Point and Shoot Digital Cameras

Like most people with a healthy interest in digital photography, I'd love to have a slick new DSLR camera with which to capture the beautiful (or grotesque) things I see around me every day.

Unfortunately, I can't afford such a luxury so what I actually have is a pretty good point and shoot camera by Samsung. What I also have is Adobe Photoshop CS3. Put those two possessions together and I have a reasonable facsimile of a decent DSLR camera. Or so I like to tell myself.

In all honesty, I'm fairly happy with my little Samsung. It has five megapixels, is easy to use, and has given me several photos that I managed to sell or otherwise feature in a public venue. Coupled with Photoshop CS3, my camera has given me many, many hours of pure joy. It didn't happen automatically, of course, but with my constantly awake curiosity I was driven to find ways to produce beautiful or startling photographs because I knew it was going to be sometime before I would be able to buy a good DSLR camera.

First of all, I had to learn what my little camera could actually do. I fooled around with it fresh out of the box for a while but a few hideous photographs later, and I was forced to turn to my handy little owner's manual. I read it cover-to-cover, which I encourage all camera owners to do.

I learned some invaluable things, but not quite enough to produce the results I longed for. So, I turned to the web--that vast storehouse of infinite wisdom--and then I got excited.

Along with other un-camera-like things, this blog will speak about my experiences with my wee Samsung, with Photoshop, and with a few other totally invaluable pieces of software. I'll likely also share some of my photos. Next time: fun with focus lock and exposure lock.

Same time (probably not), same place, same voice!