I bought a Canon G2 several years ago. I still use it and find it capable of making excellent photographs. It is a 4 megapixel camera.  Two features I like especially are the f2.0 lens (can help make a shallower DOF photo possible) and the low ISO setting possible (50 ISO).

small green dragon dog toy:



Saturation set to plus and exposure compensation set to -1/3 (I keep the exposure compensation for almost all shots to keep the colours rich and to avoid blowing out highlights).

Shakespeare the wonder dog on the back deck:




Shot in black and white in the camera --
glass left out before a thunderstorm:



close up of Crown Royal bottle:

I was doing a little housecleaning of the photographic kind on my PC the other day and discovered that I had taken a lot of photos with my two digicams in 2006, 5,797 images according to Picasa 2. There is still time for me to make it to 6,000 before year end.

Part of this plethora of photographic splendour is due to my using from time to time auto bracketing, up to five bracketed exposures. I also set my Nikon 5700 Coolpix to low speed continuous shooting and blaze away. The idea with this is that the first shot is prone to camera motion if the light is low and the shutter speed is slow, but once I hold the shutter down the second and succeeding shots are likely to be steadier.  So duplicates and useless images have accumulated.

I would hate to think what the cost in film processing would have been for the year.

My other digicam is a Canon G2. Problem with it is the two rechargeable batteries have been reused so much since I purchased it that they are now declining to hold a charge. I have asked Santa for a new battery. The G2's 50 ISO setting and f2.0 lens (the 5700 is f2.8) can make for some very nice images. I won't be getting the Canon battery at around $140, but a generic.

I have long admired the photographs of Baldur Birgis. He makes me want to go to Iceland. His use of wide angle lenses and his strong instinct for emotional composition is unique. Among his many landscapes there are some exceptional portraits. He posts his work on photo.net.

Birgis on Birgis:  "29.07.2006. Born in Iceland which is in Northern Europe, an island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK. Geographic coordinates: 65 00 N, 18 00 W. Grew up in Reykjavik and also in a beautiful place named Borgarfjordur in East Iceland where I learned to appreciate the nature, thanks to my loving aunt. Married, one son and daughter in law and a beautiful grandson. An amateur photographer since 1974. Started with a Kodak pocket camera, continued 1978 with Canon AE-1 and later with F-1 in B&W. Today I mostly use Canon F-1N, the Fuji Velvia slide film and some of the best Canon FD lenses. For the digital process I use CanoScan FS 4000US, Ps 7.0 and SpyderPro to calibrate my monitor. The goal with my images is: To share with others what I see and feel with my camera."