Not Necessarily Stuck in the 80s

It’s a beautiful Saturday, just after noon. The fall colors outside the window feel like a rewind — a sensory throwback to a time in my life before things got so… adult.

Maybe that’s why we “old folks” keep looking back. We don’t just reminisce — we long for something. Something simpler. Something less scheduled. Less digital.

I sit at my desk, staring out past the blinds at the home across the street. A for-sale sign sits on the lawn. The air slips through the window crack — just cool enough to wake up some memory I didn’t know I’d stored.

I just snapped this photo with my brand new Nikon ZR — or Zed R, depending on where you’re from. The blue sky, the shadow play on the garage, the leaves going orange on the edge of crisp — it all felt worth catching.

And the camera? I’m in love.

Not just with the gear, but with what it stirred in me. It reminded me of my first Nikon — an F2 I got from an old boss in exchange for some photo work. I think he had just picked up a couple of F3s and figured I’d make use of the older body.

I did.

That camera started something I didn’t yet know how to finish. I just knew I wanted to see more. Frame more. Make something last.

Today’s not that different.

Same eye.

New gear.

Same feeling: I don’t know where this is going — but I’m going to shoot my way there.

Over the next several weeks, I’ll be creating both stills and cinematic Shorts with the Nikon ZR — testing it in quiet scenes, curious light, and moments that might otherwise go unnoticed. Some of those will end up here. Others will land over on YouTube, where I’m building a home for all of it under The Traveling Photog.

📹 youtube.com/@TheTravelingPhotog

If you’re curious where this all leads, find me there. I’ll be behind the camera. Again.