December is here and its time to start thinking about snow, bundling up, and Christmas. Oh, and listening to Christmas music.
I know this has been a horrendous year with a lot of worries, but for the rest of this month, at least, I am thinking we photographers might let ourselves drift into the Christmas spirit.
Today a photographer stopped by my shop to ask me what I thought about a long lens support she had discovered for using with her monopod. The offset monopod bracket was new to me and we spent some time searching online to learn about it.
After she left, I began to think about what is new in photography, and I will keep my fingers crossed that Santa will be bringing readers some wonderful photography gifts.
For those of us that want something new for Christmas the trick is to give Santa all the information needed so the right equipment is chosen, Hmmm…a new camera for instance. Gosh, which one? There are so many wonderful choices right now.
I noticed one of those painful questions on a Facebook group recently that read, “Thinking about getting a new camera. What should I buy?” When I see that kind of question I don’t even bother to read past the first reply and quickly move on to something less frustrating. The comments will be endless and usually thoughtless. That said, what if it was me that was thinking about getting a new camera? How would I choose?
To begin with I wouldn’t ask that blank and open question of others. Firstly, I would have a reason to buy a new camera and I’d have already determined what I wanted the camera to do better than the one I currently own. Then I would select a couple of camera models and do some comparing. Comparing is so simple, just go to Google search and type in camera 1 vs. camera 2.
There will be all sorts of discussions, comparisons, reviews and opinions. I then would spend my time (days) reading and making notes. When I had made my initial camera choice I would then go to Facebook, and find a group like (for example) Nikon D780 users group, and join it.
Now one can just read what the members are saying about the camera they are using. A members forum will also be a good place to ask questions about that camera you are interested in, and it is a great place to learn about that camera before you spend your hard earned money, and after if you decide to get it. Finally, after deciding how much you want to pay, find the best place to buy and pass the information on to Santa.
Winter is coming and with our local health authorities suggesting we spend as much time as we can outside I’ll suggest that there isn’t a much better hobby than photography to do that. In my opinion almost any pastime is made better by photography.
American photographer, freelancer and photojournalist Steve McCurry wrote, “My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport.”
Stay safe and be creative.
These are my thoughts for this week. Contact me at www.enmanscamera.com or emcam@telus.net.