Photography has always been something that makes my eyes shine, after all... isn't it nice to see a beautiful image that makes you feel something good (not always, either)? I don't even remember exactly when I got the hang of it, but in 2013 (or 2014 perhaps) I decided to buy my first DSLR, in the most inexperienced way, because although I really liked photography I had a bit of talent for taking pictures, but I didn't know anything about cameras.

I was determined to buy the best camera I could with that hard-earned internship money I'd been saving for months. That's when I naively bought a Nikon 7100, which, let's face it, now that I know a bit more about cameras, was a super camera to start with.

As I didn't know anything about DSLRs, I had two private lessons with a professional photographer who taught me the basics, which was very useful for me. But the problem was that I didn't feel enthusiastic about going out to photograph, and that was because at that time I was a procrastinator, always making up excuses not to leave the house.

Then I moved to New Zealand where a sea of possibilities opened up in my life. It was then that I thought it would be the perfect time to take up this passion of mine, both because I had become a outdoor here (I think it's a waste to be in NZ and not be outdoors!) and had more free time.

But there was one catch... I hadn't brought my camera because I'd have to pay excess weight, so I told my mother to send it to me later. I, very anxious, started asking her to send the camera, and when the bag finally arrived, I was overjoyed. That didn't just mean the camera, it meant another chance to reinvent myself, to do something I like, it was a contract I made with myself when I came to this country.

When I got the camera at the beginning of December last year, I was still living in Wellington and it was a time when I didn't get to enjoy photography very much because I was finishing a job and moving to Masterton, so it was a bit of a troubled time to enjoy photography. hobby. My plans were to use the camera once I was settled in Masterton.

Well, not everything goes according to plan and guess what? I moved to Masterton and in January of this year my apartment was stolen and what was taken? Yes, the camera, which means I spent a month soaking it before it was stolen. The funniest thing is that on the day of the theft, the bag was under the bedroom window in plain sight and Daniel came up to me and said: I think it's better to put the bag in the closet, even though it had been there on the floor for days. And I think I said something about NZ being very safe, who would come in here and take a camera?! lol

Well, I was devastated. In fact, the police were a case in point, they simply did nothing, which is another story... just for the record (and we know who did it).

Anyway, the conclusion is that, apart from knowing today that NZ isn't that safe (lol), nothing happens by chance. Maybe I wasn't ready for it, the camera wasn't meant to be mine, and in fact, I had a lot of resistance to it. In particular, I didn't find it an easy camera to work with and it was quite heavy, not to mention the excuses I made for not going out to take pictures.

The fact is that now the time has come for it to come back to me and for me to be able to value it the way it needs to be valued if it's something I really like. I now have a new camera, this time a Canon D700 (or Rebel T5i) which I'm loving working with, finding easy, light and fascinating. And of course, on the first weekend I went out to practice, because if it's in my hands again I have to make it count this time.

With gratitude,

Cha ❣