Quebec 2008

Summer of 2008 was when I really picked up photography. The photography daemon possessed me on one fine summer evening and hasn't left me ever since. The weapon of choice was a mere digital camera Sony R1 but with the functionality and mimicry of a DSLR.

These photos are from the family Quebec trip I went towards the end of the summer. Naturally, when I first heard from my parents that we're going to Quebec I thought it'd be a great opportunity to experiment and learn about my camera. And it was. Without knowing too much about things like apertures, exposures, macro, or ISO, I first handled the camera with a point-and-shoot attitude. It worked, but I began to get bored. So then, I started exploring the various features and buttons. In Quebec, I explored as many styles, angles, methods, hues, zooms, apertures, and exposures I could option. And if you look at some of the pictures, you will see that they conceptually differ from one another. For example, I have a set of photos I took of flowers. I never take pictures of flowers! But in the beginning, I did. But since then, I've never let the light of flowers into my camera lens. No offense to flowers, but they're just a bit too.. easy. Another example is the picture of Le Château Frontenac. Using a high aperture setting and longer exposure, I took a picture that, seems to me, resemble a pastel painting. The one with the umbrella with the sky as its background is yet another example. I would say I was studying the balance of space composition and the juxtaposition between its occupants, figure and background.

My Sony R1 has served me and is serving me well. But it has limitations that sometimes debilitate me from taking photos I want. It performs very poorly in night settings without a tripod, its flash is useless, and the ISO gets too noisy above 800 setting. I also have an old Canon SLR camera from my dad that I've yet to use. But at this stage of my life, I can't afford to shoot film. So, by next year summer I plan to purchase a DSLR. I'm looking into Nikon, Contax, and maybe Leica. Just maybe.