Thirty-One Things - Camera

Me and My Camera...

I remember my instamatic and the flashcubes of the 1970s…the faded film and the date in the corner.  I remember the importance of capturing friends, family, and my own children.  This was before scrapbooking and smart phones.

I bought my camera in 2009 as a ‘congrats on your dream job’ gift.  Later that year my dad was diagnosed and died of cancer.  It was not until July of 2010 that I would pick it up and learn it.

Learning things like ISO, aperture, shutter speed, depth of field, the camera became alive to me.  Then a 70-300 zoom lens, a few more primes.  Then an extra body.

I became rabid about online learning and couldn’t absorb enough.  I discovered how to do textures, use Photoshop and Lightroom. And learned how to do still life’s and add text to photos.  It became more than just taking photos…it was becoming art.  Everywhere I went, my mind was framing possible photos.  My photography began evolving into something greater than I imagined in the beginning.

Now I use it as a tool to bring gifts to others and ourselves.  I embrace it to capture life as it is versus fabricating it.  I have become prolific in memory keeping and turning it into treasure.  It’s about making meaning.

This year I took the plunge to purchasing my first full frame camera…the retro Nikon Df.  I’m just getting to know it and how to use it.  Vacation is a week away and I’ll be breaking it in.  It has a reputation for being superb in low light situations with minimal noise when you have to increase the ISO significantly.  I try to avoid flash whenever possible.

Before the end of the year is over, I hope to be doing photography for families of babies who children born with very little chance of life.  It is a phenomenal gift to give to a family as part of our palliative care team.  It feels a little daunting as this may be the only photos they will ever have of their child, but I know God will give me the grace to do this ministry.