I am so happy and grateful to tell you that the converted Canon Monochrome camera arrived this afternoon, Bernie brought it on the UPS truck, I felt like a little boy waiting for his first bike. It is smaller than my other cameras and lighter. I am charging the batteries and poring through the manual, I hope for enough light to at least get a few shots in. I am excited.

The camera above is the new one, I’ve attached my Canon 100 mm macro lens to it, if I get it charged and running, I’ll be ready.

This is a big step for me in my work, and in my notion of photography as an art. I am also humbled and profoundly grateful for the support so many have given me in this project, I could not have done it without you. I asked for help in buying this camera, a Canon 7D digital converted to Monochrome for black and white only by maxmax in New Jersey.

The camera and the conversion cost about $3,000. I have ordered a tripod, a flash, a flash card and a strap. I have not counted all of the money yet, or sorted the Paypal contributions from the voluntary payments and subscriptions, I believe I have just over $3,000, thank you and thank you.

Maxmax bought a new Canon 7D and converted the sensors from color to monochrome. This camera is only for black and white, and it is my hope to get to the next level as a photographer focusing somewhat on black and white. I will still be putting up color photos from the farm with my digital Canon.

I wish I had better words to express my gratitude and your faith in me and respect for my work. You can probably feel it.

I am excited and grateful to be able to grow and be challenged, this will take some learning, patience and experimentation. I will share it with you every step of the way. The contributions have come via Paypal – [email protected] through “Friends And Family,” and my post office Box: P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. I am halting the project tomorrow, if any contributions are on the way, as some of you have messaged me, they will be put to good use. I will take it from there.

I am especially touched that I did not use crowdsourcing sites for this, but just the community on my blog, and we are a community.

I have some repairs to make on my other cameras, and I will be sharing this process and the results with you every step of the way. I might have some photos to look at tonight or tomorrow morning. I want to be thoughtful and take it one step at a time. i am not great at being patience.

I thank you very much for your help in this. My photographs, as always will be shared and not watermarked. Feel free to use them in any way you wish, as screensavers or printed out or just enjoyed. They are my angels, sent out into the world to bring some light and color to the earth. I have a lot to learn, I need to get at it.