A to Z Challenge: April 2016,  Crafts,  Crochet,  YouTube Amigurumi How-To Video

A to Z Challenge: N is for New Camera

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Photo Credit: J.H. Winter
Photo Credit: J.H. Winter

NI’ve always used my phone’s camera, to take all the pictures seen in my blog thus far. When I dropped it over six months ago on my parent’s tile floor, and the case decided to open like a bird in flight letting the screen take the brunt of the impact, the glass didn’t stand a chance!

It was cracked and getting worse by the week, but it was functional, and I could still take pictures with the camera on the back side of the phone. Good as gold, right? I thought so too, for awhile. I was still only about six months into a two-year contract, so I had a year and a half to wait, before I could get a new one. Of course we didn’t have the insurance that covered a cracked screen. That would have been too easy. It’d be just fine.

I could still do my work. I’d just hold the phone away from my ear during calls, so the sharp bit up in the corner, where shards had started to chip away, wouldn’t cut me.

Everything was going perfectly okay, until I started noticing that every picture I took had a black spot in the lower right-hand corner. If I zoomed in, it would go away, but for standard pics, it was there like an eyesore.

“Please let me get you that camera,” my husband kept telling me. He’d been wanting to get me the Nikon Coolpix P900. He showed me its incredible zooming capabilities on this YouTube video. The cost was roughly $600 give or take, but he considered it an investment in my work. With plans to start my own YouTube Channel of How-To videos for those wanting to learn to crochet or make amigurumi, and no means to film them, I finally gave in.

So, here is my shiny new Nikon Coolpix P900 camera (see image above)! Isn’t it pretty? Look at this pic we took night one after getting it:

Photo Credit: J.H. Winter
“Moon” Photo Credit: J.H. Winter

With the camera’s telescoping capabilities, you can see further than you’d ever expect a camera’s zoom lens to go.

Now, I can get my videos filmed and posted for all you crocheters out there, and I won’t have to worry about seeing a little black spot on every picture (see post V is for Video). I’d say the camera was well worth the price.

I have a difficult time wanting to spend any kind of money on myself but sometimes, in starting new endeavors, we have to be willing to invest in our future success.

Is there something you’ve been holding off on buying that would really help you with your creative work? What is it?

Photo Credit: J.H. Winter
Photo Credit: J.H. Winter

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16 Comments

  • Jackie

    Great moon picture! And definitely a good idea to invest in your creative pursuits 🙂 loved your youtube video!

    • JHWinter

      Thank you so much! I just had to get over the fact that I’m not used to being in front of a video camera. It does get easier the more you do it though. 🙂

  • Karen

    What a great new camera. The moon picture is amazing. I do have a decent lower-end, digital camera but have been relying far to much on my iPhone. This post is motivating me to take it out again and play around a bit.

    • JHWinter

      I just got the iPhone 6S so I’m sure there will be a mixture of pictures coming from both sources. The portability of the phone can’t be beat and Instagram is a stickler for pictures coming only from the phone. When a photo shoot is necessary though, I’ll have my Nikon handy 🙂

    • JHWinter

      Actually, I just got a new camera. Since writing the post though, I did also get a new phone. 😉 It takes beautiful pictures which I’ll be posting more of soon. Thanks again for stopping by, Sheila!

  • Ros

    Your camera has incredible zoom! I bought a new camera a few years ago that I love and started learning how to use…. then life got busy. On the “one-day” list is a photography course, or at least one of the walking photography tours to learn how to use my beautiful camera properly.

    Ros
    Fangirl Stitches cross stitching A-Z
    Travel like a Geek Harry Potter Tour

    • JHWinter

      Those both sound like a great idea that I should think about doing! I’m still figuring it out, and a nice tour of what all the buttons do and how to get the images/videos you want, would be great! 🙂

    • JHWinter

      I’m still trying to figure it out! I feel like I have a much better grasp on the basics at this point, but I have no idea what all the different settings do. Only time and testing them out will tell. Thank you for stopping by, Yolanda!

  • Rowena

    Well done for graduating to a real camera! I’m afraid I’m a serious camera snob and always lug my Nikon SLR around. I love photographing huge billowing clouds but have got caught in a few storms, including a hail storm.
    Tonight, as we were pulling in the washing, my husband noticed a spider seemingly spinning its web to reach the moon and I took some photos. My daughter called it Bob the Builder but I thought it was more of a Luke Skywalker.
    Thanks for popping round to Beyond the Flow during the challenge. I’m having trouble replying a some comments so apologies.
    xx Rowena

    • JHWinter

      I would love to see those pictures! I am still figuring out the camera. It’s weird, I can get a clear shot of the craters of the moon, but when I zoom in and try to take a picture that’s much closer up, it can get blurry. I just need to play around with the settings a bit, I’m sure. I also need to hop over to your blog again. I set to following it, but am not getting notifications when you post. I must investigate and figure out the culprit! If I don’t get notifications by email, I tend to forget. Going to go have a look now 🙂

  • Joy

    I am in total agreement with you here. I invested in a new camera about 18 months ago now, and other than my cafetiere it is the 1 thing that gets used almost daily. How do you market and brand your pictures? Regards Joy

    • JHWinter

      I had to look up what a “cafetiere” was, but it appears to be a french press of sorts which equals coffee, which equals delicious. I have a Keurig which gets run daily. As far as my pictures goes, I don’t really market or brand them, other than to say underneath each that there is a “Photo Credit: J.H. Winter” which is no doubt not the best way. Do you have any thoughts?

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