Randall's Photo Blog

It kind of snuck up on me but it turns out that I have been using digital cameras for 10 years now. I got my first digital camera in August of 2001. It was a Sony DSC-S85 model and cost $900. The image quality produced by this camera was pretty good. Not quite as good as a high-quality 35mm camera but close. I made my decision based in part on a review of this camera on the website DPreview. I still rely on this website for reviews of digital photography equipment - it's an excellent resource.

Prior to this purchase I had been scanning my 35mm negatives and slides and manipulating the images on my computer. The leap to an all digital workflow was a pretty dramatic change and for a while I used the digital camera alongside a 35mm camera and a 4 x 5 camera. No single camera, of any format or style, is suitable for all kinds of photography. However, once I started taking pictures with my new Sony digital camera I was hooked!

This is a link to some of the better images I took in August 2001.

That first month I took pictures around my house in New Hampshire, made a trip to Colorado, New York City, and Florida. One of the really nice things about digital cameras is the fact that each image file has a time/date stamp so you know exactly when it was taken as well as all the information about how it was taken. New cameras sometimes even have a GPS that allows a location stamp as well. Often times if I can't remember some detail about a trip or party I will go back to my folders of digital files and review my images. Most of the time this will be enough to jog my memory or tell me what I need to know. In the last 10 years I've taken over 66,000 images with various digital cameras. I have learned how to use them in ways that I hadn't even thought about prior to going digital. I have no regrets and believe that my photography has improved dramatically in this period of time. That's not to say that I didn't take good pictures using my 35mm, 4 x 5, and medium format cameras but there's a certain subtle value to obtaining immediate feedback through the digital process. I'm sure it doesn't improve everyone's photography skills but it certainly has improved mine.

I'm sure a lot of people won't really care but it's my blog so this was my car in August 2001:

My beloved 1997 Honda Civic LX. You can see in the background that my mother was visiting because her Buick is parked in the driveway. This next picture was my living room in the Epping house:

Notice the stereo system and telescope - still important things in my life.

This is how I looked in August of 2001. You may notice that this shot is slightly out of focus. One feature of digital cameras that has improved dramatically over the last 10 years is the speed and accuracy of focusing.

This shot, which was taken in the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, is of my mother. She was a bit unsteady on her feet even 10 years ago but we were able to take public transportation, such as buses and subways, to get to the museum.

Lastly, this is a shot of my brother Lowell taken at the end of August 2001.

Cheers!