Keeping up with the times

Six years ago, I traded my 35mm for a digital SLR, and I haven't developed a roll of film since. I work with my camera and computer every day. Perhaps that has tricked me into believing I was part of the digital generation. But if anything could shatter that illusion, it's been getting myself on the web. Between Facebook, my website, and this blog, I've felt a little behind the times. And I've realized, yet again, that there's always more to learn.

While all this has made me feel my digital age, there's nothing like a kid's birthday party to make me feel my chronological age! A couple of weeks ago I was at my niece's 7th birthday party. Imagine 15 kids running around a gymnastics club; jumping on the trampoline, running and leaping off springboards, and swinging from bars and rings. They had a blast. And so did I...with my camera! Although I didn't try any fancy routines on the balance beam, I did practice a cool trick—panning. To capture movement, you set the camera to a slow shutter speed, and follow the subject with the camera. When it works, the main subject will appear sharply focussed against a streaked, blurred background. It takes a while to get the hang of it. But even if you don't get it exactly right, you can still get some pretty interesting shots—just call them artistic.