With regards to photography - Maybe pick up something analog and go from there?  I picked up a couple of old Polaroids a couple of years back at a flea market.  I grabbed a box of film online, and just starting shooting things I liked the look of, and started to enjoy photography from there - definitely wasn't an expensive start.  
The second Polaroid, I completely dismantled, gave it a complete overhaul then put it back together to start using - so I become more interested in restoring analog devices from here.  Now I just buy things to take them apart, figure out how they work, and restore them just for fun.  Currently I'm working on an old 1960's Packard Bell record player cabinet - I took the whole thing apart, completely rewired it, and now I'm going to tackle the cabinet itself!  No previous woodworking knowledge, but learning as I go!  Killing two birds with one stone.