Oops

I couldn't sleep at all last night.  Part of it is. . . well. . . I won't make excuses.  I couldn't sleep because I just spent a bunch of money on me.  I guess I am that way.  I feel bad about it as I was raised by Puritans.  It is not something I need, only something that I wanted.  I got a great deal, I promise.  It was a really good deal.  The best deal.  A man would be a fool to turn it down.

I traded the cow for a handful of magic beans.

So it seems.

The product came from a dealer.  The cosmetic finish was slightly marred.  I wanted it and made an offer on eBay.  To my very big surprise, the offer was accepted.  I saved $1,700!  True.  It is my Christmas present to myself.

So last night, as I lay in a sweat thinking about how wrong it was.  But who, I wondered, who would argue with the DEAL?

I have worked it all out in my mind, though.  I know why I have so many cameras.  They serve completely different purposes.  Here's the rundown.

The 4x5 Liberator is for portraits, pure and simple.  It is difficult to use, but the payoff is great.  No problem.

I have two medium format cameras.  Why?  Well, the Hasselblad is a very great camera, but it is heavy and not for carrying around all day.  It is good to use in limited situations when you know what you are going to shoot.  The Rollieflex, though, is light as helium and is easy to carry around all day when you are simply exploring.

The Leica film camera is a classic street camera, of course, and now the digital version, too.  I'll put them in a bag together with the lenses and take them everywhere.

But the Canon 5D is a much more useful camera.  I can do anything with it.  And I have a slew of lenses.  It is the best camera when you are someplace where you are expected to have a camera.

But the Leicas work where people don't expect you to have them.

Then there are the specialty cameras like the Polaroids and the panoramic Hasselblad Xpan.  Occasional uses.

See?  I have it all worked out now.  I know when and where and why and how I will use all cameras.  Each is a necessity.

Now all I need to do is take some pictures.

Someone asked me the other day if I still had my studio.  I told her no.  She looked shocked.  Why?  I couldn't answer.  People who liked the pictures I was making don't understand.  Neither do I, really.

But now I have everything else, and a Vespa, too.  All I need are some more expensive bags and a Mont Blanc Meistersuck rollerball pen.  And maybe some nice Italian jackets and some handmade shoes.

No, no. . . I am kidding.  I have everything I need now to be a bourgeois bohemian.  Check me out at the cafe.  I'll be the cool looking fellow fondling his camera.

And looking very, very guilty.