[stormtech]

Further suggestions always welcome. I was also considering using my 10-17 fisheye to try to capture some of the difficult and distorted emotions I feel lately.

Cheers,

Joe

Joe, I've gone through something similar and still struggling with the photography aspect. Quick summary - Got RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) about 3.5 years ago - ended up losing my job because of it almost 2 years ago. Besides the financial turmoil, RA comes with a nasty effect which I call brain fog - I just can't think! While this literally turned my life upside down, all along I really tried to see any positive aspect to the situation. Although I had to give up all my hobbies and interests because of the physical disability, I kept a hold of my love of photography knowing that is one of the only things I could do now that didn't make me hurt.

But along with all the other problems that brought me, I lost my ambition for photography also. So very frustrating! I went for months at a time without even picking any of my cameras up. Even thought seriously of selling all my gear but my wife was adamant that I didn't. I knew she was right, but that didn't help me.

I bought a couple books on seeing vs. looking and on composure and stuff like that. As I read them I was telling myself that I know most of this, but just can't seem to apply it. Also most of my shooting was always wildlife right here at home since we are surrounded by it but the physical limitations really thwarted that. My great wife would carry my tripod and camera and long lens down to our pavilion next to the river for me so I could at least sit there and try to capture something. But I didn't last long with that either.

When I saw your post about possibly trying your DA 10-17 it hit a chord with me - that is one of the things I used to help me come back around somewhat. I had barely used that lens after owning it for many years, so I thought I would put it on and just walk around some and randomly shoot. It actually did help some when I looked at my pics later that day. I think that was a dam breaker of sorts that started me to get my mojo back.

So I've been experimenting with different aspects of photography working a lot with my macro lens for example. I still really struggle to get myself to pick the camera up and get outside for a bit, but I'm doing it. Another good therapy I think is to try some of the challenges on this site and dpreview. This forces me to focus (pun intended!) on a certain subject which seems to help my mind fight through the brain fog.

Don't give up on it! I totally lost it myself but have worked at getting it back. One of the most frustrating parts of all this is I had plans to spend most of my free time with photography when I would have normally retired in 6 years. Now I have too much time on my hands it seems and couldn't spend that time I thought I would shooting. It's been a long hard struggle for me, but I think I am starting to come around. I know you can also - it's just finding the right thing to spark your interest again which may be something totally different than your normal shooting style or technique.

One of my first shots with the 10-17 recently that may have turned the page for me:

[jmschrei]

I continue to be touched and inspired by the supportive comments to this thread and how many others have struggled to hold onto the muse in tough times. Today my son (who has is own mental health and addictions issues) insisted we go out to a park. As we were getting ready the skies darkened but we left anyway heading for the light. We had little opportunity for photography before the skies opened up. Scrambling up the cliff above the reservoir and rushing for the car was great fun, took us back to outing when he and his sister were little. No fisheye yet but the DA 15 seemed a good place to start. Here are a few shots:

[baro-nite]

Joe: thanks for sharing this tale of your outing with your son, and these dramatically beautiful shots. Got to be a metaphor in there somewhere.

[bigted]

Joe, I'm glad you made it out for a little while. Too bad the weather wasn't cooperative, but I hope the trip encourages you to go out and shoot some more.

[sherrvonne]

What a beautiful place that is, really like the black and white.

[TER-OR]

I am presently recovering from a major mental health crisis, one which will likely cost my job (which was also the cause and as a result may involve an ugly human rights complaint). No one from work has contacted me since my stress leave began and I work for a very small highly dysfunctional not-for-profit. The sad part is that I loved my work and did not have the wisdom to jump when things started to go sideways.

Anyhow I am sure others have encountered similar life upheavals. Having a mood disorder does not help nor do the hot summer days (I don't cope well with heat).

Long walks and significant driving are not feasible due to my health at the moment but I am thinking that it is a shame to let the brief season pass undocumented. I have taken a few floral shots with suitably sombre titles but I wondered what suggestions others might have to shake myself out of this creative rut. I have two DSLR bodies, a number of nice lenses including several limited primes and I have the little MX-1. It has been more than a year since I have been able to add anything new to my collection so some degree of equipment boredom and lack of patience for tripods etc are not helping.

How have others managed to turn their photography into a healing tool at times like this?

Insects like bees are super active this time of year. You'll be surprised at the variety you'll find if a park has a lot of native plants. You might need some mosquito net clothing, though! You don't need to move around a lot, just watch for the interesting critters.

[gaweidert]

Many year ago a friend of mine taught photography at a complex for wayward boys. He developed what he called his ball and chain theory of photography. Place a stake in the ground and then draw a 30 foot (10 meter) wide circle around it. They shoot 30 photographs from inside that circle. It will force you to look at the world from a whole new perspective. He found out that you can take about 15 good and a few very good and maybe even one or two extraordinary photographs from within that circle. His kids had simple point and shoot cameras. With your setup you should be able to beat those odds.

[emalvick]

I didn't persevere and follow the complete thread, but I've had similar moments in my life.

I tried using photography to assist my state in those moments, but it took a lot of hobbies and shifting. The most successful thing was to keep myself moving and about. The worst thing in situations like these is to think too much and dwell on our situations. With photography I took a step completely opposite of what I was used to to shoot a different style than I ever tried. I needed discomfort in my hobbies to distract from the discomfort in my everyday life. It worked.

Anyway, I want to complement your photography. I browsed your Flickr page, and you are a wonderful photographer. Your compositions are fantastic.