At 73, I've been involved in photography for over 60 years including a career as a wedding photographer.

My approach has been a little different. Whenever I have felt "stale" I've changed direction. I believe always that a change is as good as a holiday aka break. For instance during my wedding photography career I switched to making wedding movies for a period. Film presented many interesting challenges and the need for vastly different thinking. When I returned to photography, I was refreshed and open to trying new ideas.

Some years ago, having embraced digital, I became "bored" with the medium; finding a degree of sameness with digital images and to my mind what appears to be a gross over reliance on modern camera technology not to mention the overuse of cliché's by digital photographers, myself included. I decided on another change of direction to re-fresh and re-ignite my passion and interests.

I decided to go very basic. I bought an Olympus 35UC with its fixed F1.7, 42mm lens. In my opinion probably one of the better things I've done, With a fixed focal length lens and no excess gear I was free to concentrate on my image composition and structure. The lack of heavy, cumbersome gear encourages movement to capture the best angle and distance. The fixed lens and single ISO film, makes me "think" about the images I want to capture, not how the camera will capture the image technically. A limited number of costly exposures per roll of film forces me to slow down and carefully evaluate each shot. It puts my brain in charge of the capture process, not the camera's – in other words it is all my own work All these benefits even without the lovely look of film.

Of course I will return to using my digital gear when the limitations of the little Olympus are too great for the images I want. But when I do, I will be shooting with a refreshed approach, open eyes and re-prised, valuable skills.

So coming back to the original article, you don't necessarily have to break totally. Rather than stop dead, try a different angle but sufficiently different to be away from your core photography. Film is only one idea and it works for me but may not for everyone. Video production is another option which may suit some and even perhaps "art" photography using instant picture cameras, whatever suits you.

Thank you John. Keep up the good work and I will look forward to more of your thoughts, which seem to be from a good version of reality. Don’t be afraid to be personal. You only get one life, and it is just as valid as anybody else’s.

The jury is still out on whether it’s a positive change or not. But it is forcing me to learn new things and explore new avenues. The neat thing about video is that many of the fundamental aspects of photography still apply – good lighting, good composition, interesting subject – but with new aspects, such as sound and movement.

It also seems the younger generation is more interested in video than stills.

Thanks for adding your perspective Dave. I really appreciate it and I’m glad that you had such a positive experience.

Thank you for re-affirming that my experience is not the be all end all.

As for the software and the social media, it’s those activities that were taking up very large portions of my time, so finding that they had to be relearned caused a bit more anxiety than may have been warranted, but like you said, they weren’t as big of an aspect of your schedule. That’s why everyone should evaluate their own individual circumstances carefully.

I agree with you, taking a break does work and like you, I am better for it and my photography is better for it (though nowhere near where I’d like). Perhaps I could have been clearer on that point.

Thank you again for taking the time to add your story. It’s very much appreciated.

Yes, many things changed and software became a completely different beast. What did I do? I put my Photoshop 10 onto my computer, I picked up my camera and went out and shot some pictures. It did feel good to start shooting again and I keep reminding myself that I need to live “outside the lens” and see lift as a whole. As for the different social media that sprang up, so what! I don’t do Facebook or snapchat or any of the others. I, when I do post, use flickr and upload a few shots each day, comment on photos I like and read comment from people about my images. I do read Photo tips here and Post-Processing articles here. My post- processing involves very few changes in the end result and I trust that what I do shoot is what I wanted at that time. I have sold several of my pictures locally and people seem to enjoy some, but not all, of my work.

Taking a break from Photography does work, if you are willing to trust yourself and believe in yourself and your art. So what that the software has changed, using an older program is less expensive and your Post work should come back very quickly. As for the new and latest social media outlets, jump into the deep end if you wish and learn by using. Trust your abilities and your art.

5 years away felt good, coming back felt better. I do keep life real and see outside of the lens, but I still love making a scene come to me and let people see what I saw at that moment.

I definitely understand your terror at the pace of change. At the best of times it can seem . . . breakneck, for lack of a better word. I am one of those geeks, so it doesn’t have the same effect on me, but it is a massive time sink, which can be equally discouraging.

You’re also right that photography is absolutely a “use it or lose it” skill. I didn’t touch on that very much, but the prospect of having to relearn all of the stuff that you might forget is a daunting one.

Overall, I do appreciate your perspective here and you’ve added a lot of great information. Thank you for taking the time to make such an insightful and well thought out comment. It is very much appreciated.

You’re right Tom, I am referring more to breaks of a year or so and more. I should have qualified that better. Sorry about that.

I can see that and your story is a great example of how a mindset can shift dramatically given space. It does seem like you would regard it as a positive change; is that right?

Either way, thank you for adding that.

I am at heart, an artist. I began as an artist and I see pictures in terms of composition, interaction of colour and light and veracity. That would not change. What does change, is that I have a mind like a leaky sieve, and a lot of basic knowledge just vanishes if I take too long a break.

I look at hundreds of other peoples’ photographs and read articles, but in the end I always, every time, take a step back and remember why I started in the first place; I love humans and what they do and never tire of rendering them in the most truthful and human way possible.

As an obiter dictum, I am currently considering getting the software that everybody tells me to have, but somehow, I still manage to pretend I am putting a roll of Kodachrome in the camera and hoping for the best.

If you walk away for several months, the results could be far different.

In my case, I wandered aimlessly for about a year before deciding to completely change gears, and now I shoot video almost exclusively, where just 8 months ago I would have told you I don’t care about video one bit. While in my head I like to think I could just step back into still photography, I’m inclined to think it would be a bit of a stretch, with a lot of that photography brain space being replaced by videography.