New camera plus food

The day after I arrived in Toronto, I purchased my first DSLR, the Nikon D5100. Now, I know about 6 months ago I said I wasn’t going to get one any time soon. I guess I lied.

It wouldn’t be completely correct to say I’ve been saving up for one, because I had the funds that I needed this entire time, so money wasn’t the biggest issue. As I had mentioned before, portability and convenient was perhaps the thing that stopped me from making the purchase much sooner. What, then, changed my mind? Perhaps the more relevant question for me was, why Nikon?

I realized that I had never actually put my hands on a DSLR for a long period of time, even though I said I wanted to try it. When I saw my friends who owned one, I would occasionally ask to take one or two photos without really taking the time to figure out what was going on outside auto mode. On a recent trip to St.Emilion, I asked to hold onto a friend’s Nikon D7000 as I experimented with the settings a bit and took pictures here and there. Bingo – versatility plus image quality equals instant love.

That was probably the event that made me decide to let go of my excuses and settled for a DSLR. If I ended up with no neck pain after carrying a D7000 the entire day, a lighter D5100 would be no problem at all.

As for why I chose Nikon in the first place, well, let’s just say I’ve always been a fan of Canon. My first two cameras were from Canon, and I’ve never used a printer that wasn’t a Canon, so it would make sense that my first DSLR would be a Canon. I suppose I wasn’t as loyal as I thought I was. Then again, I never gave Nikon a chance until that fateful day when I laid my hands on the D7000, and it all changed from then on. (Sorry Canon, I’ll still keep my A2000 with me all the time, I ensure that; you won’t be abandoned.)

Deciding on the Nikon model to purchase was also no simple task. As a complete DSLR newbie, I could definitely do with some advice and suggestions. And certainly help was there from various friends who had been doing DSLR photography for a long time (oddly I think the three people I often go to for photography advice started around the same time). I played around with the Nikons at the camera shop and with the budget in mind, the D5100 seemed to be the most appropriate choice – and recommended by almost everyone – although the D3100 was the less superior and less expensive alternative, if I did want to save the $200. Then again, I figured that the camera would be staying with me for (hopefully) a long, long time, so why not invest in something that I would feel most comfortable with?

So, I have been the proud owner of my Mr.Nikon for a little more than a week, and I am loving every second of interacting with it so far. The art of photography is something that had been tempting me to immerse within its glamour for a long time, and all of a sudden a whole array of new possibilities seem to have opened up just now. I still need to take time to seriously learn how to use this baby, but I am sure the process is one that I will enjoy dearly and the investment is something I won’t regret.

Reflections

It’s been a while.

In fact, it’s been too long.

I kept telling myself to update, but life has been so abundant and exciting lately that it feels surreal. So much has happened, yet it feels like no time has passed at all. All too fast, too sudden.

This is going to be somewhat of a personal entry. I haven’t done much travelling since I came back to Bordeaux (other than St. Emilion again, twice actually), but when you’re in a place that feels like a true home, even wanderlust can’t pull you away. And this is exactly how I had been feeling for the past month or so. Bordeaux – and the people I’ve met here – has already become such a part of my identity. I feel happy here. No embellishing adjective needed, just happy.

The following set of pictures has no particular theme, and are selected from the 32084092384 photos that had been taken within the last month and a half to represent my everyday life. Each picture is accompanied by a small blurb of personal thoughts with regards to my experiences in Bordeaux so far. I apologize if this entry seems scattered; I just want to reorganize my thoughts a little, and share with you something that is more “real” life, for once.

Outside my little studio, we see the mighty St. Andrew’s cathedral and the Pey Berland tower to its right. It still awes me that I am in France, living in such an elegant city. There’s that word again, elegant. I used it to describe Bordeaux when I first arrived in the autumn season, and during the summer, this gem is elegant as ever. It’s so different than the Toronto that I know, and though I’d like to believe that my heart will always remain first in Toronto, Bordeaux is slowing stealing it away from that land that feels so far, far away…