HELP ME SAVE MY BUSINESS

Here is what happened:

In October 2023 I was working at the Swiss karting finale in Wohlen, Switzerland. After the event, both my cameras and lenses got stolen out of my bag in the train. I did not notice the theft at the moment and only realized the damage a few days later. I instantly called my insurance company to have my loss compensated. The whole gear, I lost, was worth around 10'000 CHF. So, it's not something I can pay out of my own wallet easily, as I just started freelancing a few months ago. After loads of E-Mails and calls with the insurance company, I have the burdening confirmation that I won't receive any money back.

Why does the insurance not pay:

Honestly? I wish I knew! When I started freelancing, I knew that it is a big financial risk, so I instantly got to the insurance and got a private and business liability insurance. 

Now it turns out that the insurance won't pay, as it wasn't a Robbery. So if someone held a gun to my head and threatened to kill me, I would get my money back. But the thief was smarter than that. 

I also got offered to sign a further insurance that insures my equipment and if I do so the claims settlement team might be able to give me a part of my money back. Disappointingly enough, this insurance is only valid for private customers and not freelancers like me.

I'm still in contact with the "Ombudsstelle" an extrajudicial arbitration authority but the chances that I will see any money are very slim at this point.

Why support me:

Since I am 10 years old I always owned cameras. It's the first time in my life that I am without my equipment. I asked myself: "What now?"
I saw two options: Give up my freelancing business or get the money back.

It only took me a split second to decide!
I won't give up!

Here is a little something about me. Two years ago, I started to go to therapy because I had a moderate depression. During the sessions, we started realizing that I have a personality disorder and an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Everything started to make sense now! I always struggled with my office jobs, I got bored quickly and wasn't motivated. Not because I am lazy, but because my brain works different.

This whole problem peaked as I got dismissed from my office job in Bern, Switzerland. I saw it as a chance! I always worked "freelance" by the side, so I took my chance and started to freelance 100% this summer. Quickly I realized that I finally, after all those years, found what I wanted to do!

My way into motorsport:

I always loved motorsport! I remember watching Formula 1 races with my dad as early as I was 4 years old. 2008 my dad took me to my first F1 race. We went to a store, bought a camera, and I had the time of my life!

In the years that followed I went to DTM, F1, Hillclimb and 24 Hours races, always with my camera. I worked on my skills for more than 10 years. 2018 I did an apprenticeship as a "Mediamatiker" (digital media producer). I invested all my time and money in my skills and my equipment. 

This, summer, I took the chance to follow my dream and start working as a motorsport photographer.  

I was lucky and got a few customers in my first year. I worked for Racing Pride an organization who works for visibility of queer racing drivers in the industry. A very important topic for me as a queer man who wants to start in this industry. 

For the rest of the season, I worked in different smaller series like the NES500, BMW 318ti Cup and the Swiss karting championship. I also shot races for the Italian F4 and the international GT Open.

Now we are here. The season 2022 is almost over, and I don't want to give up my dream! As it's the first time in my life, I feel happy with what I do!

With this crowdfunding, I hope I can secure some funding to replace my cameras to continue my work in the 2023 season.

Let's talk numbers:

I decided I want to replace my lost Nikon cameras with Sony cameras. Now that I lost almost all of my equipment, I see it as a sign to switch systems. Short form video content is getting more and more important, and I need a camera that can work for stills and videos.

The funding goal is 4500 CHF
and this is what I plan to do with the money:

3500 CHF: 
buy a Sony A7 IV + Sigma 24-70 f2.8
(this is the bare minimum I need to work again)

what is with the other 1000 CHF?
This part is used to fulfill my incentives and to cover the fees and costs for the crowdfunding.

I want to send out high quality incentives, so I need a part of the money for the print and shipping costs of the products and stickers.

What if I collect more?

First! I would be so happy about this! The Sony A7 IV and the 24-70 is really the bare minimum. 

Motorsport and Sport Photography in general is fast. Emotions and actions happen in a split second and to be able to cover all of this you need to camera bodies with different lenses.

Next on the shopping list would be stuff like this:

second Sony A7 IV body (2800 CHF)
Sony 70-200 mm (1900 CHF)
Sony wide angle (900 CHF)
Sony 85mm (500 CHF)
etc...

As you can see… there are still a lot of lenses that I need to replace in the next years to be back where I was in September 2022.

Final words:

Lastly, I want to say! If you read all of this, I am very thankful for your time. If you want to help me out, I would be infinitely grateful!

I tried to put together a collection of high quality incentives for all budget categories. Feel free to browse through them and support my way back to the 2023 grid.

Thank you very much for everything!
Daniel Bürgin