Cost effective? - money spent on the hobby of photography

PSA Journal, July, 1992 by Glen Vallance

How much money have you spent on photography since you were first hooked? Now there's a leading question. I'd hate to add up my lot and admit the result even to myself, let alone tell anyone else!

That thought came home to roost when a friend said to me, "If I subscribe to this television magazine for $44 they will also send me a free camera. Will it be any good?" Now there's another leading question. An immediate response comes to mind... but hold on a minute, that could require a delicate answer. What do I know of my friend's previous photography and present objectives? What type of pictures is he interested in taking now? Talking it over a bit, my eventual, conditional answer implied that, "to take an occasional shot of a visiting friend as a souvenir of their visit, the free camera would probably prove to be quite adequate." I hope we are still friends after the first prints roll out of one of those 1-hour machines.

Having thought those thoughts, the first question still haunts me. How much have I spent over a period of some 30 years on all those things that are in my cupboard and darkroom right now? I graduated from the family box when I got my first "35" for $7 at an auction. My first real SLR Pentax was only $106, but then if we adjust for inflation... well now...let's not go too deeply into the subject shall we. At a quick mental guess and carefully not remembering everything, the answer is obviously many thousands of dollars.

But then, money isn't everything. What does, and has, photography meant to me over time? Do I have anything more than just souvenirs of friends? The immediate answer to that one is, "no, I don't even have enough pictures of friends." But the considered long term answer points to an ongoing devotion to the process, the effort to produce results that evoke in me some emotion, some enthusiasm, excitement, a high. It is also an excellent means of finding like minded people, people you can share your thoughts and feelings with. Photographers do make the best friends.

So what about those thousands of dollars, should I feel guilty about spending all that money? Well, it could easily have been spent on other hobbies, but that amount wouldn't buy much of a boat or pay for many years of golfing and the family hasn't gone cold or hungry. So can I say "it's really been a small price to pay for a hobby that can greatly enhance our lives." Let's hear it for photography.