We photographers are a little bit like pack rats. We don't like to throw anything away. My wide angle lens that's broken beyond repair? Still got it. My first film camera (manual focus & settings)? It's sitting atop a shelf in my living room, looking cute. The boxes all of our lenses & cameras arrived in? If you'd go into my storage room, you'd find them stacked neatly together. The point is we just hate to throw anything out that relates to our cameras.
This is my very first digital camera. I got it in 2003 when I started my first newspaper job as a photojournalist. Man, that thing was a tank. It was HEAVY.
As technology advances & changes, these guys become obsolete quickly. But what to do with them? They have basically no value and I couldn't bring myself to chuck it into the trash (after all, I photographed some amazing assignments like the America 24/7 book on it! Ditto my amazing African Adventure in 2006 - you can see pix HERE).
When Salina, where I lived, announced an electronic recycling day this spring, I thanked my lucky stars. Cameras weren't listed, but there was a graphic of a camera on there, so I took it. Really, recycling it was better than throwing it away. Right?
I lined up, held my emotions in check and was not completely relieved when the worker said they'd take it. Secretly, I must be a hoarder because I'm not sure I really wanted to part with it, but it was time. The quality of the images on my new cameras far surpasses those of the one from 2003 ... so it was time. I will admit I did get a little teary, but I managed to not lose my composure and look like a complete sap in front of this 20-something guy who was muscling around a mountain of electronics.
If you have some old digital camera sitting around, gathering dust, check out your local city. Call either the Public Works department or the Department of Household/Hazardous Waste. They should be able to point you in the right direction!
No comments:
Post a Comment