Friday, November 19, 2010

Oh, so shallow...

Shallow Depth of Field, that is.

I took my 50mm 1.4 outside yesterday for a play date.
He and I have had a rocky relationship.
He didn't always see things as clearly as I'd like him to
and my skills at manipulating him to get my way had not developed yet.
When I first saw 50mm 1.4, I knew that I had to have him.
He was so much more handsome than his cousin 1.8 and so much more seductive.
But there was a price to be paid and I wondered if he would be worth it.
Once I got him in my hands, I hardly knew what to do with him.
He was so full of light and I didn't know how to control it.
He was shallow...oh, so shallow.
And I couldn't always find his focus.
I knew he had good qualities.
I had heard women sing his praises over and over again.
But I didn't know how to find them.
So, rather than work harder on our relationship,
I set him aside.
Left him in my camera bag.
Sad and lonely.
I eschewed his superior optics 
and reached for another...
my kit lens.
Don't get me wrong...
my kit lens is great.
He has so many, many wonderful qualities
And I've loved exploring every one.
But I knew, I just knew...
that I was ignoring a fine piece of workmanship,
my 50mm.
But Mr. Kit lens and I had been talking,
working out a few details 
and I was getting bolder with my equipment.
Occasionally, I would hear 50mm calling to me.
I'd give him another chance 
only to be confused by his lack of focus 
and his complete inability to zoom in on the subject at hand.
He made me dance 
in order to find the right frame and focus.
At first I was all left feet, 
but with some determination and practice,
I learned to love the dance.

And in doing so, 
I discovered his softer side.

And, Ladies...
Have you heard?

He has a really great Bokeh.

sigh...


Household6Diva FotoFriday

15 comments:

Leslie said...

is this how you feel when you read some of my quilting posts?...totally confused

Anonymous said...

Wow! These are so gorgeous! I love them all! I can not even pick a favorite. Wonderful job! Came over from Foto Friday. I am your newest follower.

Brooke said...

Glad you gave him another shot! I loved your dance and the outcome is WOW! Those last couple of the yellow leaf are my favs. I have a 35mm 1.8 and have wondered about going to a 1.4 but have heard that it is hard to use wide open. I am loving the results here - maybe there is just a learning curve!!

Lindsey said...

These are great... I'm inspired. I'm so afraid to spend money on new lenses, cause 'What if I don't like it?' and there is nothing worse than spending money on something that you don't like or even use.
I'm so glad you kept at it, I hope some of these are going up on your wall (I'd actually love some of them to frame on my wall...)

CJ said...

These are so gorgeous. Looks like you two had a very successful "dance" :)

Susan said...

What a great post! I feel the same way about my 50 mm (your lens’ cousin), and am currently working on that relationship on a daily basis.

Anonymous said...

That 2nd to last yellow leaf shot is divine. I love it! I have been wanting a 50mm, but now I am a little scared of it. :)

koreen (aka: winn) said...

So great! You're really getting the hang of your new "friend" aren't you? I particularly love the last 4 shots.

Unknown said...

I am glad you fell in love. I love mine too. Sometimes I go back to the old kit lens though since I understand him SO much better : )

You took exquisite pictures of fall with your lens. They are absolutely perfect. Wishing you a weekend filled with joy and lots and lots of pretty light!

Ashley Sisk said...

I fell back in love with my 1.8 last month and now can't wait to get my hands on the 1.4 - such beautiful beautiful bokeh.

Seizing My Day said...

I don't even want to talk about the quality of my camera vs. yours... but anyway... (ha ha) What an amazing selection of photos!! Fun fun fun! I love playing but I am not in your league!! ha ha!

Unknown said...

okay I love this post and LOOOOVE these photos!!! wow!! seriously gonna take a min and look around now. ;)

Bunch of Barrons said...

Once I got a 50/1.4 it was love. I use that thing all the time. It's an amazing lens.

Jen said...

wow!! stunning bokeh! great colors. you should submit this to a bokeh share challenge...

http://secretagentmama.com/blog/2010/11/19/picture-it-outside-of-the-box-week-4/

Mary said...

Ah the 50mm 1.4--this was my baby for awhile--I felt about it the way you wrote about your kit lens! :)

Have you tried taking your focus down to just one of the points? (I'm assuming you are using apperature priority?) I always only use one focus point (usually center and occasionally middle top or middle bottom). Then I press down halfway to focus and then move around to frame and then press click. I made it sound more confusing than it is. :)

Try an experiment. Take a pic of lights (Christmas tree is perfect) with both lens and check your bokeh. You'll see that the nifty 50 gives you a much rounder and prettier bokeh and you will love it with all of your heart.