New Toys

Happy Holidays, Everyone! It's the 29th of December and I'm in the middle of a one week vacation so I'm relaxing at home with my family. For Christmas I received some new photography toys. The image here is the result of the new "nifty fifty", a 50mm f1.8 prime lens, which has great clarity and sharpness. This image is a shot I took when I went for a walk in the neighbourhood yesterday. I have to play with this lens for a while to figure out how to make my images sing but I think you can see that it has a lot of promise.

I was a bit disapointed in the other two gifts. A circular polarizing filter and a UV filter. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate them immensely, however, I had asked for and receieved 58mm filters but the new lens is a 52mm mount. The 58mm filters fit my kit lens which is very handy but I can't use them on my new lens. Maybe this is a common problem in the lens world but I'm still kind of disappointed - it makes me choose. Clarity and sharpness but no filters or filters on the kit lens which is very convenient since it's a 18-55 zoom but not as sharp. I'll just have start saving for more gear I guess. Photography is such an expensive hobby!

I took my camera and went for a walk in the woods on Sunday to get my first look at winter through the lens of my camera. Despite the cold wind and snow on the ground, it was a beautiful day in the woods. The trees kept most of the cold wind at bay and the sun offered up a bit of warmth.

Thick clouds were playing hide and seek with the sun which made shootin' a little tricky as I would set up a shot with the big softbox that is a nice cloudy sky and the sun would come out and drown me with light. Or I would set up the shot with bright sunlight shining through an icicle and before I pressed the shutter a cloud bank would turn the twinkling ice dull.

I did manage to get a few shots on Sunday that I am happy with and the one to the left is one of them. I loved the the way the snow clung to the tree branches and how the white contrasted with the bright blue sky. This shot shows some of the beauty of Halifax. Even though you are in the "big bad city" you can always find a piece of nature nearby to appreciate.