The enigma that is Photography

For the better part of my life so far, photography has always had its enigmatic grip over my imagination - I remember when it used to be a luxury to have a pic taken let alone own a camera, all the way to cameras with once-unimaginable-features becoming a commodity.

• I still remember the B&W photos of school anniversaries that my parents used to buy for me paying Rs.10 per print (way back in early '80s). They still cherish them - of course, its fruits of their labor of parenting.
• Then my (our) first camera, the mystical, Snapper 35 which had the bare minimums needed for taking a picture. Mind you, the camera itself was only Rs.135 or so (circa 1987). I still remember the Bruce Lee sticker that I pasted on top of the lens cover.
• Then the learning began, the first B&W roll we got for the camera. After coming back from a trip, I couldnt suppress my curiosity to look at the results that I actually opened the back door of the camera to see if the film has captured images correctly. I was expecting to see a negative roll there with pics but to my horror, learned later that you are not supposed to expose the film until its developed inside a dark room. Whole roll lost !! Surprisingly, father was not mad at me..
  
• Till 1995, flash was a luxury to have. Bought a HotShot flash for Rs.400 around 1995 for my cousin sister's marriage. Shot two full color rolls of Konica. Results were marginal at best with camera being bulky with the weight of flash and flash recycle time in today's metrics was snail-pace at best.
• College days of mine got captured in 9 albums - thanks mostly to my friends whose camera we used. Deepam color lab in Trichy was a regular stop during our final year city getaways.
• Back in Bangalore, I had to borrow my friend's camera (with an inbuilt flash this time) for my Father's shastiabthapoorthi. The qwest for camera with attached flash began. I was able to purchase one - Kyocera - directly from the electronics districts of Akhihabara in Tokyo (May2000) - 4000 Yen. Father was really happy to see that. But unfortunately we dint use that camera much myself even though the camera is still functional.
  
• Times changed - Digital camera captured the imagination after finishing MS. Bought the first digital P&S - Canon A70 (June 2004). One of the best cameras of its kind and time. It withstood all the rough usage and trips and took over 5500+ pics - some of them very good. This camera saw my marriage and my son's birth. Its LCD got flaky around August 2008 and paved the way for the first digital SLR. Canon repaired this at no cost and is still alive and kicking as if new.
• Nikon D40 - the best selling light weight digital SLR. Like this toy. Learning a lot with it as we speak. 2000+ actuations in mere two months.
  

Attached pic above of the "bee in the flower" taken with Nikon D40 at Olympic National Park. Aperture Priority with 18mm focal length. Had to really stoop down to the bee to get maximum bookeh. Some PP in Picasa.

Whats next - probably a prime lens or a wide angle lens that too only when my budget opens in early 2010 with approval of you-know-who....

The only picture of the Snapper35 that I was able to find on the net is here.