Have Camera - Will Shoot...

365 Challenge...

I've loved taking pictures since I was a kid. It all started when I went to my first Summer camp. That little plastic camera with the flip up view finder went everywhere with me. That week at Summer camp and 5 rolls of film later, I was hooked. The excitement of capturing images, taking the film to be developed and then reaping the fruits of your labor. Of course I had to buy super cool photo albums, peel back the plastic and strategically place each photo on every page.

I always dreamed of owning a super awesome camera so I wouldn't have to risk breaking my neck to get 'the shot'. Just after high school my Mum bought me a basic film camera from Superstore with a manual zoom. Very exciting for me at the time. I thought, awesome, now I can go to a concert and be able to zoom in and get great shots of whoever is performing, but that wasn't the case. Still got some sweet shots with that camera though, despite my disappointment.

A few years later I got my first digital camera from my in-laws for Christmas. It was a Sony and I loved it. Wow, digital camera with LCD screen, zoom, fancy settings, life couldn't be better! I took so many pictures and videos with that puppy! It was with that camera that Tyler (my husband) saw my passion (he would say obsession) with photography. Unfortunately I dropped my camera case (with the camera in it) into the lake when Tyler and I were canoeing. It was an in and out thing and it barely got wet but it still was never the same after that. I fought with it for another 2 years until I got my next camera.

Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS Digital Elph. The Avril Lavigne camera. I've put many miles on my little point and shoot! So many cool things to do with it. My favorite pictures to take with it are macro shots. So crisp and clear for a little camera. Many pictures and videos have been shot with it. It takes wonderful pictures outside that need little to no editing. The indoor pictures on the other hand...not so good. So I continued my "fancy camera" dream. I would ooh and aww over other peoples cameras. Getting more and more of an idea of the camera I wanted. I knew all along I wanted a Canon, hands down. But what kind...?

Tyler made the mistake of saying, "You should buy yourself a nice camera" at the beginning of 2011. For the next year we researched DSLR cameras and kept our eyes peeled for a good deal. December 2011 I had enough saved to finally buy my "fancy camera"! We chose to enter the DSLR world with a Canon T2i. Perfect for a photography enthusiast like myself. We all have to start somewhere.

Moving from a point and shoot to a DSLR was intimidating. I opened the box, got it all set up, and panicked...how do I turn this thing on?? LOL. It was a lot to take in all at once, with all the excitement and anticipation! Once I got it on it took me a couple seconds to figure out how to take a picture. I took a deep breath and haven't looked back since.

That brings me to the here and now. I've decided to do my version of the 365 Challenge. Because I work full time, chase after a toddler when I'm not working and then try and maintain a relationship with Tyler who works opposite hours then I do (and on weekends), I don't have time to take a picture a day. Since I bought my camera I've been taking pictures when I can. Sometimes it's a hundred a day and then I won't have time to take any for a week. Regardless, I'm sure over the next year I will have 365 pictures...who am I kidding, it will be more like 1365... :)

I'll start with the shots I got in December 2011 when I got my camera. I'll add January in my next post! Enjoy!