Our New Toys
HP Photosmart 850 Digital Camera
Don't know when the bug to get a digital camera hit. Must have been the first time the 4Megapixel Kodak 4900 went on sale for $499. At that time, digital cameras had breached a price / performance / features threshold of affordability.
It's hard to be a technology junkie on a budget. Have to provide shelter, food, and incidentals, though monthly bus passes would be so much more inexpensive than car insurance for teenagers, and I'm still trying to figure out how the wife determined that a pool was a necessity. Last year, we got a Sony digital camcorder for Christmas and at the time, we had the money, so, we spent it.
Anyway, in my younger days, I would have thought nothing about running out and getting the Kodak, but the financial picture screamed restraint. So as we waited for the financial forecast to be less bleak, I whetted my appetite by scouring the internet and read up on the Kodak 4900 and other digital cameras. It became clear by reading opinions, reviews and then comparing specifications, that the Kodak 4900 was a poor choice. I then seriously considered, the Minolta S404, the Nikon 4300, Nikon 4500 and others. Then HP announced the Photosmart 850 and something just clicked and I knew this was the one! As soon as it was available locally, we ran out and got one. The camera was everything I could possibly want and yes, we did get the obligatory NiHM batteries and an extra set of batteries and bigger memory cards and learned to deal with the quirks of this camera and digital cameras in general.
So, anyway, for us, this camera has the "most value for the money". You can quote me on that one
Here are some pictures that we have taken:
Note: as a photojournalist in college, I was able to experiment with various photographic techniques, but as I get older, I am less fussy with the camera settings and quite content to let the 850 operate in a "point-and-shoot" mode. Some of these pictures are recreations of various pictures that would have taken lengthy manipulation.
The first series are some pictures done in the style of "double exposure". They were so easy to create, using the digital camera and with the panoramic photo stitching software.
The second series is inspired by the numerous "pop" psychology classes I have taken. They are composite pictures creating a "new" person from just the left or right side of a person.
Double Exposure Types
Son Steven in the classic Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil and See No Evil
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Party With Myself
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Backyard Practice
Yeah, I know, if you look closely, you can see where the pictures were "stitched" together. That's not the point; the point is that these pictures took maybe 30 minutes tops, from start to finish. Using a B&W set-up, I would have been doing this for a few hours minimum.
Pop Psychology
Original Picture - I have my earring in my left ear
Right Side
Left Side
Pretty revealing, don't you think? Looks like the right side harbors my darker, dorky but intelligent side while the left side looks more lighter and physical.
Actually, I'm a Libra. So, do you think I'm well balanced?
Daughter Rachel - Original Picture
Right Side
Left Side 
I think Rachel's original picture had a lot of ambient light from the window even though we did use flash. Again, it looks as though the right side person is a darker, intelligent person while the left side person appears to be more lighter and physical.
On both original pictures, we appear to have tilted our heads slightly. I'm sure there is a "Fruedian slip" connection in there somewhere.
Go see Our Other New Toy - Weider Crossbow
Go back to "The World's HARDEST World War Two Quiz!!"
