A few weeks ago I made my second big professional investment: a Canon EOS Rebel T2i. And holy crap, it's a powerful machine. I really had no idea. My family wasn't ever big on photography- sure, there are lots of snapshots of me and my sister when we were kids and a few scenic photos here and there, but we never had anything much more advanced than a point-and-shoot, and that was if we weren't using disposable cameras, so I by no means consider myself an expert. I've had a handy Canon Powershot since the middle of 2008 which has been wonderful, but the time had come to upgrade.

My main use for a DSLR is for producing images of my pots, so for the most part it's like a male dance partner in that it's there to make my work (aka the lady dancer) look good. So that's all fine and dandy, but as I said before, HOLY CRAP this thing is powerful, and it would be a shame not to learn more about it and try to use it in other capacities.

One of the biggest reservations I have about cameras is that I often feel that if a person is preoccupied with taking pictures it removes her from a "more real" experience of any given situation. I think that's the main reason the Walthers aren't snapping up a storm (with the exception of my mother who has been recently been enjoying sharing photos from her iPhone). It's also terrifying to me to carry around such an expensive piece of equipment.

The other side of that coin though, is that there are so many beautiful or hilarious or just perfect moments that trying to capture them is like running after a butterfly with a huge hole in your net. I honestly don't know whether it's better to try and capture a fraction of them or just let them wash over you and hope the impression keeps them alive in your mind.

Some practice shots from around town: