There Should be a Law

Okay, I can't complain. I should be happy that I'm awake early enough to take care of my domestic responsibilities and then have the time to do all the other things I need to do to get my day going. I've realized now that I think I've lollygagged a little too long, and it's already 8 and I need to be ripe and ready to go by 9, and I haven't showered and washed dishes yet. Today should be a long day - or at least, I hope it to be. I'm going shooting on this somewhat gloomy morning - and I hope that this overcast weather comes along with me, for I love this kind of lighting. It's like shooting in one giant soft box. Even better is the fact that I'll finally be able to shoot during the day, with good light, though I'm now debating on whether to shoot with the lens I've been so diligently trying to master, or go for the more appropriate lens for what I'll be shooting (street photography) and go for the 18-55 lens I have. That lens has the advantage that it can also use the autofocus feature of the camera, despite how slow it can take to focus automatically. Oh, it just makes me pine for the depth of field preview that I oh so miss. Oh well. I can't complain.

I have a pretty good camera. It's the go-to camera for a lot of people, it's a good beginner's dSLR, and it's light and ergonomic. Even for people who have the nicer cameras, including the fabled D3. No camera is perfect, I suppose, and my camera is no exception. I also can't complain since I spent 1/6 of the price for this camera (with lens) for the top of the line camera in its class. Perhaps I should prove my shooting chops before I even consider dropping a few dollars on the fancier cameras.

But what am I worrying about? This is my third SLR ever in my life. My first SLR was a automatic/manual camera that had a decent lens and whose manual functions were more difficult to access than finding the fabled g-spot. My second camera was an impulse buy after spending a few months without an SLR after giving my first one away to a good friend who would have done wonderfully with an SLR (albeit a beginner's one), and went to Samy's to drop about $150 on an old Nikkromat that's older than I am, with a pretty decent lens. Sharp the lens is, but the fact that it only opens up to 2 on a 50mm focal length had its limitations. The camera itself is one heavy beast, but that thing is solid and reliable, and I love that thing. Sure, it's the cameras pro photographers say that that's the camera they loved using...back in the day, but they also say that they sometimes shoot with it. I do love that thing, and if I could possibly fit my lovely lens on that baby, I'd be shooting 35mm film with that thing, once I get that thing a new strap and return its UV filter I'm now using on the D40.

I'd like to think I've taken a few good shots with that camera. It went with me to Europe, New Orleans, Princeton, Hawaii, and have shot a few dancers in yoga studios, the Upper West Side, a few bands, and an electronica musician. It's probably because I knew how to tinker with the few variables I knew how to manipulate: rating down the film, choosing my ISO, figuring out what depth of field I wanted, and of course, my preview. I actually like the feel of its weight, for it helped me stay still, and I'm just trying to stay even more still when shooting with the new camera it's so light (it's about one pound without a lens). But I suppose shooting film right now is not so cost-effective right now, and since I don't have access to a darkroom at this moment, it doesn't make sense to pay others to do something I could do myself. And yes, I do prefer shooting 120mm film now, but that's something I can't think about doing digitally right now, especially since I've been yielding pretty decent pictures on my cheap $200 TLR. One of these days, I can spring for a dSLR 120 camera (if ever I get that serious about my picture-taking), and heaven forbid, I may even get a digital back for it.

At the very least, for a few more dollars, I could somehow add an analog element to this digital process. It's something that I never knew about, I guess since I wasn't really serious about shooting digitally. It's called Through the Viewfinder, a new photographing technique where you take an old, cheap TLR that has a bubble viewfinder at the top of the cameara, and then you take your dSLR to take a picture of that image. Sure, there's still no film involved, but it creates an image that's inspired of that lo-fi effect that makes film photography variables and processes so unique.

I could go on for a lot longer, musing over more photography things. I suppose that's what I've been primarily rambling about for the past week since I've possessed my brand new camera...but in fact, it has possessed me (if you haven't noticed already).

For those who actually read these ramblings, you now have a sampling of how I could get very wrapped up in something. If you think I'm being a bit obsessive about it, you don't even know how bad it can get...it would be a lot more severe if I had more time and energy to devote to this all.