Paparazzi

I’ve caught the bug.  The photography bug

Well not really just now caught it.  I’ve always loved taking pictures since way back when and I had that Polaroid and Gabby’s step-dad would hook me up with free film.  Snap snap!

Now that I have a kid, who is prone to grab at the camera rather than sit perfectly still while Mommy’s camera focuses, I wanted to upgrade.  We got a nice Olympus when I was pregnant because I had lots of pregnancy books to fill up with bump pictures and eventually MonkeyPie  “Gotta be ready!” (in my Burt from Away We Go voice).  This point and shoot would always always be on hand and in action.  And it has been.  And we’ve gotten good pictures in the past year.

But the more mobile and active Addy got the more I ended up with a blur of pink whizzing past on my camera screen.  Or an out of focus baby face.  Or the back of her head the instant the flash went off because she saw something better on TV.

So for a few months I had been debating entering into the world of the DSLR camera enthusiast.  As with most electronic purchases I make, Mr. Google came in handy because I needed to know what exactly I was getting into and if it was worth the hundred million dollars it would cost me. Fortunately I haven’t been one of those people whose pictures only live in the memory card on their camera.  I stop at Walgreens to pick up prints monthly.  I have photo albums of the kid.  I put frames up in the house.  I got a blog to update.  And now that I have found Lightroom I digitally alter them to look even awesomer than nature allows (notice I do not Photoshop anything.  Zits stay zits in my world).  And that held me off the cost of going DSLR.

Till now.

I took the plunge with the Thanksgiving sales blah blah and bought a Canon Rebel T3.  Doesn’t that just sound cool?! Cause it is!  And Walmart (the horror!) of all places had a kit sale with a tripod and case and tripod memory card for $15 more than the camera itself.  What WHAT! A memory card is gonna run $15 period. Sign me up, even if I have to impatiently wait for the FedEx guy.

I got the camera when we got back home Sunday.  Today is Tuesday.  I have taken about 120 pictures.  Of what, you ask?  Addy.  Addy and TMite.  Addy looking at me take pictures of her.  Addy playing with YaYa and Grandpa.  Addy eating green beans.  Addy  sticking her fingers in the green beans.  Addy dumping green beans on the floor. Addy yelling at me for taking pictures and not picking her green beans up off the floor.  Just my regular life.  At a faster shutter speed and better focus and soft blurring of the background if I click the right buttons.

Luckily this camera seems to awesome for beginners.  I had to readjust myself to looking through a view finder.  Shockingly there’s digital display stuff on the inside of that too.  No looking at the screen to see what you are taking a picture of.  I feel like a photographer again! Remember viewfinders?! There’s a “full auto” feature that is the closest to point at shoot.  DSLR for dummies.

I need to learn more about lighting.  I’ve been doing reading on photography blogs (via Pinterest) and talking to my photog mommy friends about things like aperture and focal points and how to actually use the grid on the camera.

The problem is that now that I have the thing it’s just going to cost more money.  Naynee already told me that I would want another lens or two (currently eyeing this Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens).  The bag that I ordered with the kit is no good so I already took it back for a better one that holds more things.  There are tons of Etsy sellers that make cutesy camera straps (ex: here) I NEED THEM.  But I’m trying to limit myself to learning what I’m doing with the camera first then make some small upgrades here and there.

The thing is that I’m not trying to make a living doing this.  I don’t want to be at people’s weddings taking pictures for them and I’m not trying to go to every kid I ever met’s party cause their mom wants great pictures.  It’s cool from time to time but I got my own kid to take pictures of.  So although the $600 lenses look fancy and will make for awesome shots of the Grand Canyon, I ain’t going to the Grand Canyon.

So it looks like at this point in time you will be seeing pics of Addy from my phone, my purse handy point and shoot, or my new and awesomely awesome DSLR.  I will try hard not to speak photog to you when I become fluent in the language.  And since I have the tripod I might try and get in a picture or two from time to time.

And here (for Gabby) is a little Lady Gaga.

And here is where I’ve been doing my blog researching:

RebeccaLundin.com
CarlyWebber