Last month, on our first ever Tuesday Takeover feature, Lydia Kuniholm introduced us to her photography journey, using film cameras. Today, the story continues, but Lydia has now graduated to a digital camera.

Let’s dive right in!

“Your ‘Digital’ Camera Takes Great Photos!” – Nikon D50

I entered the digital age of photography while working in the Emirates from 1999 to 2009, and continued to chronicle my own life for those left back home, including my new surroundings. Unlike my experience with film, I could now immediately and easily share my photos. I spent a small fortune on my first digital camera, a point and shoot Kodak. All I remember was that it performed superbly in low light.

I joined a photography club and had my first experience going out on group shoots. Most of the members were male. Our first expedition was a foray into the desert, with a catering company along with us carrying a generator so we could review our photos at the end of each day. They talked non-stop about technical issues (“Are you shooting in RAW?”, “What software did you use to edit that?”, etc.) and scoffed at my little camera. They seemed surprised with the results that I got from it. 

By the time I moved to Nigeria in 2009, I had upgraded my camera to a Nikon D50, my first DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera. I vividly remember a trip I took with some university colleagues into neighboring Cameroon. I chronicled the trip extensively and shared the results with my travel mates. One Russian colleague was particularly envious of my camera, so much so, that our trip prompted him to buy a digital DSLR for himself. 

I retired the little Nikon D50, gifting it to my father who still uses it to take pictures of art pieces he likes at the museum. It is easy to use and performs well in low light, especially with the 50mm lens that I gave to him to use with it.