I loved taking pictures. I couldn’t very bloody well afford it, but I would save my nickles and dimes and buy rolls of expired Plus-X pan at the local camera shop, wait till I had five exposed rolls, and scrape up 95 cents for a Kodak Tri Chem pack, which would, if you stretched it, just do five rolls.

The trick, as I remembered it, was to take lots of pictures hoping you’d get some good ones, and within the limits of my budget, I did.

But my budget was pretty limited.

I have come far from those days with my Argus C3 and the burnt fingers from the magnesium laden flashbulbs, but I have not had a “Decent” digital camera with which I could make decent pictures, just a lot of el stinko point and shooters. But I have been saving my nickles and dimes again, and tonight I sold a couple items on Ebay that let me pull the trigger on a spanking new Nikon D3100 from Adorama. I also sprung for the $85 three year diamond waranty, which seems to be designed for me, as it’s proof against the more stupid things a duffer can do- things involving moisture, sand, impact,etc.

I look forward to having the freedom to take absolute wads of pictures. Maybe once in a while I can get a nice one. Anyway, it should be here in a couple days.