It’s hard enough getting older.
But getting old and having to learn new things is a “bummer.”
I know people say learning will keep you young.
But, I disagree.
Learning makes me nervous.
So with my __th birthday coming up November 5th, the challenge has begun.
Bill gave me a fancy camera with a zoom lens.
He couldn’t wait I guess, but I am already spending hours “learning.”
I can actually turn it on now without too much thinking.
There is a screen and I thought you looked into the screen to to see the image.
Then I thought you tapped the screen to focus.
But the screen would not cooperate.
Then I discovered the little viewer window you hold up to your eye!
Get it?
Learning is harder when you age.
Learning makes me nervous.
Like the old Maple tree in my yard
who refuses to give up its green,
I too am holding onto summer.
Happy Early Birthday!
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Reminds me of my experiences with my smart phone which is way smarter than me. We had the first frost today so your maple tree will need a blanket.
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I like that maple!
I share your loathing of learning curves. I trained myself to be aware of the point where if I continued I was going to burn out or flip out, so I would step away and do something else. No one says you have to learn something quickly (even though your ego wants to). Set your own pace and enjoy the journey! 🙂 And Happy early Birthday!
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I sympathize. I wish I didn’t have to learn new things either, but it’s mandatory in the work world, which then spills over to my creative life. If I can do the software at work, it’s for sure I can do it at home too. Photoshop is about the same level of complexity as my taxes, but I just haven’t done it as long.
Remember lynda.com has a lot of good courses out there. Depending on which camera you got, the manufacturer probably has some courses out there for free. Adorama also has some free courses.
Nancy
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Oooh, new camera!! Details please. What kind is it? What model? What a great husband Bill is :). Take your time and enjoy it Dor. It’s digital, so it costs you nothing to experiment.
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It’s a Nikon Cindy! And it looks like a real camera. If I have it around my neck people think I’m a reporter. But it’s not as big as yours. It’s a digital D3300 whatever that means. I do love it already and will love it more if I can get past the “automatic” setting and keep from hitting some other button to click a photo than the one I’m supposed to click. Sigh. I seem to understand the directions so far but when it gets to shutter speeds and apertures. Huh? Ugh. And yes – Bill is a great husband for sure. I never belieeved he would actually get the thing when I put it on my list.!
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Thanks so much for the resource recommendations Nancy. I will definitely check them out. 🙂 ~Dor
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That’s the ticket Eliza… take it all in slowly. Yours is greatly appreciated advice I intend to take. Never mind the old ego. 🙂 And thanks for the birthday wishes too.
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The new camera is so smart that it seems to be guiding me along. That’s next – machines that can read our minds and correct our errors! If the maple tree ever turns colors I will send out pictures from my smart camera to record the transition. 🙂
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Many thanks Debbie for the early birthday wishes!
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My advice to you is to just go ahead and use the automatic mode for now until you get used to the camera. I only recently started using the other modes, and I have had this type of camera for quite a few years now. It took me a while to understand the concepts of shutter speed and aperture, and I’m still learning. Don’t rush it – just have fun :). Oh, and happy early birthday by the way. Will wonderful Bill get you a chocolate cake?
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Oh, gosh, I’ve had my newest camera for over a year, and probably know how to do 1/100th of what it’s capable of doing…. I just keep it set on “auto”, and point at something I like and click!
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Oh I think in two weeks you are going to be posting some awesome photos and will be thanking Bill. Just take that bad boy camera outside and mess around with it until you get a photo, and then you will be off and running. That is what I do. I refuse to read directions. Happy Halloween my friend! 👿
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You’re welcome! Seeing it in video makes it much easier to understand. lynda.com is $25 per month for unlimited usage, but the others are mostly free. Of course, lynda’s content is much better 🙂
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Happy Birthday a few days early, Dor! There are still things about my fancy camera I haven’t learned. You’ll catch on and even if you don’t, we’ll never know. 😉
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Just yesterday my brother-in-law let me play with one of his cameras. Compared to using my phone, it was a very steep learning curve. I’m eager to see what you come up with your new camera. Michael says you can find out almost everything you need to know on YouTube. Happy Early Birthday, Dor.
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I feel your pain, Dor. I struggled with some Word features today to the point I wanted to throw my computer out the window. Boy, I’m surprised that Maple hasn’t turned at this point. I hope you’ll take a photo once it turns. Good luck with that new camera.
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They should grant a degree when you learn all the bells and whistles of a DSLR, which sounds like what you have now. Fun!
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Beautiful post! Beautiful Maple tree! And please, don’t give up your summer… 🙂
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Happy Birthday Dorann!! Love the gift, Bill – you got to love that guy. You’ll get the hang of the camera in no time, yeah listen to me I’m still trying to figure out my digital! happy Halloween.
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Oh you will love it and learn quickly. You’re right when you said at my site that I’m excited…so excited to capture as much as I can morning, afternoon and evening namely the creatures that reveal themselves as you said. Rick and I got a camera recently, too. The zoom is better and the stabilizer is the best taking the shakiness out of picture taking.
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It would be wonderful if we could capture some of the wild critter visitors with our new cameras!
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Thanks again Mary. I am very excited about the new camera and if I was just a little more proficient, I would join our local camera club! But afraid they would laugh me out of the meetings.
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Bill planted that Maple 25 years ago when it was just a sapling. It’s very happy there we think and we are both hanging onto summer.
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I like that idea – a Master of DSLR!
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It’s comforting to know others struggle with learning new technologies or even the old ones (there are some that have already gone passe that I never conquered)like my phone (new models already available). Sigh.
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Yes, there are whole classes in cameras on YouTube. If I look at even one it will eat up “G’s” and we are so far out that we don’t have WiFi without paying an arm and leg for it. Do I sound like I know what I’m talking about? All I know is I can’t watch anything that moves or speaks without running down our bank account of “G’s”. So I am alone out here Barbara, relying on intuition and translation abilities from the camera directions to plain English. 🙂
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Blahaha! I like the idea that you “will never know.” 🙂 And thanks so much for the birthday wishes!
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Unfortunately, watching videos is a no-no here since we are so far out in the country we don’t get general wifi and have to pay extra for G’s. We are hoping that will change but so far, no. I need to find written instructions that translate to down-home language. 🙂
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Love your “devil in the details” icon! Hope you had a Happy Halloween too. I also hate directions but will be forced to with this new camera. The booklet is already looking dog-eared. The YMCA photos were taken with the new camera but they look very much like the pics I take with my cell phone and no one has noticed the difference yet. This is somewhat discouraging but I will keep trying. 🙂
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I can’t tell you how comforting this is Dianna – that you have kept it on “auto.” You must have a wonderful camera because your photos are of A-1 top quality.
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O.K. – Good advice to stay on “auto” Cindy. I can do that. Thanks for the birthday wishes. I think Bill should provide fireworks. Did you know my birthday is Guy Fawkes Day in England? He was a guy who tried to blow up Parliament on November 5th in some century. Who knows why they celebrate it, but they have fireworks like we do for July 4th. 🙂
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Auto for now and then you can gradually learn the other settings :). November 5th is a very special day. Not only is it your birthday, but it is also my parents’ anniversary, so fireworks are a must!!
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I think you’d have a fantastic time, they’d love your humor and best of all just imagine the photographs that you could get. I hope you do – listen to me I can’t even work my digital, lol!
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Wow! Mark your calendar for Nov. 5th! And I’m writing a blog post about Guy Fawkes Day! Thanks for the inspiration. 🙂
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Happy Birthday to you! I find I have to be in the mood — if I’m tired or stressed learning goes out the window. Take your time and ease into it AND go to Youtube or the Manufacturer’s website to see if you can find any tutorials 🙂
Cheers!
MJ
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Will do! Gonna take my time and follow your words of wisdom. Thanks MJ. 🙂 ~Dor
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Any time 🙂
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No, I understand about “G’s” completely. That makes perfect sense. My brother-in-law just emailed me the photos I took with his camera and….OMG…..I am hopeless. It really is so much harder than it appears.
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I’m hanging on to summer, too, Dor. On three, let’s pull it back–1, 2, 3! Enjoy your new camera!
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Thanks Patti. I’m with you on the one, two, three! Although I sometimes look forward to the first snow and the cozy house when there’s a mess outside.
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