My Fujifilm X-Pro 3, a lost opportunity

At the end of 2019, I made a huge investment in upgrading my camera gear. I bought the brand new Fujifilm X-Pro 3. I was smitten by how it hides the LCD display, forcing you to focus more on taking photos than looking at them after taking your shots. It essentially changes the way you snap photos, allowing you to feel more connected, and just enjoy the process of snapping photos, rather than looking at how the photos turn out.

I remembered spending almost $3000 on the new system. At that time, I did not regret it one bit. I like photography. It has been part of my range of hobbies that I enjoy tremendously. And partnering this hobby with my love of travel, makes for a potent combination. In 2019, I travelled to so many places. New York, Morocco and Iceland once again.

2020 was supposed to be a repeat of what I did to my travel itinerary in 2019. More exotic locales, more travelling and of course, taking more photos. That’s where the camera comes in.

I was so hopeful. The camera held so much potential. I was yearning to travel and take photos.

But then, the pandemic hit, and we were restricted from travelling. This year in 2020, I have travelled to literally zero countries. There were plans to travel to New Zealand once again with my friends. I also had plans to travel to the many Greek islands in the Mediterranean during the summer months. And perhaps the western coasts of Canada and the USA if time permits during autumn. All these places, make for many wonderful photo-taking opportunities. The camera was supposed to follow me where ever I go. But in the end, the pandemic struck and all plans were scuttled.

Ever since then, I barely used the camera. It’s currently kept in a climate-controlled box along with other accessories that I bought. I feel so sad seeing it locked up in a box like that. I spend so much money on the new camera and I barely used it when Covid-19 became a pandemic.

But I guess, all is not lost. I just have to be patient and ride out the pandemic. In time, everything will go back to normal. From time to time, I guess I just have to use it so as not to forget how to use the camera and to run the batteries so that it will not go completely flat.

Finally, the upside is that these things usually lasts a long time. If the camera is well maintained, it is still a great camera 3, maybe 5 years down the road. I just need to constantly remind myself to find photo-taking opportunities in the future.