I've never been very artful or crafty, never found anything I'm good at. I did have a hobby one time but wasn't very good it. It was photography back in the days of film? I became pretty good at the craft but never quite had an eye to go with my craft. Not like some people did. When I was seventeen, just before entering military service, I bought a twin lens reflex camera. It was a Tower. Nothing of course like the Rolli reflex cameras but it took wonderful black and whites. I wagged that thing around with me to Ft Sam Houston, to Ft Campbell, Japan, Korea, back to Japan, then back to Korea. Somewhere back in Camp Casey near little Chicago in Korea I swapped it to another GI for a small 35mm. I took tons of photos, learn to develop B&Ws. Years later back in Texas I joined a photo club. It had some good photographers. Three professional people from Texas Tech University photography dept,, two retired professors whose long time hobby had been photography. Two retired professional Studio Photographers, and about thirty other members like myself who had an interest in making good photos. We had monthly contests and field trips. At that time in my life it was great fun. It lasted about ten years until film was phased out by digital equipment. In the digital age I was never able to afford the camera I wanted. Called it quits. I wasn't that good but the club gave an opportunity to compete with some who were. Now I'm too old and maybe like my roommate says, there's nothing to photograph in Oklahoma anyway.A Lost Cause
You should try to go back to it Bill Boggs just for your personal gratification. I'd be willing to bet you were better than you let on. We both know there is a kind of beauty in everything and every where, even Oklahoma.
Photography doesn't have any limitations but only what you put on it. I am not a good photographer film or digital but I have impressed myself with some photos I have taken just for fun. That left me thinking even the simpliest of shots can be beautiful.
I like photography but I can't get out to do it and the view from my window leaves a lot to be desired
We don't do as much photography as we use to, but still do some. We have two digital camera's. One is a small, cheaper Sears one that we use when on our boat when we go out, as well as our iPhones that can take a descent picture. The Sears one is a good-high megapixel (15mp) that was on sale on a Black Friday. The other is also a nice Digital Canon Sure Shot. Have two batteries and two media cards for this one. It was more expensive than the Sears one was. Still learning how to use it. I do all photo processing on our desktop computer at home and put all photo's on USB's. I don't keep blurry photos and try very hard to fix/edit any photos that need it, with photo software I have. Photos are fun to take, but if the photo is too blurry, to me it just isn't good enough to show anyone. I'm not a professional photographer at all, but do know what a good photo is suppose to look like. Wife and I got into a photo club once, but all the people done a lot of traveling, including to overseas, to take photos. The people were way out of our league for camera equipment and taking photos..........let alone money spent traveling. We stopped going to the club meetings.
To my way of thinking, @Bill Boggs , a hobby does not have to be something that you excel at doing, or even have the best equipment to do it with; it is simply an opportunity of doing something that makes you happy just to be doing it. I am in no way a photographer , but I DO enjoy taking pictures just to capture the memory of something, and basically, I do it because it pleases me to do it, and never worry about whether I need a better camera or take a perfect picture. I actually loved it when I had my first digital camera (a little Casio), and I could just download the pictures onto my computer,and didn’t have to send them off somewhere to be developed to see how they turned out. Since there was no film, I could take as many pictures as I wanted to take, and then save the best ones. Now, I just take pictures with the iPhone, and do not even have a camera, and don’t miss it, either. Even if you do not decide to take up photography again, there are always all sorts of things that you can do as a hobby. It only needs to be something you enjoy doing, or want to learn how to do. Sure, we are limited by our physical abilities at this point in our lives; so we have to choose something that we can still do, but even so, there are always things that are possible. One of my hobbies is nutritional research. I believe that how we take care of our bodies makes a huge difference in the quality of life; so I spend time reading about ways to improve my diet and lifestyle, and I enjoy doing that. So, even if you can no longer do all of the things you are most interested in, there is always reading and research into those subjects.
I had to highlight the single most important thing concerning a hobby @Bill Boggs. Yvonne wrote that she does it because it pleases her. If you enjoy doing something it's because YOU enjoy it which totally leaves out what everybody else thinks about it. If perchance you find that you might have produced something that might be of value to someone else, so be it but that isn't the prime reason to do whatever it is you like. My wife crochets because it's fun and relaxing for her and takes pictures because the subject is interesting for her. She might post a picture every now and then and gift a pair of knitted socks for friends and family, but above all, she doesn't do it for someone else's approval. I know of people who have started a hobby and found a market for it and now hate what they do because what was once something they relaxed with and took their time with became rushed and a burden. Whether you are really good at it or not so good isn't the question but rather, do you feel any joy in it? A hobby by definition is something you do in your spare time in order to relax. Yes, some do use their talents as a sideline but then it really isn't a hobby now is it? They still make film and people have dark rooms and old cameras the same as there are still people who record music on vinyl. There is absolutely nothing wrong with getting back to the basics and let's face it, there is more satisfaction when one has to work to arrive with a finished product. I never knew anyone who classified their hobby as "watching" someone take and produce pictures or "watching" someone sculpt wood but rather the hobby is in the doing of it and the work it takes to satisfy one's self. I do not doubt that there are still people out there who do tin typing or use gun powder flash pans to take pictures with box cameras.