$153.30

$153.30. That’s what this photo cost me. A relatively close-up shot of a magnificent, full-maned lion, sitting in the rain just outside of Pittsboro, North Carolina. The completely soaking, drenching kind of rain. $153.30 was the bill from Canon to replace the top LCD of my 1DmarkIII, which get some water in it and died.

What is the value of a photo, of an experience, of these intangible goods? If you asked me would I do the same again, I’d immediately say yes. I wasn’t rooting for water to get into my camera, but I’ve got some photos that I love, had an experience with my family worth having, and in the end, it cost me a little money. But so what? The un-weathersealed lens, by the way, came out of this totally unscathed.

I guess my point here is not to be afraid to use your gear. An ancillary benefit of the blog post is to provide an anecdotal story of how good the weathersealing really is (or isn’t) on Canon’s 1-series. You should know that my 1DmarkIII was bought well-used, and currently has a shutter count around 150k. It doesn’t really surprise me that the gaskets and seals don’t work quite as well as they used to. I don’t think you should take foolish risks with your gear, but I don’t think it’s worth babying, either.

Again, was this photo worth the price I paid? To me, yes. To capture this moment, in the rain, forever.

To commemorate the event, I am offering a 12×18″, limited edition matted and framed print of this lion (from the excellent Carolina Tiger Rescue). The price? $153.30, of course. If you’re interested, please contact me and we’ll make it happen. :)