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Photography Addiction

Photography | August 28, 2008

I started getting into photography at high school. I purchased a second-hand 35mm SLR and took black and white photos which were developed (by me!) in the school's darkroom. It was loads of fun and seeing the images come to life in front of your eyes was truly something special. It was easy to see why people all over the world were addicted and obsessed with the art.

After high school the hobby died a little for me, and when an uncle purchased me a digital camera for my 21st birthday I was a little confused. What was the point of this camera? How was I going to print off my pictures and what happened when the SD card was full and I needed to put the pictures somewhere? My computer at the time was a behemoth and didn't seem the place to put my images at all. I ended up taking a few pictures here and there and getting friends who had whizz-bang computers with CD burners to burn them onto CDs for me. High tech!

A few years later, once I'd purchased a laptop and started my travels over the world, I began to see the huge advantages of this wee digital camera. However, by this time it was a little outdated and produced only mediocre images (3 megapixels - I laugh in the face of 3 megapixels).

So, two years ago, remembering my passion of SLR photography, I purchased a Nikon D50. This camera changed my world (for at least a month) and I couldn't believe the possibilities it presented to me in terms of image quality and technical options within the camera. Sadly, my passion for the fancy new trinket burned out after a couple of months playing and I let it fall by the wayside, often deeming it too bulky to bother hauling with me on outings.

On a recent trip to Montreal I was lucky enough to get to know the friend of a friend a little better. This friend of a friend also happened to be an amazing photographer and seeing her images sparked me off once more. I picked up my camera and started playing, I took the time to learn how to use all those dials and settings, and all of a sudden my images went from nothing special to something that maybe warranted a second look (if only a small one).

Since then the interest has blossomed into a full-blown addiction. I have since purchased two additional lenses, a new camera backpack (so I can take my laptop with me traveling as well as all my lenses and gear) and I'm loving it. Now the only problem seems to be that the more I read, the more photography equipment I want. I read an article on ultra-wide lenses and suddenly none of mine seem wide enough. I see a new Nikon body is released and I think maybe I need that one instead of mine (it is two years old now after all). I realise my sensor isn't a full-frame sensor and start thinking maybe I really need that too...!!!

Then, a reality check - I must master photography before I can purchase more equipment. After all, it's the vision and talent that makes the image great, not the gear. Gear can only do so much.

So, I continue to click away, and hopefully before too long I'll have something to write home about!