Zooming in

There's no doubt that photography can bring great frustration and great joy into your life. You start out at the age of 8 with a Kodak Instamatic 50 (still got it, still works) and black and white prints. Remember the 12-frame film that you would take down to the chemist for developing and collect a week later? Couldn't wait to open the envelope and see how many photos were in focus and had the subject in the centre of the picture? Threw away 4 out of 12? Ah, yes! The good old days.
Digital cameras have now brought an expensive hobby into the reach of everyone, with a price range to suit every pocket, and now the burning questions are: why did I take so many of the same thing, should I delete them on the camera before I download onto the computer or should I wait for a rainy winter's day to sort through the 10 000 plus photos of waves?
As with most things technical, we always want an upgrade once we have conquered the current toy. An 8-inch astronomical telescope soon pales in comparison with a 10-inch, and a 20-inch telescope would be just perfect if it weren't too heavy to lug outside for the odd night's observing. And so with a camera. A 10x zoom doesn't give the detail you want of a bird's feathers, or the moon, or a ship at sea. I think I have found the right camera to fulfil my current requirements with the Nikon P900, and you may have noticed an improvement in the photos I post. I have. So frustration has given place to joy. Enjoy some of it!