Heavy Lifting

I'm having a hard time coming to grips with my age.

In two weeks, I'll be turning 61. It's not really that old, though I am now considered a senior citizen by all accounts. Some consider me to still be young, as many folks live well into their 80s and 90s.

By that reckoning, I'm a young pup.

But my dad died at the age of 64 and many of my relatives died younger than I am now. For the most part, I'm in decent shape—I mean, I just explored Costa Rica and did a lot of hiking on moderate to challenging trails. Last year, I hiked the Andes of Peru and lived to tell the tale.

Okay, the altitude was hard on my lungs. But I survived.

But over the past year, I've had arthritis set in many joints: knees, hips, and shoulders. And I'm pretty sure it's affecting one of my elbows.

I go to bed with aches and awake in pain every day. I try to manage the pain with Tylenol and Advil, with some Voltaren applied for good measure.

But one thing that is becoming a problem is something that makes this arthritis worse: my camera gear.

Capturing video.

Before I went to Peru, I bought a lens for photographing the wildlife. It's a Nikon 200–500mm f/5.6 lens that outweighs all of my other camera gear. At 2.3 kilograms, it weighs more than a camera body and my next-biggest lens (a 70–300mm lens), combined.

Because we didn't have a safe for any of the rooms we stayed at in Peru, I carried this lens everywhere. Even climbing Machu Picchu or Ollantaytambo, that lens was strapped to my side the whole time.

In the Amazon basin, I noticed my right side was sore, as I got dressed one day, and on inspection I found a bruise just above my right hip.

I almost never bruise.

On this trip, I also carried this lens with me almost everywhere I went. Again, because we had no safe at Finca Verde Lodge, that lens came everywhere with me. Also, because there was so much wildlife, I wanted it close at hand, anyway.

Every morning, in Playa Potrero, we got up early and wandered the neighbourhood, which wasn't far from the beach and had plenty of trees surrounding the streets. There were so many different species of birds that we'd capture, and for that I always used this giant zoom lens.

Towards the end of our vacation, my shoulder and elbow would throb from lifting and carrying this lens. And it was here that I made a decision.

I need to sell this lens.

Encumbered in Peru.

It's heartbreaking, because it's a great lens. It's also just too heavy for me to wield.

When we returned home, I listed it on Kijiji. So far, I've had no serious bites.

But I've also considered selling more of my gear. I have lenses that have sat, unused, for several years: a 40mm micro lens; a 10–20mm wide-angle zoom; a 50mm f/1.8 lens. And with the 200–500mm lens, I had stopped using the 70–300mm zoom.

If I sell these lenses, I might sell my D7200 body and keep only my D750. Keep my 24–70mm f/2.5 lens and call it a day.

And with the money from the sale of this gear, perhaps I'll buy something entirely new for my wildlife photography. Maybe a micro four-thirds camera with a long telephoto. Maybe, a mirrorless camera.

Before our trip, DW bought a Canon R7 and a 100–400mm lens, and they weigh practically nothing, compared with my D750 and 24–70mm lens.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to give a lot of thought to what I want to do. I'll never give up photography, but I just can't do any heavy lifting to get the shots that I want.

Stay tuned.