How Do You Cope?
Different people cope with life’s difficulties in different ways. Some seek professional help, some talk with their clergy or their mom, some chat with friends or read self-help books.
I reach for my camera.
Taking pictures is therapy for me. Through the ups and downs of my past two years I have taken thousands of photographs. When I’m feeling depressed or stressed I grab one of my cameras and stalk a flower, a cloud or an architecturally interesting building. When some of my closest friends hear I’m feeling blue, they often suggest I go take a picture.
Jobs, girlfriends and wives come and go, but photography is always there. And sarcasm.
Shooting pictures is the single most consistent thing in my life. I first took pictures with a Kodak Brownie camera as a very young boy. My first 35mm camera was a Minolta. Years later I graduated to a complete Canon outfit with a 35mm body, three or four detachable lenses, numerous filters, a flash unit and a bag to put it all in. I have since become a Nikon snob and three years shelved all the Nikon film gear for one awesome Nikon D80 digital camera with two lenses. I also have a pocket-sized Canon digital camera which enables me to nearly always have a camera with me.
I am inspired by other photographers, pro and non-pro: John Shaw and David Muench for landscapes, Michael Halminski for wildlife and my friends Eliz and Josh for imagination.
This weekend I was feeling a little lost, emotionally. Rather than sulking or whining, I picked up my D80 and took a walk around my yard and a nearby town. This is one of the pictures I shot. Visit my photo blog for a few more.
How do you cope?
I reach for my camera.
Taking pictures is therapy for me. Through the ups and downs of my past two years I have taken thousands of photographs. When I’m feeling depressed or stressed I grab one of my cameras and stalk a flower, a cloud or an architecturally interesting building. When some of my closest friends hear I’m feeling blue, they often suggest I go take a picture.
Jobs, girlfriends and wives come and go, but photography is always there. And sarcasm.
Shooting pictures is the single most consistent thing in my life. I first took pictures with a Kodak Brownie camera as a very young boy. My first 35mm camera was a Minolta. Years later I graduated to a complete Canon outfit with a 35mm body, three or four detachable lenses, numerous filters, a flash unit and a bag to put it all in. I have since become a Nikon snob and three years shelved all the Nikon film gear for one awesome Nikon D80 digital camera with two lenses. I also have a pocket-sized Canon digital camera which enables me to nearly always have a camera with me.
I am inspired by other photographers, pro and non-pro: John Shaw and David Muench for landscapes, Michael Halminski for wildlife and my friends Eliz and Josh for imagination.
This weekend I was feeling a little lost, emotionally. Rather than sulking or whining, I picked up my D80 and took a walk around my yard and a nearby town. This is one of the pictures I shot. Visit my photo blog for a few more.
How do you cope?
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