Photogenic Friday: Back to Basics

Andy is the real photographer in this family. It was part of his major in college and, though he isn't usually artistic, he does have a talent for photography as an art form.

I, on the other hand, have always been artistic and creative, but never managed to find a camera useful in terms of an artistic instrument.

It seems like everyone is taking gorgeous pictures these days. I'm being left in the photographic dust. For a while now I've wanted to remedy that situation.

Which is one of my major reasons for joining Project 365.

Having an eye for photography (and patience, not something I'm famous for) is a major part of taking beautiful pictures. The right equipment, however, also makes a big impact on the outcome of the photographs a person takes.

Right now I take all of my photos with a Nikon Coolpix point and shoot. It has served me well for the nearly two years I've owned it. But I'm afraid it doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles. The camera is good for snapshots and not much else. Which is exactly why I bought it. I could take it out of the box and start using it, instructions be damned.

But now I have this entire year looming in front of me armed with a tiny point and shoot that is beginning to have some hitches in its get along.

This morning, while we were making breakfast, I was telling Andy about Project 365 and that I'd like to have a slightly more advanced camera in my arsenal. Nothing too major, because fancy cameras are expensive and also because dropping a lot of cash on something that could be a passing whim is irresponsible. Not to mention that we don't have the kind of cash that would need to be dropped.

So I told him that for my birthday I'd like to have something in between the coolpix and a "bells and whistles" camera. (You see how camera illiterate I am? I don't even know what they're called. DSLR sounds right, but what does that even mean?) I have about three months until then and I think I can manage with my small camera until then.

Then Andy suggested that I use our Nikon film camera that he used in his photography class.
Personally I think that suggestion is a little stroke of genius. The camera is complicated enough that I can learn something and simple enough that I can still use it. Also, there is something exciting about using a film camera. Every time you have a roll developped it's a surprise. In this digital age I think film cameras have gotten a bad reputation.

So here it is, the first photo of Project 365.


I took it with the coolpix, obviously. I took about 20 photos to get this one and I'm not real pleased with it. Sometimes the coolpix can be difficult to use and even a novice like myself sees all its shortcomings.

I have a lot to learn, but that's kind of the point, isn't it?

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I said yesterday that I wasn't sure which blog I would use to document my Project 365 journey, but now I know. Photogenic Friday is already a tradition on this blog, so on Fridays I will post the previous week's photos. It just makes sense.

But that's not all.

Who can only take one photo? If I'm going to go to the trouble of hauling a camera with me every day I'm going to take more than one picture when I turn it on.

Go here to see what else I have in store for 2010.