Something a little different from the Japan trip update posts; I’ve been thinking a lot lately about retirement. Not about my retirement, I’m still far too many years away from that being an option we could even consider, but the retirement of others. In the last six months, my parents have (deservedly) retired, sold their house, and bought a beautiful smaller house walking distance from the beach in a smaller seaside town we used to live in.

They’ve had months and months of hard work; getting the house ready to sell, dealing with estate agencies, moving everything they own, culling a lot of it (and putting a lot of the rest into temporary storage in our shed), getting through the sale, finding somewhere temporary to rent, finding a forever home that ticked all their boxes, getting through the purchase process, having a nightmare with the building and pest inspections (they came back clear, but between buying and moving in found that one of the bathrooms was destroyed by a termite infestation), organising new flooring and painting, getting solar and airconditioning installed, doing the big move and the slow unpack of non-essential things. Layer on top of that having to work with the government to access their pensions and living out of their savings while things were being processed. For some added fun, my dad also required surgery on a leg and has been rehabilitating it through this entire period, and my mum has been nursing a bad back after decades of teaching kids in classrooms.

However, they did it. Everything came together, every hardship was overcome, they demonstrated patience and perseverance and sheer force of will to tackle these challenges and solve these problems. I am so proud of them.

On similar lines, albeit less impactful on me, a longtime coworker has also made the call to retire. She had taken a full year of long service leave to try it out, do up a new house, travel the world, and ultimately decided that coming back to an office and a 9-5 desk job wasn’t something she wanted anymore. I can completely understand that position.

These two events, combined with:

• Our January trip to Japan, which was the most amazing month of freedom and exploration and adventure and problem solving on the fly,
• Events out of our control at work leading to a lot of frustration, rework and important decisions being delayed, and
• Visiting my folks at the Bay, walking around in the sunshine surrounded by friendly, happy people….

….has me feeling a little less enthused about my job than I have in a very, very long time. I won’t say midlife crisis, I won’t say it’s anything other than temporary wanderlust, but it’s been a rough couple of months staying motivated.

At the same time, I’ve found a new hobby that I’m really enjoying a lot – photography. I am an absolute amateur (or charitably, a green enthusiast), but something about going for a walk with a camera and a lens or two, trying to learn to see the world differently, and then experimenting with different techniques or approaches to try to bring out what I want to show the world has become a little bit of an obsession. My YouTube recommendations are now all gear recommendations, mastering the basics videos and travel vlogs. I’m increasingly thinking it would be a really rewarding hobby to throw myself into fully, and if it happens to one day lead to other opportunities for work that’s more aligned with what I enjoy doing, I wouldn’t be upset at that!

As such, I’ve been looking into options for some structured study of photography. I know there’s a lot of evidence that you can learn just as well from free online resources and self-directed learning, but I also know that I’ve enjoyed a more formal education setting in the past, and having a built-in cohort of peers who are learning the same things at the same times in the same way, as it leads to conversations that challenge ideas and get me thinking more expressively than if I were doing it in isolation. There are a number of promising courses, both with and without certification at different levels, but they all seem to require one thing in common – a portfolio of current works submitted as part of the application process. Most just say a “portfolio of digital imaging work that demonstrates the application of technical skills and knowledge equivalent to Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level 4 or above. Skills and knowledge may have been acquired through experience or formal study” (or similar).

One option though, the Diploma of Photography and Digital Imaging offered by TAFE Queensland includes some more useful suggestions:

“Portfolio compulsory items:
Your folio should include 7-11 pieces of photographic work using the briefs. Include a rationale per image demonstrating your technical skills and knowledge.  These could include but are not limited to: 

• Portrait
  • A traditional headshot portrait with controlled studio lighting.
  • A candid outdoor portrait capturing natural expressions.
  • A creative self-portrait that reveals your personality.
• Landscape
  • A wide-angle landscape showcasing a natural vista (mountains, beach, forest, etc.).
  • An urban landscape capturing the essence of a cityscape.
• Still Life
  • A well-composed arrangement of everyday objects with controlled lighting.
  • A macro shot highlighting intricate details of a small subject.
• Architecture
  • An interior shot capturing the ambiance of a space.
  • An exterior shot emphasising the lines and form of a building.
• Experimental/Artist
  • An abstract or experimental photo that demonstrates your creative approach.
  • A long-exposure shot that creates unique light trails or motion effects.”

As it currently stands, I have put together a portfolio that addresses 9 of the 11 listed works. Some I’m genuinely happy with, some are the best examples I’ve managed to create so far, but I’m still looking for opportunities to refine to something stronger. Two of the 11 are still MIA, but I have plans for both written down but not yet executed.

As such, a future post on this blog will be my portfolio as it currently stands. If anyone ever reads this, I would love any feedback or suggestions you might have on it! I am very hopeful that this will also serve as a point of reference for where I’m starting this journey, so in the future, I can look back with the knowledge of all the mistakes I’m currently making that I don’t even know are mistakes.