I just got ditched this afternoon, I suddenly have a lot of free time, which I am going to use to express my love for my camera.
When I first came to Shanghai, I met Rue, a UCLA student who had just gotten her first SLR a few months back and she was absolutely in love with it, going so far as to tell me laughingly that it was her boyfriend. At the time, I thought it was just a silly comment, but after two months in Shanghai, I see where she is coming from.
In many ways, my relationship with my camera has many of the same characteristics as a relationship with a significant other. I think I am starting to understand what people mean when they talk about how the objects of their hobbies have feelings and souls.
My camera punishes me with terrible photographs when I try to shortcut and in the process miss steps. This is especially true when my pictures come out blurry because I forgot to check whether autofocus was on. When my pictures come out exposed completely wrong, my camera is telling me that I should have paid more attention to the ISO setting and that just because something worked the first time AT NIGHT does not mean it will work later during THE DAY. Most importantly, it tells me when I am not being assertive enough. When I relent and am too shy to tell people how I want them to arrange themselves for the photo or too scared to go after a particular shot because it might be awkward, my camera inevitably gives me a terrible photograph telling me it is not pleased.
Just like a proper girlfriend, my camera makes me worry every time I mistreat it. When I throw my bag down just a little too hard, I cannot help but rush in and check up on it to make sure it is alright. After all the money and emotions that I have invested in my camera, the thought of losing my camera is one of my worst fears, the stuff of nightmares.
Of course, this relationship is not all negative. My camera rewards me all the time with photographs that leave me proud. The portraits it gives me, help me remember those amazing people in my life. The beautiful landscape shots remind me of all the places that I have been and the stories associated with them. Each click of the shutter brings a little bit of joy to my heart. And of course there is nothing like the pride of having your picture complimented by a friend or stranger.
Most importantly, it helps me understand the world around me by giving me different perspectives. Sometimes when I use my dad’s lenses, I feel that I begin to understand this man who I am very distant with. The lenses are in many ways like my dad, they are incredibly difficult and frustrating to use because everything on the lenses being manual due to their age. When shooting with my dad’s lenses, there is a lot of trial and error involved, with almost everything being an error. However, when things do work out the result are quite marvelous. Something about viewing the world through the same lenses as my dad did, helps me feel closer to him.
Maybe I should name my camera, so it know how much it means to me?
-muffinman
