I Am A Camera - Hear My Story

I was born in a factory in Germany. They gave me a sturdy metal body and sleek look (for my times…) that allowed me to fit into any handbag or sling purse – my! Was I proud to be easy to use…. I came to realize later that in a few years they made sleeker models and I felt I needed to go on a diet. Alas, like the humans limited by bone structure, my metal structure did not give me that flexibility. Anyways, still new entrant to the photography world, I stood pretty on the camera shop display, waiting to be claimed by a lucky pursuant of photography.

Who would be my owner and what use would I be put to? I mulled….

A traveler…? Then I would get to trot from one country to another, capture images of the colors of the geography, flavors of cultures and understand the diversity in human races…

A journalist…? Then I would be the news maker. I would bring to the world facts and information that would make or break political agendas…

A photographer…? Then I would create beautiful big albums of smiling happy faces at wedding functions, religious ceremonies etc. OR I could make or break someone’s career by how their portfolio looked….

A detective..? Then wow! Life would be adventurous. I would go and bring to light hidden truths… bust secret missions and maybe enable justice with the proofs captured through my lens….

As I thought about all this, I realized that my good services could possibly be put to negative use if I fell into wrong hands. I hoped and prayed that the one to own me would be a noble soul and would use me for right purposes – capture memories, get people to smile, assemble travelogues, and let me paint beautiful sights that nature has to offer. Never to hurt or demean other souls….nor to glorify agony.

Day after day, there would be prospective buyers coming to check out the camera models in the store. I happened to be a compact digital camera… people were just getting used to not having to use the film rolls but using the memory sticks. The concept of having to download the photos to the computer rather than developing the film rolls was new. While this transformation was happening, so were the DSLRs coming into the market. Sitting alongside the DSLRs in the display window, gave me a complex. Would somebody really like me enough to pick me up?

One day, a little Indian girl entered the shop with her colleagues. All of them were scouting for electronics to be taken back home. I was a little taken aback. In all my thoughts, I had imagined being in the hands of a European. Would an Indian be able to afford luxuries like me and my brethren? Well… destiny has written our fates and I waited with bated breath. The Indian crowd had checked out all the cameras in the modest-sized shop I was sitting in at the Tunnelbana station in Stockholm. They left after a while, without picking up any of us.. Phew! We heaved a sigh of relief. But it was not over, the very next day, they were back. The little brown-skinned girl picked me up and her colleague picked up my neighbor on the rack, a bridge camera! I resigned to fate and hoped that I would be used the right way….. In my own interest, I decided to befriend the girl and give her my best services….

Looking back at what happened, I realized that when I was created, professional photographers were not the target market. I did have some features such as the custom and manual modes – but that was not enough to get their attention. So I was with the right match for my abilities. Though not a professional, she loved photography and in turn me J… I was her constant companion. She put me in her purse and took me along where ever she went. She introduced me to all her relatives and friends and saved moments with them in my memory. She walked, trekked and participated in group activities at work place. Together we could make some lovely memories not just for us, but for the others around us. Very soon, she had to leave the country and get back home. So, I had new land and culture to explore.

I came to know that my owner was in a profession that required her to travel often. She loved to travel on holidays and outings too. I got to be her travel partner and inseparable friend. She used me to capture memories of people, events and nature’s sights. I was happy to be in good hands. She took good care of me – learnt to use my features to her advantage. In the 17years that I spent with her, I got to travel across continents and view some beautiful natural as well as man-made sights. I was thankful that I was in her loyal and loving hands. Even though there were newer camera models coming out that offered more powerful features, she held on to me (or rather I clung to her). I was not too good at night shots and the zoom in that I could provide was much less than newer models. Her friends and relatives chided her for using an outdated model. But we had befriended each other and I gave my best shot for whichever scene she composed. She even entered my creations to a couple of photography contests and got a special mention in one of them! My… was I proud again? While I feel like doing a collar-up, I admit that for a picture to be good, it is not just the camera but the hands and eyes that use it to compose the frame that matter. While I color it, she was the one to provide the sketch…. So even when her friends told her “Your camera is good”, I heard it as “we envy your eye for composition”….

My only regret was that she could not decipher the instructions to use my manual and custom modes. I know she spent hours over weekends going over the manual and trying to change the settings to get a better picture… but without success. I wish she had consulted a photography teacher who could guide her and together we could have given better results. None the less… I am happy I was used until the time my parts lasted… Never did I felt left out – I almost lived her life with her. I could always feel her caring touch, reaching out to me to see if I am safe – if ever her handbag felt a thud. She did try to salvage me a couple of times, but I was out of warranty and no longer a supported model – I had to go… Goodbye and hope you get a better camera model – together you can paint more pretty pictures and capture more memories………..