Spring has arrived and along with the first blooms has come my first DSLR camera. Anybody else upgrade their camera lately? This camera has been a long time coming, like a really long time. Towards the end of the story the box was held up for me in front of a Skype camera on Christmas Day, but it took still another 3 months until I could hold it with my own hands.
And boy did it feel good to have a camera big enough to really hold on to! To say I was excited would be an understatement. I'd been told that you're ready for a better camera when you've really maxed out your current camera; this was so true for me. Part of the reason my blogging went down last year is because my creativity levels tanked. I was feeling so limited camera-wise; I knew the photos I wanted to take, but wasn't able to take them with my point-and-shoot.
However, a good camera doesn't automatically take good photos. I have to keep reminding myself of this, despite having taken an intro class and reading a great little book. The new camera has a lot of bells and whistles that I'm just not used to yet. It's sort of like my mobile phone situation. I don't have a smartphone -am I the last person in the western world with a dumb phone?! The end result just hasn't impressed me enough to justify the means (mainly price). I had my first smartphone -a newish iPhone- when I was in the US last month, so I got to be a cool kid for two weeks. But I was nonplussed; it was too bulky for me, required seemingly constant charging, had an annoying keyboard, and I was too busy to take the time to figure out all it could do for me, never mind the radiation levels of an iPhone. So smartphones, I'm just not that into you.
New camera? Yes, you are worth it. I'm happy to take the time to get used to you. You will make me want to go outside more, help sharpen my brain as I get creative, increase my knowledge as I learn about the science of how to take better photos, and a whole bunch of other stuff. And new 50mm 1.4 lens? I think we're going to get along just fine as well. You've already helped dark German days seem so much brighter.
What about you? Do you enjoy photography? What are your favorite places for learning new tips and tricks? Any favorite online photography classes you've enjoyed?
PS: Special thanks to Tracey and Tina for their thoughts and encouragement on the camera upgrade. Both take lovely photos, check them out!
2 comments :
Well Jules,
Let's just say that you are the second to last person in the western world with a dumb phone... and well, I've got the nice camera, but so totally need some kind of class on it. I've never taken the time to take a class on it and since the manuel is in German... forget that! Oh, who am I kidding, even if it was in English, I still would not read it. With something like this I want to start yesterday and not have to wait! Have fun exploring!
Allison, I KNOW! The worst is when I realize how I was so used to my old camera's display, etc. and yet now have almost zero clue! It's forcing me to play learnasfastasyoucan!
Post a Comment