the evolution of my camera

I have always loved taking pictures.  I remember my very first camera as a girl.  It was my mum's cast off Vivitar film camera.  I loved how it loaded the film with the bar bell looking case.  And I loved advancing the film to the next exposure. 

It looked a lot like this one! I took that thing on all our trips.  It was super special to have my own camera!  I can still hear what the flash sounded like when it was revving up while I waited for the orange light...

Then there was the "fancy film camera" that my older sister and I were allowed to only look at.  I don't remember Daddy ever using it, really.  But it had the manual focus lens.  I thought that was so cool.  Especially when my pictures sometimes came out blurry.  I always thought about that camera when I got a bad picture back.

Alas, my sister got that camera.  She got interested in photography and got really good!  It led to a job for her for a while and I forgot all about the fancy camera.  It was always in the back of my mind, though.

A number of cameras later, I've always liked taking pictures.  (Storing or displaying them is a whole other post...) I won a cool book at a mommy meeting once on taking better pictures.  That was a great win!  I learned a lot about what I was doing right and what would look even better.

My appreciation for beautiful pictures fueled my enjoyment of the blog world.  I love to look at other people's pictures!  There are some seriously talented folks out there, too.  And just a click away?  Get out! 

I am a stay at home mom.  So any splurges on "gadgets" (as my husband calls them) have to be planned out and saved for.  I've been drooling over smart phones for EVER.  But adding to our budget monthly just isn't smart.  So I'd been hording my moolah a little each month since my birthday in July.  When we agreed that the smart phone wasn't, well, smart (har har), I kept saving with my sights set on a camera.

New?  Used?  New?  Used?  Decisions!  (I think that one came down to patience).  Brands.  Way-out-of-my-league models.  Opinions!  Fortunately, (nerd alert) I LOVE research.  Maybe just another reason to click away on the computer after the kiddos are in bed...I digress...

WELL.  March was my month!  Yippeeeeeeeee!  The camera of my dreams was delivered by my lovely postmistress.  (She thought I was nuts when I opened the door squealing at her).  The kids were jumping up and down with me-having no idea why!  I may have heard some singing as I unpacked my brand new (to me) Nikon d40!!!

I'm still so excited I can't stand it.  I actually have a fancy camera like the one I drooled over as a kid!  I'm taking pictures of everything in sight.  I sleep with my manual.  It's a dry read.  And I don't know what most of it means.  But I have reenrolled myself in the 31 day series (remember?  The one I loved so much back in October on some amazing bloggers' sites?) on Life With My 3 Boybarians all about taking better pictures.  I tried to hang with her in October, but I knew my little point and shoot that never held a charge on the rechargeable batteries I fed it wasn't exactly what she was focused on.  I'm in the game now!  Darcy-thank you.  I'm learning so much!

What are you learning that's new and exciting to you?