Did you know that on average, a developer looks at a screen for more than 8 hours a day!
Humans are not designed, especially their brain or eyes, to be screen reading for that long. This can lead to many health problems including fatigue, eye problems (very common among developers), headaches/migraines & increased stress to name a few.
Developers ideally need a hobby to not just relax after a hard days work, but one that is not so screen involved and definitely one that can get us moving around more. Thus I vote for Photography.
Developers are creative souls, so a natural fit for photography, much like the art of code, capturing that frame is a art of its own. Photography helps us achieve a traditional kind of creativity, not one sitting at a desk staring at a screen. Photography depending on your subject is more than likely going to make you get up, away from your computer & in some cases out for a nice hike in nature. I would hope we all know just how many benefits come from nature… serotonin, peacefullness, vitamin d, reduced stress, increased muscle & joint stability, a break for your eyes as well as a great way to shut down our fast paced brains that are still trying to figure out that damn bug that’s now bugging us!
Photography can bring excitement to your life
Taking photos can be a great way to relax and unwind in an otherwise stressful world. It truly can help improve your mental & physical health over time. It also gives you the opportunity to get out and explore new places, which in turn can often lead to inspiration & genius brain waves of how to fix that damn bug.
Just like development, once you fall in love with photography, you’ll be hooked but you’ll forever be learning with the new technology, new subjects & ever changing world. It’s a familiar feeling for us developers.
Photography can also help you connect with people outside of our tech filled bubble. So often my social streams are just swamped with tech/code related posts that it really brightens my day when I see a random photograph. Connecting with another community can help bring us out from behind our monitors & into a world of imagination.
I know photography does come with digital editing nowadays (unless you have a darkroom, then i’m in total awe of you) but the enjoyment of editing those photos on a device, sitting back in the evening whilst relaxing is nowhere near as bad as still staring at that big screen of code. Relaxing back can often bring out the inner colour matching artist in us all.
My final yay for taking up photography as a hobby is to say, just think of not just the memories you can capture & keep forever…but just think of how many people your photos may just make smile when they’re having a rough day. Sharing our photos for others enjoyment truly is a great feeling…why don’t you give it a try.
What is your favourite way to relax after a hard days programming…are you interested in photography?
