A Different Way

Daily writing prompt

Are there any activities or hobbies you’ve outgrown or lost interest in over time?

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It took me a while to remember that I used to take a lot of photographs. I was given a Minolta 9000 nearly 40 years ago. I only have a few of the thousands of photos I took with the camera. The photo above was taken with a phone.

The camera is in a drawer in the house somewhere. With it are various lenses, filters, and probably some expired film. It needed to be repaired once. Ten years ago, I replaced its battery.

I bought a digital camera at some point and then another. Many of my archived photos were taken with those cameras. None were taken with the Minolta. It never occurred to me to digitize them.

The convenience and speed of camera phones ended my interest in my old cameras. In recent years, we haven’t gone many places that have inspired me to take many photos. I take them now and then anyway.

If I chose a photo at random these days, it would probably be something in or around the house: my dog, some vegetables I’ve grown, my desk, or some of the flowers in the yard.

It’s not that I’ve lost interest, it’s more that I’ve taken a lot of photos of the things around me already. A couple of months ago, I took some photos of manatees. They’d have been better if I’d used a camera with a polarized lens.

We’ve talked about, or at least I have, purchasing a camera for our post-retirement travel. Samsung came out with an improved camera system on this year’s phone. Perhaps one like it will suffice.

A photographer I meat nearly 45 years ago told me he didn’t bring his camera with him when he took vacations. He said it interfered with him seeing the world around him. He said photography was his job.

It seemed like an enlightened position to me back then. I was young and impressionable, and a lot of things older people told me then sounded like wisdom. I’m not sure now that it was.

I’m not a photographer though I once took a lot of photos. I still enjoy capturing moments and I may enjoy it more when I go to new places. It won’t get in the way of experiencing life.

I’m not sure what it will be. A hobby?