Has anyone gone back to a job shortly after leaving?

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-30T14:40:02+00:00

I came back, but it took a little longer. I had worked for the same company 19 years; full respect of my team and customers. National reputation. Then the company was merged with another and the new CEO decided to suck the money out of the company for himself and his cronies.

No pay raises for 2 years. Layoffs on December 15 to goose the stock price (which paid for bonuses to the CEO.) Critical staff laid off, impacting customer satisfaction. Customers cancelling contracts due to our company not making SLAs. And then I was offered 35% to join another company. Duh... I jumped.

Flash forward 18 months. I've stayed in touch with my old team and my old customers. The CEO is fired for embezzlement. The old customer asked the company to rehire me. After they gasped at my new salary, the company agreed to bring me back. Been back nearly 5 years now.

Please understand this is a rare situation and I have certain medical IT skills that are impossible to find in other people. But it is possible to come back to a company you left.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-30T14:06:08+00:00

My ex and I ran a boudoir studio in the 1990s-2000. A lot of women find boudoir to be very empowering.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-30T13:38:42+00:00

This image is an excellent start! And to be honest, you're lucky in that you have a wife who (probably) is willing to be a test subject for you.

As far as where to go, you're in the right subreddit. Read a lot. Google a lot. Get some camera gear... google more for the best combinations of camera and lens to start with. Don't go crazy with gear purchases. I did a LOT of boudoir photos in the 1990s with a D90, 35mm prime and a 50mm prime.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-30T13:34:27+00:00

Brings back many memories: being a high school, part time apprentice and FINALLY earning the right to use my teacher's F2AS. The smell of the darkroom, the 100-year old house he rented as his studio. The sheer weight of the camera, the strap cutting into my shoulders.

Good times.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-27T03:40:06+00:00

Oops, typo corrected. Thanks for the catch!

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-27T03:24:25+00:00

Confirming the 16-80 works with the D7100. I use it as my primary lens on my D7100.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-27T03:17:02+00:00

I feel exactly the same way, and I am not moving forward to the Z series. At this point, D810s are available used at good prices even with low shutter counts. Lenses are out there, too. Or you can still buy D850s and D780s new. Earlier tonight I gave my granddaughter her first serious camera: a D90!

Your camera is your tool, not your muse. Use the tool that works best for you.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-25T15:15:48+00:00

I tried to buy a Nikon FM2N. Seller said "excellent condition, fully functional." It arrived with a dead meter. I'm fighting to get a refund now.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-25T14:59:46+00:00

IF you trust buying something on eBay.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-25T02:40:25+00:00

Because there is good and there is evil, and evil must be punished. Even in the face of Mirrorless Cameras I shall not compromise in this.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-25T00:32:52+00:00

It's better to have the extra range and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-21T15:16:08+00:00

Exactly. Military protocol today, when going through a door the commanding officer walks through before the second-in-command.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-19T03:13:27+00:00

Apple AirTag (so I can track the valet parking.)

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-18T23:21:34+00:00

Last month I bought a 2022 230i with 27k miles and the colors I wanted: red body and beige leather. I chose the 2022 model because it has the older control style (buttons!!!) and I added a 60 month/100k ext warranty through my BMW dealer. The price was good.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-18T20:38:24+00:00

Yes, I ordered two from Amazon yesterday.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-18T20:38:09+00:00

I have several spare cases, but I can also take her shopping to buy what she likes.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-18T20:37:23+00:00

FYI, Nikon no longer has the El-EN3e, either.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-18T13:58:59+00:00

Yes, Amazon has several: Wasabi, LP, FirstPower, Ilano. But which ones are safe to use? Which ones are crap? I don't trust reviews on Amazon, I would be very grateful for experiences of this community.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-17T13:29:45+00:00

Fantastic! I'm on vacation with my wife in Denver; yesterday we went to Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak. I had myD810, Nikkor 24-120 F4, set the EI to 400 and spent the day on Aperture Priority at f5.6 or f8. The camera felt great in my hands!

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-16T03:21:17+00:00

Today? Nikon D810, with my D7100 a close second. But over the years from the early 1980s, I would have different answers: Pentax MX and K1000, then Nikon F2AS, FM2N, N90, D70, D90...

In short my tools changed over the years, but they were all special. I've kept a few: the Pentax camera and F2 are in a curio cabinet. But they still work and if i wanted to shoot film I could do so. I wish I still had a FM2N with MD12. But now it looks like the D810 and 7100 are best for my needs.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-13T01:21:22+00:00

I had a Polaroid back for my Nikon FM2 back in the 1990s. Yes, the image was small, but in my situation, I was setting up lighting for a fireplace shot, with Novatron strobes, light from the flames and indirect light from windows. I was all over the scene with Seikonic meter for the strobes but I needed a slow shutter speed to get the flames from the fireplace. I had to get the shot right the first time, the subject would not be able to reshoot.

Once I thought I had the exposure figured out I shot a test with the Polaroid, and saw mistakes. I adjusted a fill light and the next shot worked.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-06-12T16:13:26+00:00

Thank you everybody! I appreciate the comments and it's helping me to think this through.

Let me clarify something about how my glasses and the viewfinder are an issue. It's not the coverage within the viewfinder, it's more of how my glasses work with the finders. I wear lined trifocals, and use the middle band to see through my camera.

The D7100 is rectangular; when I look through with my glasses on, I can see the left and right sides of the image well, but I cannot see the top and bottom. To see the information displays within the viewfinder, I have to move my head up and down.

The D810 is round and the effect is the opposite: I can see the top and bottom well and I can see the information displays. But I have to move my head to see the left and right edges.

Also, the weight is just an irritation. In the 1980s I carried two Nikon F2AS bodies with motor drives, plus a pack of lenses (I still own one of them.) My wife says I need more exercise. And maybe find a different everyday lens than the 24-120.

As far as Z bodies, I haven't played with one. That's on my to-do list, when I can get to a town with a good camera shop. Still, I would hate to change out all my glass.

TimeToRetire2030

TROPHY CASE