I wanted to update you on my photography. Several weeks ago, I asked for help in converting a Canon 7D to monochrome, and you responded generously and instantly, sending me the $3,000 via Paypal and my post office box, and several hundred more in just a couple of days. I halted the campaign and used the leftover money to buy insurance for the camera. I then went to B&H Photo in New York and traded in four different lenses for a new 35 mm that cost about $1,800.

It was a good deal for me, and  judging from the letters and messages, it seems like it was a good deal for the many people who contributed money  also. Because of this help,  I can advance my photography and get more serious about black and white. I can share better and more diverse photographs, my range is expanding already.

Thanks for the lovely messages about my photographs, I am glad you are pleased. I am just getting rolling. The thing I love about online fund-raising is that people can give small amounts and make a huge difference because there are so many.

Next week, I will go back to B&H Photo to trade in one of my cameras for another lens, a 35 mm portrait lens. I completely grasp the idea that if you want to capture the soul of a person, black and white is best, and my new monochrome has inspired me to take new and different kinds of photographs – especially portraits, landscapes and street and other scenes.

I will be left with two cameras, both Canons.

I’m going to master these new lenses and the light and range of the cameras. With this new lens, I will be able to expand my portrait photography as well as my understanding of black and white. I am trading in a lot of my gear to do this, I think it will result of better and more original photographs, most in color, many in black and white.

I am certain the camera I’m trading in will generate enough cash to buy the lens I want.

I love color and light, I would never turn from it, but the move into black and white is exciting. I am understanding photography differently already.

The new 35 mm is considered one of the best prime lenses that Canon makes, the 85 mm has been hailed as one of the two or three best portrait lenses on the market. I was grateful for the support I received to buy the monochrome, that has been the start of an exciting new creative experience for me, I feel the camera has already changed my idea of photography, but I don’t care or need to ask for more help, I can take it from here.

Thanks for supporting this expansion of my creativity and thanks for loving the photographs and telling me so. That has meant a lot. The Internet can be a nasty place, it can also be a loving and supportive place. I want to always be moving forward, and never stand still for too long. That is the first death. I am grateful to have this wonderful community around me.