Hi. We have lots to talk about. Things have been rough around here lately but it's going to get better.

The biggest news today is that I took the plunge and purchased a Nikon D80. It's strangely familiar to my F80, yet completely different. Having a screen to instantly preview the image is really huge. The instructions are daunting, but I have the basics down and I'm shooting RAW. I spent a few hours out shooting with it today and I'm not 100% convinced yet but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. I still use a similar shooting style as with film, by looking for shots and putting some thought into the picture instead of just shooting anything. The "throw enough shit at the wall and something's oughtta stick" style doesn't work for me. I'm also trying out Adobe Lightroom and I'm not sure I'm fully grasping that, plus it's God-awful slow on my 2-year-old computer.

The one prevailing feeling I had shooting with the new camera today is that I'm not giving up film any time soon. I can't get enough of the solid feel of an older film camera, and the depth achieved shooting with real monochrome film. Moving forward, I plan to keep film images as pure as possible with little to no digital processing.

I'm getting out and shooting more lately as the weather has become more hospitable. At least I'll be updating the site with more regularity. I've been going through my archives and posting stuff to Flickr which seems to attract a different audience. To those of you who have been commenting, I will respond shortly and I really appreciate the comments.

The image above: taken on a trip to Cabbagetown today with the new D80. It's not a diptych, just the edge of a building.

Oh, and I turn 30 on Tuesday. I don't think I fully got used to my 20's, so this will throw me into a state of confusion.

comment by dave on May 1, 2007, 2:19 PM

congrats. welcome to the world of digital. i'm doing the reverse - haven't touched film in years, and have been all about digital for the last few. Now i'm itching to give film a go again...

comment by Ashish Sidapara on May 2, 2007, 11:35 AM

Congrats mate! Happy Birthday and have fun shooting with D80, we are brothers now!

comment by Chantal on May 4, 2007, 2:59 PM

Congrats on the D80! I love your description of throwing shit on the wall! m LOL....I totally understand, I still try to shoot digital with the same level of thought and contemplation. And I shoot film too on occasion.

Happy Birthday!!!!

comment by Spudooli on May 8, 2007, 3:43 AM

More important than your switch to digital (about time btw) was the fact you found a town called Cabbagetown. where is it? I wanna move there just so that I could tell people where I live.
Nice diptych too ;-)

comment by 24by36 on May 8, 2007, 12:51 PM

Cabbagetown is an old, small neighborhood in Toronto. Wikipedia has a lot to say about it. One of the greatest aspects of living in Toronto are the diverse neighborhoods that make up the city as a whole. I've lived here all my life and I still keep discovering new places. Thanks for the comments everyone!

comment by aleksey on May 30, 2008, 8:28 AM

I envy you... Nikon D80. I can only dreaming about it. The photo simply smart! Certainly my photos cannot be compared to yours, but also the price not same )
p/s: Congratulate you on purchase!

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