Decades ago, when I was still a teenager (yes, yes, I'm that old), I was already fascinated and intrigued with how beautiful pictures were captured, the colours, the tones, the timeless expressions and the memories that these pictures preserved. I am blessed with a keen interest in art and hence it becomes a natural part of me to want to produce similar art pieces with this gadget called `the camera'.
After much persuasion and convincing, my parents finally got my uncle who worked in Singapore (who was also into photography then) to buy me a fully manual Yashica SLR! There were no compact or `point and shoot' cameras back then and digital photography was something you would probably see in movies like STAR WARS!
I remembered spending so much of my pocket money on buying films (KODAK and FUJI ASA100 that comes with 36 exposures) and developing the pictures I took. Because you don't have the luxury to delete the `bad' pictures, normally only 50% of the pictures would turn out satisfactory and 1 or 2 pieces would be considered `a good shot!'. There were no digital retouching software then (as far as I know), experimenting turned out to be a very costly affair!But I remembered the thrill and the excitement each time I go to the photo shop to collect my developed pictures, eagerly flipping through the photo album, hoping that I have at least created a couple of `masterpieces'........When I was in college, my camera was my faithful companion and with a little bit more pocket money, I invested in a telephoto 70-200mm lens and tonnes of filters (diffuser, star burst etc), a tripod and a flash gun.
Unfortunately, once I left college and enter the corporate rat race, my passion slowly diminished. Though the passion flared up every now and then when I came across some great pictures, I was just too busy to indulge myself.
Subsequently, when digital camera came into the market, prices of DSLR were exorbitant. Therefore, just like everyone else, I got myself a simple Canon point and shoot camera and soon upgraded it to CANON IXUS860. Soon, the passion for photography reignites. However,though the pictures taken were sharp, I just could not capture the `feel' that I want to relate. I was getting increasingly frustrated but there was nothing I could do with what I have.
My better half must have sense this frustration and dissatisfaction. On my birthday in 2010, she got me what I have been longing for ...a NIKON D90 with a 18-105mm kit lens.
I was ecstatic to say the least. At last, I could immerse myself yet again into the world of photography, going after that perfect shot, revisit my childhood and rekindle my passion .....
...and so begin the journey and adventure of my Nikon and I ........
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