Alan Myers | Photography

observations & possible rants from photographer and running enthusiast with a sometimes sideways sense of humor and outlook on the world.

I’m Recharging My Batteries Today

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Sanyo Eneloop Ni-MH Nickel?metal hydride charger with rechargeable AA batteriesAs much as the title of this post may sound like a useless tweet, you might actually find some meat on this post.

I am recharging my batteries today. Both literally and figuratively.

First for the literal sense which is a tip for photographers. 

I find when my real estate photography business slows down in the winter months, I’m not as vigilant about making sure all my batteries are charged at the end of each day. A couple times I almost got into trouble because my back up batteries weren’t fully charged. Fortunately I was able to make it through each job without the embarrassment of dead gear.

In the past when I used “traditional” rechargeable batteries from Energizer, Duracell, etc… I would have to worry about them going dead if they were sitting in my camera bag for any amount of time. As they got older and didn’t hold a charge as well, I’d be lucky if they lasted a couple months or even weeks. Not a problem with the Sanyo eneloop AA Ni-MH Rechargeable Batteries I now use. I’m not sure of the specifics or physics, but Sanyo claims they’ll hold a nearly full charge for up to year.

Of course that only works if they’re charged!

So I’m going through my camera bag and making sure all my batteries are charged. I found one set of flash batteries, and  one camera battery that needed to be charged. I also dumped everything out of my camera bag to make sure there weren’t any lost items hiding in it. Didn’t find anything this time, but you never know when you might find a business card or other contact info for a client, an undeposited check, or other goodies.

 I’m also taking the time to inspect all of my photography gear including:

  • Giving lenses an extra good cleaning
  • Checking all screws on camera bodys, lenses, tripods, and flashes are tight

Now for the more metaphorical sense of recharging my batteries.

It’s not unusual to look ahead and think about what will be possible in the new year. As a small business owner I’ve been thinking about 2013 for a few months. Now it comes time to draw a line in the sand,  put it in writing, and get started on the year ahead.

Some of what I’ve been thinking about today that has me excited about 2013.

  • Clarifying what will be important to me and my business this year.
  • Goals and strategy for the year.
  • Getting organized – does it ever end? At least I can have clean slate for the start of the year.

Hope you all have a great 2013!