DSLR joy

You are now reading the blog post of the proud owner of a Nikon D5000. Call me materialistic; remind me that possessions do not make life fulfilling; tell me that it’s what’s inside that counts… But the truth is, right now it feels pretty damn fulfilling ticking off yet another item on my Big To-Do List.

It’s been nearly ten years since I poked around with an SLR camera. With a digicam, there’s always the luxury of setting everything on auto mode, but every time I’m tempted to do that, I’ll remind myself of the money I could have saved by sticking to my old point-and-shoot.

Here are the first few shots I took — all manual settings:

1. Clearly underexposed. Time to revisit the textbooks, perhaps?

D5000 first attempts

2. Much better. I really like how well the colours come out, but does the focusing seems a bit off, for starters?

D5000 first attempts

3. *sigh* I really have to work on my composition skills.

D5000 first attempts

Along with the camera body, the package consisted of an 18-55 VR lens, a UV filter (it was either that or a cleaning kit), a camera bag (nothing fancy) and a very basic tripod. Not sure how useful the tripod is going to be — it looks a bit rickety.

A friend happened to say to me in a completely different context: “It’s high time we started doing some of the things we always longed for.” Amen to that. The first time I did such a thing was back in 2006 when a ten-year dream of holidaying in the Lake District came to fruition. And there have been a few others on the way. Call me shallow, but it feels good each time.

🙂

~PD

7 Replies to “DSLR joy”

  1. Hurrah! And you are so evil, getting such a fancy gift for yourself on Marie’s bday! 😀 Do I make you feel guilty?

    I love the light in the pictures, it’s very soft and natural. Do I get to see full sized images? These are just tiny.

    Also, doing stuff you always wanted to do makes you sound old and not spontaneous and impulsive. It’d be much cooler to say, “So I saw this DSLR today and it cost a fortune but I couldn’t help myself, it was just soo awesome and I bought it. Yay me.”.

  2. Eep… I waited till it was not-Marie’s-birthday to post, but I guess you caught me!

    Yes, I know it sounds old to say that stuff. I was thinking about it and realized it also feels like “a life reasonably well lived”. So, yeah, I guess you can’t help getting older, but it’s better than being “Oh… sigh… I wish I had bought a digicam when my fingers weren’t all cramped with arthritis…”

    Ooh, and if I did say all that spontaneity stuff, everyone who knows me will know I’m lying since I’ve been talking about a DSLR for years and years.
    😛

  3. It’s ok to lie! It’s not mature and therefor youthful. Everyone would be all, “Wow, that Buggling is so lively!

  4. Congratulations! Great pix, too. Seems like the device is worth every penny.

  5. @Gargi: Thanks. 🙂 (I think I owe you a mail still!)

  6. […] (lack of it) has kept me indoors for a bit, but there was time for some experimentation with my D5000. Looks like it’s going to a long, long path to the City of Good […]

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