After a breakup… new life

March 13, 2016

I am setting my expectations in line with my capability

I have spent the last year healing, reflecting, growing from a break-up after many years with my partner, and am now at the stage of what next?

This is where my desire to start exploring my more creative side kicked in. I have a keen eye for all things visually creative but have always appreciated these things from a distance.

Photography is something I have always admired and wanted to learn, but never got around to doing. I am forever taking pictures on my trusty smart phone but the idea of using a more technical camera always seemed too daunting.

The gentle nudge I needed came with a looming trip to Iceland. I was faced with the conundrum of how the heck do I take happy snaps of the Northern Lights with nothing more then my phone? It was time to jump into the deep end and get myself a DSLR camera; and so my photography journey began.

I bought a… camera!

The first step was buying a camera. I had no idea where to start. It turned out a helpful sales assistant at a camera shop was all I really needed. They provide me with a heap of advice, and matched me with the right camera to suit my needs.

The next step was the all-so-daunting task of learning how to use the camera. I am a visual, but mostly kinesthetic learner. Reading pages upon pages of technical manuals is not my cup of tea. In fact, I think this perception of how tricky it would be to learn to use a DSLR camera via reading manuals is the key reason I never tried it sooner.

The benefit of the short course

If you are a hands-on learner like me, the thing I found extremely useful was taking short courses. If you have the cash, a one-on-one tutorial is also invaluable as the course can be tailored to your own model of camera.

Taking a range of courses (i.e. night time, portrait, landscape and travel) is very useful too. This allows you to practice using your camera in a range of different environments and lighting, and on various subjects.

Warning… rabbit hole ahead

Another great source of knowledge is YouTube. I have found an abundance of useful information not only on using my specific camera but also on photography in general

A warning here once you slip down the ‘rabbit hole’ you may become hooked… I blame this on many light nights glued in front of my laptop. The internet truly is your friend when it comes to learning photography; embrace it.

The truth is learning photography is nowhere near a difficult as one may think. Sure there are a tonne of things you need to learn, and if you want to become ‘pro’ well that is a whole other kettle of fish.

For me however, I am setting my expectations in line with my capability. I want to learn how to operate my new cameral effectively, master the basics and see where this new passion takes me.

Check out my Brisbane photos. I’m off to Iceland to grab some other shots… seriously! I’ll show you my pics when I return.

Have you started again?

What did you take up to re-find yourself?

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