Name: Fujifilm FinePix A510 Code name: "Old Faithful" Date of acquisition: Summer 2006 Interests: no-fuss shooting and snapping.
Name: Nikon D60 Code names: "Nicky," "Nicky Sixty" Date of acquisition: August 24, 2009 Interest: making people think that I'm a better photographer than I really am.
Name: Nikkor AF-S 18-55mm VR f3.5-5.6G DX Code name: "Kitty" Date of acquisition: August 24, 2009 Interests: wide captures and getting closer.
Name: Nikkor AF 50mm f1.8D Code name: "Nifty" Date of acquisition: September 28, 2009 Interests: low light, bokeh and wide apertures.
Name: Nikon SB-600 Speedlight Code name: "Speedy," "Hot Flash" Date of acquisition: September 8, 2009 Interest: flashing people.
Name: Lambency Diffuser Code name: "Mr. Diffuser" Date of acquisition: October 31, 2009 Interest: taming Speedy.
Name: Manfrotto 190XDB tripod and 804RC2 three-way head Code name: "Legs" Date of acquisition: November 12, 2009 Interest: making Speedy obsolete.
Name: Nikon ML-L3 Wireless Controller Code name: "Millie" Date of acquisition: September 28, 2009 Interest: domination.
I haven't had my DSLR for six months yet, but I'm already dealing with camera envy. The object of my affection isn't even a mid-level or professional camera, but a Nikon model which is aimed at a similar market as the D60: the D3000. Comparing the MSRPs according to Nikon Canada, I would have only paid forty more dollars for this camera.
It's not as if the D3000 is a much better camera than the D60 (in my opinion, anyhow). In any event, I believe that the most important part of any camera is the person taking the photos. Besides, my number one reason for upgrading was to start taking professional-looking photos; Nicky (my DSLR's nickname) undeniably does that very well. One point where the D3000 trumps my D60, however, is in the number of focus points; the former camera would have given me eight more to work with. Having said that, this is only a significant issue when I use spot metering (i.e. metering which uses one focus point as opposed to the whole viewfinder).
Still, I knew about the D60 having only three focus points before I purchased it. Having only had one focus point with Old Faithful, I was very appreciative about gaining two more. Trust me - on my next upgrade, I'll surely gain way more than two.
Seeing that this is a blog about photography, it's only fair that I pay my respects to two of this year's Nobel Prize winners in Physics. Willard Boyle (a dual citizen of Canada and America) and George Smith co-invented the image sensor that led to the advent of digital imaging: the charge-coupled device. You might better know it as a CCD; to say that their invention has changed the world is probably an understatement. If you have a digital camera or camcorder, congratulations - you're a beneficiary of Boyle and Smith's work. I know I am; both of my cameras have a CCD sensor of some kind.
To the men who enabled me to steal time with such ease and pleasure: thank you.
Have a look at this article to find out more about this year's Nobel Prize winners in Physics.
I had some fun with my new 50 mm lens right before dinner this evening. Presenting the camera that turned my photography habit into an obsession: the Fujifilm FinePix A510.
The f-stop on that first shot is 2.2, in case you were wondering. ;-)
I purchased it in the summer of 2006, right before I took my vacation in Montreal. At the time, I thought that I'd just need it for that vacation, but the many photo albums I've uploaded to my Facebook account proved me dead wrong.
On days when I don't have my DSLR with me, I usually carry this camera with me. That proved to be a shrewd move last Saturday, when Brian Burke made a visit to Future Shop which I didn't previously know about. That visit would also give me my first Wikipedia photo shot with this camera.
Old Faithful has been good to me. I'm not finished with it yet.
Lately, I've been blogging about how my new camera shoots images with 300 ppi (pixels per inch, a.k.a. dots per inch). However, the truth is that I almost missed this fact.
When I was regularly taking photos with my point-and-shoot, I took it for granted that each image had 72 ppi. This was in part due to my former post-production process; I'd process all of the photos from a shoot via the "Process Multiple Files" option in Photoshop Elements (i.e. resize, sharpen, convert to JPEG max quality). If I was only processing one photo, I'd do these steps individually.
The other day when I took "practice" shots with my DSLR, I was messing around with them in Elements.* I think I was about to resize them when I noticed the extra ppi I gained just by using a different camera.
I was elated, but this boost would have been worth nothing if I didn't stumble upon one fact - when I was processing multiple files, the ppi was set to 72. Ergo, when processing my DSLR's photos, I'd have to set it to 300 to prevent any loss of pixels. Of course, point-and-shoot processing won't change; I'll just need to be extra cognizant about the ppi setting.
*I shortened "Photoshop Elements" to "Elements" so I wouldn't have to keep writing the first term over and over again.
After my morning devotions (prayer and Bible reading), I charged my new camera's battery while I showered. When this was over, I slid it into the slot and prepared the camera for its first shots by attaching the lens, inserting the memory card and setting up a few options on the camera itself. (I attached the strap earlier this morning, before I slept.)
I took a few shots around my apartment which were nothing to write home about. I will say, however, that I'm impressed with the detail and resolution that the camera gives. My point-and-shoot camera gives me 72 pixels per inch; this new camera gives me a whopping 300, even when I take small-sized photos (1936 by 1296 pixels)! I'm also impressed with how fast my photos are transferred to my PC via my new card reader. Transferring one photo from my point and shoot might take seven seconds; mind you, I directly connect the camera to my PC via a USB cord. However, my card reader transferred about twenty pics this morning and the process took less than one second.* If only reading the 191-page user's manual could be done so quickly...
I have more luck with cameras than with women, so I think this post's title makes a lot of sense.
Behold...my new rig.
(Back: Lowepro Omni Sport camera bag. Middle row: Kenko UV filter, Nikon D60 dSLR camera, Nikon 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens. Front row: Transcend USB card reader, SanDisk UltraII SDHC memory card)
Up to this point, I've been telling people that I'd wait until I found a stable source of income in order to buy new camera gear. Last weekend, however, I changed my course.
I guess my paradigm shift started when I watched Julie & Julia two weekends ago. This movie portrays the stories of two women, Julie Powell and Julia Child, who fearlessly broke the conventions of their respective eras. Julie did it by attempting to cook all 524 recipes in Julia's Mastering The Art Of French Cooking in one year and blogging about it. Julia did it by making a career out of something she loved to do - eating! The movie itself was a delight, but more than that, it was a timely paean to the power of dreaming big and changing your life.
Here's my situation: after three years and six months of working for a large Canadian bank, my job was outsourced to India. Despite my internal and external efforts to find other employment, I was unsuccessful. Having said that, my former job was definitely nothing to write home about; I basically reconciled internal accounts by filling in Excel spreadsheets. As time passed, I grew disenchanted with the job due to its lack of challenge (apart from training the person who would be training his people to take over my work).
As a matter of fact, a few months after my unit's outsourcing was announced, I showed my résumé to my manager. I'll never forget what she said as she looked it over: "What are you doing here?" She didn't mean that she wanted me removed from her team; she meant that, given my credentials, a job entailing spreadsheet updates was beneath my potential. That kind of sounds like Julie's scenario as portrayed in the movie; she didn't have an axe looming over her head, but in comparison to her friends, her career was pretty much a dead-end.
I'm still unemployed at the moment, but lately, I've been considering two options: going to college in order to get into the health care industry and working my way up as a photographer. Both choices are risky, but since I have no photography credentials other than my Flickr uploads, the latter option is the riskier of the two. However, it embodies something I've loved to do for many years and that's why I bought my new gear earlier today.
Speaking of that purchase, I'd like to commend Stan at Downtown Camera for his good humour and professionalism in dealing with me. The ten-percent discount on the accessories didn't hurt, neither; I didn't know about that going in. In any case, when all was said and done, I came in under budget.
I still don't quite know which option to take, but regardless, my photography obsession will never die. If there's any hint of a career in it, then I don't want to die wondering. In any case, I'll do anything to avoid ending up in the same situation which led to my outsourcing.
In light of the movie and the inspiring story of a Torontonian spa owner (which is far from finished), I coined the following expression:
If Julia Child could do it If Julie Powell could do it If Kristen Gale could do it Then I can, too!
I conclude with this scene from The Pursuit Of Happyness. Hopefully, I can at least open these boxes before I sleep.
I don't dream about cameras too often, although I think I did so a few weeks ago. This morning, however, I had a dream revolving around my dream camera, the Nikon D60. While I don't remember the exact specifics of the dream, I do remember having it in my hands while using a prime 140 mm lens. (Do those even exist?!) I also remember wishing I had a tripod and someone walking by with one, which I think I asked to borrow.
In the real world, if it wasn't for the fact that I'm currently unemployed, I would have bought the camera already (with a few lenses). At the moment, I'm forced to stick with my trusty point-and-shoot, the Fujifilm Finepix A510. Up to this point, it's proven to be a capable thief of time, but I want to take my photography to the next level.
