Two weeks ago, I made a switch I have been dreaming about for a long time. I moved up from a basic point-and-shoot digital camera to a DSLR.
I got a very good price on the new camera thanks to a generous relative (thanks Heldy!) and eagerly awaited its arrival. However, making the switch has not been the enjoyable experience I had imagined. Not that I expected to take it out of the box and take pictures like Ansel Adams, (BTW I love his work) but I did not expect such a steep learning curve. For the most part the camera has been sitting on my buffet table untouched. Every time I walk by it, I swear it whispers, “You are too stupid to own a DSLR”. (Yes, I have a dramatic streak.)
I guess the point I am trying to make is that lately I have been second-guessing myself quite a bit. The lack of blogging is a sign of this. Disagreements with family, problems at church, issues at work, have left me questioning myself. Am I really a fit parent? Should I step down from my leadership position at church? Why can't I get motivated to be more productive at work? Should I have spent so much money on a camera I might never learn to use at its full potential?
Nothing major has happened, just little things here and there have been chipping at my confidence and making me feel like a failure. When faced with defeat, I normally stubbornly keep trying to get it right, or I completely shut down. I have been pretty close to shutting down, but instead have decided to take a time-out. To just kind of let things be for a while, and not rush to make any decisions or try to fix anything. I am always hammering at the girls to not quit when things get a little harder than expected, and I still believe that, it’s just that I am finding out that sometimes is best to just take a step back and learn from whatever experience you are going through and then try again.
I did pick up the camera this weekend, and decided to just shoot some pictures in Auto Mode and forget trying to learn all the fancy features right away. I also took my familiar point and shoot along as a backup. Tonight I downloaded the pictures to the computer and was pleasantly surprised by the obviously superior quality of the DSLR images.
These images are straight out of the camera. I did not edit anything. The top picture is with my P&S and the bottom one is with the DSLR. I love the blurred background of the bottom image. Maybe I can get used to this new camera. What do you think?
P.S. A post with lots more pictures and details of the above celebration is coming soon.
P.S.S. No, I did not notice I had mispelled "Birthday" on the cake sign until I downloaded the pictures. Bummer! Maybe I can photoshop it :)
