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.

There are photographers, there are photographers, and there are photographers.

There are those who take photos that are so beautiful and moving that they have the power to both inspire and discourage the people who see them. There are also others who think – even believe – that they have the ever crucial “eye” – and we let them because we’re just too polite to say otherwise.

And then there are those who take pictures simply because there’s a camera on hand and there’s a moment worth capturing. I am one of these novices. I don’t have any aspirations of becoming a photographer, nor do I care if the photos I take are any good, as long as I look good in the photos taken of ME.

But once in a while, I do make myself proud:

I am now toying with the idea of buying a proper DSLR camera, instead of constantly borrowing my mother’s Olympus point-and-shoot. One of those digital camcorders isn’t a bad idea, either.

Lofty, lofty dreams. Do I have what it takes? Let’s hear your thoughts.