By John Enman
December is here, and it’s time to start thinking about snow, bundling up, and Christmas. Oh gosh, and listening to Xmas music! While driving to town yesterday I listened to my first song of this holiday season, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”.
I am thinking that we photographers should let ourselves drift into the Christmas spirit, and I will keep my fingers crossed that Santa will be bringing readers some wonderful photography gifts.
For those of us who do want something new for Christmas, be sure to give Santa all the information needed so that the right equipment is chosen. Hmmm: a new camera, for instance. Gosh, which one? There are so many wonderful choices and sale prices right now.
I saw one of those painful questions on Facebook recently that read “Thinking about getting a new camera. What should I buy?”
When I see that kind of question I don’t even bother to read past the first reply, and quickly move on to something less frustrating. The comments will be endless and usually thoughtless.
That said, what if it was me thinking about getting a new camera? How would I choose?
Firstly, I would need a good reason to buy a new camera, and I’d have already determined what I wanted the new camera to do better than the one I currently owned. Then I would select a couple of camera models and do some comparing. Comparing is so simple: just go to Google and search “camera XXX vs. camera YYY”.
There will be all sorts of discussions, comparisons, reviews, and opinions. I would then spend a fun time (days) reading and making notes. When I had made my initial camera choice I would go back to Facebook and find a group devoted to that camera (for example, The Nikon D780 or Z8 users group) and join it.
Now I can calmly read what the members are saying about the camera they are using. A member’s forum will also be a good place to find questions about the camera you are interested in, and it is a great place to learn about that camera before you spend your hard-earned money. I like members’ forums more than some manufacturer’s one-sided reviews.
Finally, after deciding how much you want to pay, find the best place to buy and pass the information on to Santa. Ain’t Christmas fun?
Winter is coming and, as always, our local health authorities are worried about the flu and are suggesting we spend as much time as we can outside. I’ll suggest that there isn’t a much more comfortable hobby than photography to do just that. In my opinion, almost any out-of-doors winter pastime is made better by photography.
American photographer, freelancer and photojournalist Steve McCurry wrote, “My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport.”
Stay safe and be creative.
You can contact John Enman at www.enmanscamera.com or emcam@telus.net.
