What did I learn on my holiday?

When we have an idea in our house, we just do it!

We decided to book a last minute holiday before we have to pay school holiday prices (gggrrr!) so, as usual, I decided to set myself a challenge.  To ONLY take photos with my digital camera.

This challenge is harder than it sounds!

In reality, I have several cameras so decided to take my trusted first purchased camera, and two lens, a zoom and a prime lens (which basically doesn't zoom, you or the subject has to move).  In my head, now the kids are older and we don't have to carry as much 'stuff', I thought it would be easy for me to just carry my kit with me.  And on the whole, it was but what did I learn about the experience and did I complete my challenge?

First things first....

So to start us off, I never took any photos at the airport, which is usually mandatory for me.  Trying to maneuver a camera, bag, children, passports etc in a deadline driven environment did not work on this occasion, we just about made it to the plane on time!  For example, usually when we board the plane, I  get the 'stand by the plane' shot but I wasn't organised to get my camera around my neck as I was too busy thinking through what was going in the overhead locker vs under the floor.  Lesson learnt.

The challenge kept challenging!

Once we arrived in Menorca, I realised how heavy it was to carry my camera bag around all of the time in the heat.    Reflecting on the ease of a camera phone in a back pocket crept into my mind but I was determined to carry on and remember why I wanted to take the challenge.  Life isn't always supposed to be easy so I was determined to persevere! Another thing that hit me throughout the holiday was the tiny number of people who carry a digital camera around with them.  I could count on one hand the amount of cameras I saw which, to be fair, shocked me as I was expecting to see more.  Again I reminded myself of the advantages of using a proper camera that enable me to get the best possible photo.  I shoot in manual and just can't get this from a mobile phone!

But it was so worth it!

A couple of days in and I was used to having the camera with me.  I smiled daily at the photos I was able to take that I just wouldn't have been the same  on my phone.  I reckon that I came away with 100 really good photos that I would happily put on my wall so definitely worth it in the end! Mission accomplished!