Tayacan.dk
Created: 2023-06-27 | Last changed: 2023-06-28
Hobbies come and go
On the Photography page of this site, I say that I've been a photographer since my teens, implying that this has been a sort of continuous thing. The truth is that I've had multiple breaks, the most recent one several years long. Still, I always seem to find myself coming back to the camera.
Losing a hobby
My dad taught me to take photos, often giving me his old camera gear whenever he got something new. I've spent so many days with him, walking around the woods, photographing whatever seemed interesting, experimenting with exposure and composition. When we've gone on vacations, the cameras have come along, and we would both take pictures of the same things, then compare and discuss.
Photography has brought me a lot of joy over the years, and I've taken many pictures that I'm quite proud of. For years and years, a common weekend activity for me would be to grab my camera, go outside, and just wander around looking for a good photo. I produced a lot of images this way.
But then at some point, a few years ago, I just stopped feeling like it. I'd built up a bit of a backlog of unedited photos, mostly from holidays, and I didn't want to deal with them, and taking more photos just felt like adding to that backlog. I was burned out, I suppose.
This wasn't my first break from photography, but it was by far the longest. I would occasionally look at my camera, sitting on the shelf, and imagine taking it out again. I didn't want to. Eventually, I decided that if I never wanted to again, that was fine. I debated selling my camera and lenses, but never got around to it.
During covid, Fujifilm released software that allowed people to use their Fuji cameras as webcams - great, the old camera has a purpose again! I set it up as a webcam and used it during lockdowns, and eventually also for a bit of video game streaming. By now, lockdowns are over, and I'm no longer playing anything I care to stream, and so I figured I'd just use the webcam setup now and then to talk to friends.
Back at it?
And then, out of nowhere, about a week ago, I wanted to take pictures again. No idea what triggered it! But I want to take pictures again, and I am absolutely going to follow that impulse for as long as I feel like it. So here's the first photo I've taken, outside of phone snapshots, in years:
This was taken in the botanical garden in Copenhagen, a short walk from my home. I wanted a very casual, low-pressure re-start to my photography hobby. Currently, I'm on a vacation with my mother and grandmother, and I've brought the camera along. Those are the other photos you've seen in this post.
So, for now, I'm having fun. I'm trying to restrain myself a bit - it's very easy to slip into a mindset where I'm constantly looking for the good picture, always ready to document what's going on around me. I'm trying to hold that impulse back a little, enjoy being in the moment, and take pictures when I happen to see something pretty or interesting.
The takeaway from this little story? I'm very glad I didn't sell my camera and my lenses!