Why my cheapest lens is now my favourite...
So I bought this Nikon 50mm manual focus lens a few months ago. It was used at Henrys for $50. Now, I already have an 18-70mm zoom lens with all the bells and whistles, so I had certainly no intention of using this 50mm lens instead. It's sole purpose was as my reversed lens for macro photography. However, all that was changed. I forgot the one thing that makes this lens awesome. It has a minimum aperture of 1.8! That means it's really fast and it gives really shallow depth-of-field! All those non-camera people, forgive me... but those two qualities are really useful tools. Here's a picture I took of Jack this evening, with no external light except the hall light behind him. Note the pleasant softness of the background... it provides a glow to the scene, without detracting from it. If I had used my 18-70mm, the background would have been in much sharper focus. Anyway, pardon my gushing... I'm just really pleased with this new use for a lens I would generally leave at home.
Photo: bench
So last night I went to Victoria Park with Ryan and Caroline to do some photography. We were concentrating on shape in particular. Well, I wasn't too pleased with my photos with respect to the topic, but I do like how this one came out.
To see everyone else's results from our first photo project, go to Through the Viewfinder.
To see everyone else's results from our first photo project, go to Through the Viewfinder.
Cat Herding
I remember this commercial from years ago, and I just love it. Thanks to Ryan/Caroline for finding it.
Merry Christmas from Jolly Jack!
Jack just loves the Christmas season, and he would like to send a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone*. He's a bit modest, but I thought everyone should know that he's lost 1.6 pounds since he's been with us. The vet says that we're exactly on pace with the recommended 1/2 pound per month. Yay Jack!
*Everyone being the half-dozen people that read my blog.
Photos du jour
Decided to play with my external flash a bit. It's an old Vivitar flash, and my camera doesn't quite know how to talk to it, so I have to set everything manually. But boy, does it make a difference. But bouncing the light off the ceiling, the colours are much richer. I would post pics comparing the camera flash to the external flash... but I'm afraid that nobody would visit my blog again.
I would love to get the latest Nikon flash... but it's about $500... so it can wait. For now.
I would love to get the latest Nikon flash... but it's about $500... so it can wait. For now.
