Friday, March 6, 2020

Why I Own Canoes and no Boat as Such

This keeps poking into mind, but I dismiss it, because my mind is made up. So go figure. Maybe it's telling me I should share it. But it's not as if I have any advice to help you, just a slice of my story for entertainment. The previous post today might be helpful, if you buy from Amazon.

Years ago now. A decade ago and more. I had a deep, deep longing to buy a boat. I would even keep it here in the lot. We have a Condo Association that forbids the likes, but back then, no one bothered. (Now they fine you if you put a tarp over your bicycle on your own porch.) Problem was, the highest amount I had in my savings those years was about $700.00. I had got back into getting articles published, but as yet, I was spending most of the earnings on outings. I remember paying as much as $135.00 for boat rental and bait at Dow's.

Since the middle of the previous decade, I've advanced my finances considerably, just by freelancing. Even so, it remains like a separate micro-economy. I get articles published for earnings as little as $30.00, and only a relative few pay as much as $700.00. Low figure payments matter essentially, though, because earnings build over time. But we're still not talking about very serious money.

But buy a boat? Since I buy $1500.00 lenses and the like, it's easy to see I can afford one, but I depend on my two canoes. And continue to rent from Dow's. And when we go to Florida, rent a big one. I like to go out in Fred's 14-foot V-hull, too. Storage fees would be outrageous and the distance from home a problem.

I prefer to spend money on photography. The three books of photos I've been planning on for at least the past six years--Lake Hopatcong, the Raritan River System, Round Valley--these may be no more than a pipe dream, but they motivate my picture taking. The way I see it, if I can recapture the words that sailed into my head while on the job at Shop Rite, investing more than 5500 dollars now in D850 photography--this figure does not include my many lenses--puts me on a adventure full of mystery, because there's really no telling how I may or may not profit, but at the very least, it does satisfy my addiction to the images I produce.

My wife's realism--I will not profit one iota. It's all for my own pleasure. My old Nikon D7100, which I haven't sold,, is good enough for the highest-end outdoor magazines. I paid 800 for that.

But I am obsessive. That answer just doesn't satisfy me. I've seen my own results from the D850, so I know I can get shots even editors of lesser magazines have salivated over,. I can never get close to  these with my D7100. I have to pay high price to satisfy what I see, but why not? I earn the money.


Adventure in the Underground Economy

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