focus, baby, focus

 

i have always been a photo lover - love taking photos, love looking at photos, love making photo albums. love making people pose for photos. love taking candid shots. but since i've given birth to my baby girl, this photo love has become more of a photo, um, obsession. but instead of being ashamed, i am rolling with it. already i have seen how so, so quickly everything changes...and i guess i don't want to risk forgetting what she looked like in this very second...or now, in this very second. this is my way of ensuring that each precious moment will be preserved for all eternity. just so long as i have my trusty external hard drive...

but since i've entered this new reality, i have discovered that my camera doesn't exactly capture the moment. it captures some version of the moment - only with a brighter light, or a muted hue, or a fuzzy overtone. so i have decided: it is time for an upgrade.

i actually am happy with my little point-and-shoot camera (a canon powershot sd750). it is small and convenient and at times does get some really nice shots. i'll continue to use it, especially at times when i just want to toss a camera in my purse. but i am ready to add on a bigger, fancier guy that allows me to better control my photos and perhaps actually learn a bit about photography. now the tricky part is - i know nothing about cameras. this is where i ask my friends out there in blog-land: advice, please! i guess what i want is an slr? basically i want something nice, where i can control the focus and stuff, but not so crazy that i won't know what to do with it. some suggestions i've recieved are: nikon D70s; canon rebel 400; nikon D80; canon EOS 30D. anyone agree with any of these suggestions, or have any others that they would recommend, or just any general words of wisdom as i search?