There we were; sitting on the grass just south of North Avenue Beach on one of the very first really nice spring days in Chicago in 2009. We had just biked down from our place in Evanston, as I pulled out my old trusty point and shoot Canon A710. I snapped some photos of our friends Bradley and Kristal and then swapped it out for my iphone camera in order to take a 4 sequence montage of images of us.

It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and the temperature was just right. We rode home and relaxed in our humble abode, when I realized that I had somehow managed to leave my camera bag and all it’s contents in the grass. How we all missed it and rode away, I will never know, but the point was that my gear was gone. I felt a sudden surge of sickness and depression upon the realization. It was like losing a friend.

Mere moments after realizing that my camera was gone, I discovered that my big tax return from the government had been deposited into my bank account. It was almost simultaneous to the loss of the camera and I for one was going to take advantage of this sign from the universe. After saving and dreaming about a high end camera for years and packing away as much cash as I could in the last 6 months, I could finally afford the absolute unbelievable camera I had been staring at online for countless nights into morning, while my poor wife begged me to go to sleep.

The very next day I purchased my first professional grade camera and lens. The Canon 5D Mark II coupled with Canon’s newest ultrawide angle zoom: The Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM

I’ve only had it for a day and already, I’m amazed at the photos it can take.

Of course, one of the very first photos taken was of my wife, my GREATEST treasure.

To see the first photos taken with the camera, CLICK HERE

Last night I slept like a baby.

Petra Eating from robbie conaway on Vimeo.