What I did not expect….DIRTY LENS! wow. I think it’s b/c I used a small aperture, the smallest and that’s why every nook, dust particle, and spot showed up! You know what, it’s the opposite, LARGE aperture, F/1.4….I am wondering if it’s a dirty lens for the imperfections in the lights themselves. Never mind me thinking out loud!

Clearly I am left with more questions than answers! Something that bears revisiting I can see already :-)

Christmas Lights, Canon 50 mm – F/1.4, depth of field, DOF,  shallow depth of field,  vivid colors, circles, out of focus, selective focus

Went for a little scouting trip for photos on Sunday. I am going to be shooting a senior session @ this park and wanted to make sure it was viable even though I had been there last year. A few things caught my eye and what better lens to have with me than my Canon 50mm 1.4!

DOF:30!

Behind our house we have a little drainage alley, fun to explore from time to time; and it’s nice having a buffer zone between us and the back neighbors.

..

F/4 actually :O one or two of the others might be f/2 but you didn’t hear that from me!

I am in the middle of doing some serial backup/archiving of some of my old photos and ran across these; brought back the memories they did.
I’m taking all my old CD-R’s and burning them to BD-R….I need the physical space! (in the lock-box (fireproof safe)).

Back to the pics. These are some of the first images I took with my 50/1.4 and I had a great time shooting them. Sadly I do not use this lens NEARLY enough, either @ 1.4 or otherwise which is a shame b/c it’s a fun/cool lens; fast and versatile I say!

One thing I will say, or perhaps it’s two things now, when you shoot @ 1.4 the DOF – Depth of Field is SHALLOW!!! So much so that you should really use a tri-pod every time….but of course I am lazy and with these pics I bet the camera body never saw the TP! Oh well, part of having fun shooting is just being able to get out there and shoot! And not have to worry about this, that, and the other.

P.S. I love rust!!!

I think both lenses are really great but you just can’t beat 2.8. In terms of lenses though I have to force myself to use my 70-200/4 which is a shame in and of itself. I rented the 70-200/2.8/L/IS for the Dallas Cowboys Training Camp 2009. You know what! It paid off!! One of the GENEROUS fans who noticed my lens invited me to take his spare VIP pass. I was field level for the entire practice! Often times merely 6-10′ from several players.

But back to the lenses. What I should really have done would be some image comparisons, maybe next time! For now just a side by side of the lenses themselves.

Here we have a crude DIY flash extender which allows me to shoot through the rear windows into my backyard to capture various birds that come looking for seed.
The first 16 images are birds without using flash, and it seems I have yet to upload the ones using the DIY flash extender. I’ll have to rectify the latter very soon!