How durable are NiMH battery chargers?

Glove, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Autumn, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

LOST, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

First, here are some photographs from today, although it almost happened that I didn't venture outside after a hectic day at work. But wife got me motivated.

Off-topic to photography - or perhaps not, as I imagine photographers use NiMH batteries a lot for various purposes - anyway, what happened that two NiMH chargers broke within one week from each other. The other (Vanson) was only two years old, the other (Energizer) a bit longer in use.

Was this just a coincidence or might perhaps a faulty battery cause such a thing? Both chargers have seen a lot of use, as flashlights, bicycle lights, childrens' toys etc. seem to eat batteries daily.

I bought a cheap GP charger with four 2700 MiHN batteries as a replacement - but should I charge the other batteries (Vanson, Energizer) with it? I'm hesitant to experiment further...

I could write much longer on the durability of electronics, but I cut my finger with a new knife when preparing food, so using the keyboard is difficult. Have to be careful with sharp instruments...

Are enthusiasts to blame?

Autumn, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Green leaves, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Blue water, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Blurry, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

First, continuing on the topic of (not) earning a living with photography, here are some interesting views on this. First, we got stock photography taking away the earnings, and now we are nearing the end of stock photography: "Larry Ulrich places the blame elsewhere, on new photographers who are more interested in seeing their names in print than in receiving payment for their talent. Major stock companies, he argues, offer small percentages because of the increased supply of low-priced images from photographers who don’t consider the cost of production or the need to make ends meet."

Well, I'm happy to report that none of my photographs would probably make it in stock photography - and I have no intention to try. So there.

All photographs shown above were taken today evening. It was dark and rained a little bit, which helped to bring out the colors. There are plenty of colorful leaves on the ground and floating on water, but soon no more.

Nature photography

Autumn, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Yellow, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

The winner of the Finnish nature photography competition has been announced, see it here (text is in Finnish). Quite a remarkable composition - this was in fact the only one of the candidates which I remembered after browsing through them. Congratulations to Pekka Tuuri!

Also interesting, regarding the issue of Price of Free, is that winner is a hobbyist, who is by profession an IT expert with an engineering degree. Only professionals can afford to make art...

This is my third posting for today - we got some nice sunshine late afternoon and I went for a walk with my daughter.