I have regressed

[NicoleScraps]

It is sad actually.
I went on a field trip today with my son (2nd grade). We went to a state park, learned about nature, had a scavenger hunt, had a picnic, and went on a nature hike. I decided for a couple of reasons not to take my dslr, but to take my old point and shoot camera.
1. We had a 50% chance of rain and I didn't want to chance getting it wet
2. I didn't feel like lugging the thing around with me all day
3. My P&S always delivers good enough snapshots, which was all that I was trying to get today.

Well, probably 50% of the photos that I took today were out of focus. WTH is my problem? I used that camera for 5 years and was pretty good with it. Some of my most favorite photos ever (snapshot/candid/family shots) were taken with that camera. And today, I sucked with it. They were not motioned blurred, they were straight up out of focus, end of story. I think that I might have gotten a little too used to hearing the beep that means the focus is locked. I also struggled with using the screen to take photos instead of looking through the viewfinder.

[Gulf Coast Girl]

Perhaps you were just having such a good time with your son that you weren't concerned with perfection in your shots. Your son probably appreciated that you were in the moment with him and enjoying the day instead of worrying about the perfect (or even decent) shot.

Today you were just mommy, not "the photographer". I'm sure you and your son had a great day so cut yourself some slack and don't dwell on the pictures

[IABoomer]

If I was going to guess, I'd say you've become so accustomed to the speed and responsiveness of your DSLR that you're out of practice in dealing with the slower focus-locking and shutter activating of the P&S.

Before, you'd learned its idiosyncrasies and could accommodate them. Given enough time working with it, you'd fall back into your rhythm with it and be taking better shots.

As Gulf Coast Girl said, you got a 50% keeper rate and spent a great day with your kid. Nothing to beat yourself up over.

[NicoleScraps]

Originally Posted by Gulf Coast Girl

Perhaps you were just having such a good time with your son that you weren't concerned with perfection in your shots. Your son probably appreciated that you were in the moment with him and enjoying the day instead of worrying about the perfect (or even decent) shot.

Today you were just mommy, not "the photographer". I'm sure you and your son had a great day so cut yourself some slack and don't dwell on the pictures

You are right. This was another reason that I left the dslr at home. I wanted to focus on my son and not worry about photography. But I didn't think I would suck this bad.

Originally Posted by IABoomer

If I was going to guess, I'd say you've become so accustomed to the speed and responsiveness of your DSLR that you're out of practice in dealing with the slower focus-locking and shutter activating of the P&S.

Before, you'd learned its idiosyncrasies and could accommodate them. Given enough time working with it, you'd fall back into your rhythm with it and be taking better shots.

As Gulf Coast Girl said, you got a 50% keeper rate and spent a great day with your kid. Nothing to beat yourself up over.

I am sure that you are right. I probably just "forgot" how to use this camera.