Do you hide your cameras from your wife?

jp498 · Nov 24, 2012

Trade up (trading one camera in for the blad). As far as she's concerned, and I assume it's truthful, that you're nesting. You are preparing for the baby and want a nice camera to photograph it with. Ignore the notion you won't have time/money to photograph when the baby comes. There's lots of hurry up and wait time and it's a wonderful time in the life of a photographing parent to be making photos.

Ian Grant · Nov 24, 2012

Steve Smith said:
I have two... but don't tell my wife!

Steve.

I have two 10x8's as well but as they look the same I just make sure they never get seen together

I have the opposite problem with many of my cameras, my wife wants some left on display when not in use - in Turkey and each tome we travle back from the UK wants me to take others !!!!! some have just been restored and are still untried so that's not on. I recently managed to overcome this when I found a bargain box of cameras at a camera fair and bought duplicates at £1-£3 each, but that also threw up jewels like a mint Zorki C and a very nice post WWII Ikonta, so ironically that makes it worse.

My biggest problem is going to be explain the whole plate camera I have sat waithing for me to collect in 2 weeks when she knows I've two others bought as parts plus another early half plate camera that just needs new bellows. I guess the upside is they are worth mor5e than I paid for them, an identiacl half plate camera again missing its bellows sold for more than 3x what I paid, and its the same for the whole plate camert.

Sirius Glass said:
Ok, there is a real easy solution to your problem. Just tell her you picked it up for $20 at a garage sale because the seller said that no one wants a film camera, especially a large bulky one. See just tell her that and everything will be ok!

That sounds about right.

Luckily I am picking up cameras at camera fairs and flea markets very cheaply and usually restoring them so they are worth significantly more than I paid, even more if I sold them in the right places in Turkey wher old cameras are real collectors items.

Ian

StoneNYC · Nov 24, 2012

If all your other cameras are 35mm sell them all and buy the hassy who needs 35 anyway look at all the space you will save your wife and how you've cleaned things up in preparation for the baby

~Stone

The Noteworthy Ones - Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1 / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic

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Sirius Glass · Nov 24, 2012

StoneNYC said:
If all your other cameras are 35mm sell them all and buy the hassy who needs 35 anyway ...

He got that right. Since I got my Hasselblads, the 35mm cameras rarely get used.

eclarke · Nov 24, 2012

Well, Yeah!!!!

Pioneer · Nov 24, 2012

I know this is only a forum but this entire thing seems a bit shady to me. Why hide it from your wife? Does she hide things from you? I would personally recommend having a discussion with your wife, explaining why you need it and listening to her reasoning about why this is not a good purchase for you? At least then everything is on the table. Maybe you really don't need it, or maybe you should agree to sell something else to help you raise the money to purchase it.

Don't get me wrong, my wife and I don't always agree on these things either. I bought an M6 a while back that she was not in favor of, and still isn't. I already owned several nice rangefinders and she could not understand why I needed this one. Actually she was right. I really don't need it, but I do enjoy working with it. However, it was not a surprise when it arrived. I agreed to sell a couple other things to help defray the cost and, though she still is a little irked over it, she accepts that I wanted it and didn't blow the rent money buying it.

Obviously this is only my own opinion and everyone else is perfectly welcome to completely ignore it if you want. The fact that my wife and I have been happily married for 39 years should in no way effect your decision.

Sirius Glass · Nov 24, 2012

Pioneer, my girl friend thinks that it is great that I enjoy photography. Her attitude is that if I want something, will use it and enjoy it, then I should get it. She gets excited, in a good way, when I get more Hasselblad equipment. We have been together for 12 years without ever having a fight. Small wonder.

Pioneer · Nov 24, 2012

Sometimes it seems that we may be the lucky ones Sirius Glass. I do sometimes feel a bit sorry that some who enjoy photography don't also seem to enjoy the full support of their partners. As for the fights, well I can't say we have never had a disagreement or two. But so far we have always been able to sort it out.

dorff · Nov 25, 2012

To be honest, I can relate to your situation. I also have gone through the acquisition phase of both children and cameras. My solution was to focus on my family (first responsibility!), while exploiting every opportunity I could get to earn some income from my photography. On average I pocket about $1500 to $2000 per year from photographic work. It is not much, but it means I can buy my gear without having to "steal" from the family finances. I also do a lot of bargain hunting, and only buy when I am sure of an absolute bargain, i.e. I could sell it for the same price or better if I had to in a pinch. Children are small only once for a very short time, but used cameras will always be there. You may later regret not focusing your devotion on your child when it is still small. I never regret a missed "bargain", because there are always more of them.

How sure are you that you need a Hasselblad per se? I mean, there are other options too, like a 645 system or perhaps Pentax or Mamiya 6x7 systems as well. They are generally more affordable. I got a Mamiya RZ Pro II with 110/2.8 lens, two film backs, extension tube and a few other minor accessories, for $500, and I have taken beautiful photographs of my children with it. That has pleased my wife to the point where she now lives quite happily under one roof with the Mamiya. In her office hangs a darkroom print of each of our children, and in our house there are plenty more. The point is that if you get the MF camera, you also have to produce something with it, that either you get paid for, or that contributes to decorating your home. I don't think your wife could have much of an issue with it then.

RalphLambrecht · Nov 25, 2012

according to my wie, the best way to hide it is to put it into your coat sleeves and yhen putting it into the closet. now, i have to go up and see what she is hiding from me.

Laurent · Nov 25, 2012

I never hide a camera, usually tell her than I'm going to buy one (or one lens, or whatever). She usually disagrees, as she thinks I should be able to do everything with one camera and one lens.

On the long term, I'm not sure she's wrong, but she would not agree on the camera I'd keep : my most essential one is the Rolleiflex, while she thinks the EOS3 "she" bought me (the one we bought while agreeing about buying it) is the only one I should need...

Of course, I usually get the "silent treatment" when she strongly disagrees (she kept "not knowing" about the Yashica Mat 124 for one year :-D )

Sirius Glass · Nov 25, 2012

Laurent said:
Of course, I usually get the "silent treatment" when she strongly disagrees (she kept "not knowing" about the Yashica Mat 124 for one year :-D )

Women think that they are punishing their husbands by applying the "silent treatment", but most husbands consider the "silent treatment" a blessing.

AndreasT · Nov 25, 2012

My girlfriend (no wife but we have been together for 14 years, so practically a wife) photographs herself and I have brought her stuff. But once I brought a LPL/Saunders 4x5 enlarger and did not tell her. I would not say I really hide stuff from her, not in the real sence of hiding, but we men do like to go discussions out iof the way. That is just the way we usually are. That is the thing which women tend not to understand. I hope I am allowed to write this without someone cutting my head off. Anyway my girlfriend has never mentioned a word about the enlarger, and it is stored right next to our bed.
Mmm... it makes me wonder?!?

fotch · Nov 25, 2012

If you think you can hide something from your wife, you must be newly married.

Steve Smith · Nov 25, 2012

Sirius Glass said:
Women think that they are punishing their husbands by applying the "silent treatment", but most husbands consider the "silent treatment" a blessing.

They like sleeping on the sofa too. It's just like going camping!

Steve.

removed-user-1 · Nov 25, 2012

Steve Smith said:
Another thing worth doing is to count all of your cameras and compare it with the number of pairs of shoes she has!

I tried that once, the results were not very pretty!

Seriously, do not hide it - discuss it. My wife wants to buy a new television, so we discussed it. She knows I would not have been thrilled to come home and find a new TV in the living room. Big surprises are not usually welcome, and even little surprises can cause disagreements. For example, we had one artificial Christmas tree, it's perfectly fine if you like that sort of thing. I mentioned getting a real tree this year. I come home the next day and there's a NEW artificial tree in the room. We now have TWO artificial trees. I would have preferred talking about that in advance. What are we going to do with the other artificial tree? We also live in a one-bedroom apartment so space is limited.

When there are other more important things to think about (like raising a child or just paying bills on time), items which are basically luxuries must be put on hold. I mean, if this purchase wasn't going to be an issue, you would not be thinking about how to hide it, would you?

StoneNYC · Nov 25, 2012

rthomas said:
I tried that once, the results were not very pretty!

Seriously, do not hide it - discuss it. My wife wants to buy a new television, so we discussed it. She knows I would not have been thrilled to come home and find a new TV in the living room. Big surprises are not usually welcome, and even little surprises can cause disagreements. For example, we had one artificial Christmas tree, it's perfectly fine if you like that sort of thing. I mentioned getting a real tree this year. I come home the next day and there's a NEW artificial tree in the room. We now have TWO artificial trees. I would have preferred talking about that in advance. What are we going to do with the other artificial tree? We also live in a one-bedroom apartment so space is limited.

When there are other more important things to think about (like raising a child or just paying bills on time), items which are basically luxuries must be put on hold. I mean, if this purchase wasn't going to be an issue, you would not be thinking about how to hide it, would you?

:scratches head: are the new artificial trees made of real wood now? LOL

~Stone

The Noteworthy Ones - Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1 / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic

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Dave Ludwig · Nov 25, 2012

Suggest not comparing her purchases to yours, trust me, unless you like sleeping on the couch. The problem isn't trying to hide it, the problem is covering the financial record of the purchase. Hey, 10 bucks, 20 bucks here and there, after 6-8 months, there you go. Then
you can safely buy and tell your wife you bought it from a guy for pennies on the dollar cause its broke and your going to fix it. Then sit at the table with some micro screw drivers and play around a bit. There you go "it's fixed!"
You have a baby coming however and you need to think of that. Responsible suggestion, sell everything you have not used in last 8 months. Your baby is going to need it. Besides I feel hassie's really are over rated. It's not all in the camera, it's mostly the person behind it.

StoneNYC · Nov 25, 2012

Dave Ludwig said:
Suggest not comparing her purchases to yours, trust me, unless you like sleeping on the couch. The problem isn't trying to hide it, the problem is covering the financial record of the purchase. Hey, 10 bucks, 20 bucks here and there, after 6-8 months, there you go. Then
you can safely buy and tell your wife you bought it from a guy for pennies on the dollar cause its broke and your going to fix it. Then sit at the table with some micro screw drivers and play around a bit. There you go "it's fixed!"
You have a baby coming however and you need to think of that. Responsible suggestion, sell everything you have not used in last 8 months. Your baby is going to need it. Besides I feel hassie's really are over rated. It's not all in the camera, it's mostly the person behind it.

Mostly the person behind it can afford one because they are talented and successful and the ones who aren't don't have money to sell and print their hassy images especially after buying the camera at 3 times the price, haha I consider Leica as Hassleblad owners the same, they may be good photographers but it isn't because of the camera, they just think it is and are willing to pay out the a$$ for that delusion haha...

~Stone

The Noteworthy Ones - Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1 / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sirius Glass · Nov 25, 2012

Dave Ludwig said:
Responsible suggestion, sell everything you have not used in last 8 months.

If some married guys did got rid of their equipment that they had not used in the last 8 months, they would never have to worry about having ANY children!

Diapositivo · Nov 25, 2012

Laurent said:
I never hide a camera, usually tell her than I'm going to buy one (or one lens, or whatever). She usually disagrees, as she thinks I should be able to do everything with one camera and one lens.

On the long term, I'm not sure she's wrong, but she would not agree on the camera I'd keep : my most essential one is the Rolleiflex, while she thinks the EOS3 "she" bought me (the one we bought while agreeing about buying it) is the only one I should need...

Of course, I usually get the "silent treatment" when she strongly disagrees (she kept "not knowing" about the Yashica Mat 124 for one year :-D )

Gee, she not only decides that you only need one camera and one lens, but also decides which one camera and which one lens. And then they talk about parity! Try to tell her she only needs one dress, and which one

Diapositivo · Nov 25, 2012

rthomas said:
For example, we had one artificial Christmas tree, it's perfectly fine if you like that sort of thing. I mentioned getting a real tree this year. I come home the next day and there's a NEW artificial tree in the room. We now have TWO artificial trees. I would have preferred talking about that in advance.

This is typical "power struggle" in place. You actually talked about that in advance, and she showed you who is in command. The point was not to buy a new artificial need (there was no need anyway). The point was "who is in power". If you think it's a Christmas tree question, I think you are deeply mistaken

Sirius Glass · Nov 25, 2012

or one pair of shoes and pick out the pair.

Felinik · Nov 25, 2012

RobertoMiglioli said:
My wife is really smart and she knows all my cameras. Now I want to buy my first Hasselblad which in no way looks like to anything I already have to tell her its the same. We live in a small apartment with no place to hide things and my baby is coming soon. She will be furious if I come home with a new camera... Any idea? Divorce is not an option.

Tell her you found a bargain in a pawnshop, hide the rest of the lenses you are gonna buy in the end amongst the rest of your lens collection, I assume she's not THAT interested in your gear that she keeps track of what kind of glass you carry (and after all, today a Hasselblad 500 is not gonna put you down a lot, but the glass....)..

Or just sell all crap you dont need to fund your new toys.

polyglot · Nov 25, 2012

The dysfunctionality in this thread is incredible, even if I charitably assume 80% of you are trolling.

I like Steve's "store it in the 8x10" solution though

Do you hide your cameras from your wife?

removed-user-1

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