Photography

In my earlier years, I used to attend so many concerts that my camera was practically surgically attached. The outcome of my photography would depend on how close I was to the stage and how energetic the performer was. I remember gawking at the people using the 'professional' cameras and then admiring how awesome their shots came out. But I'd never once entertain the thought of owning a 'professional' camera. It wasn't the price (I'd never bothered to find out the price, but I probably wouldn't have been able to afford it on my jc allowance anyway.), I'd just associated the big cameras with the professionals. If you're not a professional, you shouldn't be using such a bigass camera.

Fast forward a few years. Like any new parents, I was thrown into the frenzy of photography with the birth of my child. My cam was once again surgically attached to one hip while my baby was on my other. I'd spend all day snapping away, not really satisfied with the outcome and yet, relentlessly trying to get that perfect shot.

It was at K's 1st photoshoot that I first entertained the thought of getting a dslr. It was an Easter promo shoot that lasted only 15 mins, and yet the photographer was able to capture many nice shots of the squirmy boy. I would have gotten 15mins worth of blurred shots. That was when I started researching about dslrs and how they're so wonderful! HW wasn't supportive of me getting a dslr, he was sure I wouldn't know how to utilise it fully and would lose interest after a week or 2.

I was abit hesitant myself. Anyway, I started reading photography books in my leisure time. Read about composition and the basic stuff and I started trying to compose my pictures better. After awhile, there was all that mess with K in the hospital and other stuff, so I stopped thinking of the dslr.

We went for a few more photoshoots and I started thinking "Hey! I could take these myself! I just don't have the right camera!" (Yes I'm very thick skinned and ambitious). So I started my research on dslrs again. This time I was reading up on apperture, shutter speed, depth of field, exposure, metering, cs4, etc. There was so much to learn and the more I read, the more intrigued I was.

Right about the time K turned 1, a friend of HW's lent us his spare dslr-- a D70. This was probably the turning point for me. I tried to put to use what I've learned and started on a very gradual learning curve. I must admit, my first few attempts were atrocious and I ended up using the preset modes. But as time passed, and with more trial and errors, I grew to love seeing things through the lens. You get a different perspective to things that are happening around you. I did see an improvement in my photography. HW must have seen it too cos he then gave me the go-ahead to get my own to play with. (HW is my worst critic cos he usually just comments everything I do is laoya). Besides, I have a ready and willing model-- what's stopping me?

I decided on the D5000 cos I'm such a sucker for advertisements! I liked the ads and they keep appearing on the buses on the road, so it's a no brainer for me. The competition was really between the 500D and the D5000 but since I've handled a Nikon before, I just went the Nikon way.

Shortly after getting the camera, I decided the kit lens wasn't giving me satisfactory results and got another prime lens. Previously, when people tell me that lens are expensive, I'd always thought they meant a hundred bucks or something. But now I truly understand how expensive lens can get. They can range from a couple of hundreds to over a thousand. The better ones are usually over $500. And then there's the external flash, tripod, dry box...the buy list is endless, and everything seems like a must-have!

Do you automatically start taking nicer photos with an expensive camera? I thought so at first, but not necessarily! HW can attest to that! Whenever I pass him my camera, using my settings, he always ends up with blurred out of focus shots, so he eventually changes it to auto mode, which basically makes the dslr function like a high end digicam. The photo results he gets are pretty similar to what he gets on the Lumix.

Right now, while I'm happy enough with my photos, I'm not quite satisfied with them, even on an amateur level. Every time I take a photo, I'm happy with it for like 5 minutes. Then I start picking flaws and making mental notes on what I should (not) have done. And then I decide I have an awful photo! Come to think of it, I'm probably my worst critic. HW comes in a v close 2nd place.