Poo-Poo Platter

Ever since I got my Nikon D70 back in May, my life has focused a great deal on photography. I carry my D70 with me every day. I always have at least one camera on me whenever I go out with the guys. I regularly go out on shoots just for practice on an almost weekly basis. And I have (obviously) become a serious Flickr addict.

While I had already been shooting pretty regularly before my D70, things really exploded as soon as I became an owner of a digital SLR. I’m making a conscious effort to become a better photographer. I’m really paying attention to composition, lighting, color, form, and other aspects of photography. I may not be actively thinking of the “rules” of photography, but I’m definitely concentrating on creating interesting imagery. Everywhere I go, I’m looking for new photo ops. I’m much more observant about my surrounds than I have ever been.

With my newfound obsession with photography comes the logistics to handle it. I upgraded to Photoshop CS2 specifically to gain access to the new Camera RAW features. I purchased iView Media Pro to my toolset to manage photos and add IPTC tags. I paid the shareware fee for PictureSync to do batch resizing and uploading of images to Flickr. I’ve recalibrate my Cinema Display every couple of weeks to match my printer much tighter than a few months ago. I even bought a USB media card reader, so I could just plug in my compact flash card and copy files over to my Powerbook without bothering with connecting a USB cable to my camera.

Today, my photography habit got a little more expensive. I purchased a 250 GB external drive to use as backup storage for my photos. I shoot a lot of images whenever I go on shoots. I switch back and forth between RAW and JPGs, but I almost invariably fill up the 1 GB compact flash card in my D70. 1 GB of source images each week plus whatever edited images I choose to share on Flickr adds up to quite a bit of used hard drive space. The extra 250 GB should help alleviate any storage limitations I have – for now.

Apart from the practical side of photography as a hobby, I’ve noticed a drastic change on a social level. Perhaps it’s the big black professional-looking camera or the fact that I’m taking photos of everything in sight or a combination of the two, but I’ve noticed that a lot of strangers approach me and strike up conversations on a fairly regular basis. They ask me about what I’m doing. They offer suggestions on places to get good photos. They even ask me about what I think about my D70 and comparable cameras.

The first person to ever approach me was a kind elderly lady at Coulon Beach Park. It was one of the first days I spent with my D70, and I wanted to photograph an area that I knew pretty well. I was standing on one of the little bridges looking around for my next shot when I felt a little tap on my shoulder. I turned to see a short old woman wearing a straw hat and those giant shades that most senior citizens seem to like.

She didn’t ask what I was doing or even introduce herself. She simply told me that if I waited for an hour or two (it was early evening in May) and walked north a little ways, there would be a great view of Mt. Rainier in the setting sun. She then proceeded to give me a bit of history about Mt. Rainier and how people from Tacoma think of it as Mt. Tacoma instead.

It was quite a shock to me that someone would simply walk up to me and strike up a conversation out of the blue. I was pleasantly surprised, though, and very happy to have that memory. I regret not getting a picture of her that day, but, at that time, I was still very shy about photographing strangers.

Subsequent encounters proved to be just as interesting. During one of my many shoots at Coulon Beach Park, I met a couple of kids who followed me around while I was photographing ducks and birds. They kept saying “Hi” and asking me what I was doing. I was so amused with their curiosity that I asked their parents if I could take some pictures of them. They were very flattered and were happy to oblige.

There was another time when I was at Borders relaxing for an afternoon. I had my D70 with me and was reading up on some tips and tricks on getting better out-of-camera images by adjusting the camera settings. The gentleman who was sharing the table with me struck up a conversation about using digital SLRs. It was obvious he was doing research on digital SLRs, because he had a pile of digital photography magazines with him. He asked me about what I thought about my D70 and why I chose it over the Canon Digital Rebel XT. When I asked about the kind of photography he was interested in, he told me that he was a retired photojournalist of 35 years and was finally tired of developing film and dealing with piles of negatives and prints.

The random conversations happened again yesterday when I was at Pike Place Market with my family. In a place that is packed with tourists and locals with cameras (I saw plenty of SLRs out there), I was singled out as “the camera guy”. I had several people approach me asking about my camera, which model it was, what kind of lens I used, what I thought about Canon cameras, if I enjoyed my D70 or not, recommendations on good cameras to look at, etc.

The encounters occurred in several different areas – in the middle of the Farmer’s Market, on the street, in a cafe – so it definitely wasn’t a matter of people happening to notice others were talking to me. My family was surprised that so many people approached me, and, frankly, so was I. I really have no idea why I was singled out of the crowd so frequently.

I’m not complaining though, because it was quite fun meeting so many new people. I think I should print up some simple cards with my name and blog and Flickr URLs to give to anyone who talks to me (or whom I approach for photos). It could lead to some interesting connections in my already-diverse network. At the very least, it could drive more traffic to my photostream and blog.

I never even remotely considered how taking up photography as a serious hobby could affect my life. I knew I was going to take a lot of pictures (that’s why I have cameras, after all) and that I was going to be spending some extra time and money on this, but I had no idea that it could extend beyond the camera so much. It’s not just about taking pretty pictures. It’s about the experience of getting out there, really observing my surroundings, being in the situation, and interacting with the people around me.

I think the greatest thing about all this is that I’m just getting started. I’ve only taken photography seriously for a few months, and I’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s out there. There’s always new things to shoot, new places to visit, and new people to meet. I’m ready to experience more.

| digital slr | photography