Photography and mental health

[Fromthemist]

The Mental Illness Fellowahip of Australia is running a photo competition as part of Mental Health Week. It costs but there are discounts, and about $10,000 in prizes. Open to anyone with a mental illness or those close to us. You can find out more about it here http://www.outfromthemist.com

[Ali11]

Thanks for sharing @Fromthemist, we have a few photographers here who may be interested. Are you a photographer yourself? 

[Fromthemist]

I'm an off and on photographer... can spend a couple of months gettng right into photography, and then something happens and it drifts away. But I never loose my enjoyment of visual images - a language of their own.

[-Liz-]

I'm just (very slowly) starting up a photography business so this is perfection @Fromthemist ! Thanks for sharing!

[Fromthemist]

Hope to see your entry! There is a code for a 40% discount on the entry page if you self identify as beining on a low income.

[Tom1909]

G'day All

Anyone else interested in photography?

Cheers, Tom

Sunset Wallaby, Mount Korong (VIC), 2018

1/15-sec  f-11  125-mm  ISO-100

[Tom1909]

Thanks for the thumbs up @Eliza22 

The reason I ask if there are any other photographers in the house, is because I know photography has helped me, and I wonder what the experience of others may be.

My major diagnosis is BPD, with a few minors thrown. Around 4-years ago I bought myself an entry-level DSLR camera. I watched a lot of Youtube videos on the twin subjects capturing and post-producing images. At the same time I went out to generally very quiet and peaceful settings, turned the dial to M (for manual) and proceeded to shoot anything that piqued my interest. Today, I am still out there shooting, when I am well enough.

For me, photography provides a legitimate excuse to spend hours immersing one's self in beautiful and interesting surrounds. Sure, plenty of times I have had to pack up and head home after having a major panic attack, etc. But for the most part, the experiences have been good. Sometimes, they have been almost zen-like.

So, are there any other people out there with similar (or not) storys?

Kind regards, Tom