People may have observed an increased amount of mediocre-quality photography appearing on my blog of late, and be wondering why.

When I was young, Dad always used to shoot on a 35mm SLR, but with the advent of digital, switched back to point-and-shoot cameras. For many years I longed for a digital SLR, but it was very much out of my price range. Later I decided that I would prefer a small camera that I could easily carry around with me, so for quite a while I've had a Canon Ixus.

Those who saw me at linux.conf.au this year saw me carting around my Dad's Canon 400D, as part of a field trial. Dad buying this camera resparked my interest in SLR photography. I found myself quite enjoying the control and the ability to create really nice photography (or at least make an attempt). It fit in nicely with my need to find new hobbies; plus now digital SLR was something I could afford.

To this end, I purchased a Canon 450D and the two image stabilised lens kit (18-55 IS and 55-250 IS) about 2 days before Steph and I got married. This was the camera I took around Penang and Singapore.

I'm still learning how to use it, but it seems like quite an improvement over the 400D, but I think a lot of that is the lens. The 18-55 IS lens is quite a bit nicer than the old Canon kit lens. The IS is really forgiving and allows for shots that otherwise I would have blurred, although for some reason emits a high-pitched whine when stabilising, which is a little unpleasant.

So that's why I've been taking so many photos.