Playing with Fishy

For the second time around, my photo was selected as one of the three winners of the week at the Schlumberger's weekly photo competition, called Around The World of Schlumberger, having defeated 83 other submitted photos. Excited? Definitely!

I have not submitted my photos for months. Been busy lately. Also, our Sony DSC-T1 compact camera was recently broken, dead, kaput... without any reason. All of a sudden, we could not switch it on. Fixing it in Paris was not an option. It would be bloody expensive, perhaps not less expensive than buying a new one. Besides, it is already 3.5-yo. Time to buy a new one. We decided to go for a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ2. Another compact camera. I still can't afford buying a big semi-pro camera, because simply I can't imagine myself traveling with a stroller carrying my huge camera, bulky lenses and sometimes handycam too. Too much hassle. I have given up that dream for a while. In the meantime, we are pretty happy with our new one. It is a good compromise. 10x optical zoom with a wide angle. More features and formats. 6 MB resolution. Shaking stabilizer. I think if you have a small kid like us, this one is good enough.

The good thing about having a compact camera is that it's C-O-M-P-A-C-T! I mean it! With it, you can always carry it around in your pocket and take shots of some moments which may only last for a second! Taking photos of a kid is like trying to catch a fly. You have to be faster than them, because they move so quickly. If you are not quick enough, there goes the important moment. Don't ever dream of expecting them to strike and hold a pose for a few seconds, like a model. It will never happen!

This photo in particular was taken during our recent holiday in Novus Villa Bali. With the help of the morning lights, I took this moment which surprisingly gave me a great light effect from the left hand side. The two frangipanis look glowing. The pond with a school of fish seems clear. Nadia was on the focus trying to reach the fishy.

To be frank, in the beginning I hesitated to submit this photo if only Dita had never encouraged me to. She saw it differently. According to her, the glowing lights look as if the photo was taken in a studio or something. She simply loves it. Then I thought I had nothing to lose anyway. The next thing was to find a title. Not just a title. I have always wanted the titles of my articles or my photos to be able to speak for the contents.

This photo has taught me a different dimension about the world of photography. I simply learn that a good photo can also be produced with a small compact camera. After all, I am not an expert in photography. I know very little about the techniques. Yet, I always love it when I produce a good photo for my eyes. Yes, for my novice eyes. It gives me a different level of satisfaction, even if it is only for my own collections.

For now, allow me to just enjoy my new compact camera and try to optimize its features in order to produce another good photo for the next competition.