It was about half way through last years 365 project that I (eagerly) bit the bullet and upgraded my little point-&-Shoot for a DSLR. I was still very much a newbie* and, looking back now I can see that l allowed myself to be swayed by the preferences of the salesman and by the kinder price tag.

I came home last year with an Olympus E 450 (fondly nicknamed "Athena") and I loved her so. I loved the degree of control I had. I loved the feel of her. The weight of her (yet the lightness compared to other cameras). I loved the choice presented to me by her lenses and functions. And I loved - LOVED - the looks people would give me when I wielded her instead of my little Olympus (yes I'm that shallow, I enjoyed the 'oooo photographer’ vibe).

Athena saw out my 365 project and took some of my favourite photos. She went with me to Melbourne and Brisbane. She photographed birthdays, weddings and formals. She griped with me when we got roped into photo gigs. And she was carried with me practically everywhere.

But slowly little irritations started to creep in. Like the auto-focus issue that resulted in a two week stay at the head office. Like her epilepsy-inducing flash. Her complete refusal to cooperate under less than ideal light conditions, the general slowness. And then, the final clincher, her stage fright around Lisa and her camera which made con-photography a complete write-off. It didn't matter how many little chats we had, Athena continued with her little eccentricities.

So I got to thinking (always dangerous) and realised several things in quick succession.

1. I did not want to deal with these problems while backpacking.
   
2. If I didn't make the change of camera (and likely change of brands) now while I was relatively accessory-free I never would; and
   
3. There was no way that the money Grinch that will be 2012-Me will allow me to buy a camera.

I started my research that night.

Better armed with what I wanted I started looking, and asked Lisa for her recommendation. She suggested the Canon EOS 60D (the equivalency of her 50D which I've used & love) or the next model up, the 7D.

These two fit my needs and were my leading choices but I also wanted to check out some of the mid-range Sonys (Alex has a Sony which, again, I love and find so easy to use). After a bit of price scouting and camera-handling l headed to Harvey Norman (hoping for a Christmas sale - not so lucky)

After just a little more camera-fawning (what? the guy kept handing them to me!) I had it narrowed down to two choices: the Canon 60D and the Sony Alpha 65.

Both does exactly what I want but there was, for me, one glaring difference - the weight. The Canons are just so damn heavy (especially the 60P with the alloy frame**). Even with the heavier Tamron lense I'd decided on the Sony was noticeably lighter.

I'd told myself that if it was under a certain price I'd buy it on the day. The Tamron lense (eliminating the need to carry two lenses while traveling) did push it over the top a bit but I did manage to talk him down a bit and got my UV filters, screen protectors and extended warranty for zilch so I walked away pretty happy.

So now there's just the little matter of a name...

* wow, doesn't that sound like l now know what I'm doing? Not so much, but now I know what my camera needs are and know that my Olympus wasn't meeting them.

** and I’ll admit, despite knowing it would probably never be an issue, having to hold on tight to something made of alloy (to which I am allergic) makes me nervous.

I’ve been a bit of a neglectful blogger of late, so here I am jumping back into the fray with a shutterboo catch up post. I’ve been very diligently capturing my weekly shots (aided in no small part by PagX playing along this year) – I’ve managed to get all my shots so far, and only forgot to post the picture once (oops!).

Week 5: Sign 

Week 6: Repetition

Week 7: Fear

Week 8: White

Week 9: Large

Week 10: Mess

Week 11: Curves

Week 12: Past

Week 13: Purple

Week 14: Circle

I’ll confess… when it came to this week’s challenge, I allowed myself to get a little… well… cocky. I mean ‘colourful’? Have you met me? Have you seen my fanatical rainbow collecting? Have you seen me drawn to colourful yarn quicker than a poor deluded moth heading straight for that flame every time? Surely this week would be my week, I would have an AWESOME colourful photo.

*sigh*

What’s that they say about pride coming before that fall? (well, no, the fall was last week)

Between reports scrambled together at the last minute (and on that, what’s with reports anyway? For six years you make me write essay after essay, and now you want reports), weddings, and that stinking heat… stepping out the door into the sun, let along hauling my camera around was the last thing I wanted to do.

The universe was getting back at me for my incorrigible cockiness. I have seen the error of my ways.

ANYWAYS! Colourful. I did finally settle on an image…

This is my sister Bethany… quite possibly the most colourful person I know. I asked her to stand still so I could take a photo of her dressed all nice for the wedding (somewhat of a rarity), and naturally she had to finish her drink first… she’s a character, that’s for sure.

(oh, and see how brightly her face is lit? This is AFTER I played with it in Photoshop – should give you some idea as to just how hot the day was. When shutterboo mentioned the Aussie’s still having some summer colour… well… we all came home from the wedding far redder than we had been that morning.)

Photos that didn’t quite make it…

(again, such a bright day, everything in that garden was so bright and shiny, all the colours really popped)

Last year I was a participant in the shutterboo weekly challenge… though a somewhat intermittent one. I’m the first to admit that I let a lot of things slide last year, but as the year progressed I feel that I managed to sort work, school, and everything else into some sort of workable schedule and so it is with renewed enthusiasm that I joined the 2011 challengers.

We’ve had two weeks so far.

Week 1: Electricity

Week 2: Joy

It’s nice to be back in the challenge mode, but especially nice since PaganX is playing along with me.

Once upon a time*, I bought a pair of shoes. They were not the flashiest of shoes (though they definitely bright), nor the most expensive (if memory serves I paid $7 for them). They were not the most fashionable shoes, and god know they weren’t the most subtle. But they were my shoes and I loved them.

I wore these shoes near every day - at home (“oh Bec, they’re dorky even for you”), and at work (“We’ve got a sub.” “Which one?” “The one with the crazy shoes”). They were my go-to shoes. Need to run to the shops? I got them. Going to Melbourne to meet your favourite actor? I got ‘em!** Need to go to a wedding? I... got em? Yeah I did... Like I said, I wore then nearly every day. Which meant they went on nearly every one of my 365 photo travels. They were even photographed themselves.

They got dampened in innumerable rivers, meandered through orchards, gleefully skipped through the zoo, and jumped the fence to, uh, soon-to-be-demolished houses. They came with me to buy my first DSLR, on my first trip to a skate park, and my first after-hours school function. They carried me through several trips to Sydney, to learn piano, and see Shakespeare in the Park.

I’ll admit, I became complacent in our relationship. As the shoes moulded to my feet, I flagrantly ignored the splitting of their sides. I refused to see the tearing away of their fabrics. I chose to ignore the feel of pebbled sidewalks under my theoretically not bare feet. When puddles emerged I avoided them – not because it was what my mother taught me, but because I knew it would force me to acknowledge the simple truth that my shoes let in more water than a boat made of swiss cheese.

But then it happened.

I made one step too far. One step too heavy on an already unstable surface. It was a choice poorly made, a choose that could not be undone. I stepped... in the mud.

(photo by an unnecessarily cheerful Bethany)

Was this it? Did this mark the end of my shoe’s longevity? Was this to be their unremarkable fate? To die in service of my photographic roving, sure, but to die like this? Immersed in mud and murky water? Surely they could saved?

But, alas, they could not. Despite a methodical rinse in a car park puddle, followed by a frantic exposure to our front yard hose (knowing full well my mother’s keen eyes would not allow them to cross the threshold), the brightness of their canvas could not be restored.

I knew in my heart they were gone. It was a hard weight to carry, but worse yet was the knowledge that they must one day be replaced. A time would have to come when a new pair of shoes would rise to the station of ‘every day shoes’. It would be they that would accompany me on adventures both big and small, mundane and unique, sunny and hopefully not muddy.

Hoping that a hastening in this inevitable day would lessen the pain of my heart, I stalwartly moved forward to collect these new shoes. And it is this new shoes that I give up for offering to you today.

They are not as noble nor as experienced as their predecessor, but they are youthful and enthusiastic. It is my hope that these traits will prevail in the forthcoming days.

RIP Rainbow Shoes.

You will be missed.

*26th September, 2009 if you must know

** Okay, I’m not over this yet, I’ll link to this whenever I can.

Last year I completed a 365 Photo Project. I absolutely loved it. And I absolutely hated it. I was frustrated when things didn’t go to plan, and I cried when my camera ate photos. I fell down hills, and I fell in love with locations. I sweated, I bled, I laughed, and I learned. All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a more worthwhile experience.

I took my last photo on September 20, 2010 and then promptly sighed a sigh of melancholy relief. I was done. Never again would I trudge up a hill for a view. Never again would I take a mad dash photo at 11.50 at night. And never again would I have to take a photo of tissues from my sick bed. I was done!

Photo #365

And I could not miss it more! It was hard to get into the swing of taking a photo every single day – but let me tell you, it was much harder to get back into the habit of NOT taking one. Which is why, when the new year started, so did my project. I’m somewhat insane, I know, but it makes me happy, so I’m jumping back in. Lucky for me, I’ve managed to sucker my friend Brett into playing along with me (he starts tomorrow), so let’s all wish him luck!

A while ago Photojojo advertised a set of colour camera filters which I just had to have… simply because I thought they were adorable and came on a little ring and well, I had images of rainbow photos.

Buy the Color Lens and Flash Filters at the Photojojo Store!

They took a while to send and so Photojojo included a little surprise in my package – one that basically ensured they’d have my business and recommendation from here on out…

That’s right… a dinosaur. I pretty much danced around the house with my new dinosaur when I discovered it.

Did I mention I’m a dork?

Anyway! I was very excited to get the filters and broke them out to use right away.

I had fun, my crazy model had fun… and I haven’t touched them since.

If anyone can tell me what I can use them for I’d be greatly appreciative.