Goddess, I Am.

Recently, I splurged on yet another gadget, a Nikon D3000. This is because I somehow got it into my head that apart from being a writer, I wanted to be a photographer, too. It’s silly, I know, but after living a lifetime of not being able to afford so much as a stick of gum (okay, I’m exaggerating a bit), I figured I ought to go and seize the day now that I can.

I chose the D3000 because it’s the updated version of the classic (but now defunct) D40, which was the best entry-level camera that ever existed. The D3000 is meant to be fantastic for first-time DSLR users, and I completely agree.

For the record, I’ve never owned a camera before. Ever. I’ve only ever used point-and-shoot models that I’ve had to borrow from family and friends. So when I finally got Caesar (yes, that’s my camera’s name), I felt like a non-smoker who suddenly decided to spend the rest of my life smoking cigars out of the blue – meaning, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.

Of course, the camera came with a manual, but it might as well have been in Swahili for all the help it gave me. I knew nothing about apertures and shutter speeds and ISOs, and oh, what a headache it was!

I’ve had it for nearly a month now, and I’m still not taking the stellar photos that I imagined I would be taking. But I’m getting there. I’m actually STUDYING, believe it or not, and quite diligently, too, much to The Husband’s shock. I bought Scott Kelby’s Digital Photography books (I’m missing Volume 2 out of a series of 3), which I’ve been reading studiously for the past week or so, and I’m actually having fun! The man makes the whole thing sound so easy. I really am learning plenty.

My goal is to learn everything I could before next month’s Hongkong trip so I can take nightscapes so fantastic that people will weep! Okay, that’s a bit much, but you get the picture (no pun intended, honest!).

It’s ambitious, yes. But hey, this is me, so you should be used to that by now (tee hee).

Check out my images efforts in Flickr. Oh, and I now have a photoblog, too.

I love pretty clothes. Even more so if I get them for free. You can imagine how happy I was when, out of the blue, my best friend, Aileen, decided to give me this to-die-for jacket:

Did I mention it was a bebe?

I’m saving this for next month’s 5-day Hongkong trip with The Husband. This will go fabulously well with my white, super short distressed denim skirt from MNG, and the nameless (definitely not Dansko) boots I ordered online:

I was contemplating tights, too, but I figured it might be a tad overkill. After all, it’s Hongkong, not Alaska. Gold jewelry, however, is non-negotiable. Hell, if my not-so new hairstyle makes me look like something out of an old N.Y.P.D. Blue rerun, I might as well go the whole hog!