The Evolution of a Photographer, Part III
We booked a "trip of a lifetime" in 2009 to see the Aurora Borealis in the Arctic Circle.
After the initial flurry of planning, I started researching how to take pictures of the Aurora. The more research I did, the more I was convinced I wasn't going to be able to capture any decent images on a point & shoot camera.
I had been a Canon user for years, but always thought I might be missing out by not looking at Nikon. I researched a ton of cameras for my trip. I finally settled on a Nikon D90 after talking with a family member about the luck he had with his.
The D90 was a lot of camera for me to learn. I shot a lot of photos in "P" mode and let the camera do a lot of work for me. I didn't know anything about file formats, so I ended up shooting everything in JPG format.
Over the course of six months, I went from 90% shooting in "P" mode and ended up shooting in "P" mode about 10% of the time.
I loved working with that D90, but it ended up walking away in 2012.
Some photos from the D90:
One of my favorite photos ever.
I would never have been able to time this with a Point & Shoot at least with any consistency.
One night I took the dogs on a walk downtown and played around with night photos. I was lucky enough to get a bus passing by when I snapped this photo.
An Ice Sculpture in North Pole Alaska.
The only night we saw the Aurora in the Arctic Circle.
The CT State Champion shooting FITASC.