Capturing Life...

I Love Photographs...

As far as  I can remember, there has always been a camera in our household.  In my childhood, it was a small 35 mm film camera (i can remember the maker), but it served my mother to capture moments in our family.  Though the pictures are simple, they present a vivid reminder of my ever changing world.

My sister and I (circa 1979, in Ecuador)

Once I became a teenager, my sister and I started to jump behind the camera.  We took pictures of our toys, cousins (as we are the oldest children in our family), and each other.  Through the decades our family camera changed, and digital became the new norm.  Then, came the kids, and i became the designated photographer.  My Sony Point and Shoot was by far the best thing my husband ever bought  (we still have it, and it gets used).  It took beautiful pictures and snapshots of my kids childhood, and our world.  I have thousands of files that depict birthdays, first teeth, outfits, school projects, etc.,  and through 12 years it served our family well...

My mom, sister, niece, my kids & I  (Mother's day, 2009,  Toronto)

Smartphones soon became the best way to capture snapshot of our lives, and along with our camera, it became the go-to choice when taking a photo.  It was until last Christmas, that once again, my husband decided that we (actually I) needed an upgrade on  our camera. So he acquired a Nikon D3200 DSLR,  it has changed the way i see the photography world.  In the last year, the camera has created some of the most beautiful pictures i have taken of my family.  Let's not kid ourselves,  photography is not easy, it takes a lot of practice, and learning from trial and error.  I am still discovering what a DSLR can do, but i love challenges, and slowly i will master my camera.

I think that we all see beauty differently, and a lens (or lenses) of the camera can help transmit what you see to others,  but making the transition from Auto to Manual has taken me almost an entire year.  I have read the blogs, manuals, etc,  but my photography started to improve (and I finally move the camera dial to Manual) once I started the Capture Your 365 challenge in October of 2015.  This photo-a-day prompt pushed me to see the beauty in my every-day, and it gave me hints and ideas on how to make the best out of my Nikon.. So I have embarked on my first full year of the challenge, in hopes to see my photography reach a higher level.  Here is a sample of my most recent work:

"My One Little Word"  taken on 01-02-2016  with Nikon D3200   1/100 sec @ f/2.8  50mm  ISO 800