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I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don’t Know What I’m Doing

March 7, 2015

I got a little restless the other week. And then I got a little obsessed.

And then I bought a camera…

That I don’t know how to use. But I’m not ashamed, so I’m going to show you some of the first photos I’ve taken with my fancy new camera and explain how I ended up with it.

Picnic - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

Here’s how it went down. My friend Christina asked if I was planning on buying a nice camera for my trips and travels. (We may have been drinking at the time, but the seed was planted.) Well, no, I thought, I’m already paranoid enough about losing, breaking, and/or having my iPhone stolen. It takes pretty solid pictures… right? I don’t want to have to worry about losing a camera too.

All of my Mexico pictures were taken with an iPhone 6… and I thought they looked good.

But, of course, this conversation was enough to start the relentless brainstorming, Internet browsing, and research that followed. Tina is pretty good with the peer pressure. whether she knows it or not (spoiler: she does). But she also had a point. You’ll never regret having awesome photos.

Picnic - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

A search of the words “best budget beginner dSLR” and I happened upon this article by The Wirecutter.  Throw in the fact that one of my favorite travel bloggers, Kristin at Be My Travel Muse, uses a version of this camera and takes baller pictures with it, and I was convinced.

Charles - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

A little more browsing and I discovered that Groupon had a manufacturer-refurbished Nikon D3300 (I mean really, the exact camera I was looking for, what are the odds?) available for $399. I’ll take that as a sign that God wants me to have a new camera.

I didn’t even let that Groupon countdown clock get close to running out (though, man, those things really get you itching to buy). After three days of mulling it over, I got it. I just had to. And then I bought the recommended SD card (which holds like 4,000 photos)… and then the neoprene case.

I swear I’m done for now.

Dolls - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

Nothing left to do but practice, right? And I have been practicing…

Christina and I headed to the Raleigh Flea Market one Saturday to check out the goods while I took some amateur-hour shots with my newly arrived camera for the first time.

Jewels - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

Tina - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

Flea Market - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

Records - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

Raleigh Flea Market - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

Rings at the Flea - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

And sometimes I just walk down my street with my camera around my neck like a weirdo and take pictures of plants and weeds. Totally normal right? I sure do love that Macro setting (that’s the one with the little picture of the flower, you guys, and it blurs the backgrounds of images).

Leaves - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

Weeds - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

Um, and then the real reason for all of this new camera nonsense. Who am I kidding?

FOOD PICTURES!!!

Pate - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

Okay, yes, I already had my new camera when I made and wrote about Chicken Liver Pate. Here it is in all its glory under some lamp light. Don’t you love that great couch background above? And that wooden Goodwill side table as a backdrop? (Unrelated: I have no decorating abilities and will never claim to. There will not be any home decor blog posts in my future.)

Below is a series of my genius idea for breakfast this morning:  a fried egg over the top of leftover chicken enchilada filling from dinner, topped with some hot sauce for drama.

Eggs - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

Egg - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

Eggs - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

Eggs - I Bought a dSLR Camera and I Don't Know What I'm Doing

I promise I’ll get better! Both at taking photos and editing them. I’m not quite ready to invest in any Adobe programs at the moment (and I’m kind of waiting on someone to share them with me for free), so I’m gonna stick with iPhoto and Picasa for now. Meanwhile, I’ll continue hauling my camera out with me as much as possible, despite the fact that it makes me look like a complete goober.

Note: I’m now itching to buy a MacBook Air (13″) with a little added RAM, but of course the cheapskate in me feels the need to browse all of the refurbished models and wait until the Apple Event next week to see if they’ll release new models of the MacBook Airs so that (maybe) prices on the old ones will fall!

Do you have a dSLR? Any tips, tricks, advice, or tutorials you may have for me are beyond welcome!

 

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  • Kristin Addis March 11, 2015 at 2:09 pm

    Ah welcome to a new love affair! I feel like I’m still learning and trying to improve as well. Your first few look great. Keep exploring and enjoying it! I love how my photos become my souvenirs. There’s nothing better to transport me back when I need a reminder of how amazing my travels have been.
    Kristin Addis recently posted…Fill Out the Be My Travel Muse Reader Survey and You Could Win a GoPro Camera!My Profile

    • Rachel March 11, 2015 at 3:28 pm

      Ahh thanks for the visit and the comment! Your photography tips were super helpful in deciding between cameras. I’m hoping if I take it out with me enough I’ll eventually have to improve! Your photos are brilliant. They’re definitely the best souvenir.

  • Jenny @ Till the Money Runs Out March 17, 2015 at 5:53 pm

    Why is it so fun to take pictures of food?!?! Have fun experimenting 🙂
    Jenny @ Till the Money Runs Out recently posted…A Bird’s Eye View of Paradise. Kauai Helicopter ToursMy Profile

    • Rachel March 18, 2015 at 1:09 pm

      Thanks! Now if I could only get over the awkwardness of pulling out a giant camera in the middle of a restaurant…

  • MistyWojcik August 1, 2016 at 8:27 am

    Hiii…buddy…
    you posted an amazing picture!!!
    Excellent post! That was so helpful. I just may have some of these on my trip next year….
    That was so helpful. I use Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II DSLR camera for my travel photography. As the camera is quite expensive therefore I generally hire it as the picture quality of this camera is just amazing….
    And now I am even thinking of purchasing it 🙂
    Waiting for your next tips! Cheers!!!! Keep posting!!!!
    Have a nice day ahead……

    • Rachel August 4, 2016 at 12:25 pm

      Thanks, glad to help! Definitely still learning and I’ve finally purchased my first new lens.

  • John June 22, 2017 at 10:28 pm

    Very impressive shots for a newbie indeed you have a great eye! The fried egg shot actually made me hungry. LOL.. 🙂
    John recently posted…A Review of Sony’s RX1R2: Far and Away the Best Camera I’ve been Lucky Enough to OwnMy Profile

    • Rachel July 24, 2017 at 10:31 am

      Haha thanks but I think you’re being too nice! Even a couple years later I’m still feeling like a newbie.