Caught without a camera

The Arizona monsoon season has brought quite a bit of rain this year, and the desert is rather green and pretty. I drove up to Flagstaff earlier this week for work, and thought about taking my camera in case there were some really nice pictures. I wish I would have. The desert was absolutely beautiful, and once I got closer to Flagstaff, the fields were covered in "black eyed Susans". There was just field after field of gold flowers. It was absolutely beautiful. I also hit a hail storm and some amazing lightning. I really wish I had brought my camera.

In fact, there have been several times when I have been on the road for work that I wished I had my camera with me. Earlier this summer, I had to be in Yuma by 9:00, so left Phoenix around 5:45 am. As I was leaving Gila Bend and driving through all of the agriculture areas, there were field and fields of white cabbage butterflies and yellow sulfur butterflies. There had to be millions of them! I felt like I was driving through a blizard, but instead of big fat snowflakes, juicy butterflies splattered against the windshield. I actually pulled over to just experience standing in the giant cloud of butterflies.

I think one of the reasons I don't carry my camera (Fujifilm FinePix S3000) around when I travel for work is because it is big and bulky. It doesn't fit in my purse or laptop bag, so either I need to carry a bigger purse or a third bag. It's just not practical.

I just got a new camera (Olympus Stylus 720SW). It's tiny! The picture quality isn't as good as the Fuji camera (at least not yet - I'm still learning how to use all the settings), but it's small enough to take with me anywhere. Plus, it's waterproof so I can take it snorkeling or under waterfalls. That was the main reason I bought it.

When I go to Ecuador and the Galapagos later this month, I plan to take both cameras. The Olympus will be great for walking around Quito, since it's small and easy to carry. It will also be great for snorkeling and night shots. I still plan to take my Fuji to capture landscapes and animals.