Imagery holds a special place for all of us in some fashion, however you wish to capture it to memory; for enjoyment and likely as inspiration for creation within our own imaginations. Painting, drawing, photography, writing to the mind's eye. Each of us has entertained partaking in one or more of these at some point and hopefully explored them all. We've certainly loved and even coveted the work of many others, and continue to.
Even being raised rather poor we'd always had access to pens, paints, paper and words. Just as I was stepping into my teen years my mom discovered the means pick up a couple of Pentax K1000 cameras for my younger sister and I to play with. It is unfortunate that I don't recall either of us taking to them, mostly because we couldn't afford the extended cost of film and even less the ability to get any film developed. I tinkered but nothing beyond a few of the technical aspects, and then only sparsely. I do recall an affinity for the noise of that mechanical shutter. Don't we all...? It did eventually see a few of my images but no lasting relationship was built and it fell by the wayside. It was eventually given to a friend as I trimmed belongings to allow for what would be a very gypsy-like college education.
That said, it did contribute to lasting impressions and curiosity, though I doubt any differently on me than on anyone else. Again, I have this notion that everyone harbors at the very least a bit of passion to want to take a good picture. A great photograph. A true work of art, however we choose to define it. Not just that netted memory but much more; something others will realize a true emotional connection to. For the serious professional or artist, something people will be willing to pay serious money for. Shuffled (shuttered?) to the back of my mind for later exploration, when I had the time, the energy, and, most importantly, the budget. Entry back then was difficult and remained that way for quite a while, at least in terms of my financial ability during those times. I did manage a few disposables at times, even while living in Brazil for two years in the mid-90s.
Enter 2001. ish. Well-paying career, paid-for automobile, living with friends, saving for a house and the like. A bit of expendable income to explore with. As is my nature, I recall doing a monumental amount of research. I've always sought out bang-for buck combined with solid futureproofing. To give you an idea, I had bought a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee even though I had the budget for a new BMW convertible (that was a very satisfying validation that I would later read about in 'The Millionaire Next Door', by the way). I wanted to invest in a good, stable, well-designed camera built by a reputable company. Having what I deemed necessary, I was finally exploring a creative outlet once more. I was investing a lot financially and emotionally. I expected to adventure, learn, create, enjoy, share. I expected a few kinks but ultimately a lasting relationship. I had looked forward to this day for a rather long time.
So, after months of research, I landed on about a $1300 investment in Nikon's Coolpix 775 (I plan on looking back to those old specs here in a bit as I just now recalled what I had picked up, strangely). I recall the day I bought it in Bellevue, complete with accessories, bag, etc. I also recall a date I went on that night but I'll leave that alone. It was a good day. A great day!
But, beyond that day, one of those relationships would fail abysmally. I won't go into too much detail than to say I had experienced a problem, then with the help of the growing community on the Internet I found many others experiencing the same said problem, and we all suffered Nikon's complete and utter failure at providing any kind of assistance or service to us, let alone acknowledge that there was any kind of problem to begin with. Now, I, like so many others, am an extremely technical person, in many ways, complete with an experienced, scientific ability to troubleshoot a problem, question or challenge to a logical conclusion. Not to mention being one of those nutty, geeky types who actually reads manuals. It was a design flaw of Nikon's to begin with, and an undocumented one at that, where if you made the mistake of turning on the camera with the lens cap on (we all know those lenses that automagically extend when powered up, right?) it would clack a few times, screw something up in the software's ability to communicate with hardware and would forever screw up the exposure. Many months of headache and frustration later I gave up trying to get Nikon to warranty this failed camera. I was told I could pay to have it fixed. Uhm...no. I'll burn this bridge. Thanks, I'm done.
And I was. I'm not one to hold a grudge. Honestly, thankfully...I cannot recall another, beyond one annoying kid in grade school who threw a rock at me (yup, for no reason at all) who I festered over for a few weeks. Somewhere in the years thereafter I picked up an el-cheapo Panasonic Lumix something-or-other as well as another similar Olympus for my mom to play with. I recorded a few things but I never bothered to attempt any real creativity.
2012. Suffice it to say that in a flash (lol, yeah...no pun intended, then I realized I couldn't escape it) I met someone new and fantastic who had a completely (enter ridiculous number of silver half-dollar adjectives here!!! ...shit, make them Krugerrand-worthy) passion for photography. And a great many other things. We're still in a relationship today, I might add, but I'll not digress. I was salivating for something new to throw myself into given the number of wayward facets I was facing in my life at that time. Perfect storm, meet mid-life-crisis cum-enlightenment. Thy name is Grace. HSST!
November 2013. We'd been together over a year. Funny how someone oh-so-close can soften those old callouses, isn't it? Long story short, even being the forgiving person I am known to be, I was not immediately willing to forgive Nikon. She had completely re-fired that blast furnace's worth of desire for creative outlet in me and I had directed it squarely at that which had managed to elude me (or I it) for so long. I closed up my previous life, all the while exploring how I was going to delve into these new passions. Writing, imagery, the combination of the two? Photography had always made sense for a lot of reasons, shared passion, technical curiosity and creative outlet notwithstanding. Whether I had any innate ability remains to be seen and is always up for debate. But...on the 22nd I bought Grace a new Nikon D7100 so she had something new to take on the heavier-lifting needed for her academic career and I took over her beloved D3100 (Patrick) with which to start yet again. I haven't looked back.
More a bit later! And yes, I've forgiven Nikon, obviously. I even have a D800E and a few more lenses. More on that later. ;o)
© 2014 Michael Pichahchy
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