K-Lunk / life

I called the folks over at Fireside Camera in the Marina and asked whether they had any DSLRs under $500. They had one, a Canon Rebel T5i with the kit lens, for $350. Not a steal, not a bad deal; I could have bought something cheaper off the internet but trekking across town to put one in my hand and support small business sounded nice, so I rode the 22 across town and goddammit bought the thing. It’s great.

From the camera store – great people, very helpful! – I walked to Molinari Delicatessen, shooting at signs. My photos are nothing special but it’s very fun to do. I am slowly learning to weild the machine.

From there, I wandered over to the Peak Design store to buy a strap and a bag. On the way I stopped at Emperor Norton’s Boozeland for a $3 can of Hamms, which revitalized me.

Today for a little laundry entertainment I punched “Gary Winograd” into youtube and came up with a lovely clip from a doc called Contemporary Photographie in the USA (1982), of which there are several, all worth watching.

I want to learn how to take nice photographs.

I will give myself a budget, set some practical goals and dedicate some time every day to the craft to test the waters. I think I can get set up with great, gently used stuff for less than $500.

I want to find out whether I’m really into photography before spending a lot of money on it. At the same time, I want to secure reasonable equipment for a beginner that will last me if I decide I’m in.

I want to produce prints. I also want to feature my own photos on this blog.

I like analog objects, and eventually want to work with film sometimes. But I think I should start with an older DSLR from an established brand like Canon or Nikon with a large resale market. Something I can take a million photos on before I actually start developing prints.

Below the fold is raw notes as I think through what I’ll do.