by Xing Quan
I have never been rich, or should I say I am financially average. I don't live in a private estate or been to exotic places like Japan ; I live in a 4 room flat and the furthest point on earth I have been to is Bangkok. Certainly, you would not expect me to own the latest cameras or gadgets.
Sadly, I have been poison by a disease called
Photography. Photography is a disease which will
induce the BBB virus aka the Buy Buy Buy virus.
It cause the malnutrition of the wallet and turn the victim into a slave for the Photography industry. Victims of the disease are normally unaware of their conditions until their visit to the Bank. But by then, it will normally be too late. People with wallet below the BMI of 10 are known to have a level of immunity against it. Reports have also shown that a strong will against the virus does helps too.
Sadly, I have been poison by a disease called
Photography. Photography is a disease which will
induce the BBB virus aka the Buy Buy Buy virus.
It cause the malnutrition of the wallet and turn the victim into a slave for the Photography industry. Victims of the disease are normally unaware of their conditions until their visit to the Bank. But by then, it will normally be too late. People with wallet below the BMI of 10 are known to have a level of immunity against it. Reports have also shown that a strong will against the virus does helps too.
I belong to the group of people with a malnutrition wallet and also a strong will. I have slight immunity against the disease but I plead guilty to drooling over them sometimes.
My first Camera!
My first camera was a free gift. A free gift from Nestle(It comes with the Honey Star). It is a film point and shoot. It has manual winding(to work those little fingers every time you shoot), focus free lens(to prevent out-of-focus) and fully mechanical body(Batteries not included). To me then, its just a camera. I don't know anything about aperture or shuttle speed. But the photos I shot are the ones that I would treasure forever. Pictures of my family and fri
ends.
Then I joined MJC photography. The first camera that I used is the Minolta DiMAGE A1. It is also a point & shoot but with a higher degree of control. It is also commonly known as a prosumer- a more "pro" consumer camera. My first few assignments are shot with it. From soccer finals to choir concert at the Victoria Concert Hall, I work those tiny sensors to capture the images. You will be amazed at how well this little camera can work. It was also the camera which my passion for photography grew for. Working around the shortcomings of the A1 made me feel the importance of correct techniques. The importance of holding the camera right as the treshold for camera shake on a P&S is very small. You can't just boost the ISO higher or use a larger aperture; the higher ISOs has very undesirable noise level and the largest aparture it can go is f2.8.
My Beautiful "Wife"
Finally, its time for me to own my first digital camera. I had ponder it over for a long time. Frequent browsing of the dpreview and clubsnap commerce. Finally, I decided on Canon S3 IS.
To me, a camera will only take picture if I use it, if I buy a top of the ranged cam but shoot no pictures, I might as well save the cash. Actually, I was also trying to save cash. What important to me at the point in time is to fuel my passion of photography.
S3 became my "wife". We traveled on long random journeys together. We could be roughing it out in the wildness together or shopping down orchard "hand-in-hand" or romantically watching the sunset in each others "arms". I just could not leave her at home when I go out. The more I use her, the more I feel emotionally attached. I began to overlook her shortcomings and find out how beautiful she is. Slow EVF, no problem, I learn to pre-focus & anticipated things before it happen. Undesirable noise level at high ISO, no problem, I shoot B&W.
A beautiful sunset that I watch with her.
There was once she threw tantrum at me cause I was ogling at other cameras during a outing. She began to reset her settings without my consent. It kills my mood for shooting for the entire day. When I got home , we began a cold war for a week. But somehow, I felt very bad cause it is not her fault to be jealous of me ogling at the other cameras. After a week, I gave up. I took her out for a long walk. After a week of cold war, I realized that I knew her better. The absence of her in my life made me appreciate her even more. I realized ways to shoot with her that I never had. The one week break from photography also made my perception of things different. I guess the quarrel and time away from each other was beneficial for the both of us.
Now, she is like a part of me capturing the life around us. She shoots without making any sound.( although the shutter sound of a Nikon DSLR is like music to my ears.) This allows me to shoot without people realizing I am taking a shot. She is also a accomplished gymnast. I can twist and turn her LCD screen to shoot in many different angles which is not possible in many cameras.
A shot made possible by her amazing flexibility.
I love my S3 IS, a camera, a friend and my "wife". Although, I am planing to get a DSLR in the near future, she will always be my first "wife". No other cameras can replace the experience I have been through with her.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The above post serve to remind us that each camera is special and unique. They holds special memories for those who have used it. It also aims to show that we do not need a top-of-the-range camera to truly appreciate Photography. Working around the short comings of your cameras truly make you appreciate Photography.
Check this guy out:
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-6468-7844
He is a award wining Photojournalist and he shoots with a P&S:)
Finally a picture of me and my "Wife".
My first Camera!
My first camera was a free gift. A free gift from Nestle(It comes with the Honey Star). It is a film point and shoot. It has manual winding(to work those little fingers every time you shoot), focus free lens(to prevent out-of-focus) and fully mechanical body(Batteries not included). To me then, its just a camera. I don't know anything about aperture or shuttle speed. But the photos I shot are the ones that I would treasure forever. Pictures of my family and fri
ends.Then I joined MJC photography. The first camera that I used is the Minolta DiMAGE A1. It is also a point & shoot but with a higher degree of control. It is also commonly known as a prosumer- a more "pro" consumer camera. My first few assignments are shot with it. From soccer finals to choir concert at the Victoria Concert Hall, I work those tiny sensors to capture the images. You will be amazed at how well this little camera can work. It was also the camera which my passion for photography grew for. Working around the shortcomings of the A1 made me feel the importance of correct techniques. The importance of holding the camera right as the treshold for camera shake on a P&S is very small. You can't just boost the ISO higher or use a larger aperture; the higher ISOs has very undesirable noise level and the largest aparture it can go is f2.8.
My Beautiful "Wife"
Finally, its time for me to own my first digital camera. I had ponder it over for a long time. Frequent browsing of the dpreview and clubsnap commerce. Finally, I decided on Canon S3 IS.
To me, a camera will only take picture if I use it, if I buy a top of the ranged cam but shoot no pictures, I might as well save the cash. Actually, I was also trying to save cash. What important to me at the point in time is to fuel my passion of photography.
S3 became my "wife". We traveled on long random journeys together. We could be roughing it out in the wildness together or shopping down orchard "hand-in-hand" or romantically watching the sunset in each others "arms". I just could not leave her at home when I go out. The more I use her, the more I feel emotionally attached. I began to overlook her shortcomings and find out how beautiful she is. Slow EVF, no problem, I learn to pre-focus & anticipated things before it happen. Undesirable noise level at high ISO, no problem, I shoot B&W.
A beautiful sunset that I watch with her.
There was once she threw tantrum at me cause I was ogling at other cameras during a outing. She began to reset her settings without my consent. It kills my mood for shooting for the entire day. When I got home , we began a cold war for a week. But somehow, I felt very bad cause it is not her fault to be jealous of me ogling at the other cameras. After a week, I gave up. I took her out for a long walk. After a week of cold war, I realized that I knew her better. The absence of her in my life made me appreciate her even more. I realized ways to shoot with her that I never had. The one week break from photography also made my perception of things different. I guess the quarrel and time away from each other was beneficial for the both of us.
Now, she is like a part of me capturing the life around us. She shoots without making any sound.( although the shutter sound of a Nikon DSLR is like music to my ears.) This allows me to shoot without people realizing I am taking a shot. She is also a accomplished gymnast. I can twist and turn her LCD screen to shoot in many different angles which is not possible in many cameras.
A shot made possible by her amazing flexibility.
I love my S3 IS, a camera, a friend and my "wife". Although, I am planing to get a DSLR in the near future, she will always be my first "wife". No other cameras can replace the experience I have been through with her.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The above post serve to remind us that each camera is special and unique. They holds special memories for those who have used it. It also aims to show that we do not need a top-of-the-range camera to truly appreciate Photography. Working around the short comings of your cameras truly make you appreciate Photography.
Check this guy out:
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-6468-7844
He is a award wining Photojournalist and he shoots with a P&S:)
Finally a picture of me and my "Wife".
