My fifth eye, my Canon EOS 20D.
I’M NOT A CONTORTIONIST. But when I shoot photos, I manage to twist my fingers and body into abnormal bends. Sort of like Gumby.
But that’s not the point of this post.
My purpose is to tell you that I will be without my camera for a week. That makes me nervous, uneasy, tense, stressed and uncomfortable.
I’m really attached to my camera. I mean really. My Canon EOS 20D is like my fifth eye. I wear prescription lenses, so 2 natural eyes + 2 eyeglass lenses + 1 camera lens = 5 eyes.
I cannot imagine an entire week without shooting a single image. My camera is always there, sitting on the floor of my office, ready to grab for a quick interior shot or when I’m heading out the door.
But I’ve known for quite some time that I needed to get it checked. Spots have shown up in my photos, always in the same location. Sometimes they are noticeable, sometimes not, depending on the subject I am shooting.
After googling the topic and consulting with friends who are professional photographers, I verified that the likely problem is dust on the sensor. I hoped, but didn’t expect, that I could get my camera cleaned in Faribault. I can’t. And I’m too scared to buy a kit and try cleaning the sensor myself. Why risk damaging an expensive camera to save a few bucks?
So today I’ll drop my Canon off at National Camera Exchange in Burnsville and they’ll send it over to their Golden Valley store for cleaning. In a week, I can pick it up.
That’s 604,800 seconds without my fifth eye.
I hope I can see OK.
© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
I know exactly how you are feeling! I was without mine for a week also to have the same thing done. My camera is a Nikon D40 and I have had people accuse me of wearing the camera on my hip at all times because of the number of photos that I take. And like you I will take a photo of almost anything. You just never know how something will photograph until after you see how the camera sees it. Some of the most mundane or simple things become works of art through a camera lens. It will be a little like withdrawal for you and a very long week!
Harriet, you understand exactly, precisely, how I feel about my Canon camera. See, I’m thinking with this big snowstorm moving in on Sunday that I’m going to miss some great weather shots and then…
I agree 100 percent with you that sometimes the seemingly most mundane subjects, when seen through a camera lens, transform into interesting and beautiful photos.
We are two birds of a feather. Last night I got to talk cameras and photography with two other photo buffs at a church dinner I was attending. It was glorious.
I bet Dad will be happy he doesn’t have to pull over every minute while he’s driving just so you can take a picture. 🙂
You’re exaggerating a bit. It’s not every minute that we need to pull over, and that’s mostly only during warm weather seasons. I’ve also learned to set a fast shutter speed so I can shoot pictures through the vehicle window, without stopping. The windows simply need to be clean.
If you would like I could lend you my Canon camera until you get yours back. I could drop it off whenever convenient. I can get along without it far easier than you, and I wouldn’t miss any Prairie Roots blog. It’s my small contribution to this blog.
Thanks for the offer, but I can manage without my camera.
I’ll continue blogging without any new images or by pulling images from my files.
It must feel as if you have lost your right arm. I know when my friend Michele is without her camera, she feels the same way. Probably for the best you sent it away to have professionals clean and fix it. You would feel awful if something happened while you were trying to clean it.
Honestly, I didn’t miss my camera quite as much as I thought because I was so busy with writing projects this week and then painting this weekend. But, I’m ready to reclaim my Canon tomorrow.