The guy that sits to the left of me in my LF class (a retired neurosurgeon) had his knees done. Then the guy to the right of me (mid-70's and retired) had his done. They were both done by a former class member who is a practicing knee surgeon. When my knees hurt, I start worrying and take extra care not to let them hurt too bad. I'm also getting more into shooting from the area of my jeep, rather than miles away.
I'm more careful these days too. Kind of. About two years ago I was doing a magazine story on coyote infestation into the Denver metro area. I was tracking a coyote when I had to cross and go down a steep bank and cross this frozen stream. Boondocks, but still in Denver proper. ..and about three inches of snow on the ground.
I tripped when my right boot got snaged in some tight barbed wire under the snow, and I ended up sliding down 20 feet over frozen rocks and landed in the frozen stream bed. I tried to protect my bunch of Canon EOS-1V high speeds and lenses....FOOLISHLY. I should have thrown them away..they had pro insurance on them all.
Today, I get up each morning with muscles in my left hip tightening and severe pain. I take my pills to relax muscles..kill pain, etc. About two hours later the pain is gone and I still remember
that cold January day and taking that painful 'swan-dive'. My friends say that when I recall the story, ....at the end I always smile. Another photographer asked me why I did that.
I told him,.....I am thinking...."Yeah, but I sure did get some great shots of that coyote"!
(Living proof that this writer need not be accused of being 'nuts'! I just proved it')
Fresh Eyes, ..be well....Richard in Denver...at 70.
LF= Leica Fotografie.
Yes, your knees, your eyes and your back wil thank you. Just keep shooting, the camera shouldn't matter at some point. Sooner or later.
I'm now very soon 50 and just got my second 8x10 and this one is not for the studio like the first one, no it is for shooting and hiking a tiny bit just to do my exercises up to one mile from my car.
Its a wonderfull Burke & James flatbet in almost new condition with this red bellows maybe one of the most underrated cameras!
It fits perfectly in my tramperrucksack and with lenses and tripod and holders it will be about 15 kg wich is almost nothing.
In the swiss army we had to take 32 kg and walk for 2 days just for nothing!
To piggyback on this thread, it seems to me that a great many of us on this forum are middle-aged and beyond. I'll be 56 in May. Is this the primary age group that is working to keep LF alive, or are there any younger people out there working in large format? When this generation leaves the planet, who's going to carry on the tradition?
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