nifty fifty

So my nifty fifty has arrived and I'm in love. 

Yes, my 50 mm, f/1.8 little lens that only cost about $80 delivers fabulously narrow depth-of-field images and yes, bokeh:) I can see why this photography thing becomes an addicting and expensive hobby....watch out!

I heard many raves about this baby but some people claim it's a cheapie, 'Cracker Jacks box toy' lens. So far I must say it's well worth my money and is a great starter for someone like myself who has no need for the uber-expensive, elite f/1.2 lens [well, of course a girl can dream but for now this will do]. Even the f/1.4 seemed a little too much for little old me and thus a love affair with the 1.8 was born. 

As a prime lens I have to move my whole body forward or backward to zoom instead of twisting the lens itself. Let's just say this makes me a little less lazy and is rather hard to get used to, but I love it. 

So my first round of pictures are as follows:

{food---I hear this lens works wonderfully for food shots and any stationary objects}

This would be our asparagus and chicken parmesan dinner we created last week. So yummy!
chicken parmesan and 'gus

Then there was my new favorite muffin, the cranberry pumpkin from Alterra. Scrumptious! 
pumpkin cranberry muffin

Onto more inanimate objects, Go Billikens!
billikens are forever

And there's always nature. Check out this depth-of-field!
ah, hello f/1.8

This is shot looking straight up our neighbor's wall, which is covered in vines. Again, the DOF boggles my mind. I see what my kit lens is missing now, with it's measly 5.6 or 4.5 apertures. 
horizontal vines, narrow DOF

More of the vines, love the colors here.
narrow DOF indeed

And come on, you didn't think I'd forget about this little dude, did you? Backlit subject with a noticeable hunk of goo on his nose. I'm pretty sure he might have gotten bombarded by a renegade squirt of honey and now his fur is a sticky mess of gunk. But I refuse to wash it out because I'm lazy and it's rather cute, don't you think?
sunkissed

It's kind of difficult to get the right focus with such a narrow DOF but this one was okay. It seems like if I focus on his nose then his eyes are totally out of focus and vice versa. Darn dogs and their large honkers!
picturesque


That's just the beginning, my friends. I have many other images to share with you this week and I'm about 80% sure Nate will grace us with his presence, too. I'm going to force a Twilight scene or two on him tonight just so he can get the full effect while I relive some of my favorite scenes. It's a sickness, really.

10 comments:

  1. I don't know what any of your explanations mean but the pictures look great. Are you sure you won't quit your day job to become a photographer? If you ever start shooting people, sign Mike and I (and our non-existent pup) up!!!

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  2. re: the first 3 - were they taken during the day? the lighting is great. I always feel like I have a tough time getting good lighting at night...

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  3. Julia

    Great job on the vines!
    I usually buy my lenses on adorama.com. But lately their inventory sucks.

    Where are you getting yours?

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  4. Nice pics! You are really making me want a new camera :-)
    I can't wait to read Nate's Twilight post. Tell him we are all eagerly awaiting...

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  5. LC~I'm sure I could handle the non-existent pup but people are different and scary! Thanks for the kind words, though.

    Kelly~No, only the muffin shot was taken with natural light by a window. The other two [pasta and Billiken] were taken indoors at night. I agree that it's hard without natural light....I play around a lot with this.

    Yara~I got my camera and first lens at B&H Photo/video online. I got this lens from Amazon and I believe the seller was actually Adorama. I looked everywhere to compare prices and Amazon won.

    Laura~He feels the pressure! My mom and grandma even emailed me privately to say they are waiting:)

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  6. Your pics look awesome! You're going to be a professional before you know it!

    As for Twilight, sweet Lord I'm obsessed with Edward, too. How is it possible to feel this way over a made up character, who happens to be a vampire, which happens to be geared towards 14 year olds?! And I'm 27! I'm okay with it though, there's no shame in my game.

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  7. Great shots. Send me a plate of that chicken parm!

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  8. Reading your blog just makes me realize how little I know about my own DSLR that I've had for almost a year and a half! I really need to take a class before my vacation this summer.

    Anyway, those pictures are gorgeous! I love all the orchids, but I have to say that #10 is my favorite. Do you find yourself wondering if there's a hard drive large enough to accomodate the results of your new hobby? I have so many pictures on my 200GB computer, but I know I'm going to have to get an external hard drive pretty soon.

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. I was concerned to read comments regarding the inventory at Adorama Camera.

    I am always delighted to hear from customers - or would-be customers who are seeking advice or support with ordering from Adorama Camera.
    Please don't hesitate to contact me directly: helen.oster@adoramacamera.com.

    Sincerely

    Helen Oster
    Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

    helen.oster@adoramacamera.com
    www.adorama.com

    ReplyDelete

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