Way up in the sky little lamb, do you see what I see?

I'm learning. It's an uphill battle and a lot of fun, but a battle none-the-less. There is still quite a bit to learn. I'm still working on composition and slowly making the transition to light.

In this episode of 'Dee's Learning to Take Pictures', we'll focus on comment and critique. There's an old saying, "How can a billion Chinese be wrong?" Well, they forgot to add, "How often do a billion Chinese agree?" Different people see different things. I've learned to take comment and critique with a grain of salt. What my eyes saw and how my camera translated those thoughts will not be what most people see when I present a photo for commentary. All photos are open for interpretation and many times we must agree to disagree. I am reminded of this as there is a particular photographer who intensely grains his photos. His photos are not my bottle of beer, but I can't help but giggle when disagrees with the style of another photographer. Hell, it down right baffles me, but to each his own.

I see pictures everywhere. It's quite distracting.... hard to focus. Some days I feel like I have Attention Deficit Disorder. I can't be seen without my camera. I can't leave the house without my camera. I must always have it with me. I sit it in the carseat when my daughter isn't with me.

So right now I'm reading 'Nikon D700 Digital Field Guide' by J. Dennis Thomas. Glad I picked it up. It makes sense of the manual. Lord knows you get "just the facts ma'am" from manual and calling customer support is worthless. Overall, the camera makes me happy.

I Drank the Kool-Aid......

and I liked it! You guessed it. I purchased the D700. Boy, talk about an agonizing ordeal! I went looking for people to talk me out of it and no one would do it! Can you believe this?

So I go down to my favorite camera shop and talk to Sue. Sue is known for her camera smarts, intelligence and non-salesman-like attitude. I KNEW that she would save me. I told her that I was planning to purchase the D700 FULLY EXPECTING her to say, "No, Dee.... you haven't maxed out the D90 yet." Nope. She said, "I think you should do it. If I were you, I'd do it." I darn near pissed myself as Sue was my last hope. I only needed ONE person to justify my hesitation. Not a soul. NOT EVEN MY HUSBAND. Can you believe that one? As a matter of fact, he egged me on. Insisted, even.

Someone's going to read this and think, "The D90 is a phenomenal camera, why did you change? Couldn't you have simply purchased better glass?" Three reasons: 1.) Have you seen what that camera can do in the dark? The ISO is off the hook! 2.) It has the D3's sensor. Can I also mention that my children's sports teams gave me a job taking pictures?

It was better to get out now while I could still get 'some' money for the D90. Why the agony? Well, to be completely honest......I'm cheap. I can't shop without coupons so purchasing a D700 required me to take a Valium prior to ordering it. Saying that my husband darn near forced me to make the call to Adorama is closer to the truth than you know. I so hate spending money that the very idea of the camera's price started to make me ill. Just in case you're wondering, yes, I can afford it. No it won't affect my husband's ability to pay the mortgage. Again, I'm just cheap.

Ok, here's the $60 million dollar question: Can I tell the difference? You'd better freaking believe it! I can zoom into a picture for what seems like forever with startling details! Shucks, I didn't know until yesterday that my two year-old daughter had nose hair!

Overall, I'm satisfied. Damn Canadians!

Resistance Was Futile......

Well, I did it. I have succumbed and purchased the revolutionary D700, and I feel just horrible. I know, I know.... you want to know why. Why did I make the switch when I've had the D90 for less than a year, and why do I feel just horrible?

Well, I feel horrible about my new purchase because somewhere along this photographic journey I gained a respect for professional photographers that they are probably not used to receiving until their dead.

While a nicer camera does not mean nicer pictures, it does mean increased responsibility and more time spent learning.

Ok, time to take the camera and harass the family dog.

Canadian Drug Lords

Be mindful of the Canadian drug lords. They are some of the biggest pushers of all things Nikon on the planet. They give you a sample, then you're hooked! Yep. Instant NAS (Nikon Acquisition Syndrome). It's in the air up there, ya know? They even give it to the kids. Got folks up there randomly talking about ISO likes it's ok. Mmm hmm. They're passing around NAS and folks are taking to it like its kool-aid.

I've never been the experimenting type. You know....one of those people that tries things for the first time? Nope, not even in college, where everyone has a story. Nope. I've always been straight-laced and walked a fine line. **shaking my head**

Something has happened. I don't know when it started, or how I got to this point. About a year ago, me (the non-experimenting type) started to dabble in photography. Sure, I had my trusted 'point and shoot' Nikon L12, but something came over me. I wanted a real camera and purchased Nikon's D90. I liked the D60, didn't want to spend the money on the D300, so I went for the D90. A few months and a couple of kewl photos later, all hell has broken loose. I want more Nikon. I don't know why. I just want it and can't fight the urge. Sad truth is, no one is leading me back down the path of righteousness and frugality. Every one seems to understand my urges and are companioning themselves to my gear lust. A higher power is calling me.

Lest the Canadians and their skullduggerous ways....... they hath introduceth me, unto the folds of Nikon's D700, and it claimeth me as mine Lord. Translation: I just put all my shit on craigslist and I want that fucking camera.

Be gone, 18-105mm VR, 55-200mm VR, Sigma 70-300 DG Macro, and Sigma 10-20mm..... I no longer needeth thee.

I reckon I'll keep the nifty-fifty and continue working the pole to get the 70-200mm f/2.8 VR.

Blame Canada!

Today I was joking on my FAVORITE photography forum, http://www.nikon-digital.com when some posted something that truly made me think about what I was doing at the forum and the value that I may or may not be adding. The poster said:


I am of the firm opinion that a post such as



shouldn't count as a post.

Come on you Post-Whores, write something significant.

Give an opinion, post a writeup concerning some photographic technique, give a reasoned photo critique, tell us about yourself (as a photogapher or other), tell us how you did it, tell us what you really think, etc


He may or may not have been joking, but I took away something positive from what he said, and reminded myself that although photography is fun, and I'm making some great new friends, I cannot loose site of the goal and the reason that I purchased my camera. I am grateful for the reminder.

I'm learning a lot in Canada. The people are kind, fun and friendly. The photographers that I have come to refer to as my friends produce great photos for me to study. They may not know this, but I'm learning a lot by 'watching' them.

The lens information that I'm picking up in Canada is great! I think that after I get my 70-200 f/2.8 I'll be able to slow down a bit and focus less on my tool acquisition and more on my next big venture: LIGHT!

I'm slowly getting there with understanding light. I think that it's fair to say that I've spent most of this first camera year learning Camera Language, Photographer Personalities, Purpose and Composition. My Camera Vision has gotten better as a result. So yes, the next step, and hopefully it won't take an entire year, will be LIGHT!

I Need A Few Things.......

I'm always on the hunt for new gear. Why? Well, other than the fact that I'm a girl and like to shop, there are a couple of items that I truly need. For starters, I need a real tripod. Yeah, yeah, I've posted about that before. Can you believe that I still haven't found one? This is going to take some special snooping and research. I can't just purchase any old tripod. Given my past experience with my BestBuy grade tripod, I now know two things: I need a ball head and the legs need to be uber-steady. The hard part is finding a tripod that will accommodate my growing passion. My tripod doesn't have to be carbon fiber. Although I wouldn't mind if it came in pink. Yes, pink would be nice.

Ok, bear with me a second as I need to talk about something that I don't understand. I often read photographers writing "It feels good in my hands," when explaining how they chose a piece of equipment. Quite honestly, I don't understand it. Fried chicken feels good in my hands, too, but that's not how I decide whether or not I'm going to eat it. Sorry couldn't resist. But seriously, I don't get it. I chose my camera based on price and what little I understood about cameras in general. I also wanted to be somewhere between the ranks of 'enthusiast' and 'I can make some money with this'.

So what else do I need? I need a chick bag. I want a bag that looks and functions like a purse to carry my stuff. I'm getting closer and closer to purchasing a bag and making inserts. I'm thinking it's going to be the way to get to exactly what I want.

I also need a lens that gives me f/2.8. Ideally, I'd like to have the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 but I'm leaning towards the Sigma version. Why? Because I am still too new to justify the price. Hubby says he'll get me the Nikon, but I want it now and not around Christmas, Mother's Day, Easter or any other holiday he'll use as a gift excuse.

A Different Level of 'SUCK'

And so it hits me. Today I started rummaging through old pictures. Well they weren't exactly old, well in dog years perhaps, but they were taken back in May 2009. What a difference a few months can make to one's photographic abilities! I felt ill when I looked at the photos. They were supposed to represent the fun time the ole man and I had in Miami during bike week. Yeah, we had a blast, but DAYUM those pictures suck unmercifully!

Well, my photography has since evolved from being appreciated by those who only read braille, to those classified as legally blind. I'm actually getting better. I've picked up another lens, too: Sigma 70-300 DG Macro. It's pretty kewl! Did you know that you will get a fEE error on your D90 if when applying an older Sigma lens the aperture ring is not set to the smallest aperture? Don't ask me how I know. Just trust me on this one.

The upside is that I have a better understanding of what's going on.