Tuesday 3 March 2009

Ma-honey

Welcome back my friends, acquaintances, randomers, stalkers and YOU, the person who I have recently put a name to as one of my regular blog viewers...for those of you who don't know I have Stats, (you should do as I have a stat counter link on my blog) be prepared to know that I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!! ooooh...spooky. hehe.

Anyway, 'nuff about all that bollocks (sorry rubbish..trying to swear/curse less)...onto the real stuff. For those of you who are familiar with the endearing nodding dog from the Churchill adverts, you'll know that my title refers to ££££ or rather -£ in my case. I know you all think I am obsessed with money, well why not? There are worse traits to behold, and I happen to think not only does money make the world go round, it makes going round the world easier too. I have been working very hard at work lately...and have managed to submerge myself in the wonderful world of programming, not just testing, actual programming, go me! C# no longer only refers to an uncomfortable note to play on the flute, it is the new gateway to my um...success? No, maybe not, but definitely to something good. I am determined to crack this and make something come of it, and I'm giving myself about 5 years until I can actually build something worthwhile. My reasoning? Because after the recent launch of my site, I had some remarkably kind responses and positive reactions, which I was pretty chuffed with...and I managed to secure two commissioned website requests from it which despite using a website builder, was quite flattering. This has strengthened my interest into all things IT, (what a geek) and made me more curious as to how things work...I know C# won't get me a website, but once I've mastered that, Java, HTML and Ruby on Rails will be high on my agenda to get things moving in that direction. (For those of you who know vaguely what I'm on about, I don't need any patronising comments here, I know I'm a beginner alright!?!)

Right, so back to the money, yes I need some, quite a bit actually, so if anyone is feeling generous, donations are welcome. The reason being that I discovered (not that I didn't sort of already know) I am in desperate need for a DSLR. If I want to enlarge my images to a more 'arty' level, I need something that can cope with bigger dimensions, and as much as I treasure my little Nikon, it just ain't up to it. So, camera talk...I have settled on two, a Nikon D80 (ruddy expensive but I love Nikons and quality is superb) or a Canon 400D (recommended by someone who knows what they're doing). The camera part I can just about cope with, its the lenses that are causing me to cry like a cook chopping an onion for the 100th time. £350 for a flipping wide angle lens?!!! Then there's the zoom, macro...battery pack grip, flash gun potentially? Boohoo, how do people do it!? I guess they don't visit two major cites within a month of eachother and buy new tv's and cars all at the same time...hmm. Why can't I have it all?!

Things I am looking forward to:
Sipping my first Cosmopolitan with her in New York in less than 4 weeks!

Most enjoyable song to listen to when feeling down:
Bluebell Polka, Jimmy Shand

Object(s) of my desire:
Alfa Romeo Mito, one of the aforementioned cameras, and a trip to Umbria to visit my favourite teacher :)

4 comments:

mrsnatmartin said...

Hello there!

Another great blog. I'm particularly loving one sentence:

"not only does money make the world go round, it makes going round the world easier too"

Regarding camera equipment.....I have a Nikon D70 which is great. Nick has the Nikon D90 which is better. If the D80 is out of price range. Perhaps you could consider a second hand DSLR? The D70 is a really good camera and is likely to be a LOT cheaper than the D80/D90. Also by choosing a s/h D70, it will leave you extra kerching to buy a lens. You mentioned the wide angle lens being £350? Shit. Is that a Nikon? Nikon lenses are very expensive. May I recommend a Sigma? I just purchased a Macro 70-300mm lens for £120. I love it to bits. As for the other equipment (flash gun etc) that can come later and isnt as essential as the body and lens.

Oh! And by buying second hand, you may get it even cheaper without the lens and then you can choose your own lens.

Let me know how the funding goes.

Natti x

sduck said...

Thanks for the advice Natti-noo...will take on board. And that wide angle was a sigma! 10-20 mm for the Canon...ridiculous huh!And I was looking to get a 2nd hand one anyway, im not fussy as long as they have been looked after. Will have a look into the D70 too :)

x

mrsnatmartin said...

Nick was wondering if he could advise you also? I told him you want to buy a DSLR and he got really excited for you! Is it ok for him to either post on here or email you?

sduck said...

Yes of course! the more help the better! I have found out that D80 have been discontinued and replaced by the D90! (boohoo sob i can't afford it!) so I was thinking about reverting back to the D60...any advice would be welcomed!x