Ice Cream, Anyone?

It should be obvious to anyone who's met my round body in person that I absolutely ADORE ice cream. And now I have my very own custom Timbuk2 that reflects my penchant for neapolitan.

The dimensions of the X-Small Messenger bag were a good fit for a couple Domke padded inserts, and voila! I had myself my own urban messenger camera bag. It's big enough to fit my Nikon D40 with either the 18mm-55mm or 55mm-200mm lens attached plus the other unattached lens plus my little SB-400 speedlight.

Now I'll always be ready to catch little moments like this one. Awwww...Ain't they cute?

I *Heart* My New Camera

It's true, folks. I've broken down and gone the digital SLR route. Although I've gotten some sweet shots with various digital point 'n' shoots over the years, nothing beats the speed and depth of field capabilities of an SLR, and I really missed hearing the click-click-click of a REAL camera.

So what did I end up getting? I stayed true to my Nikon roots and got the D40. It's about the cheapest digital SLR you can get, considering you get the body PLUS the 18-55mm lens for under $550. In addition, I got the new 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6G ED AF-S VR DX Zoom Nikkor lens for $240. The VR stands for Vibration Reduction, and when you're zooming at that rate, it really helps, esp. if you don't use a tripod (which I don't). Add to that the tiny yet functional Nikon SB-400 speedlight for $110, and that's pretty much my kit.

While on first look, there is nothing spectacular about this photo, which was one of the first photos I took with my new camera, the thing to notice is that I captured Cadence in mid-air quite easily because as soon as I press the shutter button, the photo is taken. No more waiting a whole second for the camera to finally take the photo, which is usually a half-second too late. I totally love the instant gratification this provides me.

I am also loving my new speedlight. I am able to tilt the flash head upwards so that the light bounces off the ceiling. This gives a flash photo a more natural light look to it. Now I don't have to wait for the light to be *just right* to take some decent photos, although I do still prefer natural light. Always have, and always will.

I'm still getting used to the new equipment, so it'll be a while before I get the kind of photos I'm aiming for. It's been rainy these past couple days, so I haven't had the chance to get out as much as I'd like.

I can already tell, though, that I'll be wanting to take a LOT more photos and of things other than Cadence in the future with my new set-up.

See? I've already expanded my subject to include flowers.

And raindrops on grass blades.