Now I’m not complaining but I rarely get to go on a proper holiday. I don’t mean a pseudo photo tour or an extension to some business conference or other, I mean a holiday where I can take time off and relax.
Last New Year’s Eve in a slightly inebriated state I was telling my friend my tales of holiday woe when Pete walked in also slightly worse for wear (he’d just jumped in the River Feshie which is never a good idea in the middle of winter). I think the cold water had fuddled his brain because before I knew it, Old Grumpychops had promised me not only a holiday, but a holiday in Yellowstone in autumn! And not only for me but for our friends too! As insurance I announced this bizarre yet welcome generosity to the assembled throng. There would be no going back now.
Our friends are non-photographers and although I’ll be going armed with my Baby G (aka Canon G10), regular readers of this blog will understand that this hardly qualifies me as a ‘photographer’ (having not even managed to download one picture since it arrived in 2009). So to all intents and purposes, we are traveling bereft of cameras. And begrudgingly (read after several protracted arguments), Pete has agreed to leave his gear at home too.
I can see it now. Hiking, horseback riding, white-water rafting, skydiving. We’ll be doing it all with not a picture being taken. Not a custom function mentioned, not a megabyte to download, not a chimping session to be seen (Yes I do know what chimping means!).
But what if he misses a winning shot? What if he suffers a mental breakdown without his camera? What if he becomes so depressed he offers himself up to the nearest grizzly bear? What if…? What if I don’t give a damn?
Could I be that cruel? Oh yes, just watch me!
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Oh Amanda, Amanda, Amanda………………what have you done?
You’ve fallen right into the old fella’s trap, haven’t you!!
It’s not a holiday you’re going on, it’s a tour that had a space free. You’re going to end up playing sherpa. Don’t believe that nonsense about not taking any gear. If Pete is out in the great outdoors and can’t record the moment, he’ll break out into a sweat and start hyper-ventilating!!
We’ve all seen him wandering along the side of a loch or stumbling through the woods muttering something about, “…..must find a new way to tell the story!”
You’ve been warned!! LOL
Phil
I do so sympathise with your dream of a Normal Holiday Not Devoted to Photography!
I spent years looking for interesting things I could do on holiday that would let Rob take pictures at the same time, and I dreamed the dream…..then I gave up and got a camera myself because he can’t function without one at hand! However, I have discovered Rob is quite rational and almost a normal companion when he has his Baby G.
May I suggest you take yours with you, and lend it to Pete when (not if!) you find his withdrawal symptoms are a nuisance!!
Very amusing!! 🙂
I really hope you have a fantastic and well deserved holiday but Pete doing it ‘cold turkey’ is either very brave or completely mad!!!!!!
The answer is simple: give Pete a nice new, empty note pad to write in. Deprived of a camera, ideas will flow like never before. This idea that a camera really makes you look hard at things is nonsense: sitting and trying to describe something on paper is far more absorbing.
Best
Niall
And Pete could always hire some camera gear when you get there.