Shutterbea Blog

Dear Digital,

This is not going to be easy but I need to tell you, we are over. I am no longer in love with you.

I’m terribly sorry I had to do this through a letter but you are constantly on the go changing with the latest technological innovations. You just haven’t given me the time to figure you out completely. It’s frustrating to feel like I still don’t know you after all the time we’ve spent together this past year. I’ve even hoped that by befriending your buddies, Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom, I would get to know you better. But my efforts have been in vain.

What you should know though is that I haven’t replaced you with just anybody. He’s been around for a long time. Some might even call him “old fashioned” but I think this is what adds to his charm. Yes, I’m talking about your older cousin, Analog…or better known by his nickname Film.

Don’t let this get you all upset. I know there has always been competition between the two of you and for the most part, you seem to win. Film could never outdo you when it comes to saving money and your speed…thank you by the way for never keeping me waiting. In fact, this is why I fell for you in the first place when Film seemed so unattractive.

But I’ve come to the realization that we are not a good match. With you, everything is too fast paced and in order to keep up, I find myself putting more emphasis on quantity rather than on quality. This was fine in the beginning of our relationship but eventually, I got burned out and lost my inspiration and passion. 

I’m glad this is done and we’re going our separate ways. I know you will not have any problems finding others who will fall in love with you. You will be much better off finding someone who shares your interest in talking about pixels and hearing about how big your memory card is. I will definitely miss some things about you such as your willingness to provide instant feedback and your ability to hold a large amount of shots. So hopefully we can still be friends.

No longer your little Shutterbug,

B

Photos taken with my new love, the Canon Elan 7E (film camera I bought used recently). Films used are Kodak Portra 400 and Fujicolor Pro400. 

(above Lake Tahoe, CA)

(above Monterey, CA)

Yes, I’m still here.

I know you haven’t heard from me in a while. I’ve been busy watching The Real Housewives my kids. That’s just my excuse, I know. The truth is that I’ve been feeling really uninspired…and that makes my camera feel extra heavy these days.  

Before my camera got too heavy though, I did manage to do an unusual (well, unusual for me) photoshoot a few weeks ago. Photographing six kids for a POSED family picture isn’t something I’ve been known to do. I can’t even get my own kids to listen to me so I wasn’t sure how I would pull off that challenge with kids I’ve never met before. 

But these kids turned out to be incredibly well behaved. It made photographing them as easy as the Super Nanny makes putting kids in time-out. Which reminds me…when are they showing Super Nanny again? I think I need an intervention.

Actually, what my husband really meant to call her was “Easily Scared Girl”. But the nickname Scary Girl has stuck. Because she really is easily scared. But I think she has finally overcome her fear of ponies…as long as she doesn’t actually have to touch one with her bare hands.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that I have more pictures of my kids from this year alone than I have pictures of myself from my entire lifetime. I could even say pictures of myself, my husband, and my siblings COMBINED. But unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, it’s true. And sometimes when my kids don’t want me to take anymore pictures, my best shot is to take one of their back. And you can only take so many of those. So when I get the back treatment, I know it’s time for a break.

Which is why, to give my kids a break from time to time, I seek out other photography subjects. And that was how I got into weddings. I knew that shooting different subjects would also help me improve in photography … or give me an excuse to buy more gear!

At a wedding I recently second shot for BFPhotography, I learned… um..ok, more like struggled to work with an external flash unit. Sure those big contraptions on cameras make anyone look like a legitimate photographer. But looks are deceiving to say the least. Especially if you drop the flash diffuser off the 8th floor balcony down to the street. Like I did by accident.

The diffuser survived. And luckily the day was ending. Because I thought I heard my kids calling. Their break was over.

Before I get back to my regular “job” taking more pictures of my kids, here are some pictures from when Mamarazzi took Paid Time Off.