I have just returned from my trip to Newfoundland. What a beautiful place it is! This picture was taken at Cape Spear, North America's most eastlery point and very interesting WWII baracks. It is also the place of demise for my digital camera. In the exuberance of wanting to touch the water of the Atlantic ocean, I had ventured down close to the 'shore' (in this place, the shore is dangerously crashing waves). I passed the camera to Jason, who did not quite have it and we both watched in horror as the camera tumbled down the rocks and ploop! into the water and was swallowed by the sea. There was simply no way to retrieve it, since these are not normal waves and this is not a normal shoreline. At least Jason and I had the good sense to not venture into the drink.
For some time after, I was convinced that ocean/world was telling me not to be a photographer, to not be so greedy with my images, to enjoy a place and not have an accurate images detailing the events. I realized that I have an emotional attachment to images, not as a photographer in the traditional sense, but more as recording moments in time, creating a database of texture, ideas, concepts. The pictures I take are for inventory, studies for later, maybe in the same way people sketch or draw.
It wasn't the camera I was so upset about, but more about the images I had taken in this beautiful place.
As unfortunate as this 'accident' was, I was able to come to a very grand discovery of my neccesity for images. And it was also fortunate that Cape Spear is not far from St John's, where we were able to replace the camera (and upgrade!) so that we could come back to Cape Spear the next day and take more pictures.