After a weekend's frolic with my 4x5, I found my knees were causing me great pain. Didn't stop me from going to work, but I shuffled like an old man when going to the restroom. I figured it was just another indignity of aging (I am in my late 50's.) The pains eventually passed, but the next week at a (much postponed) physical, I was diagnosed with Lyme Tick disease. Sore knees can be a symptom....
Exercise, exercise, exercise ... I find my self doing knee exercises most every night. Not a physician but interpolating from what my orthopod has told me I think we can consider trekking int he woods with our gear a blessing as it gies us a reason to keep these aging joints 'well lubed.' My knee problems, as I am sure that of many others, started years ago and were caused by an active life that included lots of hiking, climbing, squash and skiing. The fact that I frequently carried my gear with me may have somewhat exacerbated the problems but was certainly not the root cause of the aches I have now. The need to get out in the woods and wilds to make images has become good therapy to keep these knees working well.
I had my knee operated on 36 years ago, well, well before arthroscopy was even a word, let alone a technique. Problems with it off and on ever since, but finally no more problems since: 1) I quit running and jumping, completely; and, 2) I started commuting on my bicycle. The regular, impact-and-load-free exercise keeps the knee in good working order.
The biggest problem I have nowadays is visiting museums -- something about standing around on those hardwood floors, often with knees locked, is very bad. So I try to remember to sit on every bench I see to give the knee a break as often as possible.
If you're still running around with LF gear, by definition you are not elderly. Elderly people sit in nursing homes with their knees wrapped in nice warm blankets whilst waiting helplessly for the inevitable.
The motto?
"Using an old camera keeps you young at heart!" (which could be paraphrased as "Get a tripod and throw away the walking stick .....")
(Or we could just enjoy our senility and ramble aimlessly: "Back in my day, we didn't have photography because they hadn't invented light yet. But since everything was dark, you could develop film anywhere, but you had to be careful driving until they invented headlights, which were the first lights, but it would ruin everybody's film if you turned them on in the wrong place, which is why you had to get a special drivers license back then. But after they invented the sun, everything changed...")
I like Mark's motto. Why do I do LF? "Can't do digital unless my kids are with me." My knees pop, but my ankles are what were killing me (arthritis and bone spurs) -- too much Volleyball. A podiatrist and a set of orthotics changed my life on that count.
Anything more than 500 yds from the car just isn't photogenic. -Brett Weston, Attributed to Brett Weston referring to working with a 10 x 8 view camera. In an interview with David Graham in July 1989 View Camera magazine.
Born in 1911, Brett was in his very late 70s at the time the interview was published. But 500 yards? How about 50, or even 5? And he had a good 20 years on me!
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