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A Year Ago

Last night I realized it was just over a year ago that I purchased my Canon Powershot S5IS.  That was the start of an intense hobby that has taken over any free time I might have. My life, and my bank account, has never been the same.

My wife received her point and shoot the previous Christmas and we had already spent many a Saturday searching for photo subjects.  I had always carried an interest in photography but never invested any real money, or time, into it.  We had owned various small point and shoot cameras over the years, both film and digital.  This was the first time we both had our own cameras and were able to expand our knowledge and enjoyment of them.  It didn’t take long for us to both upgrade, her from a Kodak Z812IS to the Canon S5 (yes, we own two of them) and me to a Canon XS DSLR.

It hit me I should go back and see the photos from my first day to see if I’ve improved any in 12 months.  I remember after buying the camera Sherri and I went to Lowes in Dulles to look at the flowers.  I was shooting anything and everything I could find, the flowers, people, the sky, even the lemon from my tea at dinner.  I was like a kid with a new toy…well I guess that was true minus the kid part.

If you ever run out of inspiration stop and take some time to look at your old shots.  It might remind you why you enjoy this hobby.

After 12 months and almost 10k shutter clicks some of my favorites are still from that first day.  Here’s a few of them:

It would be great if you shared some of your first shots in the comments. Don’t be shy!

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Spotlight on bluedot11

From time to time I plan to spotlight some of the friends I’ve made online that share an interest in digital photography. No matter what their level of experience I’ve learned something from each and every one. For my first spotlight I chose the photographer I think I know the most about:

Photographer: bluedot11

On the web: Flickr

Camera(s): Canon PowerShot S5 IS

Location: Virginia

I met bluedot11 over 20 years ago but it wasn’t until recently that I discovered her love for photography. That should surprise you since I’ve been married to her for over 20 years.

She became interested in the photography collections of her friends and started following their activities online. This led to her first camera that she received for Christmas, a Kodak Z812IS Zoom. The Kodak ended up being a great camera for starting out but she soon upgraded to the Canon PowerShot S5 IS earlier this summer. She’s become a master at the Super Macro mode of the S5.

She has an eye for finding the interestingness of nature, shooting the life that grows around her. Having a deep knowledge of plants she uses it to pick out the best shots of the flowers in the area. Thanks to some prodding from her online friends, she has overcome her trepidation of all things creepy and crawly. There’s not a spider, fly, worm, caterpillar, ant, wasp, lizard, or other of God’s little creatures thats not safe from her macro lens.

Nature is not her only target. She has a unique view of the world uses it to pick out subjects that the most of us would look over. Her humor comes through with shots of Anti-Monkey Butt powder (a real product), the Brawney Man, and her collection of “Oddities”.

I might be jaded in my opinion of her so I’ll leave you with a few samples. To see more visit her at bluedot11 on Flickr.

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