I received something new yesterday.  The UPS truck arrived at my doorstep and I had to sign for my purchase. I had been waiting with eager anticipation for my new purchase:  a Canon 5DM3.

But today's first blog entry is about saying good by to an old friend.  It's something that I've used daily since I first bought it from B&H 5 years ago.  It's been my constant companion, traveling with me on some great adventures.  And I will miss it.

Why did I decide to get a new camera?  Well, my old, trusted Canon 5DM3 is almost dead.  I was traveling in Utah and Colorado last fall and that's when I started to experience the first pieces that started to malfunction.  When I move the shutter, there was no resistance anymore and no more re-assuring click that the camera was on.  Instead I found that I put it in my bag and in the process I had accidentally rubbed against the "on" switch and my battery was dead.  

Now, I love to shoot outside and will shoot in almost any kind of weather.  Rainy outside, there is always a plastic bag to cover my camera.  Snowing outside, no problem, hand me my plastic bag.  Raining or Snowing hard, find a place to hang out for a few minutes until the weather improves.  Or just put the camera in my camera bag and put the weather resistant cover over my camera bag.  Should be no problem.

Going from cold conditions to warm conditions, put my camera inside a plastic bag and seal it until it comes to room temperature.  Same for extremely hot conditions.

So, I did take care of my camera during my treks.  But I did use it everyday.  And it finally just pooped out.  Or I should say limped along.  Finally, I got tired of saying that I really need a new camera.  It just took a while to get there because you just get attached.  It is your constant companion and it causes you to capture many great memories and occasions.

So, here is a glimpse of several photos taken during my 5 year engagement with my Canon 5DM3:

Arrival day:  April 9, 2012

PAD April 9: the 5DM3 arrives

Some early photos in 2012:

PAD April 9: Mittsey shots PAD April 12: Kiki one of the rescue catsKiki is one of those cats that is waiting at the animal rescue to be adopted. I take pictures that are added to their website in the hopes that they will be adopted. PAD April 10: Yellow Power

And some photos from 2013:

PAD January 28 Two Hoots PAD January 30 Triangles

PAD May 14 Up Close PAD Sept 28 Car Show Two And 2014:

PAD Feb 22 Art Deco Hood Ornament PAD Feb 21Packard Crowd-Two PAD March 29 Ice fishing near the end of the season 2015

2016:

View from the Farmer's Market in Halifax Close up look of the Gunnison River in the Black Canyon, North Rim Grand Junction near Main Street And now to this year, 2017

PAD Jan 1 The Trestle PAD Jan 16 Cardinal Two PAD Jan 18 Bench and Lake Winnebago PAD Jan 27 View of High Cliff Harbor 2 I will miss my old friend.  My daily companion.  My fun way of getting outside and experiencing the world around me.