How many individual parts equal one camera?

How many individual parts equal one camera?

That is a question being asked by a photographer I ran into last week in Riverfront Park. I was out one evening to get some fog shots, and I was approached by two people sporting a new Canon camera that they had gotten for Christmas. Although I am not exactly sure, it looked like one of the fairly new XSI models. It also looked like it had a 28 X 135 lens on this camera.

The couple initially asked questions about shooting images after dark, and as I conversed with them, I began to get the almost overpowering odor of beer breath. In my old job I used to smell that all the time, and to be sure, I was getting it again. In this process, I changed locations a couple of times, and they followed me around, with the camera carrier staggering from one side to the other on the wide pathway inside the northwest gate to the Park. I actually had tried to recruit this couple to the Spokane Camera Club, so I began to wonder what would happen if they ever showed up.

The two interested photographers stayed with me for a while longer, and were shooting something in the dark, about 50 feet east of where I had my tripod set up. I heard some yelling, and I saw one of them fall on the ice. There were the usual crashing noises, breaking glass, and swearing. Then silence.

The person who had been carrying the camera, got up and wiped all of the snow off, Then it looked like he was searching for something. The search went on for about 5 minutes, and then when I saw them pick up several different things it dawned on me that their new camera was now trashed. I know of three separate parts that were retrieved, and the lens was now a separate piece, and it was rattling when the guy shook it. The camera body (or what was left of it) was also rattling quite a bit.

Is there a moral to the story? Beats me, but maybe a little less liquor before a shoot might be a starter. Also, wearing shoes that can provide traction, and having a flashlight when shooting at night.

So, anyhow, maybe all of the pieces of this camera system will be put back together, although I doubt it can be saved. So, if a couple shows up to a Spokane Camera Club meeting with duct tape all over their camera, they might have an interesting story to tell you.

One other thing. Things have begun to slow down for the Moore family, so our night shooters will be back out shooting once again. I want you guys to shoot some motion shots, and if we have time next trip out we will do some panoramas after dark.

I’ll let you night shooters know the next targets, and locations. Likely in a week or two.

JDM