{"id":419,"date":"2010-06-04T16:05:00","date_gmt":"2010-06-04T20:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stayfocusedpress.com\/blog\/?p=419"},"modified":"2010-06-11T16:10:58","modified_gmt":"2010-06-11T20:10:58","slug":"investing-in-your-photography-hobby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arnielee.com\/sfp\/?p=419","title":{"rendered":"Photo investment with a big payback"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note<\/strong>: this article was adapted from an earlier one published in March 2010<\/em>.<\/p>\n

So many new and amazing digital cameras, lenses and accessories seem to appear daily that I can’t help but feel overwhelmed with difficult choices about where to invest my hard earned cash in the name of better photography. When I see an announcement for a new camera with its tantalizing machine gun-like frames-per-second or super-fast auto-focusing ability my hands start to get itchy<\/strong> at the thought of feeling a new, sleek camera body; handling a bright, shiny lens or setting up a slick tripod head.<\/p>\n

The problem is that I start feeling guilty when the itching starts. Why am I adding to the inventory of photo equipment when I already have an ample supply? I know a few other “collectors of photo equipment” and like them, the compelling draw of the latest and greatest is not unlike the effect that drugs have on an addict.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Here’s my confession about last year’s investment that provided me with a huge return.\n<\/p>\n

Let’s jump back to early 2009. I’ve just spent two days looking at gobs of new photo equipment at a trade show in Las Vegas. There I’ve talked to dozens of anxious sales reps from every photographic corner on earth. Now with two pounds of new products literature in tow, I have more than ample ammunition to set myself off on a photographic shopping spree for this year’s newest and finest. “Hold on. Pull yourself together”<\/em><\/strong>, I tell myself.\n<\/p>\n

With my head spinning, I hop in the car and head out from sin city<\/em> to the northeast on Interstate 15. Two hours later I’m in the high desert plains of Utah, a place I’ve been to many times before (thanks to Jenny) – Hurricane<\/strong> (the locals want you to pronounce it “her-ah-kin”) and LaVerkin<\/strong>. These two small towns sit at the gateway to the red-rock area roughly known as the Escalante Staircase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the 100+ mile drive from Las Vegas to LaVerkin, the itching in my hands has subsided. From LaVerkin, I head eastward and thirty minutes later instead of sitting in the parking lot of “Jumbo Super Camera Store”, I’m here at Zion National Park.<\/font><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
Pulling up to the entrance gate, I reach into my wallet to pull out my National Park Annual Pass and hand it to the park ranger. A few seconds later she notifies me: “sir, your card is expired”<\/strong><\/em>. So back to the wallet and out comes the debit card to purchase a new annual pass. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Believe it or not, the $50 I spent for the National Park annual pass was my best photographic investment last year. I’ve made it a point to the squeeze the most out of this investment by visiting and photographing as many parks as possible. In addition to Zion, last year I also enjoyed Bryce Canyon, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Olympic, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Red Rock Canyon, Canyonlands, Arches and Canyon de Chelly. Below you can see some of the “returns on my photographic investment”<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/tr>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a>
Zion NP near Zion Lodge<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/a>
Grand Teton NP at S. Jenny Lake<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/a>
Death Valley NP at Zabriskie Point<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/a>
Yellowstone NP at Norris Geyser Basin<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/a>
Joshua Tree NP at Barker Dam<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

This year I intend to continue my investment in my photography craft by renewing the annual pass again.\n<\/p>\n

Having enjoyed and worked in photography for more than 50 years, I’ve learned that one of the best ways to reap dividends from my equipment is to get out there and use it. So I consider the annual pass a very valuable way to invest in photography.\n<\/p>\n

And by the way, you do know that the place that you visit and photograph doesn’t have to be a national park, don’t you? My suggestion is to get out and shoot. Use the camera equipment that you have; it can reap big dividends. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Note: this article was adapted from an earlier one published in March 2010. So many new and amazing digital cameras, lenses and accessories seem to appear daily that I can’t help but feel overwhelmed with difficult choices about where to invest my hard earned cash in the name of better photography. When I see an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,1],"tags":[48,49],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arnielee.com\/sfp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arnielee.com\/sfp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arnielee.com\/sfp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arnielee.com\/sfp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arnielee.com\/sfp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=419"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/arnielee.com\/sfp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":432,"href":"https:\/\/arnielee.com\/sfp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419\/revisions\/432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arnielee.com\/sfp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arnielee.com\/sfp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arnielee.com\/sfp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}