Part of this is my experiences. I remember traveling to Europe in early 2007 and taking hundreds if not thousands of photos. I took maybe 20 at my high school graduation. When I traveled to Japan I took hundreds more. I took maybe 100, total, in my first semester of college. I’m not sure what it is that makes travel experiences more powerful—to me, anyway—than some of these big life experiences. Maybe they’re just prettier.

But I think a bigger part of it is the limitation of technology. Until recently (with my iPhone, which I’ll talk about more in a moment), I’ve bounced between cameras. I had a point-and-shoot digital camera for a while, and used it a fair amount from 2007 through 2009. It took the vast majority of my travel pictures.

I received a Nikon DSLR for my birthday in 2010. I love it, but it’s big and bulky, and unless I’m going out somewhere with the sole purpose of taking photos, it often doesn’t make the cut for fitting into my backpack. If I’m driving it’s a little different, but my travel is most frequently by bike, so it’s a little more limited.

With my iPhone 3GS I took a fair amount of pictures, but they were never particularly good. My desire for a high quality way of capturing memories on the go was never quite fulfilled by the relatively poor camera and processing power of the 2009 generation iPhone.

With the iPhone 4S things a little different. The camera is phenomenal. It takes incredible photos, and it takes them quickly. It easily bests any photos I’ve ever taken on a point-and-shoot camera, and I’m pretty well convinced it comes decently close to the shots I’ve gotten on my DSLR. It’s changed the way I think about photos, and it’s led me—already, in only week—to take more and more photos, capturing more and more memories, and sharing those experiences and memories with others. Which is kind of the point, isn’t it?

I am a technologist, and technology plays a big part in my life. I’m not ashamed of that. But it’s interesting for me to hear people complain about the role of technology in our lives, and often make fun of the “geeky” class. I’m frequently asked, “Could you go one weekend without your phone?”

Yes. Easily. But why?

I like being connected. I love taking pictures—especially photos that are big and beautiful and can really resonate. And I love taking them quickly, without having to think about it, without having to plan in advance. My iPhone helps me do that, and I like that.

Anyway, long story short, I like taking photos and I like my iPhone. That’s all.

So not only are my parents hella cool anyway, but they surprised me with THIS for my birthday, a Nikon D3000!

Although the snow did cause a little bit of delay (well, a week), it was totally worth it. Although we’d talked about it before, my plan had simply been to wait and get a nice DSLR for myself in a year or two once I’d saved up the money for it. Well, evidently they decided this was a good deal now.

I’m thrilled! I’ve really been wanting to get more into photography and always felt a little limited by technology (although I have to admit, I kind of like this photo, despite the fact that I took it with my iPhone!). This little camera just has some fantastic technology behind it that should let me be a lot more creative and get some great shots–hopefully! It’s not quite the fanciest one out there, but God knows it’s already more than I know what to do with and it’s perfect for what I want to do! And who knows, a couple years down the road (once I’m an expert ::wink::) maybe I’ll splurge for a super-duper one.

I’ve already killed a lot of time tonight playing with it, but as soon as the stresses of school calm down a bit (hell, only a few weeks ’til Spring Break!) I’m really looking forward to reading up on some photography stuff and starting to practice. Rest assured, I’ll be sharing my photos here, on my Flickr account, and naturally, via Twitter.

Luckily, I already know of at least four really amazing photographers–all super-nice. Here’s hoping they’ll be kind enough to give me some tips and advice along the way!

Anyway, back to my point… my parents are awesome. Thanks so much to both of them for being the best parents a kid could ask for. Not just for the presents, but for all the help, support, and motivation along the way so far in my life. Miss you both!