in a pickle(!)

who knew pickles could be so emphatic? ... (exclamation mark, really?)

Winding down, the last few days of #330daysofbiking, and I find myself “in a pickle”, so to speak.  Nothing to do with my bikes or cycling, but rather my camera.  While I am not exactly camera-less, my favorite camera, my best camera, my DSLR … has died.

From the symptoms and error message code, it appears the shutter has reached the end of its expected lifespan.  While only the Canon techs can tell me the exact shutter count, I anticipated that I was probably past-due for this to happen.  This camera has been a real workhorse, and while very well-loved, it has also survived an incredible amount of abuse.   In fact, I debated getting another camera body for the Italy trip at one point, as I really didn’t want to risk technical failure on that trip.  Fortunately, I’ve gotten through the past months without any problems … until now.

the very last shot from my beloved 7D

So, I have sent her off to the camera hospital and will hopefully have a diagnosis/prognosis by the end of the week.  Sadly, it seems that everyone is temporarily out of stock on the same camera body (by itself), if I come to the point I need to shop for a replacement.  And as much as I’m tempted to move up to a full-sensor body, there are too many features on the 7D (mostly fps) that I would have a hard time living without.   Forgive my rambling.

I guess I had just looked forward to finishing up #330daysofbiking with some really nice spring shots, with the camera that is so familiar and so comfortable to me that it’s almost like another appendage.  Yes, I get carried away with this stuff.

For now, the weather has been rather grey and dismal in recent days – a little bit like my mood.  Hopefully the sun will re-appear very soon …. Today was day 327.  Three days to go.

grey and dismal ... the day the camera died

Day 325: sticks ... and bike (Lumix)

today's tulips ... Day 327 (iPhone)