Read the title above
out loud and you’ll probably feel compelled to scold me with
‘pfft-first-world-problem’ remarks. You’d be justified too. I am a brat.
BUT! Hear me out.
I have been lugging
an SLR, usually two lenses and a flash unit around with me on most trips I’ve
taken over the last 15 odd years. I’d like to think all the effort has produced
an archive of travel photographs that any Nat Geo photographer would be envious
of, but sadly it probably hasn’t. Let’s face it, I’m no Steve McCurry. Add to that
the number of countries I’ve actually visited and you would only just need your second hand. That’s
including my own sunburnt country.
What I do have though
is a brain full of good memories and a handful of images I’m really proud of. I
like to tell people I was continually left behind by my group on the Inca Trail
because I was too busy snapping glorious mountain vistas… we all really know
the truth though don’t we?
So, in the lead up to
this current trip, 6 weeks in idyllic Bali, I debated over and over with myself
what ‘equipment’ I should take. My trusty DSLR, brand new last time I went OS,
is now relegated to a drawer in my desk and rarely sees the light of day thanks
to my recent laziness and the advent of iPhone apps like Hipstamatic and
Instagram.
Yes… gasp! I’m a
hopeless iPhoneographer. Any time recently that I’ve needed a ‘proper camera’
for a wedding or similar momentous occasion I have been able to borrow the DSLR
from work.
In 2010 I bought a
nice little point-&-shoot with a generous 10x zoom and the flexibility of manual
settings. It was initially for Benny to take on his trip to Nepal. It did an
excellent job in the hands of a self-confessed 'couldn’t-care-less' photographer
and we were both quite impressed. I have since used it regularly with more than
satisfactory results. Much of Ivy’s toddler years have been documented with it.
So, these were the
items on my debate list.
- Dated DSLR with dodgy old film lens (the good lens I got with it now houses a few small grains of sand in the zoom ring) but still a ‘proper camera’.
- Pretty good point-&-shoot (although not without limitations)
- My iPhone (incidentally I have not long ago updated to the iPhone 5 which has more pixels than my old DSLR!)
- Now travelling with a 4 year old - Can I be arsed lugging around a camera bag as well as water bottle, snacks, wipes, colouring in, snacks, Angelina the pink teddy bear, hat, snacks, sunscreen, Polly Pockets, cardi, snacks etc etc etc?
- But… now travelling with a 4 year old - Won’t I need to document the trip meticulously and ‘proper’ for us to relive over and over til she’s 16?
I know right! What a
disastrous dilemma set before me. Well, to put you all out of your misery let
me announce that I DID NOT BRING MY DLSR. But maybe you already figured that
after reading the title of this post? You clever thing.
I do miss it at times
but my phone and point-&-shoot are working hard to take up the slack. Either
that or my laziness has also affected my standards — a natural evolution I guess but I'm quite OK with my results so far.
Scroll down now and
you be the judge. Selamat Jalan!
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