He has arrived!

This week my two university housemates and myself all came down with a cold / fluish thing which was a real bore. I had been stuck in all week trying to get over it and get some dissertation work done as well. Yesterday I was feeling much better and decided I needed to get out of the house.

I had been deliberating about exactly when to order my camera because I wanted to get it before Christmas so I could take pictures of all the festive activities leading up to it. My Nan kindly gave me some birthday and Christmas money early so I decided yesterday was THE day to go to John Lewis in Oxford Street to purchase the Canon EOS 1000d.

Normally I hate Oxford Street, especially close to Christmas because it is usually just heaving with people and really stressful. I usually go to Westfield which is a gigantic shopping centre in west London and is one of the biggest in the UK. Since it is so large you don't notice the extra crowds at Christmas so much. Also as it's not so central you get fewer tourists. Inside it is beautiful and quite new - it only opened in October 2008.

However, since I hadn't been feeling too well I decided to go for the shorter journey to John Lewis. I must admit I LOVE this store. It is so very British and there are not many stores that make me feel like that, maybe M&S to a certain extent. This year John Lewis released an advert which was extremeley popular and made grown men cry. It follows a woman's life from birth to grandparenthood but each stage is set in the present time. Have a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMtyOCoqHTk

In the UK, John Lewis is known for it's outstanding customer service. I couldn't find the camera cheaper anywhere else so their "Never knowingly undersold" motto was true in my case. So I weaved my way through the crowds in a beeline to the store and zipped up to the top floor electronics department and made my purchase.

By the time I got home and prepared dinner it was pretty late so I only had time to put the camera together, have a quick look at the manual and take a few snaps. The first thing I noticed, taking a few pictures of myself, was that I didn't looked horribly ghostly white with bright orange hair. Usually almost every point and shoot camera does this to me even though I actually have a very dark shade of auburn hair. I am in love with this Canon already!

Yes that is my natural colour! I am feeling a little overwhelmed by how much there is to learn but that is the beauty of the 365 photo project and challenges on sites such as I Heart Faces. This weekend I am going home to the countryside so it will be the perfect opportunity to try taking some pictures of the scenery, my gorgeous dog etc etc. I can't wait! Right now I need to start a presentation for tomorrow morning!