My Diabetes and My Hobbies - Part 2 Photography In The City

Besides Yoga, Pilates, and maybe Kick boxing I dislike exercising just for the sake of exercising. Preferring to get my exercise through a long ride someplace any place on my bicycle or a walk around town. So when I gave up my race car (see part 1) and moved away from the small city of Burlington Vermont what to do for an hobby became a question.?

Brazil 1979

While at university and after I did a fair amount of traveling for the geophysics industry so I had a decent camera to chronicle my travels. But as the camera marked me as a possible tourist in places where there were no tourists I sold it in Brazil where a good SLR was in demand because of strict trade protectionism. Except for a few vacation trips to the ocean I was without a camera for over 25 years. That was until 2006 when I joined a camera club and brought my first digital camera a Canon Rebel XT. From that day on I was hooked!

I spend hours almost everyday walking the streets of Toronto, taking photographs, talking and interacting with people. Good exercise for both body and the artistic side of my brain. My professional side of life includes a background in medical imaging so the technical side came very easy allowing me to move to the hard parts like composition and human emotions.

Compassion Now

Not only to I get my exercise and improve my people skills. I'm now recognized as a Toronto Photographer and invited to show at local galleries.

Shop closing in Paris

All in all photography has had a very positive impact on my diabetes. I try to put something back into the community by both mentoring and lecturing on photography.

Here you can find more on my not so secret life as a Photographer

Some links on the value of walking:

Walking could save 37,000 lives a year: 20 minutes' exercise a day would ward off disease

Walking 'is better than the gym': Long periods of gentle exercise are more beneficial than a high-intensity workout