I was on the fence about taking my Nikon with me to New York. Up until the day before I was leaving, I still didn't know. There is a section of gmail chat between me and Talaura that goes something like this.

• Me: I'm not bringing my Nikon. I am bringing my Nikon. 
• Talaura: Oh for the love of Pete, Woman!

It's possible Talaura didn't actually say "for the love of pete", but we both agreed that I would bring my Nikon. I just wouldn't carry it with me on conference days. This seemed like a reasonable solution. Also it would give me incentive to get it out and use it. If I'm going to lug that thing all the way to New York City, I better use it. And I did. Sunday morning Sarge was very patient with me as we walked through Ft. Tryon park and I kept stopping to take this or that picture. I used it all day on Monday while I walked the Highline and all through Chinatown. Sometimes I'd have the strap of my Nikon looped around my neck and my iPhone tucked into my bra strap, at the ready to shoot with either weapon of choice. 

I knew there were pictures I was taking that would turn out great and I knew that there were some in the bunch that would just be mediocre. There were times I was frustrated with lighting and times I was frustrated by the limitations of my current lens. I really need to replace the lens on my Nikon. Then there where moments where I spent time on setting up a particular shot knowing that this was going to be a great picture. Like the one I took while standing in the middle of the street. In New York City's Chinatown. "Get in the car Cindy." Really, when I'm taking pictures with the Nikon, I don't know if the images are going to turn out to be keepers. Yes it s a DSLR, but the screen on the back is too small to tell me much other than if the image is too bright or too dark. So in a way it's still kind of like working with a film camera. I'm not really sure about what I'm going to get until I get the pictures loaded onto my computer for editing. 

That picture above is one of the ones I took in Chinatown. I remember being rushed in taking it. So I am surprised that it turned out the way it did. It is one of my favorite shots taken that day. I think this is because there is so much going on in the picture. The man behind the window is busy stirring trays of food. The cars reflected in the window are zooming down the street. The lights are streaky, giving the whole image an appearance of motion. This picture is motion. Then if you look closely, you can see my reflection in the window. Me and the roasted birds are the only things still in this picture. My gangling arms are holding the camera to my eye with my elbows jutting out at dangerous angles. It took me several minutes to even recognize myself in this picture.  I am dressed as the teenage version of me.  Shorts, t-shirt, sandals. Even my hair is the same, though you can't really tell that here. I don't cringe at this reflection. In fact I think "You are totally rockin' that R2-D2 t-shirt, Cindy." Age shmage. 

Happy Love Thursday!