My parents gave me my first camera, a Kodak Instamatic, on my seventh birthday. I’d wanted a camera for almost a year, and was thrilled when I opened the boxes containing the small camera, several boxes of film, and a pack of flash cubes.
That camera was followed, over the years, by increasingly sophisticated cameras: a Pentax K1000 (the classic late-20th-century SLR training camera), and finally a Nikon FM. I was a bit of a photographic Luddite; I loved my fully manual camera, and had no interest in newer, more automated SLR’s. I shot mostly architecture, on slide film, and even have that badge of Luddite honor: a slide projector.
A couple of years ago, I gave Paul a small digital Canon. I didn’t intend to stop using my Nikon, but instant gratification and the savings in film and developing costs won me over. However, I missed having multiple lenses. I missed control over aperture and exposure. I even missed the double click of the shutter snapping open, then closed, with each shot.
I arrived home from work today to find several brightly wrapped boxes. My birthday present had arrived: a Canon Rebel XT digital SLR. I think that I was at least as excited opening the boxes containing camera, case and compact flash card as I was pulling paper off those flash cubes 38 years ago. The battery from Paul’s Canon digital fit in my new camera, so I didn’t have to wait for a battery to charge before shooting. The instruction manual could wait for later. I knew that depressing the shutter release halfway would engage the autofocus, so I was ready to go.
My first photos were, not surprisingly, of the cats. When I downloaded the images, I was surprised to see that 8 megapixels resulted in larger-than-life images of Sasha and Sergei’s heads. And such detail - I could count each hair on their furry chins! The images below are substantially cropped, and reduced in size, but they’re sharper than many of the images taken with the PowerShot… and I don’t even know what I’m doing with this camera yet.
And who is responsible for my kid-in-a-candy-shop new camera excitement?
This guy is. Thanks so much, sweetheart!
Tags: 12 Comments
12 responses so far ↓
Three handsome guys, all with chin hair!
Woohoo! Have fun with it…;~))
I am a very inept photographer who never took a picture I could bear to keep until I got my little canon powershot as a birthday present from my excellent brother.
While I am still inept (I’m a little better at food, because it stays still, but I can’t do justice to my wiggle-butt cats), I now enjoy taking photos and am just aware enough to want to do more, and to envy your fine gift.
I’m looking forward to seeing what you will do with it.
Wow! Such detail. If your readers/viewers click on each image, it will take them to a larger image, and an option to see or even download a huge image. This could lead to Sasha t-shirts or even wallpaper! The glint in Sergei’s eyes must be the flash reflection, if not his soul. Now I need to click on Paul’s image and see what is lurking there amongst his chin hair. New cameras are fun!
Enjoy!
You got both cats to pose, can’t you at least get him to look at the camera! Surely training a husband is easier than . . . well, maybe not.
Glad you have a new tool to express yourself.
THANKS, TOM…had been ignorant of Flickr til your tip, and got to enjoy the marvelous slide show.
Am so very jealous. Maybe I will ask for a new camera for my birthday.
What a fabulous man to give you such a fabulous present. I’m a very lazy photographer, so I love the PowerShot that I got for Mother’s Day. Have fun!
I can hear the wheels turning in the kitty heads and it shows on their faces. “Oh No, mom has a new toy; now we will never have any rest. ” “Maybe we could get some birds here so she could pester them too.”
Have fun.
Wow.. a Canon Rebel .. I have wanted one of those for a while now. I am green with envy. I am using a Cannon powershot that I got almost 4 years ago. I keep looking at the Rebel.. hmmm.. maybe it is time.
Great pics.
Question, does this camera cure the annoying digital delay between pushing the button and getting a picture? I covet 8 megapixels, but I’m not laying out hard cash until the camera takes the picture I tell it to take.
A Canon REBEL? OMG, I am pea-green!