Happy New Year! I've yet to take any photos in 2009. I'm waiting for a new lens filter to arrive. The last one on my most handy lens, the 28-75mm, smashed as a result of an unfortunate camera drop. But, the filter served (one of) its purposes; with first line of defense: the lens hood, removed, the $30 lens filter took the impact, saving the $350 lens. Use lens filters!!! The camera is fine by the way, and the lens received a minor scratch on the very edge.

I'd been visiting the Aviary at Hong Kong park in Admiralty every few years for as long as I can remember, but this is the first time I'd noticed so many photographers with DSLRs and expensive zoom lenses. Perhaps they were there previously but I didn't notice them as I wasn't interested in fancy cameras and such back then. But somehow I don't think so. An easy observation of photographers is that most are men. I'd say 9/10 of the fancy camera wielders were men, which begged the question, why? I discussed this with a few friends, and the first explanation always to arrive is that men are more likely to be interested in tech-ie/ gadget stuff; especially Asian men.

Other reasons came up, ones that risk over-generalization and are not entirely convincing but may have some truth: women prefer investing time and money in more social activities; fancy cameras are heavy and they and their cases are not designed to appeal to or accommodate women; men are more likely to financially invest all out in their hobbies. And there's always the Freudian argument for men and large lenses.