Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Suffering in Secret... A Reflection on Scott Bourne's Post

I am a penchant follower of Scott Bourne. His websites can be found here and here. One of his blog entry discussed the "Photographer's Secret - Pain and Injury". After reading that entry, I started to reflect on my own plight. I began to asses how "fit" I am when it comes to photography.

My DSLR is now heavier than the one I had before. Add to that the lens, the flash and the grip and I have a set up that can be quite daunting. I used to not think about this, but after reading the article, I suddenly focused on my own mortality, so to speak. I have a bad left shoulder, a bad right wrist and the back of my neck is constantly aching.

I recently watched a youtube video by Yuri Arcurs on how to instruct a model (link here). I learned a lot from that video and the wife agreed when, on one afternoon, I used the "hand" technique when I was instructing her on where to look. But, another thing I took from that video is that Yuri was using a monopod during the photoshoot.

I am not one to complain but the pains that I feel cannot be disregarded. I might even be doing myself some harm by ignoring them. It's time to admit that I feel the pain.



I think that, for an extended photoshoot where one cannot use a tripod, the monopod would serve as a photographer's best friend. Also, using a full load messenger bag, in my experience, does not bode well for my back. A backpack may still be the best way to carry stuff around. And the reason why I have the Blackrapid strap is to relieve the back of my neck when I shoot. And lugging around a DSLR everyday might not be a really good idea anymore. A really good point-and-shoot, like the Canon G12, might be a good bet when I just want to have a camera on me all the time.

However, the G12 is still far into the future and the reason why I use a messenger bag is because of the convenience of being able to get the camera quickly. Also, the monopod that I have now can no longer accommodate my heavier set up.

So I guess I will just have to make do with what I have now...

(On a related note, when I went to the Canon Expo I made the mistake of carrying with one hand a Canon 1Ds Mark III mounted with a Canon EF 200mm f/2. I felt the pain on my wrist for several days and I had to ice it until the pain subsided. I'll never make that mistake again.)

5 comments:

  1. If you don't want the new Canon camera you just won from Scott Bourne due to a bad back, I'll be glad to take it off your hands! Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  2. If the new camera you just won from Scott Bourne is too heavy for you, feel free to send it my way! Congrats on the contest win!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Haha! Thanks Karen and Kevin. I think I'd hold on to it... :) LOL

    ReplyDelete
  4. Maybe you should try seeing a chiropractor or something? Congrats on the camera! Awesome! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi "P". :) I don't think I am at that point yet and I am hoping I won't reach it. But thanks for the advice. :)

    ReplyDelete

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