• Canon & Nikon are nearly equal. It basically comes down to personal opinion/experience with the brand. I’m not coming from this perspective. I’ve had positive experience with several brands.

My first memories of a camera are my dad having a Nikon, and him selling it to pay for life. Shortly after (or part of the exchange) he gave me a Brownie, with black & white film. I had other 110 & 35mm’s with color film throughout high school.

I had an Olympus 21 years ago. I loved it.  I wore it out.

I had a Canon 12 years ago. I loved it.  I wore it out.

I had a Sony 7 years ago. I loved it. I wore it out.

The Olympus was my high school graduation gift from my parents. It was a 35mm film camera. I loved everything about that camera, it was never very far from me, but it developed a leak in a seal allowing light it. At that point digital had come on the scene (or at least at a price for more public to own them) & it would have cost more to fix than to buy a new camera. The Canon was my first digital point-and-shoot, again from my parents – but for Christmas. It was a great camera. I used it up too. The Sony was the first camera I bought for myself. I knew I wanted to learn more about photography. I didn’t learn anything – but I had an awesome camera! :-D. I absolutely LOVED the 18x zoom and the macro I could set on a piece of material and it would focus & take an amazing picture. I love the pictures from that camera, any pictures I’m posting from last year are most likely from the Sony.

Now, I’ve determined I want to learn photography to take “real photos”, with a “real” camera. I’ve been so disappointed with the Nikon, but everything I read I have to believe I got the fluke bad camera and all will be good next time. For sure, I will be trying it out hard & testing to make sure I like it. If I don’t, then it’ll go back. It won’t sit in the box for over 30 days before I try it….

• Supposedly Nikon’s glass is a touch better, but it isn’t by much.
• Canon & Nikon alternate one best feature for another. It really comes to how it feels in your hand – which is going to be different for each person. For me personally, the Canon makes my thumb/wrist hurt to hold it & try to push the button – I went and tried again today. It’s a pretty much obvious – I can’t expect to take lots of pictures if it hurts to take one. That hand cramp is why I bought the Nikon over the Canon last year. 
• So… do any of you have any suggestions or recommendations on whether to get another D3100 or move up to a D5100? I have felt a D7000 in my hands, but from what I read there isn’t much different between the D5000 & D7100 — except the feel in my hand. Is it worth the couple extra hundred? Ugh – decisions!

[Source]

So – what does that have to do with my lateness on posting today? I spent the time I planned to write listening to my daughter spill her heart’s burdens. Being 12 is so hard. I thought it was over 20 years ago; I can’t imagine now, in today’s society. I remember the insecurity, the struggle to figure who is really your friend. I am so hoping and praying she has a better understanding of this than I did. It’s taken me until the last few years to learn how to stand up for myself and I still don’t do it well. I figured you wouldn’t mind. You would forgive me :-).

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I’m still holding out for my dream … Someday, Lord willing, I will get to see Washington DC in April {& again in fall, whenever that is, and in winter too}.  April is my birthday month, maybe someday I will see real cherry trees and cherry tree blossoms for my birthday :-D.

Keep reading for a more explanatory version :-D!

For a very long time I have loved cherry blossoms.  I don’t recall ever having seen cherry blossoms in real life. When, as a young adult, I lived out of Alaska for a couple years – I thought the flowering trees I was seeing then were cherry blossoms.  About five years ago, when looking at a friend’s photo of cherry blossoms, I realized they weren’t the same.  I learned then, the ones I thought in Oct ’95-Feb ’98 were actually dogwood trees.  I was pretty disappointed, don’t get me wrong – I think flowering trees are beautiful {no matter what they are} and I really wish we had flowering trees in Alaska!  I wished growing up we had such things in either northern Wisconsin or Alaska…the two states I have spent the bulk of my life in.  The disappointing knowledge I hadn’t in fact actually seen a real cherry tree blossom caused me to even more GREATLY desire to see real cherry blossoms.  Someday.

I have always equated spring, Washington DC, and cherry blossoms … someday.  As excited as I was to have the opportunity to travel to Washington DC last year, it was in October.  I have always wanted to see the East Coast in the fall.  What I discovered was October is the end of fall in Alaska, but fall hadn’t even started in Washington DC. So, while I got to see Washington DC, I got to see the Capitol and the Washington Monument for real, with my own eyeballs, not just a picture – I didn’t get to see cherry blossoms and I didn’t get to see it in the fall.  For that matter, the Reflection Pool was under construction and was actually a hole – the bottom was dug up, with no water in it, not even a mud puddle.  No reflecting.  I know I promised pictures of our trip in October, but my camera was tired and it really didn’t focus that great or take the pictures I expected/anticipated.  I will work on finding some of the best, but it was pretty disappointing {to say the least} to have my first trip to DC not be well documented with photos.

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So here’s a post of all pretty pictures! From several camera sources, all mine, but from two different cameras and my iPhone.  😀

From just last week — Nikon camera & a friend’s lens.

At the cabin — iPhone & Nikon camera with my lens

Sony point-and-shoot camera:  For the upcoming seasons.Notice the lake is frozen – those are rocks sitting on top.  …and here are a couple photos at -30*, since there are so many of you having record heat this summer {read: we are NOT, we had record snow last winter and have had a record cold summer}.

Linking up to Donna @ Funky Junk‘s “pretty scenery pictures” link party.

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