Exposure & Shutter Speeds

Prologue

I followed my parents and little sister into the store, the temperature difference was felt immediately. The sweat that had appeared across my forehead from the short walk from the car chilled almost instantly once I made it through the automatic doors. They where shopping for a new TV, I just came along to get out of the house and escape the intense December heat and humidity - the kind that made your sweat sweat.

Bored, but happy not to be sweating anymore, I aimlessly wandered through the furniture section, checking out the couches and the fake living rooms formed around them. With nothing else left to do, I started to make my way to the electronics, trying to find my family.

As I meandered through, a flickering fluorescent bulb in a tall, glass fronted display cabinet caught my eye. I curiously watched the retail assistant struggle to figure out how to change it. When she had moved away from the cabinet with the faulty bulb in hand, off to throw the defective one out and get a new one, my eyes widened as they fell on what was actually in the cabinet.

A digital SLR camera.

It was all black, and it had one small lens attached and a larger one to its right. It was a while lot smaller than dad's film SLR that he dragged out sometimes to use, but was never allowed to touch. It was only a touch smaller than my mother's film SLR that she had only bought a few years prior, on the cusp of film moving into digital.

I remember that day, I was there with her when she bought it. The day was not quite unlike this one, except hotter and even more humid - we had purchased it further north. I remember the sales guy pushing her into the film one as "digital wasn't at the quality film was" back then.

It was with that camera my love affair started. When my mother had spare film, she'd let me use it up. Picking up that camera was like flicking a switch. Running my hands over the contours of its black and silver body. Feeling the quality in its weight. Twisting the focus and zoom rings on the cool metal lens. The sound of a memory being captured as I pressed down on the shutter button. It was love at first shot.

Eyes still locked on the camera in the display cabinet, but not really taking my surroundings in as I remembered all the times with that camera, and how I so desperately wanted my own, I stumbled as someone bumped into me.

"I am so sorry!" The flustered shop assistant from before said, as she hurried past me to return the new fluorescent bulb to its fitting in the cabinet.

"Oops, I'm sorry for getting in your way", I mumbled to her, startled out of my thoughts.

Once she had replaced the bulb and locked the cabinet up, she turned around and saw me still staring.

"See anything you like?" She asked with a smile.

"Uhmm, how about everything in that cabinet!" I splurted out. "But I would really love to look at that small Nikon in the top there, in the cabinet you where just in, if I could?"

"Sure! I'll just grab it for you," she said.

She pulled out a keyring that had more keys on it then I'd seen in my life. She flicked through a couple, glinting in the stores lights, and found the one she was after. The keys jangled as she turned the lock, and slid the door open. She removed the camera from its glass house, and it's other lens and set them down in front of me on the counter.

"You into photography?" She asked me

I eyed the camera in front of me and replied, "Just a little bit, but I've only ever had film cameras to play with"

I picked up the camera in my hands, and ran my finger tips over the branding, and the rubber grip. It in fit my tiny hands like it belonged there.
I turned the camera around in my hands. I brought it up to my face and as I was looking through the eye piece, my family came up behind me. My little sister standing in front of the counter, just able to see over at what I was looking at.

"Well! What have you found there Bee?" Asked my mother.

My dad was eyeing the camera in my hands, barely acknowledging me.

I smirked and rolled my eyes towards her, "I think it's a little obvious don't you? Maybe you need to get your eyes checked!" I joked back towards her.

She smiled as she swatted me affectionately, my father frowned a little at me, the crease between his eyebrows deepening. He must be in a mood after all the shopping, never one for retail therapy. He was usually the one with the smart comments. His eyes flicked back towards the camera in my hands.

My mother looked at the price, a look of shock flitted across her face. She grabbed dad by the arm, pulling him aside, "the TV was cheaper than we anticipated..." I heard her speak in a hushed tone. "And it IS a good price, and we where looking at buying her that exact one for her 16th birthday coming up... Why don't we just get it now?"

Hope rose in my chest. I had been asking for my own camera for as long as I can remember. Was this a possibility? Could I be getting MY very first camera?!

I heard dads low voice, "I have been wanting to play with a digital SLR... Why not?"

The sales assistant in front of me was observing the whole situation, hope gleamed in her eyes, probably mirroring my facial expressions. Obviously today was a slow day for her in the sales department.

My parents stepped back to the counter, and said to the shop assistant, "Can we wrap this one up too?"

The shop assistant immediately started typing on the computer, confirming they had all the parts and asking my parents for details to put in for the warranty.

I was still shocked. Dazed, I looked down at the camera in my hands, just as the sales lady grabbed it up and started wrapping it up, going on about how good a beginner camera it was and all its good points.

Dad tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned around to face him. "It's not just your camera Beth, we'll share this one."

I looked at him a little puzzled, and a small hint of disappointment crept in - he already had his own, which, he didn't allow me to use. Why did he want to use this one?

I squashed those feelings down, now getting excited to finally have my (almost) own camera to play with!

We walked out of the store, a wall of wet heat hit us all and the sweat that had disappeared in the cool air conditioning found its way back to my forehead. I didn't care though, I was hugging my new camera to my chest, daydreaming about all the awesome stuff I was going to do with it