From the blog
Story
I’ve been thinking of getting back into photography lately. Lugging a big HD video camera around has really put a damper on my still photography. I find myself whipping out my video camera when I see a shot and leaving the still in the backpack. Sometimes I don’t even bring a still camera. It all started when my Nikon D70 exploded. Yes, exploded! You wouldn’t guess that a camera could literally explode into thousands of pieces sending shards of glass, circuit boards, and plastic flying. But I saw it happen through my rear-view mirror, it was horrifying. You see, I left the camera sitting on top of my van. Cheryl and I were just pulling over for a quick look at some sheep on the way to Yosemite. She walked over to where the sheep were. I took a few shots and just placed the camera up on the back of the van as I looked around. We got back in and drove off. The next thing I remember as we started up a hill at around sixty miles per hour was seeing an explosion of dancing camera parts shattering and bouncing off the road. I was not angry, I did not mentally kick myself, I just felt a sadness, that I had just destroyed a friend of mine. Sure, it was a piece of technology, but I don’t care. That camera had been a part of my life for years.
I remember when I bought it. I had no business spending $1,400 on a new camera. Our budget warranted that I spend a couple hundred max. But I had used Alex Lindsay’s D70 a few times and thought it was the ultimate. This camera could do everything I wanted and more. I told my wife, “I’m a professional photographer” and she laughed. Umm. she was right by the way, I had never actually sold a photo. But now, in my mind at least, I was one and now I would go about shooting like one. I had the camera. Then came the explosion.
Sitting in the meadow at sunrise in Yosemite that weekend with no camera, I had a thought that I usually have when I am watching such beauty unfold before me: “why isn’t the entire world here watching this?” I was the only one sitting in that meadow watching the mist rise and the sun touch Half Dome. Why aren’t there at least a hundred people here? And then I thought, why not film this and then everyone could see it as well? Why not go to beautiful places everywhere and create a podcast?
So then I went and spent about $5000 on a new video camera. Like the D70, it was way more than I needed or had any business buying. Luckily, I had some student loan money (I was attending The Academy of Art) and no wish to continue school. So I bought the camera with my student loan money and quit school. 🙂 It’s a common film school story, and a path that I recommend. I learned more in that year of podcasting than I would have in classes.
So here I am looking to buy a new camera. There’s no way I can afford anything like a Canon 5D Mark 2, which is what I want, but the G10 looks good. It’s small as well, which is important when I am carrying 20 pounds of video gear on top of my camping gear. I just needed to think about it a while and blog about it. Next is to dive in and buy it, and then explain the purchase to Cheryl. Do you think “I’m a professional” will work? 🙂
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