I think it's pretty safe to say that this blog has created a new love of photography in my life. I've always been a little shutterbug, but until I had a 'reason' to step up my photography game, I simply viewed it as a hobby. In the last year, it has become much more than that. When I purchased my camera, I wanted something I could grow with. I wasn't about to drop a ton of dough on a heavy duty Canon or Nikon when I'd never actually shot anything in manual mode and knew very little about exposure, composition, or editing. So I bought my Samsung (after doing a lot of research), which comes with an 18-55mm zoom lens. The kit lens is great, and I've taken some of my favorite pictures with it, but... I outgrew it. I could have gone out and purchased a new, more advanced camera system, but I still love my Samsung. I think it's a great 'blogging camera'. I opted for a new lens instead ( Samsung 45mm f/ 1.8 prime lens ). I could get pret