Sunday 27 February 2011

Life through a lens

As well as planting sweet peas and pots of hyacinths and daffodils this weekend I found a little time to try out my new camera. I've long had an interest in cameras and photography but never been lucky enough to own an SLR. I remember a little Box Brownie that used to live in our garage when I was young - I wonder what happened to that? An Olympus Trip was my favourite for many years and more recently I switched over to a digital Lumix but somehow I can't ever get used to taking photographs without a viewfinder. Peering at a screen just isn't the same. I like my eye to be close to the view - the camera to be an extension of me not something I hold at arms length. My new camera - a Canon 550D - is something else altogether. It won't slip into my pocket like my Lumix but it's a wonderful thing. It needs a bag of it's own, with lots of pockets for all it's bits and pieces. It has dials and buttons, a zoom lens and best of all - a viewfinder.


Of course, I don't know what most of these bells and whistles do yet. My first attempt at macro photography is this orchid (for the technically minded it was taken on the AV setting, ISO400, with auto focus). There's a lot to learn and in a few days Photoshop Elements will be arriving too. Somehow I don't think I'm going to have much spare time over the coming weeks...

No comments:

Post a Comment