Friday, August 1, 2008

If I had a Camera

Ok, I stole today's blog title from my Most Excellent Friend, Nik but imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! (By the way, if you haven't already done so, you need to check out her blog!)

Today is day 306 without what I affectionately call the "big girl camera".  Lately, I have been really missing it even though I procrastinated forever in getting our Nikon fixed.  Why now?  I already made it through some big events without it - my Godchild's baptism, Senior Prom, graduation have all come and gone without too much angst.  However, lately I have been reminded how much I miss my (er, I mean our) camera.  

Mr. Monkeygirl and I decided a couple of months ago to purchase a back-up camera.  It isn't anywhere near as fancy as the D70 but it did fill a need for us. We wanted something that was 1) digital 2) small enough to throw in a purse/pocket, and most importantly, 3) relatively inexpensive.  We found a great deal at Office Depot on a Canon Powershot A580.  This camera met all of our criteria and came personally recommended by not one, but two, close friends.

The A580 really does take good pictures and has found a permanent home in my purse so we do use it quite often.  However, I keep finding myself pushing the limits of this camera.  I haven't been very successful taking pictures in low light situations (severe camera shake makes the pictures blurry) and when you push the limits on the zoom, the pictures have a tendency to be really grainy.

What makes matters worse is that I discovered a great photography blog, digital Photography School (dPS).  You have to check this blog out because there are some really talented people out there taking all kinds of pictures.  Even better, they run bi-weekly photo assignments that tend to make you look at things a bit differently.  For example, the most recently completed assignment was called "10 minutes from home".  The challenge was to travel exactly 10 minutes (on foot, by bike, by car, by plane, whatever you have at your disposal) from your home and to shoot in that location.  It is amazing what kinds of gorgeous views some people have 10 minutes from their homes, but it is also awesome to see what everyday things people shoot and get some really spectacular shots.  It makes you look at the world in a completely different light.

I've tried to use some of the advice I've gleaned from lurking on the site with my Canon, but somethings really just need a camera that has more settings and let's you control things more.  I have been obsessing about a technique I discovered on the site (that is for another post) that I'm dying to try out.  I keep talking about it to anyone who will sit still long enough for me to drone on and on about how cool it is!  But my experiment will have to wait for the Nikon because I can't figure out how to set up the Canon to pull this one off.

Unfortunately, Mr. Monkeygirl is my usual target for my ranting and raving.  Well, he no longer has to listen to me whine continually about what I could do if I only had a camera.  He found out early this morning that our "baby" was finally repaired and he snuck out early this morning to pick it up before he had to go to work.  YIPPEEEE!  My "unrepairable" camera is fully functional and for a price comparable to what we paid for the Canon.  

Now I have to find an new excuse to not take pictures.  I can no longer use "If I only had a camera...." 

1 comment:

NV said...

YAY!!!!! I am SOOOOO happpy to hear this. Welcome home, Baby Nikon! Henceforth known as BabyNik.

That sounds like a fun site. If I can make enough progress, and still have energy, I may try that 10 minutes thing. You know how I love an adventure and a challenge.

You scared me. I thought we were REALLY sharing the brain again. :-)