My very first SLR camera– a Nikon EM– was a wedding gift. It was the perfect camera for me; small, lightweight, and reliable.
At first, I used it to record the markers in my life that I thought I might someday want to look back at. I was never good at documenting with pen and paper, it was a struggle to make words behave the way that I wanted them to, but somehow the camera always knew what to say. And just as importantly, what to leave out.
I was glad to have a reliable camera when the kids came along. No parent realizes how fleeting childhood is when you're knee-deep in the business of it, until you look back at the markers. In the blink of a shutter, they grow up and buy their own cameras and take their own pictures and you find yourself filling up rolls of film with photos of pets, plants, and flowers (which grow up fast too, but don't make faces when you point a camera at them).
A few years ago, I set aside my Nikon for the instant gratification of a digital camera. I lusted for a Digital Rebel, but ended up buying a Powershot. For the money, it took fine pictures of pets, plants, flowers and the occasional teenager. Before this blog, I never really photographed food before. I quickly learned that, like plants and flowers, food likes to be shot up-close and in diffused natural daylight. Not having to pay for film and processing really shortened the learning curve.
Recently, I noticed that my Powershot had developed a blurry spot that I couldn't get rid of. I wondered if you noticed it too. When it became obvious that I would have to replace it, the time seemed right for the Rebel XSi. I decided to forgo the kit lens and invested in a 50mm 1.4 for its shallow depth of field and buttery bokeh. I went a little shutter crazy this past week, snapping hundreds of photos of objects, inside and outside of my house. I've posted some of them on my new Flickr page, if you care to look. There aren't any photos of teenagers, or any food just yet. But there are some of pets, and the plants and flowers will come soon enough.
Playing with Fire and Water 
The Nikon EM was a great little camera, though the aperture priority occasionally drove me nuts in low light conditions.
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enjoy your new camera!
you have done the right thing to leave aside the kit lense, which unfortunatley I still use.
your food will look even more amazing:)
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Wow! Is that real snow?
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Nothing like an f1.4 lens. Congratulations. And the Flickr shots are great.
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Congratulations! More photos from you is always good. We didn’t have an EM but we did have a 50mm E-series lens hooked up to the FE; I think I still have that camera sitting somewhere.
So when are you going to make fake snow?
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Price wise the rebel xsi is so good considering the very high quality picture and the lens you can get… The Nikon D90 would be the ultimate thing to get but i wouldnt go there either as i am still learning how to use and shoot with my 5 mp camera…
Pictures look great too… Enjoy the new toy….
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“Buttery bokeh”? I own a whole slew of lenses and that one has by far the worst bokeh. 😛 Your pictures are great, but I’d never use that lens for shooting food…
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