What got me into photography

I was fascinated with photography when I was young. My parents had a fixed lease film camera made of sturdy plastic, and I remember running errands to pick up 200 or 400-speed film. I think it was Kodak, but I distinctly remember Fujifilm plastered all over the camera shop. I don't know which camera we owned, but I remember how it felt to hold it. It had a tiny window on top to count the number of clicks. A typical roll allowed you around 32 to 36 exposures. The first few and last few shouldn't be relied upon. The fascination with photography didn't gain enough momentum toward obsession.

The second phase of photography started when we were getting closer to welcome of our first kiddo. I borrowed Nikon D3200 from a friend. It had the kit lens on, and I needed to figure out how to use an interchangeable lens camera. It had too many buttons and dials. I spent solid 15 months with the D3200 and got some pretty good shots of the kid during the first year.

My fascination did tip the scale, and I was obsessed with getting that perfect shot, but there were many variables for different environments. Few things I knew I wanted in the all-rounder camera and lens. The more I researched, the more I went down the rabbit hole of specifications. Eventually, I got a Sony for 3 days as part of their "try before you buy" program, and I absolutely loved it. The size was similar to the Nikon, but the specs were juiced. It was full-frame, and I was obsessed with getting a full-frame camera for some reason. The more I think about it, the more I realize how much I was influenced by the influencers. I was the typical sheeple and got caught at the cutting edge. I pulled the trigger on the latest iteration of the Sony I had tried, and a supposed to be an all-purpose lens. So was born the A7III plus the 55mm f1.8 system. I absolutely loved it, and I took around 20k photos of our first kiddo in the first year and a half.

At this point, I stopped learning more about photography as I thought I had learned enough to shoot indoors with the kiddo. I was so wrong. The journey had just begun.