Shea helps with my camera

I got a new Canon S5 IS camera a few weeks ago. I takes excellent photos of people and faces, and it's much quicker than the simple Olympus point and shoot I had before. I can actually get a photo of my boys in action. With the other camera, they'd be out of the room before it would actually snap the photo. But the one thing I couldn't figure out was how to use the "macro" setting. I read the instructions but was obviously missing some simple step. In macro mode, I should be able to take extreme close ups of canola flowers, fertilizer in the row and nose hairs. This is an important setting when you want to photo something small, such as flea beetles.

Well, I got help from an unexpected source. As I was checking out of the Saskatoon Inn last week, the front desk receptionist Shea Biss asked how I liked my Canon. "It's great, but I can't figure out how to use the macro mode," I said. Then he said, "I've got an S3, the older version, and maybe it works the same way. Set it to "P", then hold the macro button for about three seconds." I tested his technique right then and there, and it worked!

That was a week ago. Today I was sitting at my desk, looking at my camera and decided to check if I remembered how the macro setting worked. I did. Thanks to Shea.

You never know where you'll find an expert. I don't think I'll be telling every stranger about my problems on the off chance they might help me. But Shea did remind me that good tips can come from unusual places.