After owning a decent SLR camera for about 6 months now, I’ve been observing the kind of mental stages I’ve gone through since getting it. It’s very interesting seeing how I’ve gone from complete excitement and confidence to a bit of a slump where I start to think that maybe forking out $900 for a 1000D wasn’t such a good idea.

Before the SLR

It really all started a year ago, on a family holiday in New Zealand. With such awesome land and waterscapes passing us by every single day, it was hard not to try and capture some of it on camera. Of course back then, all I had was a Kodak point and shoot, or as I called it, the point and pray. So with that clutched in my hand, I ended up taking endless amounts of photos. They were mostly terrible, and sadly not all due to the camera. Despite being halfway through a photography course, I really wasn’t that good.

So that really started my passion for getting a better camera. I don’t really know when I finally decided I was going to get one, but I know around about when I did, I started seeing awesome photographs everywhere. Just about every second morning, I would walk to school with light beams shining down from above. I would envision an awesome photo of just about everything I saw, which was very annoying. It was like everywhere I went, the environment around me was constantly rubbing in the fact that I hadn’t saved up enough.

1000D-Day

Finally, after several reiterations of the standing payment deal between my Mother and I, enough money had been saved to at least purchase a refurbished Canon 1000D on eBay. It took a while convincing my parents to let me take out a loan, from their wallets, but as usual, I got my way eventually and my camera was on the way. All this time, the environment continued to taunt me and I had to continue to work to pay it off. It got all the harder when the camera arrived, and it had to be tucked away until I had the money.

But after a quick deal with my brother, which was essentially a loan to pay off a loan, I had the money due, and the camera was mine. It was plenty fun for the first few weeks as I tried out all the different camera settings, options and adjustments. However, once that blissful stage was over, it was time to realise that all those amazing photos you see of lush valleys or stunning sunsets, wasn’t all as simple as pointing the camera and pressing the shutter release. There were times where a hint of doubt would sometimes enter my mind about whether the expensive gear was such a good idea. Of course I knew, if I hadn’t shelled out, I would continue to be constantly environmentally taunted. So it really was the right decision.

The Here and Now

So this brings us to just about now. The last few weeks have been once again blissful photography awesomeness. Looking back and seeing how far I’ve come was a great boost and I’m starting to really enjoy just taking photos. Finally, I’m seeing my environment as something much more true to their real photographic potential. I have been out several times for some night photography, which was very educational, and the recent rain has given me some new subjects to play with.

Overall, I’m quite happy with my camera purchase, and I won’t have any problems about answering that question my Father set to be answered one year from now. Was the purchase a good idea? Definitely.