My Shutter Has Seen Better Days: Help Me Upgrade My Camera Gear!

Hi there! Thanks for visiting my fundraiser!

What is this all about?

Well, my camera gear has definitely seen better days. Those days were more than 10 years ago. I've been rocking a Canon 70D and my $125 nifty fifty for a decade or more and it's grown along with me in skill and labor. About a year or so ago, the shutter started displaying an error message, forcing me to quickly snag a refurbished Canon 6D - a comparable and just as outdated DSLR - honestly, with fewer key features I had grown to love.

I love photography and have always prided myself in not needing to lug around expensive gear to get a good photo. I think I do pretty freaking well for myself for the gear I have, but the age of my gear is starting to show and I think it's time I invest in the modern age - moving from a DSLR to a modest Mirrorless body.

10 years is a pretty decent run.

I want to stress - my financial situation is tight. I haven't invested significantly in my gear in more than a decade. I'm just a small artist and I book very irregularly, so my photography work itself can't easily fund this on its own and I love volunteering my time and skill toward community driven events. I want to be able to navigate them with more ease and this upgrade will support me in delivering even better work (maybe even result in an increase in paid work).

The feedback I've received from many when discussing the need to upgrade has been, "Ask your community! I bet so many people would want to help!"

Because maybe my friends are totally right?

This is where you kind, generous people come in. So, I ask if you've ever been photographed by myself or if you have admired my work over the years, to consider donating to this crowdfund. I have put together a refurbished wishlist of two items - a new camera body, an adapter mount (so I can use my current lenses).

The overall goal ($3000) accounts for sales tax and potential shifts in pricing as the refurbished listings can technically be purchased at any point in time, forcing me to purchase items at a higher listing.

GOAL UPDATES

As I accept donations thru Venmo and Cashapp, I will periodically update the goal (lowering it) to reflect those donations.

• 10/15 @ 5:15pm | Total Venmo/Cashapp donations: $540, lowered the goal to $2460

• 10/15 @10pm | Total Venmo/Cashapp donations: $755, lowered the goal to $2,245