Ah, yes, I love to travel! I'm also the type of person that likes to prepare my adventure as much as possible before I leave my home. Don't get me wrong, I love to be spontaneous, and get caught up in moments, so there are always blocks of free time to be found in a jammed pack schedule. But I have found, over the years, that when all reservations and itineraries have been prepared ahead of time, I can relax and truly enjoy the environment.
On my last vacation I decided to stay in the states. There still are some I haven't visited. While most people kick back and relax, and take in the sights, I'm on a non stop photo shoot. After all, I don't know where I'll find my next great shot, that is, until I take it.
David Cook, Nashville, TN
Ironically, I tend to pack light on clothing, but heavy on cameras and gear. Besides my dslr camera, I brought my two Holga film cameras, an iPod, and a Canon point and shoot camera. Now, the Canon point and shoot camera I've had for 10 years now, and it's been a classic love-hate relationship. I don't use it often, so there's always the fumbling and trying to remember how it works. Like any point and shoot, it wasn't designed for low light photography, but, it is advanced enough where I can manipulate the settings to a near manual mode, and does an adequate job when shooting concerts.
So as luck would have it, I found out that David Cook (American Idol winner) was performing in Nashville during my stay. And this wasn't just another gig for him, this was the close of his tour, where energy was bound to be high. I could have walked in the venue with my dslr camera and shot the first three songs without the formal approval from management. My dslr was in the car, and I was tempted. But I was on vacation and decided to use the Canon. There was no pit, and didn't want my camera jiggled and bumped by the excited fans.
I have to say, the one thing I love about point and shoot cameras is when you throw the zoom all the way out the image becomes grainy. I like grainy because it looks like it could have been taken by a film camera, and to me, has this old, almost vintage feel to it.. On the other hand, the one feature I dislike the most about this camera is the continuous frame, mainly because it's slow, and no where as fast as I've grown accustomed to with my dslr. When I use this cameras in concerts, I shoot single frame, which is always fun, and forces me to anticipate the shot even more. It's a great exercise to do from time to time.
