My Digital Camera Set Me Free

I've owned several more or less competent film cameras in my life, but when I wanted a good photograph, I bought a postcard. My father was a pretty good photographer and gave me a lot of encouragement, but I was afraid of taking a bad picture and wasting film. So I settled for "safe" shots - the family seated around the dinner table, my new car - you've seen the kind of picture I'm talking about. Even though I could often see something I thought might make a great photograph, my pictures were the run-of-the-mill, dull pictures of an uninspired picture-taker. Eventually, of course, I gave up and my cameras sat in a drawer.

Then one day I bought a cheap little digital camera. I took a couple of snapshots just to see what it could do. I filled it up and downloaded it. I had, of course, taken pretty much the same shots I always had, and ended up deleting all but one or two pictures that showed a bit of promise. But I hadn't wasted money on film or processing, so I didn't mind that most of the pictures were bad. Gradually, now that I knew I could afford to waste shots, I began to experiment a little. Over the next few months, I deleted fewer and fewer shots with each download. I thought I was beginning to improve, and actually liked some of my pictures. I started taking more and more pictures and looked forward to seeing the results.

The only discouraging thing about my pictures was that my cheap little camera produced grainy, low quality pictures. As my pictures improved, I could see that my technique had improved beyond the ability of the camera. There was little depth to my pictures and I had no way of focusing the camera. I had two choices - give up again and realize that I would never be a good photographer, or get a better camera. Finally, I splurged and bought a Panasonic digital camcorder.

Oh, how I wish I had done it sooner. I could take still photos or make films. I could even do both by filming a scene and taking a still picture from it. I bought a wide angle lens and a telephoto lens so I could expand the width of the shot or shoot from a greater distance. The camera lets me focus the shot myself or it can do it for me. I've taken pictures of sunsets, my puppy at play, and even used it to win a court case. If I see a great sunset, I just run outside and take the picture. Actually, I take several and then keep the ones I like. I've taken photos of flowers, rocks, cars and trucks. And I still haven't wasted any film.

I don't worry any more about whether a photo will come out. I try it and if it doesn't suit me, I just delete it. I can relax and just take the picture. And I can experiment with camera angles, lighting, and photo effects. I don't consider myself an accomplished professional by any means, but I'm having fun with my camera, and you won't catch me making "safe" shots any more. I'm free to take any picture I want to take, and every once in awhile I get a great photograph. My digital camera has set me free.