Charge it

I’d forgotten how much fun Cokin Creative Filters can be. You remember Cokin—slotted plastic filter holder that attaches to many dissimilar lenses via inexpensive adapters, and square filters made of CR39 acrylic resin. The idea that is you can use the same set-up on just about every lens you own, even if they have different size filter threads. And because most of the filters are square, you can slide them up and down in the holder to adjust the effect. The few round filters can easily be rotated for the same reason.

In Just Spring

Most digital cameras don’t come with memory cards these days. Instead, many have onboard memory where you can store a handful of images. The amount they include is usually meager, but it’s better than nothing.

How old were you when you took your first picture? By yourself, I mean, not while an adult was looking purposefully over your shoulder. If you remember that moment then you know how exciting and meaningful it is for youngsters to begin taking pictures at an early age.

Olympus was kind enough to lend me a 150mm f2.0 Zuiko lens for some personal shooting. I recently bought a new E-520 at an incredible price because it’s a discontinued model. Even so, it has a rich feature set, Image Stabilization and weighs slightly more than a well-dressed chicken taco. It also offers Live View, Dust Reduction and Wireless Flash. On close-out, this DSLR body cost me about the same as a high-end point-and-shoot.