Photo Hobby Adventures for the Over 50

I facilitated a night photography Meet-Up for a few months when I lived in Miami; I formed it because I wanted the company to go downtown to shoot- safety in numbers and to meet like-minded people. There were nights that only one person came, and other nights I had 15-20 people shooting with me. I met wonderful people, and we all had loads of fun experimenting with city lights in our photos.

Travel Photo Groups

When I travel, I always look for photo groups on the Meet-Up site and Google. The photo groups allowed me to see places I would not have gone to as a tourist and connect with locals. We went for coffee after some of our photoshoots, and people gave me information about where locals eat and parks that are not on the tourist track, along with other precious information.

Estoril Photo Adventure

When I moved to Estoril, I went online in search of ex-pat groups and other groups. I participated in many online chats, and one day, I decided to offer a free online photo class to a specific group. The online courses made my lockdown a lot more fun, and I met other ex-pats who wanted to connect with people. Nowadays, we meet in person and photograph outdoors once a month.

Our photo meets are relaxed. They are not classes, but I like to spend the first ten minutes chatting with everyone, sharing a few photo tips, and give inspiring prompts for the day.

This week’s prompts were to photograph yellow things and to do a self-portrait. Not a selfie. So no classic hand-held camera selfies were allowed; we had to put down the phones. The idea was to practice framing, search for good backgrounds, and to work with the self-timer.

One of the significant challenges was finding the perfect spot for the camera.

Some people were horrified by the idea of a self-portrait, and I told them that they did not have to show their faces and didn’t need to share that photo. I enjoyed seeing people getting relaxed in front of the camera and enjoying their challenges.

My Search for Yellow

I walked all over looking for the color yellow in nature and could not find anything. I finally saw a few tiny leaves and photographed them – just in case, I couldn’t find anything else. I found some yellow structures near the kid’s playground, made abstract images about yellow, and continued walking.

The Rose Garden

I was thrilled to see a lovely rose garden with quite a few beautiful yellow roses. I photographed them too quickly, but – mission was accomplished! Off I went to look for other things. And- this is so typical, the minute we let go of something, it appears.

Museu Condes de Castro Guimãres

The museum is on the edge of the park, and I forgot about this huge yellow building altogether.

I spent a good hour there distracted by ducks that were having a blast swimming in the gorgeous tile fountain, and eventually, I photographed parts of the yellow museum.

My photography hobby has led me on exciting paths. I walk around my area looking for interesting architecture and nature. I feel motivated to go on road trips to small villages to document them, meet people through courses and meet-ups, and have a visual journal of my experience as an ex-pat in Portugal.

A photo hobby will add adventure to your life! Try it out and share your images with me. Tag me on Instagram @50andrising

Marguerite

More posts by me:

Help for Over 50 Photographer’s Knees

Why Architectural Photography