sans photos

my camera needs a new power board and one of my lenses needs an aperature flex repair, and who really knows if fixing them is worth it.  I am now acutely aware of just how (very, very) often I bring (brought) my camera up to my eyeball every day.  in the last two days there have been so many things I've wanted to photograph.  a lot of ordinary things.  I quite enjoy documenting these daily, ordinary things.  I think I do it in a way that allows me to still be fully involved in what is going on and not get trapped in that place where you get so busy taking pictures you forget to actually experience the moment.  because that'd be kind of against the whole purpose, right?  looking back at things and not remembering them well because you were too busy clicking away?  yeah, no fun.  but somewhere in there lies a beautiful balance, I believe.  so.  had I a working camera these past couple days, there'd be photos here.  of strawberry shortcake, of Cinderella ticket stubs, of a box full of pastries from the biscuit shop that were shared by my in-laws before they left town, of the way the winter rye (now 5 feet tall) in a small area of our garden sways with the wind.  maybe if I took a picture of it you could have pretended to have been in the middle of a blue-green sea of grass just like I was pretending to be.  there were tadpoles finding a new home in our pond-in-progress, much planting and gardening, piles of fruit on the kitchen counter, nearly two quarts of strawberries picked from our beds this afternoon (looks as though we'll need to eat more strawberry shortcake this week- maybe with homemade poundcake instead of biscuits this time) and many other day-to-day scenes that begged to be frozen forever through the viewfinder.

but, ah well.  in the end, it's just a predominantly plastic, small black machine that I use(d) heavily.  I could get it repaired, or I could replace the body with a used one for now, one that can be gotten on ebay for a tenth of the original price paid eight years ago (oh technology, how quickly you progress) I could replace it with a newer model in the same general entry-level dslr category, or upgrade to a nicer mid-range model, body only, and add lenses as I'm able.  a lot of options, really.  I look online and see how many options there are and wow, my indecisive libra self is incredibly unsure of how to proceed.  I see there are all new kinds of cameras out there, including these smaller 'interchangeable-lens' cameras that promise similar quality to a dslr with much less bulk.  my photography is a hobby, and that is how it will remain.  I occasionally do photography for friends, get images in print here and there, and sell a couple prints or cards, but I've managed that with my eight-year-old entry level Canon Eos Rebel xTi.  there will always be a bigger, better, more exciting camera out there, I know.  there will always be a bigger, better, more exciting anything and everything out there if I choose to see it that way.....

if you care to share, I wouldn't mind hearing your two cents on current camera options~