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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Photowyzard" data-source="post: 796314" data-attributes="member: 8344">History ... Part IIAs you can tell, I am not much of a blogger, but I am trying.  Part of the problem is, I feel I have to be serious and post something meaningful and I don't always feel serious or want to make my thoughts public.When I sat down this morning, I was going to write about what I typically do when I go out to shoot pictures, but I will leave that for another time.  Currently, I am on holidays, I am sitting in a Tim Horton's in Cottage Country, north of Toronto.  I ordered a Medium Decaffe, Double Cream, one sweetener and an everything bagel with half butter and Jam..... and I am "catching up".  I have been relaxing for almost two weeks now and I am mellow! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />When I last blogged, I was a Nikon D90 user.  Since then, I have moved on to photographic ecstasy when I purchased my Nikon D800.  No single "toy" has brought me this much pleasure.  Purchasing it was no easy decision.  I wasn't sure the money was justified, I wasn't sure about the quality due to all the BS from the Nay-Sayers online, I wasn't sure I needed all that horsepower...I wasn't sure! So, I read a lot and researched and I called Nikon and discussed my concerns.  They allayed my fears and I made the plunge.No oil issues.No green screen issues.No focus issues.My wallet hurt, but that feeling very quickly faded and a new love affair blossomed.  It wasn't as hard to get up early in the morning to catch the best light and do it on my days off when I value sleep more.  That has greatly changed.  I value the early morning light more, I can catch up on sleep when I am dead.It isn't hard any more to pull off the highway when I see an Osprey in flight.  I just pull over, grab my gear and hope I don't get hit by a truck in the process.  I have plenty of time to get to where I am going when there is nothing to stop for.It isn't anywhere near as hard now to get my daughter to pose for a photo because she can't believe how good the photos make her look.  In the best light, a D800 image is simply like no other.  Who wouldn't want to be photographed with one.In the past, I only shot my favourite subjects.  Now, every subject, every object, every event, every photographic opportunity is a reason to grab my camera and enjoy the moment.  The world around me is my new favourite subject.As an evolution of moving from a novice or poorly skilled photographer to a photographer with a little more experience, I have started working on technique because the Nikon D800 will show all your mistakes with glowing accuracy.  I take more time composing an image.  I worry more about the background and how the bokeh will look.  I will take a minute to look at my depth of field and decide if I want it evenly spaced around the subject, more in front or more behind... or non at all.  If at first, I don't succeed, I get just as excited about going back and trying again and again until I get it right.  Why? Because the exercise of getting it right becomes a reward in itself. When you get it right, the image simply sings.  I am not sure I can describe the feeling any better than that. I have also discovered my personal satisfaction has gone up in viewing my images, where as in the past, I would take a thousand pictures and marvel at a few.  When I admired a favourite image, I simply looked at it and felt satisfied it was a good picture and discarded the rest.  Now, I marvel at most of the images I take for many different reasons.  Each image becomes a window of knowledge teaching me what to do to make the next image better.  I never experienced this feeling before in Photography.I now carry my Nikon D800 almost everywhere I go.  I can't tell you how many times I capture a great image because I took my gear in tow with me where in the past, my camera would stay at home, waiting for a photographic opportunity to knock on the front door!  There is a big difference in my output when I actually go to where the action is, equipment in hand, rather than waiting for it to fall in my lap.So, I am running out of coffee and the restaurant is filling up.  Time to go, but I want to make one last comment.  My wife texted me the other day and said, "there is a vintage car show here at the mall, you would love it".  I got off the couch, grabbed my camera and drove to the Mall.  Not a second thought.  I knew there would be an image there waiting for me to find.That image is below.<img src="http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i465/Cylon_Toaster/Spirit-of-Ecstasy_zps2073bd17.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />This is the Spirit of Ecstasy, the hood ornament that sits on the majority of Rolls Royce motor vehicles you see on the road.  It symbolizes the best money can buy. It is a classic design of the day and it happens to be inscribed with the date it was presented to Rolls Royce by the artist... Feb 6... my birthday.  Nice co-incidence.I thought the image, the symbol and my own search for excellence all came together this morning when I thought I would blog on photography and my Nikon D800.  Not quite a year has passed since I took ownership of my D800.  12,000 images later, I am more in love with my gear and my hobby than I have ever been.  The Nikon D800 is a marvel of technology that set the photographic industry on its ear, last year.  As time passes, the D800 will fade, but those who remember will know it was a turning point in the industry that took the hobby (or profession) to a new level.The D800 has had an impact on me on many levels.I see things differently.I appreciate things I see a lot more.I see a lot more "things".I appreciate nature more and the state of the environment around me.I am actually stopping now, and smelling the roses!  Something I never used to do in the past, because I "had no time".  I know make the time.Not a bad evolution of my own human condition. I purchased an expensive camera and started to absorb and appreciate the world around me on a substantially higher level. By and large, I think the acquisition of my Nikon D800 was more than worth the price of admission. &#8203;<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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