One and Done

I've been getting a lot of emails about my lack of posting as well as my lack of participation at social events. There are many reason's for my ghostly existence but the major is a lifeless camera. I've always used Canon Digital Cameras for the majority of my work and have always been pleased to the highest level with every one that I have owned. Those who have spent a decent amount of time with me know that I don't exactly pamper my belongings. Being a photographer means that you have to put yourself in situations that are out of the ordinary. They can range from putrid to beautiful. The path to find these situations may be warm and sunfilled but can also be dirty, wet and or cold. I am not about to put away my camera because it could be in danger of damage. I want the shots that photographers don't take for fear that their camera might get wet or because they are afraid to risk being hurt. I suppose it's a rush for me and maybe I should protect the thing that is my life..... but I just can't bring myself to that if I can capture something unique.

I bought this camera in May, right before the first good ride of the year which was a ride to the Church Of Choppers/DiCE party in Des Moines. In November it stopped working on my very last ride of the year when I got caught up in a wet tornado. In the six months that it was working, it saw a lot of abuse and probably shouldn't have lasted as long as it did. It was wounded in two motorcycle crashes and ripped apart by the rubber of a rapidly rotating tire. It rode hundreds of miles in sunshine but hundreds more in rain. It was sandblasted by dessert winds and never ending gravel roads. It got intoxicated on many nights of moonshine, whiskey and suffered a regular contact buzz. It bathed in blood, sweat and stripper tears. Inhaled the moist air atop the Alps and visited Brooklyn's finest. It only lasted one riding season.

When I sent it to canon I didn't think it would be an issue to get it fixed. They were able to get all of the sand and dust out from between the lenses of my lens but I was pretty devastated to learn that my camera is now better used as paper weight. I suppose you should always look at the brighter side of things in these situations. It has forced me to get more organized with the work the I have already shot in order to generate cash to purchase the next camera. It has also made me try new equipment. My lens quality degraded so much after Sturgis that I went out and bought a hundred dollar 50mm standard canon lens that I actually really like but would have never bought. In time the weather will warm up and things will get back on track. I have a lot of great friends that let me borrow the equipment I need to stay afloat which is crazy to me because I wouldn't let me borrow my equipment.

Thanks to all of the people that have helped and thanks for staying in tune through the highs and the lows.