GAS and Spousal Management

[JeffGreene]

I'll be ordering a new Black ZI and lens shortly, and was interested in whether anyone has had to manage spousal issues. Its arrival is sure to generate some questions from that quarter. My wife of many years (29 in May) wonders why anyone needs more than five "$%#@%$'ing" cameras. Has anyone else out there faced similar queries. If so, how did things work out? Just wondering.

 

[Andrew Touchon]

Show her 6 rolls of different types of film. Then carefully explain to her that each different black/white and color film and each different ISO requires a different camera/lens combination for optimun performance. Then: duck, cover and run like hell! Good luck. 😉

 

[Trius]

Good thing I had nothing in my mouth when I read the title to this thread.... it almost sounded like you were implying a spouse was subject to some type of management techique that actually worked!

 

[ChrisN]

Buy lots of cheapies from flea-markets, car-boot sales and the like, for a couple of dollars a piece. When you have 20 or 30, she's never going to notice another one turning up.

🙂

 

[kvanderlaag]

Chris's suggestion is the one I use. When I say "My Leica," no one can tell the difference between the CL (which I bought first) and the M2 (which I didn't tell anyone I bought.)

 

[back alley]

never had a problem my divorce lawyer couldn't handle...😉

 

[Eryximachos]

Critical mass technique

Critical mass technique

I follow ChrisN's technique. The first 10 cameras were the hardest to get into the house; after I achieved that 'critical mass' the next 20 were not even noticed. But whenever confronted, such as when UPS brings a new eBoy purchase, I speculate aloud about switching to "a new hobby" that sounds truly expensive.

 

[Tarzak]

My; "I'll sell the ones that I don't want anymore, soon" worked for a couple of months. Ms Significant has since worked out that there are none that I don't want anymore.
The ball's in her court.

 

[Jon Goodman]

I'd go out and buy a new leather sofa to sit the camera prominently on. That usually helps. Some of these furniture stores are offering "no payments and no interest until 2008." I don't know how they are doing that...especially with an item the dog might barf on, kids might pour Kool-Aid on, people might drop lit cigars on, somebody might go on a pizza and popcorn binge on and excuse me if I seem confused, but what in the heck is it going to be worth when they repossess it? Seems to me the first lesson in Business 101 ought to be "psst, when you sell something, get paid for it." You might get a new coffee table, too. One with large drawers.
Jon

 

[ChrisN]

... Some of these furniture stores are offering "no payments and no interest until 2008." I don't know how they are doing that...especially with an item the dog might barf on, kids might pour Kool-Aid on, people might drop lit cigars on, somebody might go on a pizza and popcorn binge on and excuse me if I seem confused, but what in the heck is it going to be worth when they repossess it? ...
Jon

Easy - they transfer the risk to a big finance company. Ever defaulted on one of them? If you default they send around the heavies. And the interst rates if you don't make that first payment! Good luck!

 

[wlewisiii]

What I do to keep the Boss happy is that I keep the total number down by trading the old ones towards the few I want. By having a decreasing total pile, even though the total investment is significantly higher, I have much less trouble. It doesn't hurt that she appreciates it as a hobby instead of, say, bar hopping... 😉

Also, I feel I'm set for a very long time in terms of camera bodies. It's far easier to get more accessories or more lenses than it is to get more cameras.

William

 

[macnorfin]

My advice, if you're middle-aged, is to get a reckless middle-aged friend.

You see, I have a good friend--same age (mid-forties), same job, same stage in our careers--who recently felt the need to buy a Japanese motorcycle.
Now, when my wife questions the expense of a new camera/lens/whatever purchase, I merely compare his mid-life crisis purchases to mine. At this point my wife just usually nods and says, "That's really not so bad after all. Whatever make you happy."

One caveat though. If your wife doesn't care if you get into a motorcycle crash, this technique doesn't work.

 

[wierdcollector]

I'd have to go with Mark's attempt. I usually tell myself and my other half that I need to thin the herd a bit soon. No trouble with the first couple hundred, then the china cabinets/display cabinets were full. Couple comments then. Next were huge boxes under a bed in the spare room. Couple strange looks. Then huge pile to be sorted/catalogued/used on a bed (ok, and floor). That's getting a couple comments per week. After the first five or six hundred (LOL) you learn the art of selective deafness. Keep telling myself, no more eBay/pawn shops/yardsales/estates but as I near the thousand mark (not all classics believe me) I think just one or two more, then I can cull my least favourites.........

 

[Byuphoto]

Just do like I did when I wanted a DSLR, divorce her. JK 🙂 But life is simpler since she left

 

[peter_n]

Acquire a new spouse who has no interest whatsoever in photography and doesn't notice such things.

 

[reagan]

"By having a decreasing total pile, ..."

Okay, I was following this thread pretty good 'til I got to this phrase. First time I've seen it on RFF. William, you may have the first "decreasing" total pile I've ever heard of.

I hit "critical mass" at my house at 3 Zorkis, I think. Needless to say, that was seeeeveral Zorkis ago. The next two to come brought Katrina-grade havoc and disorder at the breakfast table.

Sooo... being the broken down sniveling shell-of-a-man that I am, I purchased a Zorki.5 and presented it to her as "your camera, how-do-ya-like-it?" While she was thinking how cute that was, I followed her around the house reviewing it's finer points, at the end of which, I gently relieved her of the heavy burden and placed it with the others... in MY study.

She has yet to pull the trigger on it the first time and every time I take it out, I'm "shooting another test roll through it, hun. Wanna tweek it into good shape for ya." But the fact that ONE in the line-up is hers seems to have caused a distraction that allows me to [so far] slip in another here and there. Hey, they're all Zorkis... everybody knows they all look alike. Except, of course, the one in the middle there - it's hers.

 

[tkluck]

Murphy's law of Ebay: "Your wife will be much closer to the door then you are when the UPS man rings the bell."

When my Father sat on my Yamaha 125 and said "one of these would be fun" Mom said "the kids are grown, you got insurance, if you want to break damn neck you old fool go ahead."
He bought a new BMW 650.
My wife's memories of that low pitched rumble in our driveway make the odd camera seem rather harmless. That and the cast and bruses and stiches I showed up with on our second date after I wrecked mine.
At the first grumble when the UPS man drops off "another box?" I tune in 'American Chopper' and let Paul Sr. make my case.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I get deliveries of non-photo items several times a week so one extra package isn't noticed.

 

[wlewisiii]

Okay, I was following this thread pretty good 'til I got to this phrase. First time I've seen it on RFF. William, you may have the first "decreasing" total pile I've ever heard of.

Heh. It's actually very easy - buy a Canon 7, a Leica CL, and (worst of all to the budget) a Luigi case and neckstrap in the space of 3 months and only have the items in your current pile (of which only one or two items have the equal of either camera's value) and have to make those purchases from said pile. I currently have less than 1/4 the cameras I had on my birthday last September... :bang: :bang: :bang:

OTOH, I actually have used all of the cameras I still have within the last month. Many of the others had sat for months between uses and went to people who are activly using them. I really dislike having cameras that I don't use regularly. (I actually probably should sell my Karat & Baldex as well for that reason. That would leave me with the Canons, the Leica, the Contessa & the Speed Graphic and there isn't much that can't be shot with one of those... 😉 )

This is not a bad thing in the end. And the Boss really does appreciate that my collection takes up _much_ less space.

William

 

[ch1]

Occassionally, actually sell a camera! While these may at first seem counter-intuitive to "collecting" by making a big deal about selling one camera - you "buy" good will to acquire four or five more! 😉