Testing 1, 2, 3

About a month and a half ago I shared my tale of woe regarding my camera, a Nikon D90. Bruce gave me this camera as an early retirement gift some 6-7 years ago. Since my retirement 4 years ago, and the beginning of this blog, my trusty camera has been at my side. Sadly, it began acting up upon our return from Florida. Our camera shop could not repair it and sent it on to Nikon. While the problem was a typical one for this particular camera, the warranty had expired long ago. The bottom line is that it was going to cost nearly as much to repair it as the camera would bring on trade in (in working order). This did not seem like a wise investment. 

Bruce said that my cameras are his responsibility. I'm not about to complain. He purchased a few month old Nikon D7100 from the camera shop's owner. She has decided to purchase the newer model. Today it is completely in my hands, memory cards in place, and set so that I can point and shoot without making adjustments (for now). I am holding on to my old one as a back-up however as the problems are intermittent.

What I didn't know about my old camera was a lot! I knew enough to take photos that made me happy, but also knew that its capabilities were much greater. I am committed to learning what my new camera is able to do. I must say however, that there is going to be a real learning curve involved. The dials and buttons are quite a bit different from my previous one. 

Last year I purchased an on-line photography class through Craftsy. I hadn't even looked at it until this week - the camera that is being used in the lessons is the same as my new one! I plan to take it slowly, but in the meantime, I know that I can still take photos without messing up too much! This is particularly important as my family is gathering today for a mini-reunion of sorts, with picture-taking high on the agenda.

As a bit of a test, I have walked around my yard snapping things here and there, just to be sure that I can handle it ok. There is nothing artsy here, just some random shots. But I am sharing them with you below - First shots from my new camera!  Thank you Bruce - once again!