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!

I will go to great lengths . . .

To justify a new camera!

As it says, in the little About Me section, my main reason for starting this blog is to begin a 365 photo project on 01/01/11. I have been casually reading blogs for a year or so now and I started to stumble across some bloggers who posted both interesting posts and stunning pictures.

I really love photography. About 5 years ago, I purchased a Ricoh Caplio R6 digital camera and it has served me well. At the time, I was still in school, and it was quite an investment for me. I have managed to take some pretty good pictures over the years and have won a few prizes in the annual village show which has a photography section.

However, through reading blogs, I discovered sites such as I Heart Faces, where people sumbit photos for a weekly theme. Browsing through the entries, I am always mesmerised by the beautiful, high qualtiy images sumbitted. Realistically, most of these can only be achieved using a DSLR camera.

So here we are in Novemeber. I am a Christmas baby, my birthday is 1 week before Christmas, the 18th December. Around this time of year, people start asking if there is anything I would like for xmas / b.day and usually I can't think of a thing. I really do not need anything and rarely even want anything, I am very happy with my lot! But close relatives always want suggestions and this year there is actually something I do want, and it is this baby:

 This is a Canon EOS 1000D DSLR camera. It is an entry-level DSLR, marketed at beginners, which I very much consider myself to be. I had been dithering between the above and a similar model by Nikon.I have decided to go with the Canon, after reading reviews online. I may also be slightly biased as my Dad worked for Canon for many years and still swears by their products.

So I will be asking relatives for a contribution towards the above. I am actually so excited about it. You know the kind of excitement children feel about Christmas? Well that is how I feel about this camera! I don't think it's the camera itself so much but the thought of all the gorgeous pictures I will take and how much I will learn over the course of the 365 photo project, because I have a LOT to learn.

Last week I took my Ricoh with me to walk my greyhound cross, Minty, in the field next to the nearby science observatory. I wanted to capture some of the autumn colours so was snapping in between throwing a ball for the dog. As we were about to walk back home, I realised my camera was not in my pocket. It has obviously slipped out when I bent down to pick up the ball. I spent ages walking back and forth across the field, which incidentally, had quite long grass, to no avail.

I decided well, that was fate. I obviously am meant to get a new camera! The Ricoh had pretty much had its day. The lens quite frequnetly gets stuck open or closed which drives me round the twist and it is dire in poor light, absolutely dire. I was still hacked off though since I had hoped to still use the Ricoh when I didn't want to lug a larger DSLR with me. Plus there was the memory card inside etc.

Anyway, this had all taken place at my parents' home in East Sussex and I had to go back to my student lodgings in London so my Mum said she would walk the dog on the same field the nest day and have a look for it . . . low and behold she found it, a little soggy but it works fine!!

I shall still order the Canon for Christmas, safe in the knowledge that my unreliable old Ricoh will be available for emergency use!