The Intrepid Idealist: My crappy little companion

I loved my camera when I first got it in August 2012. My dad had given me a much bulkier one and I begged my mom to swap for the one she got, which had cool filter features and other tricks that I knew my mom would never use. And use them I did. Throughout my year in Brighton, my camera went everywhere. At every beach party, every pub crawl, every impromptu pancake making plan, I was clicking away. I must have taken over a thousand pictures in that year. So clearly, it's been through a lot. It's been dropped on hard surfaces, dropped in sand, gotten wet in rain, and, most recently, braved the coloured powders of Holi.

It comes as no surprise then that it's dying a slow death. It switches off at random times. It never selects the right function when I turn its little function dial. (No, I do NOT want to take a panorama shot!) Everything, everything, is delayed. It never focuses when I need it to. Half the time I want to throw it against the wall in frustration. It's particularly embarrassing in moments when I've asked someone else to take a picture so I can be in the shot. My camera has let me down, let the photographic moment of opportunity pass, many, many times in its old age.

But. It can still deliver the goods better than most, for a shitty little point-and-click. Sometimes I view a photo on my laptop, and a little spark of pride flickers for what me and my camera made. Which is why I won't replace her till the day she dies. And then I'm getting an SLR and photography lessons, because hopefully by then I'll be less poor. Hold out just a little longer, my crappy little companion!