I was running around with my video camera a few weeks ago, and I suddenly felt like a raging schmuck.  It's an awesome little camera, and is well-suited for capturing cinematic moments packed with action and sound.  But on this particular day, I was framing up shots as if they were photos, and found myself wishing for a decent still camera.

Wishing didn't pan out, so yesterday I summoned the power of AMEX and brought home a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1. 

I realize that everybody and their dull hipster brother has an expensive digital camera strapped around their neck, and for a long time I resisted joining the herd.  After all, is there a slice of life in New York City that has yet to be documented with a creatively cockeyed angle, and that dreamy background blur that I refuse to call "bokeh"?

I've slowly begun to realize that I was missing the point.  Sometimes, for whatever primal reasons that caused humans to develop photography in the first place, life begs to be photographed.

For a few years, I've been clumsily snapping photos with my phone, then reviewing them on my computer with a underwhelmed sigh.  Sure, with enough light and a steady grip, the iPhone takes decent pics, but there's nothing spontaneous or elegant about them.  I'm not deft enough to thumb a touchscreen shutter icon with one hand while walking briskly and trying to remain inconspicuous.

I knew I'd never be one of those guys lugging around a ginormous pro camera, but it turns out there's a new(ish) class of camera, called Micro 4/3rds, that offers the portability of a compact camera alongside many of the alluring qualities of a DSLR.  Lenses are interchangeable, and the sensor size allows for better pictures in low light.  And the GF1 performs so well in daylight that I find myself shooting crystal clear-photos one-handed, spontaneously, and sometimes without even checking my shot beforehand.  Once I really develop a sense of where to point the thing, I'll be ready to join the paparazzi.

Shooting is half the fun.  Editing RAW format photos with minimal destruction is also very addicting.

Here are a few shots I took mere moments after purchasing the camera.  This is gonna be fun.