January and February Briefs
I had this strange urge last night to give monthly briefs on my blog, so it’s not always update, update, update with another photo the next day and the day after.
Since I didn’t do January, it makes sense to start then. I thought it was hard to keep up with my 365 Days Project because I was at home basically all day before school started. I knew I didn’t want to give up either because I failed once before. I think that’s what keeps me motivated, even to this day. Also, remember I only took photos with my Nikon COOLPIX P80? I was pretty happy about it, too, because I didn’t even have that camera for long. Then shortly after, I realized I needed to get a DSLR camera, so by the end of the month, I got my first DSLR, a Nikon D60 (from using part of my Chinese New Year money).
Lots of things happened in February. I didn’t use my D60 until a week after. There was an event happening for Black History Month, and then there was an Israeli protest the next day at school. I also went to watch the Lunar New Year Parade in between Alhambra and San Gabriel, so that’s when I actually started using my D60. I was pretty happy about its results. Then there was an evangelist at school, which caused many people to react. I also covered my first multimedia assignment by going to the Miss Deaf CSUN Pageant. The Corita Kent art gallery was also impressive. My J455 Documentary Project is also slowly starting to shape up, especially after talking to Professor Blumenkrantz, but I’m grateful that I am working with Jonathan because I wouldn’t have done anything without him.
It has been pretty crazy so far, and I’m pretty happy about it because that just means that I’m living my life well. I can’t believe how fast time has been going this semester, though, because this is already the seventh week? I’m already half way through, and it makes me kind of nervous thinking about it. I guess this is a good start to say that I need to use my time more wisely (like I should be studying for my sociology class) than … let’s say … typing up this brief!
Camellias – 32/365
My friend Nikki insisted that I should go take my first photos with my D60, so I did that today with my favorite setting: macro. I’ve always liked shooting macro because of its depth of field, and it was almost the only way I could achieve it with the small point and shoot cameras I’ve had been using. I went out to my mom’s garden, and these camellia flowers were just in bloom. In honor of the first photo I’ve taken with my D60, you have the first one with the poor lighting. Hahaha! But really, I ended up choosing the other photos as my favorites because of its focus and contrast. Not bad, don’t you think?
After shooting with a DSLR camera, I realized how lazy point and shoot cameras are. I almost forgot how close you have to stick your eyes into the camera’s viewfinder to take a photo. Haha, but seriously. Point and shoot cameras really made it easy for everyone because you can see what image you are about to take on the LCD screen. Ah well. Cameras are cameras nonetheless. It’s still up to the photographer’s eyes to capture whatever’s out there.
And today marks my first month of the 365 Days Project. Yay.
Nikon D60 Cont’d – 31/365
I can’t believe that I’m bored right now, but that’s beside the point. I took out my Nikon D60 out of its box today, and I believe I took longer time on putting the strap on than actually playing around with the camera because the battery life was running low already. I know, right? The weight difference is incredible, too. The COOLPIX P80 is unbelievably light compared to the Nikon D60. And to tell you the truth, I want to keep both digital cameras with me, but I don’t know how to say it to my dad. My mom, on the other hand, understood why before I even got the DSLR.