With less than 20 days to go before I leave for Paris, I came to an outstanding realization....Mama needs a new camera.
My 5 year old Sony PowerShot 870SD that I purchased my sophomore year of college has run its course and now its time for a much needed upgrade! I love photographs and I admire the process of photography but for once I want to be the person behind the camera taking great pictures instead of the person in front of the register dropping serious dough on some nice pictures. I figured my fast approaching European excursion would be a great opportunity to upgrade to a DSLR photography as well as truly make photography a hobby of mine. I have been admiring the image quality and "artsy-ness" of DSLR cameras for a while now. The problem is I don't know how to properly use them and $600 is wayyyyyy to much money to speed to use the camera's automatic setting. Plus, I don't know how to use Photoshop, nor do I have l'argent to buy it...so that's out of the question.
I like DSLR cameras because if used properly with a good eye and good composition, you can capture the pure essence of a moment in time. I love photography, because each story tells a story, for example, this picture was taken by my very talented friend Beth Fortson. I've seen photos that have ignited a passion in me, made me feel happy, sad, angry...a wide variety of emotions. For me, I feel like there is a rawness that little point-and-shot cameras can not express. Sure, you can get pretty and clear shots, but sometimes I crave more than that.
But another issue for me is the size. Good grief, those things are chunky! Because of my inexperience, I am not used to holding a heavy camera, so a special camera bag is needed. Well, me being the research whiz that I am already found an alternative to this issue:
Voila! Ultra feminine and super fabulous camera bags that actually look like women's handbags! These particular bags are from Kelly Moore.
But it gets even more complicated; what do I do when I just want to go out with friends to a bar or a club? Hauling a big $600 camera would not make because there's nothing artistic about being completely inebriated with your friends in a dimly lit bar plus there's the concern of losing it or breaking it, so a point-and-shoot will do.
grrrrrr....I just don't know what to do! Should I replace my poor PowerShot with another point n' shoot or should I take a bold step into the world of DSLR photography???