point, shoot and share

The first time I used camera was when I was ten years or so. Of course at that time we used film. I recall you had two options: 36 shoots a roll or 24. There were two types of ASA - 100 and something else. I could not remember what ASA stands for but I guess it is the measure of how sensitive the film is to light. For outdoor I recall we could use lower ASA. My dad had a fancy camera - I don't remember the brand anymore but it had bells and whistles which made it more than a point and shot camera that I had. I don't remember exactly if we had a flash or not. The word we used to call it is "blitz" which I am sure is a Dutch word. For my point and shot camera there were disposable flash light (see below, highlighted in yellow). One flash had four faces so each were for 4 shots. So cumbersome indeed but at that time I thought it was brilliant. 

Hence I was amazed to hear that in fact Kodak invented the digital camera but decided against it. The management feared that it would kill their existing business (which is film) and it looks like the prototype was slow, low resolution and bulky. Well of course Kodak got it wrong as eventually the digital world wiped out the old film era. 

I had my first digital camera much late - might be the year 2005 or so. Like Kodak management I had concerns about the resolution, At that time the technology was still growing and hence you had to pay premium -which I was reluctant to- to get higher resolution. Anyhow that camera was a point and shot type. I had my first DSLR camera about a year later. It was a Nikon. The lower end. I learned enough to shot photos. Like everything Nikon would provide default settings for some types of photos e.g. indoor, outdoor, night photo, etc. 

My favorite genre is candid photography. I lived in KL at that time, about 500 meters from the iconic KLCC tower. Every week end I would hunt for photos of tourists, Typically tourist would pose in front of KLCC tower. Obviously it is hard to have a great pose in front of such tall building at its foot. I found it amusing to take their actions. 

As I moved elsewhere this hobby of hunting for candid photos slowly disappeared. From KL I moved to Brisbane, Australia and I was afraid that shooting candid would be against the law. I did not check if it this was the case anyhow Brisbane does not have a tourist magnet like KL and hence the 'hunting ground' is kinda dry.

Anyhow as the camera in mobile phones gets more sophisticated my DSLR is more and more idle. Nowadays you would have to be a hardcore photographer to bring around your DSLR for taking photos. Some people would even go to extreme by taking pictures using Polaroid. This old technology had its own niche in the last - way long time ago - but I do not share the enthusiasm today. The point of taking photos with your mobile is the ability to share them instantly either via WA, IG or FB. 

Sharing is caring, but mostly to share is to exist.