I lost My camera

My Photography Journey and My Many Cameras

I don’t know what specific aspects go into making someone a photographer, but if you ask me, if you have a camera and you’re using it daily, you’re a photographer. Maybe not a professional, but a photographer none the less.

I consider myself to have been a photographer since 2018 when my mom bought me my first real phone. I wanted the Samsung Galaxy S9 because it had actual camera setting like ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. I practiced with that phone everyday taking some really decent pictures and not once did I ever lose that phone. I have the Iphone 13 Pro Max now, but I still have that same S9 tucked in a drawer somewhere, my first camera.

Photo taken in downtown Lafayette, LA with the Samsung Galaxy S9 at 18 years old

These are the camera settings that I was talking about. I had no clue what f/2.4 did or what 1/2200 even was, but I understood that it helped to take a good picture.

My first real body & lens camera that I ever purchased was a Canon Rebel T3. I bought it in the parking lot of my church for $125.00 He didn’t attend the church, nor have I ever seen this man again after my purchase, but that little camera taught me so much and took me so far.

A year of photography with a cellphone showed me that everything was a moment, and with this new camera, the world was mine to take. I took pictures of friends, of buildings, of graduates, of the sky, of animals, you name it. I was so hungry for the chase of the capture that I found myself buying memory cards every other month. It was with this camera that I discovered my love for people. I was giving pictures to any and everybody who asked!

A picture of me taking a picture with my Canon Rebel T3 at 19 years old.

As I continued to take pictures of people, I began to understand the stress that comes with having clients. When 2020 came around, I decided to get serious and really focus on my craft. That was when I purchased my baby, the Canon EOS 5D Mark iv. It wasn’t until I took my first picture with this beast that I realized how professionals are able to get the types of shots that they take.

I began to research lighting and studio settings and props and backdrops and compositions and all kinds of different techniques that I had never heard of before. It was a journey. It was the most fun I’ve ever had in my life learning with that camera. I still believe that the pictures I took in 2020 are the best pictures I’ve taken in my life, and next month makes 2023.

So I bet you can imagine the heartache that came with the events that took place on November 23, 2022, the day I lost my camera.

Like I mentioned before, I like to capture EVERYTHING. Even if it means just taking pictures of my family in a Publix in Florida, I want the memory. It was in that Publix that I lost my title as a photographer. All I remember was walking into the store with my 5D Mark iv, taking a few pics, and then walking out of the store with grocery bags in my hands. As soon as I realized that I no longer had the camera in my possession, I ran back into the store and started looking. I must have put it down somewhere, a store associate must have seen what happened.

Nobody could help me, and frankly, I don’t believe anybody wanted to.

The thing that brought me this far was now gone forever and there is nothing I can do about it, but move on. The night I lost it, I prayed and asked God to replace it or to help me find it. He has a thing of making our mistakes workout for us.

My grandfather gave me money to help cover the cost of my lost camera, but there was so much more that couldn’t be replaced. The filling that my hands were so accustomed to when holding the body and the trust I had in that specific camera to perform perfectly with me is what I thought to be important. It was everything to me. Another thing that couldn’t be replaced was the 4 hour long graduation session that was still on the SD card inside the camera. I’ll write a blog on how that went later.

I’m just thankful for friends and family who care.

A good friend of mine named Devin told me not to worry about what was lost, but to focus on the opportunity to explore something new and maybe reinvent my style like what I’ve done from the beginning with the S9. In the end, I was able to purchase another 5D from a wedding photographer who’s family is really close with mine. I’ve done quite a few sessions with it and honestly, I’m content with it. It’s bittersweet, but sweet all the same. I just can’t wait to see what me and this new camera are able to produce in 2023