RX100

E's Banners in the AM

After I got a new camera bag at the start of the summer and took it on our camping trip, I realized I had been trying to solve my camera problem in the wrong way.  It wasn't that I hadn't found the perfect camera bag yet, like I had been thinking up to that point.  I finally accepted that no matter how you cut it, a camera, lenses and other bag contents add up to a lot of weight and bulk, even in the most perfect bag.  So, then what?  Do I leave the camera behind?  Just pick one lens? Take out my water or knitting to lighten the load?  Heaven forbid its a gym day and I want to have my camera along! On those days I look like a crazy bag lady with my regular bag loaded up and a lunch bag and a gym bag.  My shoulders hurt just thinking about it!

Errand Running at Dusk

The idea of getting a second camera had occurred to me in the past, but I didn't feel like giving up the control and quality of my DSLR and the expense seemed like an extravagance I couldn't justify.  Then, during the car ride home from camping, Paul and I had a good talk about my relationship with photos.  I realized that my photos are coming to mean more and more to me.  They drive most of the posts that I put here.  They mark milestones.  They document my history and the history of my friends and family, too.  They are glimpses into what is bringing joy to my days.  Simply put, they help me tell my life story.  I didn't like how many moments I had wished my camera was along and it wasn't.  Or, how often on the way out of the door, I would ask myself if this would be a camera-lugging worthy expedition or not.

Lunchtime by the River

Since compact cameras are getting better and better with each release, I decided to dig in to the market and research what options are out there.  And, if I could find the right camera, I decided I would be willing to devote a chunk of money to it. Enter: the Sony RX100.  Light enough and small enough to fit in all of my bags, amazing at candlelit scenes and way smarter than me.  If you've been reading my blog over the summer, you've been seeing mostly shots out of this camera.  I still have a lot to learn before I am great at controlling this camera, but so far I love it just for the sake that it is constantly at hand.  Here are some more of the random shots I've caught this summer just because it was easy to have a camera with me.

Raised Bed Inspiration

Turkeys on the Loose

Electrifying

Lunch Skylights

Verdant Tea

Rooftop Dad

Mighty Mississippi

Friday Night Ice Cream

Beggar Dog

Public Plums

Hooray for a splurge that is already well on its way to earning its keep!