We're lucky to have access to amazing nature and wildlife. A big part of the fun is in the capturing and subsequent identification of new finds (kinda like those beach treasures). So I purchased two new cameras last year to capture both underwater and above, a Panasonic Lumix TS3 and a Canon Powershot S95. Both of these are great cameras and I've gotten some favorite shots with each of them.
Okay, now that we're talking cameras - this is from the photography enthusiasts perspective - far from a pro. I'm someone who enjoys pictures for the story they tell. I'd love for them all to be great (like the swallowtail), but I'm also realistic. Mine is a point-and-shoot world... or so it used to be! (RTFM - me?!)
At this point, I was happy to:
- Remember to bring my camera
- See something interesting in the reef/jungle
- Take a picture before it swims/flies away!
- Figure out what the heck I took a picture of when reviewing?
To increase my own range in the jungle, I started taking out Mark's Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10 (4M pixel, 420mm lens); a bit dated pixel-wise (circa 2003), but still gives decent shot with great range and a high quality lens. Now to share in the fun, Jose (Jedi) and I start taking regular afternoon walks. She and Nick have a couple of really nice cameras and lenses to say the least. One is a Canon 7D (18M pixel, 200mm lens) and the other a Canon 5D (21M pixel, 100mm lens), serving high-resolution at far range and macro range, respectively. We're slightly addicted to getting the shots of the day...
Of course, there is plenty of room for user skill in all of this - check out Jedi's SmugMug gallery to see what I mean. Nick & Jose generously let me give their cameras a try on a few occasions. After getting use to it (they're quite heavy!), I was pretty hooked. I even got a brief understanding of the aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings (thanks to Nick) and experimented a bit. So I still frame the shots as intended, but get to see another layer of detail in high-resolution ~ like the web shooting out of the golden silk spider, a dragonfly with his brown-blue-green eyes, and another chance at the first adorable bird I identified in Panama - the fulvous-vented euphonia - also caught while grooming. Cool, thanks guys!!
