Here's to the crazy ones. The rebels. The troublemakers. The ones who see things differently. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do...
Buy a DSLR
I have been really interested in photographing things for as long as I can remember. I was always the person who never forgot a camera for a trip and took endless photos of people, places, and things. My interest in photographing just about ANYTHING has graduated as I have gotten older. Nowadays, I am less interested in taking pictures of myself or others in various locations, and instead have progressed onto me attempting to take pictures of the beauty in the places that I visit.
A cursory glance over the travelling section of my lifelist will tell you that a lot of my passion lies in travelling and seeing new things. A few months ago, as I was processing some pictures from my recent trip to Greece, I was disappointed with the quality of some of my photos, stemming from the fact that I had never really paid too much attention to the quality of my camera before, always buying the cheapest version out there.
Researching the purchase of a new camera is made simultaneously easier and more difficult with the Internet. On the one hand, the Internet provides you with a wealth of information about every single model, specification, and price comparison. On the other hand, it is precisely the vast amount of information presented to you that makes the decision difficult. The other thing is is that the Internet gives EVERYBODY an opinion. Reading camera reviews is the most confusing thing to do - half the people make points in favour of the camera, the other half hate it. Who is right? What should you do?? Don't ask the Internet, its firmly on the fence!
My first decision to make was Canon vs Nikon, a debate incidentally, which garners over 36 MILLION HITS on Google! My decision (and its rationale) are probably better addressed in another post on another day, but suffice it to say, once you've chosen a side, your choices are still almost infinite!
To cut a long story short, I saved up some money and bought a Nikon D60. Not the fanciest DSLR by a long shot, and one of the only ones within my price range. Cost was my primary concern in picking a DSLR. As a relative beginner, I also was not looking for something with all the bells & whistles.
I'm learning as I go with it - it is my first DSLR and its been a slow (its still a slow) road to me feeling like I'm getting the best out of it. There is a lot to learn and practice - luckily, the best way of doing this is getting out and photographing stuff so I guess there will be lots more shooting in my future! Suffice it to say, purchasing a Nikon D60 has absolutely transformed my photographing experience! The difference between the quality of the DSLR and digital cameras is immense. This may sound a bit silly, but just having that awesome bit of kit in my hands when I'm out makes me feel like a better photographer. I feel my camera gives me some gravitas now. And I like it!
I'm really glad that I've got the D60 to accompany me as I make my way through the rest of this lifelist, so I can document these crazy adventures, and share them with you guys. As mentioned on my About page, my Flickr stream can be found here. I upload all of my photos up there, check em out!