Sunday, September 18, 2016

Rain

I left my house shortly after eight o'clock, the sun shining and the temperature 64 degrees, perfect for a mid-September morning. My destination was a state park about an hour north of my house, located on the shore of Lake Michigan.


Just the week before I had restarted my adventure days. I felt like a kid in a candy store, roaming everywhere and seeing everything. This week though, I was focused on living the mission statement of my blog - Striving to find balance between intention and discovery. Last week there was a lot of discovery, this time there needed to be more intention.


I drove through my usual northward bound Starbucks for a Grande' Chai Tea Latte. As soon as I left the drive-thru window, I sniffed the small opening in the lid. The previous week, I was twenty miles up the road before I lifted the cup to my lips and smelled coffee instead of chai. I glanced at the label on the side of cup - Dark Roast. Not only did I not get what I wanted, I also paid way too much for something I don't even like. This time when I lifted the cup to my lips, I was greeted by the spicy scents of clove, cardamom, and cinnamon.


I arrived at the state park shortly after nine o'clock. This state park has a channel leading from Lake Michigan to a smaller lake, just as the state park does in my hometown. The channel was my destination. There are covered picnic tables along the water. I took my camera, Starbucks chai, notebook and pen and made a cozy place to write for an hour. I had a magazine article to work on, it wasn't getting done at home, so I was hopeful being by the water would stir my writing voice.

As soon as I had everything arranged on my makeshift desk, I heard the first rumble of thunder. It was coming from farther north, so I decided to wait and see if it would blow over. Then the second rumble came. I wanted some photographs of the channel before the rain came. I packed everything up, having only written a couple of paragraphs, and returned it to the car. I took my camera and set off down the channel sidewalk. Halfway down the walkway the skies opened up. I did a quick turnaround, unzipped my fleece jacket and nestled my camera inside. I got wet, but my camera was nice and dry.


I have been having intermittent problems with my year old Canon 70D for the last couple of months. The problem always seems prevalent in humid weather. The predicament is that all of the buttons on the back of the camera stop working. I pull and reinsert the battery and it will work for a time, but then stop again. Yet on other days, I can shoot all day with no issues. My camera was acting up that morning before the rain came, after the rain, it wouldn't work at all. I knew it was time to send it in to Canon.

Autumn is not the time I want to be without a camera. Fortunately, I do still have my old Canon T2i body. As I sat in the car, the rain beating down on the windshield, I googled the potential problem on my phone, and saw that I wasn't the only one. I also googled Borrowed Lens to see how much it would cost to rent a full-frame camera body for a week. I have danced around the idea of a full-frame camera for a few years now, I figured now was the time to give one a try.

The rain wasn't letting up, the day was a bust. But I will be back next week to try again with my full-frame camera rental in hand.

18 comments:

Andy said...

A interesting adventure with a camera that quits when it rains. I just upgraded to a Canon 80D. I hope Canon has a fix for you.

Viv@Thoughts from the Desktop said...

Poor you rain and a poorly camera. Still it looks like a win as well trying out something new is a treat.

cheryl Crotty said...

You still got a couple of great photos and the chai. Your intentions were good. They just didn't work out as you expected. Nice effort though.

Donna Hopkins said...

Hi Sarah, I'll be interested to hear what you think of the full frame Canon camera. My 7D is a workhorse and I'm worried that at any day it will begin to fail. Can't imagine even a day without it! Love, love, love your photo with the red lighthouse in the distance!

Unknown said...

What a bummer on your camera. I've been investigating full frame camera's as well for my next (& maybe final upgrade) ---- I know what I want, but I need to save the change for a while before it happens. Let me know what you think with your rental - I assume you'll be shooting a Canon? I'm looking at the Nikon D750

Unknown said...

Great photos and writing even if the rain and camera weren't cooperating with your plans.

Unknown said...

Great photos and writing even if the rain and camera weren't cooperating with your plans.

Cathy H. said...

Some days are busts, but they're still good days! You go some great shots before the rains came. Looking forward to seeing where you'll be next week.

Ahayes1225 said...

I did not realize you were renting a full frame camera. Looking forward to your opinion on it. And love the lighthouse. Now you are making me jealous.

Bonnie said...

As always your pictures and words are wonderful! I hope you have had a grand week-end. Hugs!

Carol said...

Kudos to you...Mother Nature throws you some lemons (rain); technology throws you more lemons (camera troubles) and you made some really good lemonade (a great blog post) for all of us to enjoy.

Lynne said...

Familiar to me . . .
Where you were . . .
Not the camera issues . . .
I am happy there usually are solutions . . .
See you next week!

Unknown said...

BorrowLenses is the very best, and I look so forward to see the photographs you will make with the full-frame.
Happy day to you, Sarah!

Nancy said...

So sorry about your camera but maybe it's a signal to get a new one...I'll be interested to see how you like the rental. Love the lighthouse capture.....

Tracey Grumbach said...

I love my full frame Canon. I don't shoot with it as often as I used to because of Lyme...I tend to opt for my iPhone, sadly. But, I am heading to California and will be taking my old trusty friend with me. Hoping to feel good and get some beautiful shots of the west coast. Love your pictures here...so moody and matches my day. xo

Michelle B said...

This crazy fall weather...the thunderstorms are so isolated it can rain crazy hard in one place and not at all a few miles away. I always bring a gallon Ziplock just in case. :) Electronics malfunctioning can be irritating, but maybe you will enjoy the full fame rental. Christmas isn't too far away...

Jill said...

I keep toying with the idea of a new camera too...can I justify it I guess. I look forward to what you think about the rental.
I can imagine sitting in your car listening to the rain and writing. :)

Jeanne said...

You are so so so lucky to live so close to Lake Michigan. It is such a beautiful lake. Great place to have so many photo ops! hOpe that you are about to get your camera back. Did you end up enjoying the rental??