thoughts on photography

Do you love your camera? I mean L-O-V-E your camera? Do you know how to USE your camera?

When John and I were first dating and married, John introduced me to photography. As a teen he had been very interested in photography and had a wonderful old Konika camera that he tried to teach me how to use. I found it fascinating and scary all at the same time. We had so little money that I was careful about each shot I took and so it took me a while to learn how to use the camera...seeing as it is useful to SEE how your photos turned out in order to learn how to use it. Then, several years into our marriage I won a free camera at Johns company picnic. It was a simple little point and shoot camera and I loved it. This is when I fell in love with photography! However, you do not really need any "skills" to use a point and click so anything I had learned with Johns Konika evaporated. Then, came the day that John decided I needed a digital camera. I tried to talk him out of it. It was an expense we did not need and my point and click was fine....or was it? It died:( Oh, the grief! I had a darling little 5 year old girl to document and no camera!!!!!!! Fortunately my husband had gone behind my back and bought me a digital camera for my birthday and so he gave me the camera early... That first digital camera (an Olympus) brought back my original fascination with photography.
I could play with this camera in a way that I could not play with my point and shoot. I happily spent many hours experimenting with all of the different settings on my camera. I could shoot many pictures in a sequence quickly, I could switch to black and white, I could switch to manual and adjust the aperture. It was fun....until it started to die:( So, it was time for a new camera. Something smaller and less bulky. Another Olympus. This one had a much higher resolution and more bells and whistles, but it was smaller, making the bells and whistles harder to find. I found myself using the auto setting more often than not...the pictures were good, so why not? Then I had a horrible accident and my camera was killed...the grief was indescribable....time for a new camera-AGAIN- an Olympus- Again!! this one pocket sized, so cute! So many settings....And I discovered, I MISS MY BIGGER CAMERAS. I miss being able to play with all of the different settings and lenses. This one is so small that the buttons get easily stuck. It gets more beat up. This camera has probably had its shortest life span. I can not afford to replace it. When I do, I'm gonna get me a Cannon!!! Thems totally awesome cameras!!!
If you really want to get the most love out of your camera. Use it. Learn how to use it to its best advantage. on the net you can find so many fantastic tips and tricks to help you learn more about photography, like this one here @ tatertots and jello. Take your camera out. Here is my dare of the day. take your camera off AUTO and try out some of the other settings!! Now, this said. I am not a very good photographer. photography has interested me for a long time but I always detour away...but I always come back. 'Tis an artform that I admire!

PS...just a tip...don't give your camera to your teenagers, they delete pictures they do not like. for example, last night was one of peekaboos track meets. I took some darling pics of her and friends and then handed her the camera and asked her to get more photos. when she returned the camera it was sans photos. all of them. turns out they didn't make the grade according to the teens and got deleted.