Spirit Objects

A lot of us love our tools. In a culture that is both about “having” and “owning” there is also a stigma about “things” – we aren’t supposed to love our things.

I’ve been thinking about my path through life and one thing that has always been true is that I love cameras – I love them for themselves as much as for what they can do. The feel of them, the weight, the precision – all the wonderful mechanical qualities of them. One of my most treasured possessions is my first “real” camera – a Nikon FE2 I got as a present from my parents in high school.

I became, in the course of my career, a photographer – and now decades into it, photography has been the defining element of my career as a designer and marketer.

I wonder sometimes how much of that has been – and continues to be – driven by my affection for the object – cameras, lenses – all the bits and pieces. They still bring me joy. Do I shoot photos with my iphone? Of course – cameras taught me to love photography and photography taught me to love images.

Cameras are my spirit object. What’s yours?