Through OCD's community boost contest, I was inspired to write about living conditions in my country. Sadly, there weren't many positive things to write about in my country. It's been over a month since I published that post, and lately, I realized they were many things I didn't write about.
In that post, I shed a little light on the high cost of things necessary for basic living. And while I even did conversions of those items to dollars, it didn't occur to me that I'll be badly affected by it too.
If my life revolved around spending money only on things available in Nigeria, I'd have been able to manage the situation. But now and then, there's a need to purchase items from the international market. And that has become some sort of pain lately. Why? Because my local currency is in the mud. Almost becoming useless internationally.
Since 2015, Nigeria has "enjoyed" a constant devaluation of the Naira. That is not to say that things were better before 2015, but it became worse since this current government entered into power. Our currency is at its worst currently with an exchange rate of #490/$1. Of course, this will affect so many things, and one of them is the consumption of technology.
Inasmuch as we feel the country is so difficult to live in, something that this hardship hasn't affected is our tech consumption. Nigerians love tech and we can somehow find a way to consume them irrespective of price.
Tech ranging from automobiles to smartphones, we consume them all. But for how long would we be able to consume these things amidst the value of our currency. High-end smartphones that cost average thousands of dollars in the US, would cost millions in our local currency. I wish it was so easy to make these millions. But sadly it isn't.
I'm a huge tech person; I love tech a lot, but I'm unable to consume tech as I would like to, thanks to "you know what". So far so good, I've been able to curb my desire to purchase only tech that is highly needed. And my recent desire has been to purchase a new camera.
A few weeks ago, I discovered that my previous camera(because it has been sold) had reached its stipulated number of actuations. The camera didn't stop working, but for me, it meant that it was time to move ahead. I wanted a mirrorless. I've read and watched so many reviews about mirrorless cameras that I couldn't afford to purchase another DSLR.
It was in this pursuit to purchase a new camera I discovered how almost worthless the naira has gotten. Reality check hit me fast when I gathered my savings and all the money I could find, and it wasn't enough to purchase the camera. That reality check is part of the inspiration behind this post.
Hive earnings partly sponsored the purchase of my new camera.
After struggling a bit to raise the funds to purchase the camera, I decided to break into my Hive earnings. It was quite a painful thing to do, but in the end, I felt grateful. Grateful because I never imagined Hive would solve real-life problems for me like this. And that's because of the mentality I joined Hive with.
At the time of joining Hive, my intention aside from connecting with amazing people was to earn enough to take care of minor bills. Hive has turned out to be much more than that for me. I'm grateful now more than ever for making that decision to signup last year.
Before my previous camera(Nikon D750) reached 150k actuations, I had decided that I was going to get a Nikon Z6. I was able to get a good deal for a slightly used one. The seller was willing to let it go for $1,200 and I made the purchase. I had $900 and added $300 from Hive. I'm so excited about it and I'm glad Hive could help.
My cousin in the US made the purchase for me, and she'll soon be on her way to Nigeria. I call cameras my girlfriends, that's why she's addressed as "She". I named her already. Her name's BLU. I can't wait to wrap my arms around her. Check out these beautiful photos of her;
In my case, I had help from Hive to purchase a piece of tech. A lot of people in my country might not have this opportunity. I wish they saw this post and joined Hive though. But above all, I wish the Naira would regain value. If it was in 2010, I'd have been able to buy the camera without batting an eyelid. I really wish things would get better for my country. I honestly would like to buy a good piece of tech without overthinking about it.
PS: @revo, as soon as the camera's in my hands, you'll get a review from me about how a mirrorless camera feels from a fashion/portrait photographer's POV. Gotten the D850? or are you still waiting for the replacement to be released?