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At some point shortly after birth we learn to associate - not just words with images, whereby we build a functional vocabulary with which to makes sense of the world we live in - but also with other like-minded people, or with those we would like to think are like-minded to us.

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Which club do you belong to?

Teenage cheerleaders admire their lithe, shapely bodies, feeding on the endorphins of being admired for their physical prowess, while looking down on the frumpy bookworms, self-deprecating goths, and "loser" slackers.

The slackers think the cheerleaders are self-obsessed vampires, stuck in a body-worshipping rut that will end badly with the onset of wrinkles.

The bookworms look down with a little sadness upon the slackers, recognising the potential within, and not comprehending why anyone would want to party their lives away when they clearly have the brains and aptitude to make something of themselves.

Meanwhile, the goths keep to themselves, indulging in their neo-romantic dreams and wishing that they or the rest of the world (in that order) would just die. Maybe then everyone would understand...

The Chess Club cannot understand why anyone would want to subject their bodies to physical pummelling on the rugby field, and the tennis club doesn't get why anyone would want to join the cadets and march around in the hot midday sun.

It's not just pubescent "mini-me's" that feel the need to belong...

Chartered accountants can't understand why people don't have the good sense to manage their finances, and so company owners cough up and pay vast fortunes to them to look after their interests.

Gardeners love the feel of fresh dirt, the smell of water and soil, and the beauty of a fertile garden. They love the slow passage of time, marked by seasons, and cannot comprehend the mad rush for wealth and mega-deals.

Quad riders love nothing more than the sight of clouds of billowing dust, and almost everyone else hates them, but that's ok, because they've paid (more than) enough to be in their own private piece of the world, and they don't really care what the rest of us think of them.

Progressive Rock lovers wish the hip-hop and (c)rap would all curl up and die, forever banishing itself from television and radio sets everywhere, and most especially from the malls. I mean, come on! That's not music! And as for all these top 100 shows... Didn't Queen ever produce something other than Bohemian Rhapsody? Does anyone on earth know of their live albums, or indeed, ever even heard one of their live tracks? I didn't think so...

And while we're in my world let's meet the point-n-shooters, the 1-gadget-that-does-it-all-except-make-coffee "Prosumer" owner, the D-SLR semi-pro enthusiast, the high-end, high-brow  D-SLR owner, the Film Purist, the neo-fascist Photoshop hater, and the Medium Format Gods of Film and/or Digital.

Which club do I belong to, you ask?

I've formed a new one.

It's called the: "My camera has served me well, has broken down, and now sits on the shelf because I refuse to repair it again (it has broken down before) while I slowly gather together the finances (ouch!) to enter the next level of camera-club-dom" club, or the: "I'm in between cameras limbo" club.

Interestingly, as I write this, I realise that there's really only one club you should ever belong to, and that's the: "I supply the tools and/or knowledge to people who feel the need to belong to some sort of club" club.

Is it just me, or do you also get the fact that someone else is making money out of all this needing to belong?

Ah well.

I'm expecting to get my hands on my next camera (Nikon D300 - which means I'll not only be moving up in clubs, but also changing from the Canon club to the Nikon club) in the not-too distant future, and in the meantime my 300D is going to gather dust.

I've replaced a shutter curtain on it once before (broken again), and I'm not spending that kind of money on it once more.

I'm tired of it's:

• 1.5fps,
• "hang on a minute, I'll be with you when I'm good and ready" startup time,
• 4 frame RAW buffer and then "put on the kettle and have a cuppa while you wait for me to clear those captures",
• slow, dodgy autofocus that is only any good for static photography and definitely not for anything even remotely approaching action,
• Duct tape (securely fastens the battery compartment door) that keeps lifting and sticking to my hands while shooting (yes - I have one of those wartime type cameras)

So, that's my club.

Which one do you belong to?

Take care and take pictures!

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