Having a baby predictably resulted in me busting out my camera a ton in the last year. What I didn't expect as much was how much I would enjoy photography, in a way that I haven't in many years.
I bought the Canon 7D body shortly before we moved in 2009, mostly because of the video capability (which has taken a lot of practice to truly understand and use), but I've really grown to like that body. The field crop has admittedly reduced what I "see" when using my 24-105mm lens, but the detail and breadth of what I've been able to capture has still been wonderful.
I also feel like I've really improved shooting people, even more so with my 50mm f/1.4. It takes a lot of practice, and especially when you're photographing babies, you have to expect that they'll move. I've had some really wonderful portraits that I'm completely happy with, even if there have been plenty to throw away.
In Orlando, I remembered how much I enjoy photographing theme parks. Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit at Universal Studios is a boring to ride, but really interesting to shoot. I'm annoyed to no end that I didn't get a shot at any night time stuff inside the parks, but that would involve going during the busy season, when they're open later.
I've thought a little bit about whether or not there is any additional gear I'd like to buy, and I have to admit that I'd like to get a solid wide-angle or ultra-wide zoom. Paired with the 5D body, I think I could snag some remarkable landscape stuff with that. It isn't an obvious choice for portrait work, but I'm still intrigued about what portraits might look like using one of those lenses. Maybe later this year... we'll see.
On a side note, I don't understand the fascination with purposefully sucking all of the dynamic range out of photos, or making them look old-timey or whatever (I'm looking at you, Instagram). It's like, phone cameras look like shit to begin with. Is this trend to cover that up?
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