Kyle Berg

“The bigger they are the harder they fall” has been an adage that has rung true for me as long as I can remember. Wednesday afternoon I made a trip back to the Nikon repair center and found out I had fallen even harder than previously thought. Not only did I break a piece inside the camera, I damaged the inside of my lens. They had told me this the week before, but I was skeptical and asked to see it myself before authorizing repair. The damage was obvious as the zoom was very rough and the lens couldn’t even focus between 135mm and 200mm. It didn’t seem that bad before, but there was not doubt about it on Wednesday. The camera body would be done by February 8th, but the lens would more than likely take until the end of the month. While this was obviously bad news, I felt liberated as I came up with plan B. I was not going to sit around for another month at the mercy of Argentine customer service.

My friend Mike Tittel is going to southern Chile the beginning of February to photograph an adventure race. Upon hearing the bad news of my lens, I decided I would sell my current camera and lens and ask Mike to bring me new equipment. Theoretically this should work well because camera equipment is so much more expensive in Argentina and I could sell used equipment for about the same amount for which I purchased it in the US. One of Vanesa’s friends may even be interested in purchasing my stuff either as is or repaired. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll have my friend Jonathan pick them up once they’re repaired and he should be able to sell them on Craigslist. I talked with Mike last night and he was kind enough to agree to my request as long as I made sure to be in Punta Arenas, Chile on February 9th when he arrives. I told him I’d be there the day before, just to be be safe, and meet him at the airport if necessary. Despite the costs and loss of time, I’m so happy to have a way out!