Where was I? Oh, right. July 2005. Forgetting my 2-month old Kodak EasyShare C300 in a taxi in Vegas. Our first trip to Vegas as a couple. Our first vacation as a couple. Staying at the Bellagio. Visiting friends. Capturing our memories on a disposable camera.

After a 5-month campaign of promising to never leave my camera in a taxi in Vegas again, Donna relented and my Christmas present in December was the Kodak EasyShare Z740.

In a word, this camera was AWESOME. It was a brick; I could dropkick the thing into a pool in the neighbor’s yard and I bet it would still work. Lightroom tells me I have 1255 photos in my collection that I kept from that camera (the hero image at the top was taken with the Z740).

I used that thing from December 2005 to July 2010. The only reason I stopped using it was because a 6-month pestering campaign proved successful, when Donna bought me my first DSLR for my 40th birthday.

The Nikon D3000 with an 18-55mm kit lens was exactly what I wanted: entry level, and a leading brand. I was intimidated at the thought of a camera with so many options. Once it was in my hands…I had no idea what to do with it. Even worse, during the same shopping trip, I added on a kit 55-200mm lens myself…and had no idea why. Something about zooming in closer, right?

The first pic I ever took with the 18-55mm:

And the first with the 55-200mm:

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And that was it. I was hooked. Started making family (and family pets) nuts, as I ran around taking pictures of them. Didn’t know what the hell I was doing (still not real sure I know what the hell I am doing) but I was ready to do it a lot.

So that is the “where and how it all began” story. I still use the D3000, but also a D5100 and a D7100. The kit lenses are gone, replaced by a nifty fifty (50mm f/1.4), a wide angle (10mm f/2.8), a nice all-around (18-250mm f/3.5-6.3), and a fun new Lensbaby Composer Pro with Sweet 50 Optic. (Haven’t quite figured that one out yet…but boy, it’s fun to try.)

Maybe someday, I’ll get my hands on a full frame, but…I’m really not in any hurry. I’m only barely comfortable, after all these years. And pretty happy with the way things often turn out.

Well, except for my photo production skills. But that is a story for another day.