If you recall from a previous post, our family got on a plane a couple of weeks ago to go to the east coast.  Steph and I went to my best buddy’s wedding.  And we dropped the kids off at the grandparents house so that the wedding weekend would be enjoyable for my folks to get some quality time with the kids.

I was planning on taking some really good pictures of our whole trip with my Nikon D70…until some lunkhead dropped my camera directly onto a brick road.  And no, it wasn’t the Worm’s fumbling digits.  (Actually, he’s got excellent dexterity for a 2.5 year old.)  It was my own fault.  I was in a hurry to get out of the car one day and thought my camera was secure in my backpack.  The force of gravity and chaos theory ripped it from my bag and slammed it to the ground.  I was appalled.

I thought I could make do by using my recently upgraded iPhone4 (yes, I’m way behind on phone technology) camera to take kiddie shots until Christmas, when I would ask Santa for a new(er) Nikon.  It took one day to realize that the iPhone4 wouldn’t bring the quality of photos that my blog, and awesome blog readers, deserved.

With the help of an early message to Santa and Mrs. Claus (who look surprisingly like my mom and dad), I was able to get another camera before the holidays.  Thanks mom and dad!

Enter the Nikon D7000. 8 years newer than the D70 and much more feature-rich…

I’m not kidding, this thing is crazy good.

Anyhow, I used to let Worm take pics with my D70.  A few months ago, he showed interest in using the camera, so I let him try.  (I couldn’t stifle the creative juices of possibly the next Ansel Adams).  Plus, it was an inexpensive beginner camera for me.  He held the camera well and understood a few of the button functions.  His photos have been generally more abstract with the subject sometimes not in the picture at all (i.e. carpet fuzz, top half of Smushie’s ear, etc.).  But, I figure that he will get better once he opens his eyes when looking through the viewfinder.

Now that I have the  D7000, I’m not certain that I want Wormie playing with it.  (Read: It’s my toy!!!)  He’s already asking to use it.  Ok, it’s more like “Me have dat!”  So, I’ve got to get him a camera so that he can improve his photog skills and not interfere with mine.  I’ll either have to fix my D70, or buy him a used one.  Because right now, he’s got his eye on my new Nikon.  Besides, I think it would be cool to see what he can do with a camera of his own.  It may give me an opportunity to see a little sliver of the world from his perspective.

Here’s a picture of me letting the Worm hold my new (to me) camera.  It shoots so well, that even a toddler can use it!

I'm Not Sure I Want to Clearly See My Wrinkles...

I’m Not Sure I Want to Clearly See My Wrinkles…

Thanks Mom and Dad for the new camera!  I even got a 3 year kid-proof warranty on it!  I look forward to taking even better pics of your grandbabies with it!