When Different Pastimes Go Hand In Hand

[Tarquin]

I have three main pastimes which I love to do, and today on my travels I thought how they all compliment each other. These are they.....

Hiking
Photography
Russian watches

Here in Yorkshire, England we have some of the finest and most beautiful walking country in the world and also some of the wettest weather! For me, getting out into the hills, dales, tors and valleys of The Shire and it's surrounding areas with my camera over my shoulder is a perfect day but of course you need decent kit to accompany you for when the weather turns and here is where the mornings watch selection takes on paramount importance. Comfy, robust and of course water proof are the key factors. Can there be any other choice?

I like to photograph my watches, and I like to photograph my hikes. I like to photograph my watches while i hike! I need to know that my watch can cope with the quickly changing weather on the hill tops of northern England!

When the sun shines

and when it rains

it's all in a days work for this little Boctok! No problems here, up in the hills of the Peak District at the Ladybower / Derwent reservoirs, where the famous 617 Squadron and their Lancaster bombers practiced their 'Dam Buster' run in WWII.

A photo opportunity not to be missed. A marvel of post Victorian British engineering (Derwent Dam) and a marvel of post Soviet engineering (Vostok Amphibian) meet face to face.

Just before the heavens open once again!

For my money, hiking + photography + watches = the perfect team!

How do your watches compliment your pastimes?

[admiralStojakovic]

Wonderful,Tarqin...!
I can almost imagine the joy of walking those hills and valleys. I also believe that is one of the most beautiful landscapes there is,and i even like the weather!
Who knows...maybe someday iŽll head up that way (which is pretty far from here),and now i know where to ask for directions.
Well youŽve named my 3 favorite pastimes, i can only add :music.
I donŽt think i have a photo playing bass with a watch on,but iŽll look around and update
Cheers!
Actually i made one right now,though not a good one,with my newly found 3aka3. I think it compliments quite well?

[Tarquin]

Great stuff Admiral! And if you ever find yourself in the English county of Yorkshire be sure to look me up for some hill climbing!

[admiralStojakovic]

Great stuff Admiral! And if you ever find yourself in the English county of Yorkshire be sure to look me up for some hill climbing!

Sure will,comrade!

[Seele]

Tarquin,

The pictures certainly bring back old memories for me in the old country, thank you!

For me it's less about pastimes but an extension of work-related areas. I was (and still am) a writer and photographer by trade, in the 80s and 90s before computer became mainstream in publishing I wrote all my articles and a few books using a fountain pen in longhand; the other writers used ballpoint pens and after a few hours they screamed in pain but I just skated on regardless. Of course I did a lot of assignments out of the office, testing cars, hanging off the side of helicopters, meeting Mrs Fields one day and tea with Sir John Egan the next... the usual things, and I better not be late! So my essential equipment was my watch, pen (and notepad), and cameras.

Certainly these days things have changed dramatically, but my interest in these things remains.

[Tarquin]

Noble professions indeed! Intriguing as well that you would write with a pen, and not a type writer. I would have incorrectly assumed that that would have been the standard equipment of a writer in the 80's?
Having learned you also get paid for photography, I feel embarassed now about the quality of my pictures. It's not so easy to hold a bulky SLR in your LEFT hand with a lense which won't focus on anything within around 600mm in order to capture the watch on your wrist and a sharp background, on a blustery wet hill top! Well not for me anyway...

[Seele]

Nothing noble about that, Tarquin, it's a job after all. While some used typewriters the manuscripts still had to be re-keyed by the typesetter, so it made little difference, but for most who were on the road, a pen and a stack of paper made more sense... and access to a fax machine!

As far as photography goes, it all depends: for me I try to make the crummiest pictures for showing my watches here; certainly I could pull all the plugs out and match the quality of factory pictures, but they would be more prone to get nicked by those for their own benefits, as pretty much anyone can access WUS and attached pictures.

It is true that most cameras are made for right-handed users, I can understand the gymnastics you have to go through doing wrist shots! But you are doing very well indeed. I might be wrong but some cameras might have a left-handed shutter release button, it's perhaps worth looking into.

[schnurrp]

Maybe try a 10 second count-down auto release setting?

[redfever]

Love hiking as well, that's some nice shots you got.

[Tarquin]

The problem with left handed-ness lies not so much with the camera. I happily use the shutter release with my right hand probably because there is no choice in the matter, much like using a mouse. No the problem is I have to wear my watch on my right wrist because I have to use my left hand for strapping it on! Just can't do it the other way round and it feels wrong on my left wrist. Of course this means I have to hold the camera with my left hand in order to get an impromtu wrist shot.

It's a hard life being a leftie don't you know!

Anyway, todays hike was in the Holmfirth area, a beautiful part of the world but the weather was typically Yorkshire-like.

Another custom Amphibian passes the test, today a blue dude on green nylon with black bezel paying homage to vintage models of the past!


Unfortunately you can't see the view, so.....................