Picking up my Camera

I have not picked up my camera in over a year. I could call it shear laziness since my phone now has a pretty good camera, but I think it was a little bit of fear too. I grew up using film cameras. I almost minored in black and white photography with my beloved PENTAX 35mm given to me by my Dad. But when it couldn't be repaired anymore, everyone told me to move to the world of digital.

So I did my research and after much thought (and saving), I invested in the Canon Rebel DSLR with a basic 35mm lens. It's a bit heavier than I would like, but it takes lovely photographs. I played around with it, and talked about taking a class to really learn about all the features and maybe a second class as to how to develop the photos on a computer screen instead of in a dark room.... You guessed it. The classes never happened and life got in the way, and, and, and.......

Then comes my August trip to Baltimore to visit one of my oldest friends, Kel and meet her little girl Rosie. I thought about my camera for the first time in a long time..... I dug it out, cleaned it, charged the battery, worried about airport security since I'd had bad experiences in the past, but packed it nonetheless.

I took several hundred photos in the two days I was there. The camera felt clunky in my hands, heavy and even though I put everything on auto, I couldn't get a clear picture. Everything was blurry. I put the camera down and realized my hands were shaking! So I walked away from people and started again. With stuffed animals, plants, a plate in hopes on stopping the shaking - and frankly - getting a grip! It's only a picture!

I finally sat down 3 days ago and loaded everything from the camera onto my laptop. Eew. I deleted over 140 photos.  To say that most of them were crap is an understatement. But what was left over, I worked with, and I have to say, I got some great shots! I felt better the more I worked through them, studied them and I remembered my photography Professor saying that if you can get 3 or 4 good shots out of an entire roll of film - then you were doing good work. Well, I got more than 3 or 4 so I'm happy with the result. AND, Kel loves them.

I now have this renewed sense of wanting to be better. To practice. To not let the camera go back into the closet for another year - or more! And yes, the black and white photo at the top of this post is mine! I love that you know it's a mother and child, but no details. They are sharing an intimate space that is captured clearly without the direct focus - it makes it more universal and less personal - I guess some would call that Artsy!