I ordered an XA2

I finally committed myself to buying an Olympus XA2 because I've only got days left till Thailand, and I really wanted the XA2 for taking pictures there. After bidding and then chickening out at the end, I realize having it there would be more awesome than awesome, and bid on the camera that was ending the soonest. I paid $20.08. Half of it was for shipping (figures). Anyway, it came with a flash and that was about it, I think. I don't know that it was the best deal. In fact, it wasn't, but I was desperate and running out of time.

Now I went back and looked at the listings and low and behold saw really great deals for the camera. Listings that came with the camera, flash, carrying case, and manual. Damn!

This is what happens. Anytime I commit to paying for something, the moment after I always can find better deals or realize that I don't need it anymore. Buyer's guilt, I assume.

I'm enjoying my purchase.

Now I'm spending an enormous about of time at Flickr just enjoying my new pro account. That's another reason why I shouldn't have succumbed to my credit card purchasing power. I'm uploading tons of pictures so far, and I haven't had enough time to study, for, say, my exam, which I need to do well on since I bomb the last one.

Credit cards are evil, I say.

looking because you can take pictures

I never looked up at the sky. Not really. I never noticed a lot of the flowers in my backyard. Not really. I never really notice lines, textures, or colors. Not really. Not until I got my camera, looked into the lens, and press the shutter button. None of those things mattered to me before.

Now when I see something like a cloud, a rose, or a coffee mug, I can't help but think, "Would that make a good photograph?"

I stop, pause, and look closer and longer at things that went unnoticed before I discovered photography. I don't mean serious art photography. It's a more natural form of photography. The documentation of your own life, world, and space kind of accessible photography that anyone and everyone can relate to. I love it. I want to immerse myself in more of it. I can't get enough of it. I want to become better. I want to take more pictures.

In some small way, photography, my digital camera, and the Internet has giving some small meaning to these past months. Without it, I would have completely been lost. I'm not some lazy, lost, disoriented bum who can't make a solid decision to save her life.

I'm a blogger. I'm a photoblogger.
And that is totally cool.

Photos.

I've been on a photo taking spree lately. Unfortunately, it meant that I couldn't get the other things I wanted done.

I'm in my 3rd month of my hiatus from real life, and it sucks. It sucks not because I get to be lazy and do nothing all day, but I'm just delaying the inevitable. I still haven't decided on anything. I'm in the same position, almost, as I was during the spring. This is not good. Not good at all. But the one good thing that has come from this is my absolute interest in taking better pictures. I've discovered photography during my break. And that's cool.

The end of 28MM

28MM has called it quits. Or rather, its editor, Rachel James has called it quits.

I love 28MM, and it was the first online photo mag I had ever seen, and certainly, the first to influence me. All of the great photos submitted by amateurs and professionals all made me want to become a more skilled photographer. I even thought about submitting some of my photographs to them, but alas, it's too late.

28MM will be missed.

Richard Avedon

I have to admit I didn't know who Richard Avedon was when he died last week. I did search the internet for photographs he took, and I came across one that I recognized. It's the beekeeper one.

Richard Avedon's website.

polaroid

I have a fascination with Polaroids. Meaning that I want one. I think they are cute.

It's the sort of things I imagined that you find in old shoeboxes tucked away in the back of your closets. You open it up to find old Polaroids that you've taken with friends and family. Shifting through them makes you remember the old times, the times of your youth. It may be a little faded, yellowed, bent in the corners, stained, or creased, but the meaning of the picture never changes.

Polaroids are instant. Something captivating about the size of it that limits image size. The white space at the bottom to write words to compliment the image captured.

But Polaroids doesn't have to exist in forgotten shoeboxes. They can be tucked between glass and wood in mirrors, held up by magnets on fridges, or pinned down on cork broads.

I associated polaroids with memories. Lost memories. Happy memories. Nostalgia.

There's just something forever cool about Polaroids. They are perfect for lost loves and forgotten friendships. Polariods taken during those times serves as a forceful reminder of past relationships.

---

Branding of the Polaroid: 1957-1977: Traces the development of the Polaroid brand by the person who helped create the brand

Great Polaroid photoblogs:
PolaroiDiary
dirtdirt.com; formerly 669
Professional Photography Portfolios from Polaroid

snap. snap. away.

some photographs I've taken so far
Photography is appealing because I can do it with ease. It comes from my utter desire to be a great artist. I wasn’t gifted with great talent as a painter or drawer, but my creative energy was still there. I really wanted to do something creative.

I love buying magazines, partly because of the content, but the other half of me loved flipping through photos of models. I buy magazines for fashion photography because that kind of photography was the most readily available example of the type of photographs I wanted to take, and the kind of eye I wanted. There’s great magic to it.

The clothes were way too expensive and out there for it to be appealing, but the way in which the women and clothing would interact in the photo was what interested me.

I thought that was the best part of magazines. The content just acted as fillers.

It's easy to take a picture. I’ve done it a thousand times before. It's natural. I still have to learn technique. I have tons of technique and composition to learn, but it's something to look forward to.

It's satisfying, especially with digital cameras where the results are immediate.

Most photos I've taken are trial and error attempts. I think I remember only one photography rule: put subjects off center for more interesting, appealing effect, and that was partly due to what I learnt in art.

I’m enjoying the rewards so far. It's been great.