I’m $1,000 poorer but 1,000 times happier.

I moved up in the world of digital photography and bought myself the brand new Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi SLR camera!!! It was a semi-impulse buy; I knew I would get a digital SLR camera eventually but I didn’t think it would be this soon. However, the planet and stars aligned (read: new job, just got paid, new camera on the market, one-day sale) and now I’ve got a brand new toy.

I bought the camera + lens kit and I’m pretty stoked. I’ve never used an SLR before so the 18-55mm lens that was included should suffice for the time being, while I learn how to use this beast. There’s so many buttons and controls on the camera that I was overwhelmed at first. But once I took it for a test drive, I was starting to feel more comfortable. I pressed all the buttons and tried all the adjustments, just to get a sense of what everything did. Later on, I’ll actually learn how to use the functions properly. So far though, I’m impressed with what’s getting spit out. It shouldn’t be any surprise that the quality of the photos are better than that of my Canon PowerShot SD870 IS camera.

I’m a big fan of education so I’ll have to pick up a user’s guide for the XSi once they come out. There’s only so much I can get from the tiny manual that was included with the camera so I’ll need to put some money down for a real tutorial guide. But in the mean time, the Interweb will be my guide as I learn all about aperture, ISO, depth-of-field, exposure, and much, much more. I know all this stuff to an extent but there wasn’t much application with a point-and-shoot camera. Now I’ll be able to see real-life results when I adjust all these settings and see the differences in the photos I take.

I plan on getting out every day this week after work and just taking pictures. Hopefully I’ll end up with some good photos by the end of the week.

I think one of the best things I’ve done this year was upgrading my Flickr account to Pro status. Ever since that day back in January, I’ve been taking a lot more photos (I guess I did that by default when I went on my trip to UK/Europe) and gradually, I’ve been taking better photos. I am really getting more and more interested in learning how to take better photos (not just your regular point-and-shoot). I’m learning about composing the image, lighting, exposures, etc.

Read the rest of this entry »

As part of my things that would be good to do in the new year, I’ve been more environmentally conscience in my every day life. For example, whenever possible, I don’t use any plastic bags. I’ve bought some reusable bags for grocery shopping and I carry my messenger bag with me most anywhere I go so I can always throw things in that when I need to. I’ve also tried to not drive as much, to emit less pollution (and also because the price of gas is ridiculous). Being environmentally friendly has also extended to my purchasing decisions. Whenever possible, I also try to by things that are environmentally friendly and use some type of recycled material. My latest environmentally friendly purchase is a notebook by ecojot. It’s made from 100% recycled paper and it’s also made in Canada (bonus!). It’s a pretty cool little spiral notebook.

I had intentions to get a Moleskine, however it was expensive and it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. So when I found this notebook, I was pretty happy.I’ve been looking for a notebook to jot down notes ever since I got back from my trip. I had a notebook with me on the trip, however it was bigger than I had liked and when I returned back home, it was pretty much filled up anyway. I always like to carry a notebook with me in case I come up with brilliant (or sometimes not-so-brilliant) ideas. Even more so now because I’m always coming up with photography ideas. Now I just need to find a bag for my MacBook Pro and I’m all set. That, plus a digital SLR camera.