Ode to Camera

(Emma) Ever since early Africa I have been into photography, and I owe it all to our African guide, Fausto. He taught me how to compose the picture, and also how to work all the settings. Without his advice and information, I wouldn’t have been the photographer I am today. I fell in love with photography so much that I convinced my parents to buy me a brand new, high quality, expensive camera. I guess that might not have been a wise decision on my part, and that is when it all started.

Here in Morocco, on the road to the desert we needed a place to stay, so there were two gorges that were options for overnights. We went to the second one. It was a beautiful hotel made out of rocks and cement because they had plenty of rocks around. It was only about 2 o’clock when we got there, so like the adventurous people we are, we wanted to go for a little hike through the rocky terrain. It was a great setting and my mom was yearning for a family photo of us, but there was no one around to take it. To show off my excellent camera knowledge, I put it on timer and ran to get in the photo. If I may say it turned out to be a great picture. I bent down to grab the camera and then everything changed:

1. I grabbed the camera
2. The strap was stuck on the rock
3. I pulled up
4. The camera slipped out of my hands
5. I tried to grab it, but missed
6. It fell right on a rock

Everyone saw it and gasped. I nonchalantly picked it up and examined the front. There was a little ding in the aluminum part of the lens but that is all I saw. I thought I had gotten away with the little drop, but I hadn’t. I brought it back up to my mom to show her the picture and that is when I saw the bad part. The whole LED screen was shattered. I stood there shell shocked. My mom took the camera from my hands and tried to look at the pictures, but it wouldn’t show up. I had officially broken the one most important thing I owned. I ran away crying. I thought over and over to myself “I broke the camera. I BROKE the camera”. Each time the words going through my head would get louder and louder. I didn’t know what to do.

I guess from there it was all up hill. Dad convinced me that it was alright and bad things happen. Mom said that atleast I wasn’t hurt. Andrew and Reis just tried to avoid me, and they felt my pain. Alex kind of chuckled and then went serious. She was always trying to show me that she was the better photographer, but I guess this time she had a reason to show that she was ‘more experienced’.

The rest of the photos taken in Morocco were a bit more complicated. I couldn’t see any of the pictures I had taken and I could only change the settings on the little top screen. But there were also some jokes that came along with the broken LED. Things like “Hey Emma, Can I see that picture… Oh wait” or “That picture was so ugly it broke the screen!”

The incident was not optimal but it definitely taught me two lessons. First, I should always be careful. But more importantly, when things break, I need to realize that it would be worse if I hurt myself or anyone around me. I will remember both of these while I am working off the repair bill.