Today my new Canon EF 28mm prime lens arrived- ordered from Warehouse Express yesterday! The more I use prime lenses, the more I like them and the quality of the images over standard zoom lenses is far superior (in my opinion!). I am lucky enough to have a Canon L lens (the 24-105mm) and if the shutter speed and aperture are chosen correctly then I would say the images it produces are on a par with a prime lens.
I have a feeling that over the next few weeks there will be a lot of discarded shots due to autofocus errors etc., but once I have had a good play with it I will post some more photos for you to review!
Quite a number of years a go I bought the cheap Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens for my Canon Digital Rebel (my first dSLR). I barely used it at first mainly because if I wasn’t paying attention and the ISO was set to 100, the camera would automatically open up the lens. This would often result in photos that were out of focus or the focus point was not on the subject. Recently, I have found that having such a fast lens is fantastic for taking pictures of the children, particularly where I don’t want to use flash. However, recently I have decided to use my flash more and so I am now using 2 pieces of kit that were bought and forgotten about.
I don’t really have an eye for the shallow depth of field photography, or Bokeh style, so I am having to readjust my eye to looking around my surroundings more. I couple of photos taken yesterday are posted below where I thought the narrow depth of field would work- what do you think?
Another reason for digging out my 50mm lens and the flash is that my sister-in-law is getting married in May and they have asked me to take some of their wedding photographs as they aren’t having a professional photographer- so they get me instead! Naturally this has resulted in lots of google searches for the best lenses to use at weddings, flash techniques and so on, and so on. One idea I have (which I haven’t discussed with the happy couple), is to set the camera up on a tripod and to make a time-lapse movie of the wedding and subsequent wedding breakfast. I’m sure they will be happy for me to post some pictures post scrutiny!
On a totally separate note, I have been listening to the new album by Lana Del Rey constantly for the last few days. If you haven’t heard it I would definitely recommend buying it or finding most of the tracks on YouTube! Try this for size…
During the summer of 2005 Lou and I had this fantastic trip planned that included New Orleans and exploring the Deep South. Before we even got to the part of booking flights and hotels we found out Lou was pregnant with our first child! Although we decided not to go on our Deep South trip, we planned a road trip to Shenandoah National Park staying at various campsites along the way. On the face of it this sounded like a good idea, but unfortunately we forgot about the intense humidity which made the tent into a personal mobile sauna!
Despite the mileage we covered, starting in NYC and going as far south as Tennessee and Kentucky, it was one of the most relaxing holidays we have been on. The only downside was the everyday occurrence of loading and unloading the car. However, to make up for it we often went to bed early, followed by a lazy morning enjoying the peace and tranquility of being in the great outdoors.
If you haven’t had the chance to visit Shenandoah NP and the surrounding area then I would definitely recommend a visit. I imagine it is a magical place in the autumn when the bright, bold hues of red orange and purple leaves transform the landscape into a striking colour splash!
Today I had some news that made my heart sink and my bank balance weep! Yep, you guessed it, the car needed major repairs. In total I will be a grand lighter in the pocket but on the plus side I will have nice new shiny tie bars and track rod ends (!) to go along with new discs and pads, cam belt and last but by no means least…new nearside front wheel bearing!! What are tie bars and track rod ends I hear you cry? Well, according to Google they are something or other that helps a car go around corners and over rough terrain…who knew? The handy image below will make it all clear for you.
To be honest we have now had 3 VW cars (2 currently) and until now we have never needed any major work done. That being said it does appear to have all happened at once which in all honesty makes it harder to take. Plans for holidays, birthdays and bar mitzvahs have all been cancelled. The children’s toys have all been put on e-bay and we’ve been out this morning to buy them a hoop and a stick for them to play with- if it breaks we can easily and most importantly, buy a cheap replacement. Furthermore, I’ve even taken the difficult, completely irrational decision to take Lou’s car off the road and the family car will now be replaced by these…You don’t see any tie bars, track rod ends on these so they couldn’t possibly need replacing! I always knew bicycles were better!
The following photos were taken in Liverpool during the Tour of Britain 2008. The TdB was eventually won by Frenchman Geoffroy Lequatre riding for French team Agritubel. As cycling has grown in popularity the interest in the TdB has also grown. Although still only a relatively new tour, more and more quality teams and riders are signing up. The 2012 route has not yet been released but already promises to be a fantastic bike race.
More pictures of the TdB 2008 can be found on my flickr site.
Dave Johnson's Photography 