Foto Finish Subsititute - What's a DSLR?

Foto Finish is on hiatus for the month of June while it's lovely hostess, Cat Patches, is wandering around Ireland.  So as a replacement post, I've been looking back at my history with digital photography, which has really been an excuse to see if the new computer can read those old Cds. 

My first single lens reflex (SLR) camera was a Canon AE1 I bought used at a pawn shop right before I got married.    Getting the SLR was an attempt to learn to love one of the things My Guy loved doing.  Thankfully, I did develop a love of photography and in our early marriage enjoyed many a day of jumping in the car just to go take pictures someplace.  That SLR came on the scene in 1991 or 1992. 

The digital SLR became my go to camera in May of 2005.  The reason, 9-11.  As airport security ramped up after that sad day, it was harder and harder to get film exempted from the airport x-ray machines.  At Easter that year we had flown to Missouri from Texas and my Easter shots did not survive those flights.  To be fair that's the only time I'd ever had problems like that, but we were planning a very special vacation trip to Oregon in July and I didn't want to loose any shots from that trip, so the Canon 20D DSLR was purchased. 

What was the first shot?  As I said last week, I'm a parent, so Drama Teen (aka Kiddo) was the first subject.  She'd have been 6 and at the age she didn't want to pose for photos, so you had to get them on the sly. 

After that I had to play with the special effects. 

How cool.  I could shot in black and white if I wanted to.  (How many more black and white shots do you think I've taken over the years?)

Then finally,

I had to check out how well it worked on getting decent pictures of flowers (it was Mother's Day). 

The 20D is still my DSLR.  It has served me well over the last 7 years.  I still struggle using the on camera flash, the shots work much better if I use an independent flash.  The biggest change in going all digital is the amount of time it takes to download and then archive images.  You have an incredible amount of control an options with your final images, but now rather than dropping the film off to let someone else adjust all those printing parameters and sit around watching the photos print, I have to do that.  Which is one more good reason to have a blog so you can share your photos and not have to print them.