Rebel Without A Cause

#15: Champagne Wishes & Caviar Dreams

No, that subtitle doesn't have anything to do with what I'm gonna write about. I have a hard time swallowing champagne or even smelling anything with alcohol in it and I don't dream of caviar. I, however, have been wishing and dreaming of getting a digital SLR camera. It should be Camera Wishes and Canon Dreams.

Over a meal with two wonderful people I met this week, I was asked what my hobby was. I swallowed hard as I said "Photography;" then proceeded to mumble several qualifiers which I'm sure did nothing but plain confuse them. "I'm forever an amateur... I've not been able to refine my skills as fast as I would want... but I always make an attempt whenever I travel... schwar, schwar, schwar." (I was actually hearing Elvis wail in the background, "Oh yes. I'm the great pre-he-ten-hender..." You see, I have two Pentax SLRs that are in excellent shape, but have not produced spectacular gallery-worthy photos. The problem is obviously not with the cameras but with the one using them.)

A fellow marketer who turned his back on his events management business to be a full-time photographer asked me last month how I was progressing in the art. I honestly told him that I'm stuck. I haven't been polishing my craft so I'm probably on the brink of deterioration, if not already down there. I thought he was going to give me a list of workshops or photography trips I can join. (He had always encouraged me to be part of his photography club activities.) Instead, he gives me an advice so simple it practically steals the drama away from all the art-talk. "Go get a digital SLR." And that was the end of that discussion.

And so I did.

I had been eyeing this particular Canon model (which is the coolest digital SLR you can get below the $1000 mark - according to BusinessWeek) for the past year but have never had the boldness to take the leap. I would often mask my cowardice with a form of purist posturing I actually just borrowed from another Businessweek article - one which romanticized film cameras over the digital ones; but would longingly flip the pages of the product catalogue when I'm alone. I wasn't ready - not in terms of resources, not in terms of dedication.

Until I saw this promo in the newspaper. You get freebies valued at 1/8 of the total price! Not one, not two, not three but four wonderful items that would place you a notch higher than your average photography hobbyist! Hurry! Offer is up to June 30 only!!!

For a marketer who's supposed to know the drivers behind promotions, I get carried away pretty easily. "Create a sense of urgency in the minds of the consumers in order to pump up sales for the month of June and deliver against year-to-date targets." See? I know these things. In fact, I could have easily written that particular line. Yet I still bought. Why? Because it's way easier to momentarily forget that you're a marketer to be a wide-eyed consumer than to turn your back on a marketing career for the love of photography.

I'm not there yet. Actually, I don't think I'll ever get to that point at all. Such move would not be courageous for me, it would be crazy. (Come on. I love Marketing more.)

Following my friend's advice about buying a digital SLR is about as bold as I can get when it comes to this particular interest. Let's see if I improve enough to be the next Michael Yamashita. If not and that is just me dreaming, then I'm fine with merely being a photography enthusiast... and perfectly happy to have my Canon Rebel without much cause.