Learning My Camera

I'm finally trying to learn my camera. We have a Canon camera. It's not a digital point and shoot. It's a camera made to have pretty lenses and take professional quality images. I've had it for coming up on three years now and within the last week I've done something new and for the first time -- I've put it in manual mode. I've relied on auto-focus and flash for far too long and I'm trying to learn how to get away from that.

I threw it in manual focus and holy bonkers did I have some fuzzy pictures. I desperately need practice in manually focusing my lens. But, I'm working on it. Here's some pictures of our new(er) cat, Sophie. I took them on my first day (heck, my first twenty minutes) of manual camera play.

With manual focus + flash.

With manual focus + no flash -- natural light.

I love it. It just looks so much softer. Of course, now I'm looking to Pioneer Woman's camera lessons to learn about aperture. I have a ton to learn! I really need to read my camera's manual to figure out how to adjust everything in a snap too. I might need to write myself a small cheat sheet.

So, with this girl's aspirations to be better at using her camera -- what's next? Well, I've been eye-balling some lens for my camera for well over a year and heard nothing but rave reviews about the "nifty fifty". My birthday is coming up next month and for around $70, it'd be a perfect gift.

Then I go online and see it nowhere for cheaper than $110! Even the product reviews talk about buying it at $70. I'm bummed out big-time. Hoping I can find it locally for something cheaper than that. Price hikes don't please me. But this new lens, I must have it. It's hard to eat that much of a price hike when I could put that much money elsewhere. Oi.

B didn't flinch when I mentioned the price hike. He's a love, really. So, I'm a real big baby on this manual camera thing, looking to improve and oh-- get a new lens to build on that. And there's the possibility of learning photoshop basics. As it stands now, don't ask because it's already way too much to take in. Baby steps!