Camera replacement to capture free memories and moments for dancers and family in the Irish Dance Community in Aotearoa

Hi all. Many of you will know me from the free photos I provide for the Irish Dancing Community in NZ (and recently in Australia as well plus a couple of World Champs). I started doing this in 2015 as the NZ ID community didn't have a photographer, which is more common overseas, and having a dancing daughter realised it would be special to have some visual memories of her time in the sport.

ID isn't the cheapest sport so I don't charge anyone for the photos or processing. Every comp is a day or two of photos and, as this isn't my day job, then every night plus weekends for a couple of weeks (or more) to check all the photos and publish them for parents and dancers and dance schools to use. It's time consuming but the memories are special and the act of service is important to me.

The camera equipment to get good photos is expensive and wears out. The current camera is rated for 200,000 photos but has taken 456,000 photos so has done its dash! A new camera to replace it is around $8,000+ so I'm looking for some help from the ID community here.

Most dancers get about 100 photos (more or less) at each feis. With 200 dancers that's 40 cents per photo or $40 for one competition. That about pays for the camera. Photo packages at major overseas comps can be $100-$200 for a limited number of photos.

Any money raised will 100% go back into ID. If we raise more than what's needed for the camera it will go into lenses, software, & travel costs.

Thanks for your support everyone!