My introduction to photography came as a Christmas gift in 2001 - a Nikon Coolpix 775. Equipped with a 1.8 megapixel sensor and a 3x optical zoom, it was a marginal camera at best, with limited controls, poor dynamic range, muddy picture quality, and atrocious color rendition by any modern standard. But it served the important role of piquing my interest in photography. I took the camera everywhere I went and pointed it at everything I could, from sweeping landscapes to to macro photography of absurd household objects. Despite its limitations, it forced me to learn the fundamentals of photography - how to set up a shot, how to evaluate and adjust for lighting, how to focus properly. I quickly outgrew that camera and all of its limitations so I saved up for nearly a year for what was a major upgrade at the time in 2003 - a Canon PowerShot G3.
With full manual controls, a significantly better 4 megapixel sensor, and beautiful color quality, I found myself even more inspired to see what I could create with this new camera. This camera recorded some of my favorite photographs that I've shot, ones I'm proud to include in my main galleries alongside photos from my later 12 megapixel Canon DSLR and 24 megapixel Sony mirrorless. The Canon PowerShot G3 is proof that, while camera equipment can open up the possibilities, it's up to the photographer to run with it.
This gallery is dedicated to those earliest shots I took with the Nikon Coolpix 775 and the Canon PowerShot G3. For all of their limitations, these tools unlocked a creative spark that still burns within me today.
From the Nikon CoolPix 775
From the Canon PowerShot G3
