Advice and suggestions, please.

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gogleddwr

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Howard
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It is almost 12 months since I last posted anything or contributed to the forum! In that time I became full time carer fo to my wife after her heart last May/June then she had a 2nd one in December. And now the lovely lady has died and I have lost my companion of 56 years (53 of them married).
Why did I mention all that? It's because I'm now looking for any advice and/or suggestions as to how I can get back into photography. If you've seen any of my postings in the past you will notice that I don't shoot any particular genre, it used to be anything that caught my eye!
I live in the flatlands of Chesire but don't want to travel very far, which is a limitation I know.
So, ladies and gentlemen, after that waffle I am seeking your advice and suggestions.
Thanks in advance,
Howard
PS I hope this was the right place to put this plea.
 
gogleddwr said:
It is almost 12 months since I last posted anything or contributed to the forum! In that time I became full time carer fo to my wife after her heart last May/June then she had a 2nd one in December. And now the lovely lady has died and I have lost my companion of 56 years (53 of them married).
Why did I mention all that? It's because I'm now looking for any advice and/or suggestions as to how I can get back into photography. If you've seen any of my postings in the past you will notice that I don't shoot any particular genre, it used to be anything that caught my eye!
I live in the flatlands of Chesire but don't want to travel very far, which is a limitation I know.
So, ladies and gentlemen, after that waffle I am seeking your advice and suggestions.
Thanks in advance,
Howard
PS I hope this was the right place to put this plea.
Click to expand...
Firstly Howard it's not waffle, the loss of a life-long companion is devastating and all credit to you for wanting to pick up your life and move forward.
A couple of years ago, during Covid my wildlife photography took a dip, coupled with some adverse heart health I could no longer carry the weight of my equipment on my wildlife walks.
I eventually turned to street photography with lighter equipment but still getting the 'air & exercise' - I also chat to others I meet. lot too!
I use my own city, often with the buspass, or my railcard to visit Oxford, London or Birmingham - maybe you could think of 'street', 'urban' or something like that in a nearby city or town? :)
 
First, let me say I'm sorry for your loss, after such a long time together. It must be incredibly tough just putting one foot in front of the other at times.

On the photography side, 'Gramps' suggestion IS a good one, because people are everywhere, often doing interesting things, and as an older gentleman you may be less likely to be misunderstood than a younger chap.

If that doesn't work and you're more of a nature lover, is there a section of local-ish countryside that you could regularly walk and document the changes over the course of a year? That would give you a defined project with an aim and reason for going out regularly.
 
I can sympathise Howard, been there got the Tee-shirt.

Maybe combine photography with other interests, the western edge of the Peak District can't be very far, or Alderly Edge. Or City scapes in Manchester, Chester itself us interesting. Go through your old photos see which you now prefer, maybe that will help direct you.

Ian
 
@gramps thanks very much for your kiind reply.
Unfortunately where I live there is no such thing as public transposrt, the nearest bus passes about 3 miles away and once an hour. The nearest train station is Altincham 5 miles east of us or 8 miles west, Warrington. In both places I would be very self-concious taking photos, but I might investigate one or both for interesting architecture. I could use my buspass to get to either place, the walk would probably do me good.

Howard
 
Can I start by adding my condolences to the others.

My suggestion to get you back into photography would be to get yourself a macro lens if you can (and if you don't already have one). You don't have to walk far, or climb mountains. There's a whole fascinating tiny little world right outside your front door chock full of amazing creatures, plants, surfaces and textures just waiting to be discovered.
 
Very sorry to hear of your wife's passing, losing a loved one is extremely hard.
I concur with the above advice, I doubt very much that you'll wanting to be lugging big heavy gear around and perhaps a point and shoot would be better? Also you don't mention budget?

You have high end compact cameras such as the Sony RX100 range, these are small, light and have decent image quality, substantially better than your average mobile phone. Depending on the model zoom ranges from 28-100mm, 24-70mm, or 24-200mm.

I've recently gone back to shooting a fixed lens camera with a 35mm equivalent lens and I have to say it's been liberating. There's no 'messing about' with zooming in and out, you just frame and shoot. Also, because you have no zoom lens it forces you into compositions you might not have naturally taken.

I use the Fujifilm X100VI and it's a fantastic little camera, however there's a lot of buttons and menus are quite complex and it might not be suitable for those who are not au fait with all of the different settings. As it has an APS-C sized sensor image quality is excellent.

The Ricoh GR series would also be a great choice, it has an APS-C sensor (so great image quality) and is truly pocketable. There's a lot fewer buttons to get confused with. They do a 28mm equivalent and a 40mm equivalent.
 
@ancient_mariner @Ian Grant thank you gentlemen for your replies.
I think my main problem is summoning up the energy to get off my backside and go for a walk. The countryside round here although not spectacylar and flat is quite pleasant and quiet. Alderley Edge had actually crossed my mind,so has Dunham Massey and Tatton Park but the problem is as I said earlier is getting my rear end off the chair!! I'd love to go to North Wales but I'm not sure yet if I could manage that far by myself, perhaps that's too soon to think about.
@Concerned Bystander thanks for reminding me, I do have a cheap manual focus macro somewhere, I'll have to dig it out and give it a try. Good idea.

Thank you all for your condolences.

Howard
 
My thoughts are with you Howard.

I don't specialise in anything, I'd describe myself as a happy snapper and I like to take pictures of people and things and places and moments that mean something to me. I started with a Kodak Instamatic and I like smaller kit so have mostly stuck with primes around 24-50mm and these days my most used camera and lens are a Sony A7cII and a Sony 40mm f2.5. It's a FF (the sensor is about the size of a 35mm film) camera and I think the image quality is good with AF performance that verges on magic, I think the lens is good too although at f2.5 it's not a bokeh monster but of course you can change the lens for whatever you want. The camera and a compact lens can make for a compact combination and that can fit in a small unobtrusive camera or man bag.

You don't mention what your budget is but if it doesn't stretch to a FF camera a Micro Four Thirds system might be worth a look and of course there's the used market too if you're willing to buy used.

Good luck with this. I hope it can become a fulfilling hobby for you.
 
Firstly, sorry for your loss. We've recently lost my stepdad so I know yourself & my mum are both going through similar things.

But, it is great that you have photography to get back into.

I think, just carry your camera with you when you go out. Be that some countryside, the local shop, your local village, a nearby town or city.... Just shoot whatever you think looks good. Really, you do what you want. You can be specific like shooting colours, or flowers, or flowers that grow in walls, or abstract, or things made from wood, etc etc You can shoot 'light' - I enjoy that one a lot tbh and the same place will look different at a different time of day & year too. You might even find yourself starting some sort of project. Maybe then you'll end up making yourself a zine/book in the future......

Either way, keep looking forward and I'm sure we are all here to help & encourage you.
 
gogleddwr said:
It is almost 12 months since I last posted anything or contributed to the forum! In that time I became full time carer fo to my wife after her heart last May/June then she had a 2nd one in December. And now the lovely lady has died and I have lost my companion of 56 years (53 of them married).
Why did I mention all that? It's because I'm now looking for any advice and/or suggestions as to how I can get back into photography. If you've seen any of my postings in the past you will notice that I don't shoot any particular genre, it used to be anything that caught my eye!
I live in the flatlands of Chesire but don't want to travel very far, which is a limitation I know.
So, ladies and gentlemen, after that waffle I am seeking your advice and suggestions.
Thanks in advance,
Howard
PS I hope this was the right place to put this plea.
Click to expand...
I'm really very sorry to hear this. I've no idea how I would be able to cope with such a loss, but I do know that photography can be of tremendous help in coping with difficult life moments.

I do a lot of my photography within walking distance of my house. I enjoy seeing and recording the same things in different lights, seasons, and weather. I'm also interested in wildlife, and look forward to seeing the changes in wildlife and plant life. The good thing about wildlife is that it's everywhere; you just have to look for it.

Thinking in terms of projects is always worthwhile; is there anything that interests you that can be turned into a photographic project? It can be documentary-based or photographic concept-based, or anything else you can think of. Photography is great as it can be an excuse to be alone when you want it to be, or it can be an excuse to get involved with other people.

On my regular local walks, I often see people walking their dogs and have a bit of a chat. I keep thinking I should turn this into a project on portraits of locals walking their dogs. So far I've done nothing about it.

But as I've been doing the same walk a few times a week for several years now, frequently I have been asked if I would consider putting on an exhibition of my photographs at the village hall by people involved in running the village hall. Again, so far I've done nothing about it.

As an aside, one of the dog walkers that I've got to know turned out to be the chef at our local pub. I was diagnosed with Coeliac disease last year, and the gluten free options at the local pub are very limited. But, through meeting her while out taking photographs, I have become privy to "secret" list of gluten-free options that they don't put on the menu because of the extra work involved in preparing them.

So there is a lot of scope for local photography. Even more, if you have a local bus (I assume you will be eligible for a free bus pass) and can ext

I would also suggest having a look for some books or web sources on "mindful" photography. The focus and quality of the resources on mindful photography is very variable, but well worth the money is 'Still: a mindful practice for photographers" by Paul Sanders. Paul was the Picture Editor of The Times and had a mental breakdown in 2011. The book is his recipe and story on using mindful photography to bring him back to living a full life.

His web site is here. https://www.discoverstill.com/

With a more photographic focus than Paul's book is "The Mindful Photographer" by Sophie Hayworth.

Her website os here. https://www.sophiehowarth.com/the-mindful-photographer
 
Thank you all for your kind words and words of wisdom, I've certainly got plenty of things to think about.
The idea of a high end compact/mirrorless is quite appealing, I have Canon G10 which I should use more but I like my Pentax!!
@gramps yes I definitely know what she would say and also about getting some lighter equiptment! I can feel Gas coming on!! However there are lots of other expenses first.

Thyank you all.

Back tomorrow.

Howard
 
Hi Howard, my sympathies in your loss, I lost my wife of nearly 57 years coming up for three years ago. Sometimes it seems a long time and others like yesterday. I expect like me you have many happy memories to recall, and it does take time to adjust, take that at your own pace. I joined a bereavement group and we have monthly birthday celebrations as well as other social activities, which has been a great help to me. Perhaps you may be able to find a similar group near you. I had been doing less photography having got back into guitar playing and our regular gigs has also helped me through my loss. As regards gear yes weight does become an issue, I'm 82 and need lighter amplifiers these days, so perhaps consider a change of gear, nothing like a new camera or new guitar to inspire you. Perhaps consider Astro, that would keep you occupied for ages and not much travelling involved, assuming it's reasonably dark where you are.
 
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@artyman thanks for your sympathies to which I reciprocate. I'd never heard of bereavement groups,my problem is that I can be a bit shy, yes at my advance years, so find it difficult at times to join groups!!

@Concerned Bystander OOPS! I don't have a macro lens, but what I do have is a set of extension tubes. And I had a pleasant hour or so trying them out again this afternoon, I had several tries to nail the focus but never really succeeded in getting it right, I shall keep on trying. The other ting I could not quite get right was exposure, more work needed on that as well. So plenty to keep me amused when I need it.

Example below of both problems in one image.

daisy_and_visitor.jpg

Must do better!

Howard
 
Well done for getting out there and giving it a go.

After my father died, my mother worked as a bereavement counsellor for about 10 years, and there are lots of support groups around. People should be understanding and gentle, rather than like a load of blokes down the pub. :)
 
So sorry for your loss Howard.
Coming from North Essex I don't believe Cheshire has any flay lands, all the parts I've visited have been hillier than here.
A couple of spots reasonably local to you that I remember photographing around my trips to Oulton Park have been: Chester, Conwy & the Anderson Boat lift.
Motor racing at Oulton park might be suitable too

My main suggestion though was to consider subjects you can shoot at home.
Some of the obvious ones have probably been done already but how about some of the more unusual indoor themes from our photo workshop sessions:

Stress patterns in plastics using polarised light & a crossed polariser on the lens
stressed stencil by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

UV induced florescence (this will want a UV source & be done in the dark)
uvif small by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

Physiograms (long exposures of moving lights- this one was a swinging laser aimed at the floor)
laser trace by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

Long exposures of moving subjects
Break by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

Sliced fruit lit by transmission
fruity character by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

Cut glass (both as a lighting subject & for refractography (typically done without a lens, but well probably use a slide projection screen to allow multiple photographers)
full


I've got refractography lined up for later :) https://www.flickr.com/groups/43093250@N00/
 
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I guess meeting people might be a good way to get motivated after such a sad loss, so maybe consider joining a camera club?
I know it has helped me following a loss.
You say that the countryside around you isn't spectacular so might you be able to turn that into a positive feature?
Posting here will always get replies that may well help too.
Good luck and be gentle with yourself.
 
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