I have solved an age old issue!

[Montana]

Folks, you ever have problems getting past your spouse or significant other to purchase new gear? Sure most of us has at one time or another. This hobby is expensive, and purchasing gear for the hobbiest can be a headache not only in the ol' pocketbook, but also in a relationship. Well, I have finally figured it all out....

At first I tried the "I'll buy whatever I want" approach, and after sleeping on the couch a few times and few door slams later....

I tried the "beg like a 4 year old" approach which not only mad me feel weird, but I think she told her friends cause they started looking at me funny and buying me coloring books and edible playdough....

I then tried the "honey I made you your favorite dinner while you were gone and later I will give you a wonderful massage....by the way Canon is having a great rebate program at the moment" approach with hit and miss results ending up with lots of leftovers from sudden loss of appetite...

Well, I finally nailed it and everyone can thank me. I had a 10 day business trip out of town to North Dakota. I wanted to pack along my 600mm f/4 lens which doesn't fit in its factory case because of a couple of attached accessories. So I did what any man would do...when she was sleeping I wrapped the lens in bubble wrap, stuffed it in her duffle bag she uses to pack shoes in when going on vacation, and put it in my pickup truck. Well, I kissed the wifey the next morning and headed off to work.

3 days later she calls and says shes going out of town with her girlfriends on a trip and wants to know where her shoe bag is. I sheepishly reply, "I have it and my lens is in it." She is none to impressed. Fast forward to this morning when I arrive home from work, shoe duffle in hand. She slides a big box across the floor towards me and I see a little note attached to it. To paraphrase the note..."Leave my f-ing shoe bag and use this next time". I tear into the box to find:

A Lowepro lens trekker 600 and 2 slip lock cases! then the epiphany hits....I finally got it figured out! LOL

Well protected and a great fit:

Cool tripod cup:

Sooooo comfy!

Derrick

 

[Montana]

To keep this gear related, that is a Canon 600 f/4 IS and 40D w/ grip. It stays as one and it appears to have room to mount a telelconverter on it too. The lens cover can even stay on which I like. The tripod carrying cup is slick and there are many, many loops, D-rings, etc to mount and carry gear on. First impression.....this is an awesome bag to hike with a supertelephoto. So much weight, a backback is the only way to go!

Derrick

 

[CrazyDriver]

Good read made me laugh, as for the bag your going to be going to be using it a lot by the looks of the camo.

 

[Chris of Arabia]

We're off to Hong Kong on Wednesday, so I said "Do you mind if I spend £5,000 on camera gear whilst we're there?", she just said "Yes, if it's what you really want to do". Money transfer complications will the only reason why it doesn't actually happen.

 

[dxqcanada]

My solution was easier ... I married a photographer ... so I get to buy twice as much equipment !!

 

[Montana]

Sheesh.....I wish I had it like that! LOL!

 

[shivaswrath]

lol, funny read. . .I was hoping you had in fact come up with a solution. . .thankfully, my fetish for photography is more on the wide lens side, not the zoom side, so dropping massive $$$$ on a 600mm lens would've, in my case, ended in divorce!

Lowepro makes amazing gear, i have a toploader with some little lens carrying additions on the side, and a mini-tripod holder to boot - amazingly easy to take on trips, but it does scream I have expensive equipment inside . . .

I'm thinking about getting a Crumpler (they're on sale at Adorama now) since they are more "discreet" coming in messenger bags. . .I think with your 600 though, discreet is your last concern!

 

[Mike_E]

So the next time you want to buy something, get it and then taker her shoe shopping so you can try it out on her new shoes.




That would sound weird if this weren't a photography forum

 

[BlueEyes01]

As a female photographer, i have a different approach....

Not what you're thinking.....hehehehe

I first say, hey at least I dont ask for Diamonds, then if that doesnt work, I add up his yearly beer budget & he can't say much!

 

[Moonlighter]

Beautiful! creative people - creative thinking))

 

[Iron Flatline]

Well done, all.

One more approach: keep the pics of the kids and wife coming. Also, very important: make actual prints! It's not enough to have them roll past on a screen saver.

So if you end up with lots of pics of the kids, and all the in-laws and Facebook friends are impressed, you can pretty much gear without restraint.

 

[Hobbes]

I am probably the last person who should post anything in a topic about relationships but I am just kinda curious if you have actually tried to cut your own expenses when trying to buy those expensive equipment like drinking less beer or quit smoking or no visits to the local bar with buddies for a month or two and stuff like that. It may not be a lot of money in short term but I am sure in the long run it could be quite a lot and you don't have to take any risks in your relationship. Everything has a price and you have to pay it one way or the other.

 

[LuckySo-n-So]

cut your own expenses when trying to buy those expensive equipment like drinking less beer...

I have first hand experience that this scenario does not work, unless you do it secretively--which makes your whole premise moot. This is especially true if you are in a "paycheck-to-paycheck" household.

It is a lot easier for the wife to rationalize spending $50 on a pair of shoes 15 times a year than it is for a husband to spend $750 on a lens (or stereo or TV) once or twice a year.

Ive been married twice. I "allowed" the first to buy whatever clothes/shoes/knick-knacks she wanted, thinking I'd be "allowed" to buy that CD player, or first-edition book, or high-speed 56k modem lol. Big fat negative. Hell, even CDs were hard to come by for me. The second couldn't hold a job to save her life and had three kids. No further explanation needed there. My last girlfriend, whom I was planning to marry, freaked the eff out when I bought a modest $300 gas grill. :sigh:

As a rule, men's toys are almost always more expensive than women's, so unless you have a super supportive wife (you are a lucky one Montana), or have the financial means to support an expensive "hobby" comfortably (which I'm sure most of us don't), the husband usually loses out.

I've reached a point in my life where I won't compromise my hobbies/interests because of a relationship with the fairer sex.


Now, what does all this say? It says I've been dating the wrong women! :banghead:

 

[Phranquey]

Not what you're thinking.....hehehehe

Hey, that approach works ....

I first say, hey at least I dont ask for Diamonds, then if that doesnt work, I add up his yearly beer budget & he can't say much!

I just used a very similar approach. When I bought my 500mm, she about flipped a lid.
We are big movie buffs, and have a LOT of DVD's. Of course, if it comes up in conversation, it is her movie collection. OK, sweetie.....this many movies x $$ average per movie = CHA CHING :shock:.

Funny, I've yet to hear another peep about my lens, and I still have some $$ room left over......and we haven't got to the diamonds yet.:lmao:

 

[Phranquey]

It is a lot easier for the wife to rationalize spending $50 on a pair of shoes 15 times a year than it is for a husband to spend $750 on a lens (or stereo or TV) once or twice a year.

As a rule, men's toys are almost always more expensive than women's, so unless you have a super supportive wife (you are a lucky one Montana), or have the financial means to support an expensive "hobby" comfortably (which I'm sure most of us don't), the husband usually loses out.

Same concept. You posted while I was writing.

I do have some expensive hobbies, but the wife doesn't mind (usually) as long as the bills are paid, there's food in the fridge, and some gets put away.