Introduction

This blog was begun at a suggestion by my mom.  She has commented that it was hard for her to learn photography.  The manuals that accompany the cameras are often written like stereo instructions.  The vast majority of the courses being taught out there are either for advanced users or those people with "big" cameras.  Frequently these courses miss some of the basics and leave certain users at a disadvantage.  So, what can I add that hasn't already been written, blogged, or videoed to death? To be honest, I'm not sure, but I thought that I would like to give it a try.

At this point I don't have a firm plan, just a vague notion of what I would like to attempt:  To begin with I would like to focus on using the camera straight out of the box, fully automatic.  Just point and shoot.

I freely admit that I can do far more with my "big camera" than I can with my point and shoot, but as Chase Jarvis says, "The best camera is the one with you."  (Okay, he's not the first to say something like this, but reading his blog and viewing his photographs you can't help but be affected by his enthusiasm.)  I have taken some amazing pictures with my tiny camera.  Small point & shoot cameras have many benefits beyond being portable:

Unobtrusive, people behave differently around the "big" cameras.  Close-ups.  You can get really close with many of the smaller cameras, like this:

Easy to carry so that you'll always have it with you to take pictures like this:

Or, a landscape like this:

Are the pictures perfect?  Probably not, but I like them and isn't that what's important?