I got my first camera sometime in high school. Then I took a few semesters of film photography courses in college. I will always prefer the visceral experience of film over digital — waiting to see how the shots came out, the smell of the developer solution, spending hours manually manipulating exposure in the dark room, the necessity of getting the shot right in camera. But that’s not what this post is about.
There was a time where I would take my (digital) camera out regularly. At least once a month, usually more frequently, I would go out for the sake of capturing the world. Then life got a bit more complicated.
With the increased responsibilities of home ownership, 70 mile (one way!) work commutes, building a startup, freelance work, and more, time became more limited. Then came kids and growing our family. I just had very little time or energy to go out lugging my camera around.
But with the advancement of camera technology in our smartphones, it’s not really as much of an issue anymore. My old Nikon D40x from 2008 is nearly matched in quality by the camera in my pocket. It’s easier than ever to capture photos wherever I go.
“The best camera is the one that’s with you.”
So, inspired by my friend and colleague Luca, for my 30th birthday I’m going to start a daily photo blog to document the year. Most of them will be photos taken by my iPhone since that’s the camera I have with me all the time. There may be an occasional photo or two from my DSLR and probably a few old ones. But I will try to keep it to recent ones.
Through this project I’m hoping to reconnect with my love for photography. Since I’ll be looking for great photos and have the means and motivation to capture them, I think it will also help me to see the world in a different way.
(Photo credit: Unsplash)
Dan Hauk 