My new camera first amble about photo essay.

These are my friends the Hosta. They tell me when winter is really really over. The are next to my front door, and these little guys poked their heads out to say hi today. It was alot of effort on their part to be sure so they will probably go slow for awhile.

Long about late last summer, I realized I was perhaps going to need a new camera. Sand from the beach at Nehalem Bay got into its bag, juice from a sippy that pushed liquid up through the straw dripped on the little thing that closed to protect the lens. With the sand, which I took pains to blow out, I could not navigate picture I had taken. The juice on the lens cover made it sticky to the point it only opened when it was in a good mood. Add to this the well-known fact that the batteries died after only a couple shots, and I began to imagine grinding the thing up in a meat grinder. Accidentally, of course.
Here are A and J in the hallway after I got done snapping around outside. They are playing ball and I am testing out my settings on the camera because I am too excited to sit down and read the manual just yet.

Round summer last, I remembered that I had always really liked photography. I really really liked it. For many many reasons. So, I struggled through with my very lame little oneshot, and Jeff told me to buy a new camera.

Here is A and I, we are playing Hall Ball. Where we play with this little blue ball in the hall. It is thrilling to her, and I am trying out the child setting on the camera in my lap.

J had in mind that we would replace it with another oneshot. Or perhaps I would like a fancier oneshot. Well no, I didn't want any of that. I wanted a real camera. I started to read books about photography and investigate dSLR's. I had to make my case about why we had to buy a camera that cost over 500 dollars. I am not sure why he ever went along with it, but he always encourages my hobbies.
So I see here that the child setting on my new Nikon d40 (SQUEAK!!) will stop this ball in action on the preset. This picture was taken a nanosecond before the ball bonked A's forehead, and required a kiss.

So today was the day. We established the savings account in November with a paltry sum meant to do little more than get a foot in the door.
Again, the ball stopped in mid air. I might mention here that this is the new tile, new moulding, new paint and newly refinished stairs in our home that A is playing on.

The account for the camera grew when J deposited a grand 300 dollars over Christmas. This deposit meant that I was going to be able to buy this camera in the next several months.

This is our back yard. When we bought this house, I really wanted trees. This is really the only angle from which I like how our back yard looks. The wooden box is my tiny garden, the house has been freshly painted, it used to be yeller. Ugh. We have a lot of cedars, none of which had been trimmed when we first got here.

So during Christmas, Jeff let me take home the Canon digital Rebel from his work. It was a sweet camera, but I decided I didn't like it to buy it. It's hard to say why, but its manual presets were not really coherent to me. I read the manual, but had difficulty getting things to work out well enough because the camera was soooo automatic. Plus it was heavy.

While I was outside, A was inside waking up from her nap. I caught her when I came in. One of the reasons we have been able to afford exclusively in home child care is because of this 25 dollar crib she is in. I told J that I would sacrifice nice fancy kid stuff and go resale, hand me downs if she could have excellent care while I was at work. He thought this was a good idea. She has only had in-home care once a week for over 2 years because of divine providence and some advance financial planning. Hence, I love this crib.

Round about Feb. I did the taxes. Because I did them, I told J that that earned me some money toward the camera. I kept putting off buying it because I wanted to make sure that we could pay off a certain credit card we used for home improvements and make sure our taxes were all in order, then I would feel better about getting the camera.

Here is our back patio. I like this one alot. It makes me happy.

So today I went and picked up the camera. All day today I spent getting it ready to go, taking some pics, transferring some pics, photoshopping and thinking about what I will buy next. Next I would like very much a good tripod, but I really can't spend too much...so I may have to wait.

So far I am exceedingly happy with the purchase, I feel loosed to take all these pictures I have been storing up inside. Especially watching spring pop out...but I already want a macro lens.

I am excited excited. Expect far more pictures people.