The older you will get...: It's not Always Me That Falls Overboard...

A while back I was taking photos at an event and someone well aware of my activity here on this blog said, "you make all those photos with that?" That to which they referred being a worse for wear Canon digital camera. I know internet influencers are expected to have all the nice gear and like a Clarence Thomas vacation be getting it free. I'm not quite to that level yet but I keep making the pitch. Maybe some day someone will catch.

What I did not catch the other day on a canoe trip was this camera before it hit the water. There is an unmistakable sound a camera makes as it hits water. Drop one in and you find out, "oh yeah that was the camera," the brain thinks. It's kind of something that happens when you let your guard down like pulling up to shore thinking I can't possibly turn the boat over here or in the case of those extra special precautions have been taken so far why should I keep sealing the dry bag where I'm just going to open it again in 5 minutes as was the case this time. I don't know it the camera fell out of the dry bag or had been laid on top but it hit the water, sank about thigh deep and I scooped it out faster than I can tell this story.

That fast action, coupled with a 48 hour dry out period courtesy of global warming and other than having to manually flick the camera lens open it seems like it has a few more blogs left. The lens cover was already not closing and the lens had become scratched so I was carrying it a little soft case as secondary protection when it was packed away in a man purse or dry bag. It makes a good photo under the right circumstances which I am good at recognizing but here's what a typical photo with the lens scratch might look like. It's right on Ezra's face. I've generally learned to aim so the scratch is out there in the water.

I think the last time I dunked a camera was in 2017. It happened to be the same model as this camera. The canoe overturned. I had grown overconfident with the camera stored in a leather man bag. The water was deep enough that I had to take the time to save myself and all the other gear before I could worry about the camera. That camera was a complete loss. Well maybe not complete. It's in the kid's toy box. They pretend to make my photo all the time with it.

At this point in my life I realize another nice camera is probably like potato salad in gumbo. I won't have it. Time to simplify and besides the older you will get you will probably just screw up more so no sense in getting expensive stuff. I'll drop down a price point or just use a couple of old but still working digital cameras around here.