Camera

I love cameras. I have loved them since I first started using a Kodak Instamatic to take photos of my stuffed animals on the couch. The camera on the left is my Nanu's Kodak Jiffy (twindar) camera, circa 1933-1937 and the camera on the right is my current camera, the Nikon D5000. (This photo was taken with my iphone camera). It's amazing how far cameras have come. In fact, my nikon is about 4+ years old, so it doesn't have a lot of the bells and whistles that cameras nowadays come with. What isn't shown are all the cameras in between. Some of the fun ones I've had are the Kodak disc camera (boy, that was so cool and so much fun!), the Kodak Advantix Camera that let you pop your film cartridge in and then you could choose 3 x4, 4 x6 and/or panoramic, or my very first digital camera: the Sony Mavica, which used a floppy disk. What? I know! It was amazing when I first got that camera and to think, my phone takes better quality photos now then that one did. The history of cameras is fascinating and I can't wait to see what the future holds! -Dina 

For the first time ever, I have captured a lightning bolt with a camera! It's not really an outstanding photograph, but it's still not easy, and it's even more difficult during the day, since you can't leave your shutter open and wait for a bolt to happen. You really need three things to get a shot like this:

1) Luck. Be at the right place at the right time. I was on a rooftop terrace looking west as a storm rolled in. And also, press the shutter at just the right time.

2) A camera. I almost always have a camera with me, even if it's a pocket point-and-shoot. Moments like this can arise unexpectedly, and I want to be ready to capture it.

3) Knowing the camera backwards and forwards. During fast-changing situations like this, you can't be fumbling around with the camera trying to figure out how to change the shutter speed or turn the flash off. Before you know it, the moment is gone.  -Cort

Next Week's Theme:  Independence