My First Post - Let the exploration begin!

Well... this is my first attempt at doing anything blog related on the net, I guess mainly because up until this point in time I haven't felt I've had a hobby or "story" interesting enough to keep the attention of either myself, or anyone reading online.

This however all changed on Christmas morning, when my beautiful fiancee broke our "$200 limit" for presents in the most dramatic fashion and bought me a new Digital SLR camera.

Now, I've been interested in photography for quite a while - my Dad has had an SLR since I can remember, and enlarged photos of his work are in frames all over my childhood home. I also have quite a creative group of friends, with more that one bringing their SLR's to every event I attend and leaving me more than envious with the quality of photo they upload to Facebook.

I've always been a keen photographer - with a few great overseas trips kick starting my interest. One in particular with a friend across China, Russia (the Trans-Siberian) and Europe - all by train - ended up being a semi-competitive digital "point and snap" photography competition with us both pushing our 7.2 MP Canon and Olympus to the limits, from -32 degrees (Celsius) in the midst of Siberia to taking more than one tumble on the Swiss ski fields! This, coupled with my genuine interest in taking up any hobby under the sun, especially if it is slightly "tech" related, made my fiancee (to be married 15 January 2011) realise that a digital SLR was for me.

And this brings me to now... someone completely over the moon with their camera, but other than realising that you have to hold the button half down before shooting - my knowledge is pretty much nill! And... that is, I guess, the point of my blog. Surely I am not the first person to be in this situation, so over the coming days, weeks, months and years I will be posting my learnings, my photos, my experiences, etc in the world of Digital SLR photography. Pretty much, my exploration of Digital SLR.

This blog may frustrate those more knowledgeable than me in the world of SLR photography, as I really am starting from the basics. But, it may prove interesting for those in a similar boat to me! Hope you enjoy - now... I am off to read the instruction manual!