April showers bring May photos, says columnist Adam Gould.
Getting up close and personal with favourite cameras
When I was actually approached to write a monthly column in the former Community Post, I was equipped with my first “real camera.” It was the Fuji FinePix HS20EXR.
It would be known simply as Master Fuji.
I loved that camera and it was an early graduation and birthday gift to myself. It was June 2011 and Truro was my hometown. The final project of my Masters was submitted, school was out, and I was soon-to-be 31 years young.
Master Fuji had caught my eye during a previous trip to the former Carsand-Mosher, and I knew that it would be mine. Oh yes, it would be mine.
It boasted a 30x optical zoom, 16 megapixels (MP), and a funky EXR sensor, which sounded really cool at the time (and still does). The price tag was a bit hefty, but I felt it was earned, and photography was becoming a hobby.
I took that camera everywhere for the next three years; to work, local events, sports, concerts, road trips, and on vacations. Master Fuji was there for my very first UFC event in Toronto, and my first WrestleMania in New Orleans. We became tag team partners over three-and-ahalf years. Fuji was a great camera to learn the basics with, and to create your own style.
On Remembrance Day 2014, Master Fuji’s light went dim – literally and figuratively. The final flash was used during a rendition of Louis Armstrong’s classic, What a Wonderful World, performed then by Bernie Francis and Gideon Lucas.
That day, Master Fuji retired, and is now admired from a shelf at home.
Later that week, I purchased the Nikon CoolPix P600. Nico’s specs included a 60x zoom, 16.1 MP, and was WiFi-compatible, allowing me to upload photos directly to my smart phone (which does not have a name).
Nico was named after Steven Segal’s character in Above the Law. Great movie!
It came with some extra bells and whistles that took some getting used to. Cameras can be intimidating to new users, and I share with others what I was first taught: “Just play with it and have fun. It is the only way you are going to learn.”
Over the two-and-a-half years with Nico, I was continuously learning new things about it. Unfortunately, learning and having fun came to an end recently.
Niko went missing at the end of April and the trail is frozen.
Rather than grieve to you, Nitaps, I prefer to share the experiences that Nico helped me to capture.
While I do love that camera, and miss it greatly, I’m optimistic it will show up eventually, but the hobby and work must go on. In the next MemberNews issue, I hope to introduce you to the memories of a new camera buddy.
For now, it’s Nico’s moment. Like Master Fuji, it was joined at my hip and went almost everywhere with me. It was also with me for some firsts and seconds:
My first, but not last, experience in Las Vegas for International Fight Week, meeting Arianny Celeste, and watching Conor McGregor compete live;
my second WrestleMania, in Dallas, that holds the WWE attendance record of 101,763; and when the Membertou Beefcakes won silver at the 2016 NSMSG.
The first personal assignment was taking photos at my Godson Oliver’s second birthday in November 2014.
The photos you see today are just some of my personal favourites from my time shooting with
the Nikon CoolPix P600 from November 2014 to April 2017. Today I am grateful for whomever invented external hard drives.