This is dsc00011.jpg, the eleventh photo I took with my then-brandie-new camera, the Sony DSC-F717, in February of 2003. Yikes! Such a long time ago.
That is still a camera as yet unreplaced. True, I have moved on to a more expensive one… actually, the newer one is no more expensive than the Sony was. But in the ever-avalanching price structure of new gadgets, a $700 camera in 2003 is not really comparable to a $700 camera in 2007.
Only this one is. Even as I am distracted by my new Canon 350D digital SLR, I remember my Sony. I had mastered it, which is more than I can say for my skills with my Canon one year on. I see shots I might have taken with it, and know exactly how I would do it, I know in my mind how to adjust the settings, which controls to touch, how to hold the camera, what to look for on the top and the back and through the viewfinder.
I haven’t yet returned to it for anything. I am remaining intesely centered on the Canon, until I learn play it like a musical instrument, until I can carry a tune on it. But I look forward to the day when I can relax, and just pick up the old familiar Sony for a day of shooting without any of the pressure to learn, without being careful with expensive lenses, cases, and lots of stuff–but with all of the ease of an old friend.
Before the accidental ones, and the ones just taken for the pleasure of pushing the shutter button the first few times, that eleventh photo was the real first one. It was a joy…