John M. Cropper

By most accounts, today was a good day. Work was long but productive. I tied up some loose ends in regards to a new downtown apartment, where Frankie and I will begin moving in this week. On the way home, I had time to shoot some photos of the sun as it set and cast shadows on downtown storefronts. I even managed to shed a few lbs. this week, despite not being able to work out because of my gimpy elbow.

Yes, by most accounts, today was a good day. But one singular string of events more than ruined it all, and I’m still fuming because of it.

After checking into the aforementioned new apartment, where I turned off our circuit breakers in time for the DP&L visit tomorrow, I pulled out my camera for one last picture before heading down the stairs to leave.

Less than five seconds after taking that picture, I slung my camera over my shoulder and started down the stairs. Apparently, camera straps are only as strong as your camera is heavy, because with a little added momentum my beloved new camera broke the strap fastener and barreled down the stairs, bouncing on what seemed like every f-ing step as it fell. When it made to the bottom, 35 steps later and well after the 18-55mm kit lens had separated in a flurry of black plastic, the camera body pushed right through the door and rolled onto the sidewalk. I stood mortified at the top of the stares. Paralyzed, and absolutely mortified.

It’s funny how during these recent unfortunate events in my life, the first thing I think of when assessing the damage is “It could be worse.” When I picked up the jettisoned lens, only the lens mount was cracked. It sure shed a lot of plastic for such a small part. And when I hastily pulled out my other, brand-new prime lens, which I had taken off of the camera just a few minutes before it fell, I was relieved to see that the camera body still worked.

Thankfully, Nikon cameras are built like cinder blocks and my D3000 only withstood a few cosmetic scratches. The lens, on the other hand, is worse off, but not as bad as I thought. I searched online for Nikon lens repair manuals, and I found no fewer than ten other helpless folks who dropped their camera the same way. A new lens mount is only about $15 online, and I found a couple of very helpful DIY tutorials on repairing the lens at home.

At this point, all I can do is sigh. I really hope my bad luck stops with this, but in any event, it could be worse. I could have broken my other elbow.