Well, I must say it started off when I had to do my National Service two years back. I owned a panasonic fx07, a very new and compact camera that was very enticing for me. It utilized the SD card - remember.

In the course of events, I changed camera once and again, selling the fx07 to fund a nikon s4, followed by a panasonic fz30. I found the functions not good enough each time and I needed more control, more creativity over the camera. Fz30 was good but not enough.

When nikon introduced d80, I was surprised it was utilizing SD card unlike so many others which was running on CF card etc. Canon challenged my choice with its tempting and cheaper (but definitely not lousier) 400D. I contemplated. I felt it was not practical a choice but I made it nevertheless.

I chose Nikon D80 because ...

I must admit I am not the best photographer out there not am I giving the best submissions for sale. Yet I must say stock photography changed my perspective at taking photographs.

In the past I took so many photos, keeping them was good in a way but for a whole collection of street abstract especially..do they even mean a thing?

I don't have so much memory space on my hard disk! I dump them all to Flickr as an online hard disk. How cruel to the photos can I get?

Why not make something out of it. The spark came when I was browsing through forums and saw someone introducing stock photography. Giving it a try was discouraging at first but the painful step is the step to success. I saw myself demanding more standards from my own shots. Shoot what is necessary.

I might not have the ...

In my country, there are only two kind of weather, hot days and rainy days. Sometimes I find weather in a way can be very frustrating, it stops you from going out into the rain and shoot, creates a flat and dull photograph with no contrast and worst still is to get the camera wet and risk mould developing.

Yet, I always got to try and think positive about what to do with it when its really wet and humid out there. Rain provides an opportunity to create a different landscape with water streaks across the frame if beautifully done. (of course shelter your camera and tripod!)

The aftermath of rain I can only hope there is a rainbow somewhere but not very often seen! The other is to go for the droplets on plants, windows and everywhere that you can find them.

That is why after sometime,...

Ever since I got my DSLR, I have told myself to get use to its weight. Besides its weight, its abit hard for me to ever 'downgrade' to a compact camera. Not that I am putting down PnS cameras but you will somehow find the buttons and dials on the DSLR missing on the PnS - that is when you feel you really miss the DSLR and its manual control superiority.

Again, my Nikon d80 has never really idle for too long. Although I am not as intensive as some others, I managed to reach 20K shutter count in a rather intensive span of 6months. That of course considering my learning stage where many shots was shot and going through a trial and error process of selecting the better pictures.

My DSLR also never left my side whenever I go out for 95% of the time. 5% of which remaining I can't remember when ...

Now, after all that shooting there must be an outcome am I right?

To be frank, I joined Dreamstime out of curiosity, I didn't see it as a site which could sell. All along I thought it was a small market here.

I AM SO WRONG!!!

I had expected immediate sales when I uploaded my first few photos which numbered around five of them. When where wasn't any, I felt disappointed, I left my account to stay stagnant.

Until one day I check back on DT out of curiosity again, there was a $0.60!

Now, how meager it is doesn't matter anymore. It proved me wrong that there couldn't be sales. It gave me hope..seriously!

From then, I scoured my folders and picked the good ones ( I think they are) and submitted them, only to be rejected with certain reasons.

There and then, I find what is good ...

Ambient light as it is, is the light available in an indoor setting or an environment. Many a times, the ambient lighting is sufficient enough for us to handle it due to its low intensity which indefinitely leads to slow shutter speed and hand shake.

Of course there is the available ISO to be increased but then leads to highly excessive noise. Fret not! The use of external flash, if allowed is your key saviour. It allows you to shoot with better sharpness lower noise and still keeping your ambient light.

Let's say for shooting in a club! The lights go out, the spot lights come on. All you get is streaks of light shining on specific radius. Get your camera mode set to about 1/10s shutter speed and your desired aperture and then get your flash on TTL about -2/3 to -1 1/3 EV.

Start snapping ...

For the past few months being 'free' and 'carefree' its a total feeling right now. School has started a month ago and I have been getting used to the school timings.

Definitely school has taken al ot of my time away from photography as compared to the few free months before school began.

Right now its a juggle of time between school, family and photography. Which comes first???

I am sometimes in dilemma or should it be trilemma since its 3 issues all of which are of utmost important right now.

Family - the closest people I can ever have I can't live without.

School - the grades that will determine whether I can move on to the next semester

Photography - my leisure activity which I cannot live without, my hands really get itchy!

Of course school might seems to be the important ...

All along in the span of almost a year, I have changed quite a few lens..buying and selling definitely at a loss. My main issue is the inability to spend or simply put it, low purchasing power..I just don't have enough money.

Getting my kit lens, I moved on to get a 50mm and 70-300 f4-5.6. Till date all has been sold off. Acquiring tamron 17-50, 85mm and 70-200mm 2.8 Sigma. Of these, I just sold my 70-200 2.8 because of its poor quality at the widest and furthest tele.

I have made quite a loss at such.

So, should i actually save up (i'm not sure will take how long) to get the best lens or what other options do i have?

help!

The previous article was about my lens, now its about my body!

With the entrance of canon's 1DsMKIII initially..reading it in the papers I was really stun to see 21mp...how tempting can it get? getting so close to a medium format at such a comparatively lower price! Of course I can't afford that camera as a student with zero income but how good can it be..i mean, its simply so irresistible.

For a moment I did thought of switching sides from Nikon to Canon..but I know I can never do it. Physically and financially.

Then Nikon came out with its own competition the D3! well with its more speed oriented production its resolution can't match canon's. As much as I want to lay my hands on such grand cameras I know my pocket will never allow.

I'm standing my ground, I'm holding back because ...