These are tough times for a lot of us, but creative activities can be a wonderful outlet and way of reinvigorating ourselves. This honest video essay takes a look at mental health and how the act of photography can help us lead happier lives.
Coming to you from The School of Photography, this important video essay discusses mental health and its relation to photography. This is certainly something I have had my fair share of struggles with, and creative endeavors have always been some of the most helpful ways for me to lift my spirits, whether through music or photography. Going for a walk with my camera has always been great because it gets me up and moving (exercise is a big help as well), it engages my brain, and it is something I really enjoy. And I do not have to have a specific aim in mind or lug along all my heaviest gear; even just taking phone shots is an enjoyable activity, and the creative challenge imposed by using more limited equipment gets my brain moving. Check out the video above for a lot of great thoughts on the topic.
If you are struggling, this page contains a list of worldwide phone numbers you can call to talk to someone.
When I kept looking at the bokeh around the frame while the subject, my wife was in the middle of the frame, she thought I was sick.
You are ;)
Just kidding.
I find it irresponsible that Fstoppers would post this video.
The first five minutes consist of the presenter belittling mental health problems and essentially making the case that “mental health” is a term people use when they just want to skive from school/work. He seems to think that mental health conditions are only “real” when they are so severe that they result in suicide attempts or the total
inability to function and that otherwise people have just “got the hump”, as he puts it.
Dealing with this attitude, that mental health problems which haven’t yet brought people to the point of a suicide attempt or rendered them bed bound are basically overblown normal emotions, is something that makes life even more difficult for people struggling with conditions like anxiety and depression.
Alex - is this the view Fstoppers wants to promote?
It impacts it negatively if you read gearhead forums, all they seem to do is complain and be unhappy about things... the real photographers, it definitely has a positive impact.