Photographer Heroically Attempts to Go Entire Day Without Complaining

Los Angeles, CA: A Southern California photographer recently caught the attention of his peers as he heroically attempted to go an entire day without complaining, making it into the early evening before he was derailed by the announcement of another Canon camera without 4K.

The photographer, Jason Berry, announced his intentions to his colleagues and friends on Facebook on January 26:

Jason Berry

January 26 at 10:38 a.m.

Friends, family, and colleagues: tomorrow, I'm going to attempt one of the hardest things I've ever done. I'm going to go an entire day without complaining about anything related to photography: no snippy comments in the local Facebook group about Ted's obsession with frequency separation, no mumbling under my breath about that photographer down the street doing mini sessions for $30, no Facebook rants about my clients. I'm turning over a new leaf of positivity. Please help me do this: supportive texts, a high five, or maybe even a chocolate chip cookie will all help me accomplish this goal.

Non-photography friends were initially a bit bemused, with one noting:

I mean, I'm all about positivity, but is it really that horrendous a task to avoid being negative for a day? Maybe there's something about the photography industry I don't know about. It just seems like Jason is being a bit dramatic about this.

Photography friends, on the other hand, were a bit skeptical:

It's not possible. You've got people thinking that telling you you have a nice camera is a compliment, clients who want raw files, wedding guests jumping in front of you with cell phones, and for the love of all things photographic, would someone please tell Ted to cool it with the frequency separation?

Fstoppers spoke with Berry at noon the next day, halfway through his attempt, and he admitted he may have bitten off more than he could chew:

I thought I could go about my normal routine and just not complain when something upset me. Boy, was I wrong. Have you been on the Internet? There are so many people who are wrong there. What am I supposed to do!? Just let them be wrong and worry about my own work!? 

Berry realized he wouldn't be able to make it without drastic measures:

I logged out of Facebook, my email, Twitter, and Instagram. When I realized I might be tempted to log back in, I shut my computer off. When I realized I might be tempted to turn it back on, I called the electric company and told them to shut off my power. 

Berry made it through the next few hours in the dark, a bit cold and nervous, but ok. Unfortunately, while disconnecting his computer, he overlooked his cell phone. At 5:12 p.m., he received a text from a fellow photographer:

Ugh, can you believe Canon just announced another camera without 4K? Welcome to 2011, am I right?

Incensed, Berry couldn't stop his thumbs from instinctively drifting toward the Facebook app on his phone, where he updated his status:

Jason Berry

January 27 at 5:16 p.m.

Ugh, I'm sorry, I tried so hard, but really though, Canon?! Are you stuck in the Stone Age? I can't believe this. My phone shoots 4K! GET.👏 IT.👏 TOGETHER.  #thinkingofswitchingtoSony

While he unfortunately fell short, Fstoppers' research confirms that Berry's run of just over 17 hours without complaining may still qualify as the American record, with Luc Bernard of France still holding the world record at 19 hours and 28 minutes. 

Lead image by Tim Gouw, used under Creative Commons.