we will have at least minimized our regrets.
Regards,
Tom
Most of you don't know this about me. I am the Pastor at a Nursing Home. This has been my advocation for 41 years.
When it comes to vacations, I will relate to you the advice my congregations have given me over those 41 years. "Go Now! Don't wait because you never know when you will no longer be able to go, ever again."
The sad reality is that we don't always age gracefully. Sometimes we are going along just fine then one day our health line degrades like it is falling off a table. That happens more often than we would like.
But the flip side is that "Sometimes it is a mental test, not a physical test." When someone arrives injured, I ask them how it happens; they tell me. Yep, I think, "You thought you were young."
Being in a Nursing home is sad. Almost everyone is stuck there till they die. They never get better. They never get out. None of us can ever be sure we will avoid this end-of-life scenario, but we can make sure we live life to the fullest, both boldly and intelligently so if we are unfortunate an end life in this manner, we will have at least minimized our regrets.
Regards,
Tom
I don't necessarily mind when my body tells me I am, or have been, an idiot.LOL. It's called, "Your brain is writing checks your body can't cash."
What I don't like is when it yells at me, grabs my arm and pulls me out to behind the woodshed!
Tom, I've recently finished going through this with both of my parents. When we were able to, (when COVID restrictions weren't in place) either my brother or I visited them every day. Most of the time, over the course of almost four years, we both visited them at the nursing home every day. I saw just what you describe happen to not only them, but also many others. When I met you and your wife in 2023, I was on a trip that my brother and my wife insisted I take to give me a break from the strain of just seeing what Mom was going through as an advanced dimentia sufferer.
The sad thing in my parents' cases is that my father entered the nursing home after several falls right after they moved from Central Florida to be near my family, which includes their only grandchildren. We had plans to take vacation trips and to go to local high school football games during the season. Those trips never happened.
And every day I'm remorseful less of some of the things I did in my life, but more so of the things I didn't do.
I am wondering that myself. Love the 500mm f4 vr but the 500mm pf is much lighter. One stop difference...
Bob
Since I turned 75, I have been downsizing my gear. I now have only the Nikon mirrorless system. For many of my photo trips, I now take a monopod instead of my RRS tripod. I take my iPhone for travel vacations that are not specifically for photographic purposes. I have found having the latest version of the iPhone each year and its ability to shoot RAW quite capable for most travel photo opportunities. It is indeed a lot lighter than my Nikon Z9. I still carry my tripod and large zoom lenses in the car. I now have a tremor, which makes photography more of a challenge, so I need some ability to stabilize my camera. Now that I am 80, I have to laugh because things are not getting easier, but I have no intention of letting up. They will have to pry my cold, dead fingers off my camera before they bury me.