100 Day Project 2021

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

New Lens!!

I've been bursting to tell you, but I wanted the package to arrive before I did! UPS delivered it yesterday!  I wanted to run out and hug his neck, but Mr. H was here so I controlled myself!  I did quickly yank my box out of his hands though!!  I had to open it!!  There's a nice story behind this purchase. I won a $100 gift certificate to Adorama Camera from the very special, wonderful, amazing, beautiful ladies at Focusing On Life!!  Can you tell I'm excited?? 

Focusing on Life

Focusing On Life is a blog collaboration of ladies who share their inspiration, thoughts, and photographs. They had a fantastic give-a-way and I won!  Then, came the really hard part!  How do I spent it?  I had recently slipped on some leaves playing with my grandchildren and my camera and I hit the ground!  Camera and I were fine,  but I did begin to notice that the focus was off on the kit lens. It was usable, but frustrating at times. After receiving suggestions on what lens to buy from some of these wonderful girls, I decided on this one...


 
Like I said, it came yesterday. I wanted to try it out, but after being in the back of a UPS truck all day it was freezing cold!  I had to let it warm up before I could use it!  UPS should heat the back of their trucks, don't you think?  About an hour later I gently attached it to my camera and snapped the first photo. I took a picture of the first thing I saw, my wallet and a book.  Nothing fantastic as far as subject, but I was impressed with the focus, the little circle on the clip. All this time, I've thought the slight blur on many of my photos was due to shaky hands. Maybe not, maybe I just needed a better lens!!



Today, I took her with me on a photography adventure. As I  stepped out on the porch I saw the cascading icicles on the bushes! I could tell from the very first picture that there was more depth, contrast, and color than I was achieving with my old lens.

 
One thing I'm having to get used to is that it's a fixed lens. Until recently I didn't even know what that meant. Simply, it doesn't zoom, it just has one distance setting. If you want to get closer or further away you do that by using your own two feet. It was different, but I quickly got used to it!

 
I decided to drive over  to a city park and take some photos of a covered bridge.
 
 
As you can imagine local photographers love to go here for photography shoots, but today I was the only one around. That could be because it was barely above freezing. That is snow on the tops of the rocks.
 
Sometime, I'd like to go back and walk some of the trails. They were too muddy today and I'd need someone to go with me. It's too isolated and not quite safe enough for me to go hiking by myself.
 
The foot bridge was still covered in snow.
You can see my footprints.

I went down by a boat ramp and captured this bird. I have never captured a bird in flight!  This little lens is very fast!  I just heard a noise, looked around, and snapped the picture. Not perfect, but not too bad!

I also spent some time using different aperture settings to get background blur.  That will take some practice to get the softness and creaminess I want, but I see the potential. Right now, I'm most impressed with the contrast and color. It seemed with my old lens that with every shot I had to adjust the contrast, they all seemed flat. Not with this lens, all of these are straight out of the camera.
 
I love it, I really, really love it!

Carol, Claudia, Deanna
Dotti, Judy, Kim, Leigh
Linda,  Stephanie, Terri
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!! I love you girls!!

20 comments:

  1. Oh Cathy, I'm so thrilled for you! You will just love that lens...I have the 50 1.8 and love it. Having a prime lens is a great addition to your camera bag!!

    Your photos are just wonderful! xo

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  2. First congrats on winning this beautiful Give-away. You've spend it well, isn't it a beautiful little lens?! I love the DOF and its sharpness. I think you will enjoy this lens and it will be a great addition during your photography journey.

    All of your images look great!

    Yesterday, for the first time, I tried to shoot in de snow. The images came out white and not blue or grey, yeah! I must practice a lot more, but for now I'm very pleased with the out come.

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  3. Congrats on winning. Great choice, I love that lens too. Your images here are lovely, looking forward to seeing more. :)

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  4. Smiling at you giddiness! Keep all those beautiful photos coming.

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  5. CAthy, I'm sooo glad you love your lens! Your photos are beautiful and it looks like you are going to have the time of your life practicing with it! I was so thrilled that you won our giveaway since you are such a loyal follower of our blog. Good luck and have fun!

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  6. Congratulations. Your photos are great. I know that you will have fun with your new lens.

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  7. Doin' a happy dance over here for ya!

    I absolutely love my 50mm lens and use it almost all the time. You just can't beat the color, the light, the depth of field, and the versatility.

    Have a fun time...but I see that you already are!

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  8. Have fun with your new lens, Cathy! You've already gotten some great images with it.

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  9. This is exactly the lens I want. Jealous, but happy for you. I've had a lot of unexpected expenses over the last 6 months starting with $2,500 surgery for my dog, to $1,500 for siding, to $400 for a new mattress....and that desperately needed car. Maybe when I get MY money back from taxes, I can take the jump.
    I'm really glad to hear your initial reaction (and the resulting photos) was positive. That 2nd shot is amazing. I did have a nifty 50 1.8 for a bit and enjoyed that. You'll get used to being the zoom, zoom, zoom all on your own. Have fun. Will enjoy hearing continued updates on how you like it.

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  10. You're a good photographer and I always love your photos but I think this new lens is going to take your work to a new level. I'm so happy for you! xo

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  11. yay cathy!! i was so pleased to hear that you had won the giveaway! i was using my 50mm prime nearly all the time until i got my new macro lens. they are super sharp and make the prettiest bokeh. looks like you are off to great start my friend!! :) xoxo

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  12. You are so welcome Cathy!! Thank you for being such a great supporter of FOL. It means the world to us! Beautiful shots with your new lens! That lens is on my camera most of the time. I call it the nifty fifty :) Keep shootin!

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  13. Only another photographer can understand how giddy you are! I just had a similar experience when my friends chipped in on a photo store gift certificate for my birthday. I bought a flash unit that I had been putting off forever! Isn't the unexpected fun?
    You are so kind to include us all on your blog-as others have said , it was nice to see the prize go to a talented and loyal friend of FOL! You've been there from the beginning!
    Love your shots and your gratitude. Have fun with it!

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  14. Every day I get on amazon and check out about five different lenses...one is a prime lens...I keep hoping the prices will drop WAY DOWN...but alas they don't. You got yours the very best way, a gift, a surprise...so happy for you. So fun to go out and test the waters with your new lens. You might have used it to do your reflection shots. Now no more slipping. You were so fortunate to not be hurt nor your camera. smiles: sharon

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  15. Well, you know I'm not an equipment geek but I can certainly recognize how exciting this would be. I can't wait to see how your work continues to be enhanced by "good glass", providing the means to deliver wonderful sharpness and clarity to your images. Woo-hoo for you!

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  16. Yayyyyyy! That lens is loving being with you, such a delight to see these shots.

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  17. Oh, Cathy, this just makes me smile! I couldn't be happier to see that you got your new lens and began shooting with it right away. And your shots are beautiful! Thanks again for your loyalty to FOL and you are so sweet to have mentioned us in your blog! I know that new lens and you are going to be best of friends!

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  18. Sorry, that comment above was from me. I guess I forgot to sign out of FOL and back to my own account!

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  19. So exciting for you! These photos are great! I especially like the icicles on the leaves. Can't wait to see what all you can do with it!

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  20. Yay! I'm so happy! These photos are amazing! I can't wait to see more!

    xo,
    Linda

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Thanks so much for stopping by!!