Photography as therapy:

[Tronhard]

Hi: My name is Trev and I'm a Photographer...

If this sounds like the greeting one associates with an addict in group therapy, it is because I am addicted - to the acts and rewards of photography - and in these challenging times of social limitations, I embrace that need to capture images.

We are all, to some extent, constrained by the necessity to isolate to varying degrees (especially those of us enduring our 13th week of lockdown in Auckland, NZ). I have noticed a degree of lethargy and weariness has set in. I wonder if that reflects the impact of enduring constraints to our ability to engage socially and with the environment...

One thing I have personally found is that the simple act of going out and taking photos is, in itself, a therapeutic experience. I think it is because when one goes and actively observes our surroundings, we are taken out of our isolation for a brief time, and find a connection to something other than our normal self: in some ways we turn a liability into a benefit, as we have time to just be with a world of potential subjects - if we look for them

The images themselves don't have to be monuments to art or creativity: they can simply be observations of the places that form our world - let's face it, that is in line with several genres of photography from way back.

I am normally a wildlife and scenic photographer: which, for me, means taking shots of creatures and places that are not within my normal domestic space; but in these mobility-challenging times, one needs to step away from our comfort zone and normal expectations or aspirations, and seek inspiration where one can, and occasionally that rewards us with the gifts of insight into what we might otherwise overlook as the mundane.

Photography, to me, offers several gifts that I hope you will recognize and hopefully enjoy yourself:

• It makes us Actively Observe:
  The act of taking a camera and seeking inspiration and subjects. As the renowned photographer Dorothea Lange said: "A camera is a tool for learning to see without a camera". That intensity of observation and awareness is, in itself, a great gift for us to engage with our space and time. Each day, each minute is something we will never have again, so giving them due attention is important.
  
  
• It engages both technical and artistic skills:
  Or, to put it another way, it uses both left and right brain functions, which is a benefit to our own intellectual balance and mental health. With modern technologies one can engage without the much deeper technical knowledge and skills demanded of the early pioneers, like Daguerre, Fox-Talbot, Herschel etc. Yet, it does demand some ability to understand how light, optics and time work together to impact our images.
  
  For many of us who cannot, or choose not to create in other media, photography provides a great reward when we can capture or create an image that makes our eyes smile. It is also a great medium to share our own experiences and perceptions of the world.
  
  
• It makes us Move:
  One cannot get images while sitting on the couch, so going out to find those images propels us to get up and go somewhere. That exercise is good for our physical and mental health. I still enjoy shooting with heavy lenses and cameras, and I can take several such kits when I go out to shoot. I also shoot, as a rule, hand-held - so I have to train to be able to hold and control cameras that might weigh 2-3kg for extended periods.
  
  Some folks have suggested that, at 69, I should reduce to much lighter gear, but I embrace the need to do the work to handle the gear. It keeps me younger. I do Pump classes, STEP, aerobics and cycle in order to keep myself fit enough to do the kinds of photography I want. But, I also know it will contribute to making me live longer and with more functionality - and that is, in itself, a gift...
  
  

So, I shall continue to make the effort to fire up my cameras, get out and shoot obvious, mundane and already-captured-to-death images because, in the end, it is not simply the image that is the reward, it is the physical, sensual and intellectual journey TO the image that takes us out of ourselves, and may outlast the photo itself.




New spring growth in my garden: Sony RX-10MkIV, 390mm, f/8, 1/40sec, ISO-200

[purplehaze]

You have pretty much spoken for me, Trev. Well said.

[Tronhard]

Thank you Janis, and I can totally empathize with your context.
In NZ we have adopted a Maori phrase: Kia Kaha - stay strong. I wish that for you, very much.

You have pretty much spoken for me, Trev. Well said.

[Rita]

This is so beautifully worded Trev. Photography is so very much more than just clicking the shutter button. A few months ago I took some time off work because of being burned out. My manager and I had coffee one day and he strongly suggested that I get outside and take some more good quality images, and, he expected to see them. The man was right, I took a lot of images while I was off and it was the best therapy I could have had.

[Tronhard]

This is so beautifully worded Trev. Photography is so very much more than just clicking the shutter button. A few months ago I took some time off work because of being burned out. My manager and I had coffee one day and he strongly suggested that I get outside and take some more good quality images, and, he expected to see them. The man was right, I took a lot of images while I was off and it was the best therapy I could have had.

Since the death of my wife last year, there has been an unending series of stresses from legal issues and family that have left me desperate for a 'safe place' - a zone of time and space where I can just be away from the next challenge. Photography has always been that place for me, and right now it provides succour in a time when I have enjoyed 13 weeks in an isolation bubble of one. My companions are my cameras and the images they capture for me. We have no immediate end in site, but if I have a plan I can endure - and the plan is to go out, observe, capture and create. Those take us away from those 'slings and arrows of outrageous fortune' and give us respite, rejuvenation and inspiration.

I wish those things for your too!

[purplehaze]

Yay, Rita!

Trev, my challenge this week is altering my conception of "strong" to include compassion for myself when I am weak, i.e., undisciplined, self-pitying and ill-tempered.

I am back from my trip out west rather disappointed with my photographs, but I was travelling with people who value movement over stillness and so I not allow myself much chance to "observe". On those few occasions when I did have the opportunity, I was greedy and wasted it. I eventually learned when to just leave the camera behind and save myself the weight.

[Tronhard]

Janis, I am so glad you said this. One of the most destructive element in our psyches is for self-blame and reproach and for the pain in life to overwhelm us. I was told by a therapist that it is much easier for most of us to deconstruct ourselves in a damaging way and to focus on the negative than to find the good - we so easily hold on to the negative and file away the positive.

One exercise is to spend at least 20 seconds dwelling on a positive element within your life. That time helps to imprint that positivity within your mind and makes it easy to access and give one balance and comfort. Hilary had hard times and meltdown and I tried to embrace those, but I recognize that, in my own pain, I could and should have done better - and I judge myself accordingly. I cannot go back now, so I have to learn to forgive myself my humanity.

If I may, I would recommend a You Tuber, Sean Tucker, who is IMHO not only an excellent photographer, but wise beyond his years. He has a remarkable philosophical approach, based on a combination of life experiences and the study of faiths, philosophers and people. I particularly recommend his two videos:
Protect your Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ7QGZYdJns and
Embrace your Shadows: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBAFTR2lScY
I recently bought his book "The Meaning in the Making" which expresses his experience and outlook on both philosophy and photography, entwined - it was extremely engaging for me.
On a lighter tone this video is a great demonstration of making the best of our challenges, also with Sean:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70vx4bgKzms

Forgive yourself for being human... for sure, try to find good things, but know that you are dealing with this as no-one else can. I developed a mantra try to balance myself: The amount of misery expands to fill the space available.

Sure, recognize that you are hurt, afraid and in pain: you are, to a degree grieving for those moments you will not have that might have been. These are emotions you are bound to feel and deserve to be recognized - embrace your shadows. Look at those feelings, and then when they have had their time, remember to put them back in their box, and also recognize that every moment is precious and we will never have it again - so protect your highlights too.

With huge respect.

Yay, Rita!

Trev, my challenge this week is altering my conception of "strong" to include compassion for myself when I am weak, i.e., undisciplined, self-pitying and ill-tempered.

I am back from my trip out west rather disappointed with my photographs, but I was travelling with people who value movement over stillness and so I not allow myself much chance to "observe". On those few occasions when I did have the opportunity, I was greedy and wasted it. I eventually learned when to just leave the camera behind and save myself the weight.

[xpatUSA]

Hello Trev,

Just to say that I admire your fortitude in your circumstances.

This rang a bell with me: quote "seek inspiration where one can, and occasionally that rewards us with the gifts of insight into what we might otherwise overlook as the mundane." unquote.

I live on a few acres of Texas woodland - which may sound exotic to some but, photographically, it is a cluttered mess of undergrowth mostly. So shots have to be "seen" and I'm none too good at that, I'm afraid ...

[Tronhard]

Thank you Ted for you words and thoughts.

Active observation is a difficult art and practice: the challenge is not to wait for the image to present itself to us, but to present ourselves to the image...

Hello Trev,

Just to say that I admire your fortitude in your circumstances.

This rang a bell with me: quote "seek inspiration where one can, and occasionally that rewards us with the gifts of insight into what we might otherwise overlook as the mundane." unquote.

I live on a few acres of Texas woodland - which may sound exotic to some but, photographically, it is a cluttered mess of undergrowth mostly. So shots have to be "seen" and I'm none too good at that, I'm afraid ...

[Tronhard]

I am, in many ways, glad I have the luxury to be in NZ. Our physical isolation, single-tier government and early measures to lock down have kept the first cycles at bay. Even now, we have less than 30 deaths in a country of 5 million, but Delta is a different beast and is spreading around. We are in that delicate state of needing to isolate to protect ourselves and others, yet the population is showing serious lock-down fatigue as the policy to try to stamp out clusters drags on. Our only hope is a highly-vaccinated population, and the govt has outlined the benefits and constraints that will come in when we have achieved that critical mass. I miss BC - I lived there for almost 20 years - and feel for you all with Delta still running rampant in the community. These are difficult times...

This is so beautifully worded Trev. Photography is so very much more than just clicking the shutter button. A few months ago I took some time off work because of being burned out. My manager and I had coffee one day and he strongly suggested that I get outside and take some more good quality images, and, he expected to see them. The man was right, I took a lot of images while I was off and it was the best therapy I could have had.

[purplehaze]

I thoroughly enjoyed those videos for the lessons on both levels , Trev; thanks for sharing.

[Rita]

We are at the point of having a pretty high vaccination rate here now but there are pockets where COVID is still rearing up. The Fraser Valley is still showing as one of those areas. Like others I will be glad when we can have this over and done with.

[Tronhard]

I am glad you are getting some traction, but still alarmed at (to me) the high infection and mortality rates you are still experiencing. As to the longevity of protection... as an RNA virus, COVID is extremely adaptable (as we have already seen) and I suspect this is the beginning of a new reality. It may be that the times when masks and social distancing are at thing of the past will not return - I suspect when we are entering a new normal, but what that will be I am not sure...

We are at the point of having a pretty high vaccination rate here now but there are pockets where COVID is still rearing up. The Fraser Valley is still showing as one of those areas. Like others I will be glad when we can have this over and done with.

[davidedric]

Kudos and admiration to all of you.

I fear the effects of the virus will be with us for a long time, even as we get a better handle on the illness itself.

I volunteer with a UK based charity which provides emotional support (by telephone and email) to anyone in distress. To give an idea of scale, we respond to around 10,000 calls per day.

I estimate, and it is just a personal one though shared with my colleagues, that at least a third, maybe as much as a half, of our callers have been impacted by Covid in some way. Maybe they or a relative has had the virus, maybe leading to a bereavement. Maybe they've lost work or income. Maybe it's increased isolation and loneliness.

I fear the emotional health impact of the disease has a long way to run.

[Tronhard]

Hi Dave:

Kudos from me for your efforts to assist folks in distress. I absolutely agree with you about the emotional distress. The virus has brought to the surface all sorts of issues - have vs have-nots, deniers can conspiracy theorists (I have real worries about them), the issues of how people get their information and thus beliefs, and general stress: expressed as pain, anger, isolation, rule-breaking - the latter only continuing the spread of the virus.

It is wonderful that people like you are reaching out to the isolated, bereaved, and distressed to try to reduce some of their emotional pain, and by inference the stress on those with whom they are close.

[Skyehammer]

In 2011 at the age of 55 I became disabled and had to stop working - it had been coming for a number of year [ since 2002 ] - up until around 1999 I was able to get around like any other able bodied person but now my mobility is limited .

One of the problems facing me was what was I going to do now [ apart from watching television ] ?

I'd dabbled in photography many years ago , my wife had bought me a Zorki 4K for my birthday - then on a holiday in Skye [ before we moved here permanently ] I dropped it and it affected the viewfinder or something [ I forget ] so I gave up on photography .

So , anyway ,before committing to anything digital I bought myself a Nikon F80 + 28-80mm lens .

Well , it transformed me - instead of sitting at home feeling sorry for myself I was getting out taking photographs of the local scenery - my wife secretly sent off some negatives and had a photo I'd taken of Plockton transferred onto canvas and hung it on our spare room wall as a birthday surprise for me .
This spurred me on to buy a Nikon D7000 and my love for photography truly blossomed - some days I'd be on a high thinking of where to go next - that was back in 2012 - then I fell seriously ill with sepsis and came as close to death as I want to[ Doctors went as far as telling my wife to prepare the family for my death ] - anyway , enough of that , a year or so later I was back in the photography groove and I haven't looked back .

The weather up here can be temperamental at best but the light can be amazing at times and the scenery is second to none - all I have to do is step outside our front door and there's a photo opportunity right there - I'm a very lucky boy in more ways than one .

I'd recommend Photography to anyone suffering from mental health issues .

You speak for a lot of us , Tronhard , well said .