Adding to the family

NO, this is not a post about babies. At least not the human kind.

I might consider my cameras my babies...they get treated with special care and I know them the way I assume I might someday know my children. I've heard it said that children feel like an extension of your person, and I must agree that my cameras feel much the same way when I hold them. I love them about as much as you possibly can love an inanimate object.

Last weekend, I decided to rent a camera for the three events taking place between Friday and Sunday. Instead of picking up more of what I already know I love, I decided to try something new and completely totally different from the norm. There has been a lot of buzz in the photography world about the rangefinder-style cameras that Fuji makes, and after reading this review from Zack Arias about how much he loved the X-Pro1, I decided to give it a try.

And once I tried, I knew there was no giving it up. Sorry, LensProToGo, you can't have your camera back.

I placed an order for one of my own before I even returned the rented one. That's how much I loved this camera. Too bad human children don't work the same way, with try-before-you-buy and when you find a model you like you just place an order. Who wants to get on that? Until it happens, I'm sticking to cameras.

One of the things that I really and truly love about this camera is that it is so simple. There aren't a thousand programmable buttons or fancy mechanics. It has exactly the controls you need to make a good picture, no extra complications. And it does take great pictures. Whatever special sauce they put in this thing is certainly a winner. It does amazing things in low light, for sure, on top of being much less heavy to carry and relatively unobtrusive compared to a DSLR. I'm using it with an 18mm F/2 lens, making it a perfect wide-angle, photojournalistic camera to contrast the portrait lenses I use on my D700. And, I think it goes with out saying, but the thing is so darn cute and retro, I can barely stand it (because I totally am the person who will buy something for form over function, but thankfully, this has both).

And since we're on the subject of children, it would be against my nature not to include a photo of my furry babies. Sometimes I think they just lay on the floor and have silent conversations...probably about the stupid things their parents told them they couldn't do.

Annapolis in the Spring

I heart spring. Just in case you couldn't tell, I'm making it official.

Since the weather was so nice yesterday, I took a little photo walk of some of my favorite things in Annapolis and some of my favorite things about spring: boats, flowers blooming, sunny skies, water, the color yellow...

And this hearty daffodil, that just couldn't stay fenced in. It had to explore beyond its boundaries and experience the rest of the world.

 

All of these were taken on film; the for the top two, I used my new dreamy Diana Lens...which I love. It's blurry quality makes it feel whimsical and carefree...so much like spring!

Fifty Millimeters

It feels like cheating.

The pictures that come out of my new 50mm f/1.4 lens are dreamy. I didn't know that I could take such dreamy pictures. But that's why it feels like cheating. Is it me, or the awesomeness of the lens?

I've decided it's my new challenge. If this lens can make any picture look good, then I'm going to have to step up my game to get some really good pictures. Maybe even better than the ones I think are my best so far. Which, now that I'm taking more pictures, is changing pretty regularly.

So here's a sampling of some of the coolness that this thing can produce. Excuse the randomness of these pictures...I took most of them as soon as I could rip open the box and get the lens on my camera; I was just so excited!

Can I also mention how fast this lens arrived? I ordered it from Adorama, and I adore them. The price was the lowest I found and it came with free shipping. It was about 6:20 on a Tuesday night when I put it in my cart and it arrived on my doorstep on Wednesday. That is some excellent service. They didn't pay me to say that either...I just think good service deserves praise.

I will definitely be using this baby to shoot some portraits in a few weeks. Stay tuned!

Tax Returns

Dear Government,

I know that there may come a day when I owe you money for my taxes. But, lucky for you, it won't be this year.

Why is that lucky for you? You think that lucky-for-you would mean that you get more money from me. Don't worry, it is more lucky for you because I am doing the happy dance. The world needs more happy than money. And I am happy because I get to keep my money, which I have already spent on more things that make me happy. See, you will have good karma now because you just created a circle of happy (and I've done my part to keep your economy afloat).

Thank you so much for my tax return. It was a pleasure doing business with you this year.

Yours truly,
Anna

P.S. I thought you might like a picture of the good that your tax return did.

My Material Loves

I will be the first to admit that I am addicted to buying new things. No, really, I think it runs in my family, my dad's side of the family. If I go too long without buying something new, I start to get weepy and show all the signs of a full-on depression.  Secretly, I hope that the people who have to see me like this every day get so tired of it, they want to just give me the money to go out and get something so that they don't have to see me so sad. But alas, that hasn't happened yet. Guess I need to spend some time in front of the mirror practicing my sad puppy dog face - maybe that will help my cause.

So now, I give you my list of things I am not-so-secretly coveting. Please do your best to forgive my greediness.

1. An iMac. My sad little college laptop is acting like a little old man. It's hard for him to get up these days and he's moving pretty slowly. And if I ever want to be able to learn #3 on my list, well, we may have to find a funeral home for my little old Gateway. Once you go Mac, you never go back. (And can we talk about how pretty they are? I really don't care what's inside of it, I want it because it looks awesome).

2. A Nikon 50mm f/1.4g AF-S lens. Pretty much the best portrait taking lens. For the style of photography I want to do, fixed lenses are where it's at. I'm going to be second shooting a wedding soon, and this lens is on the top of my list of things I need to get before that big day.

3. Photoshop. Picnik will only hold me for so long.

4. A Nikon SB-900 flash. It's a little on the expensive side. But this great photographer I know once made the mistake of buying a less-expensive flash and then ended up upgrading only a few months later. So the big boy is going on my list. Oh, and I get to learn how to use it on April 5th!

5. Jose Villa's new book. Because his pictures are di-vine. And maybe I could learn a thing or two from him. But mostly, it's pretty.

6. Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Boxed Set. I've been thinking about signing up for his online training program...but I've been holding out until I cross numbers 1 and 3 off my list. As an alternative, I could use these books immediately. I mean, Mr. Kelby is almost God, and this is like the Bible.

7. The Dreamy Diana Lens. Along with my love of film, I also love all the lomography stuff that's back in style. It's a little experimental, but that's what makes it so fun.

So there you have it, all the things that are on my to-buy list. Unless some generous person decides to give them to me for my birthday (and in case you forgot, it's now 24 days away, so you all better get shopping). Or maybe I'll win the lottery. Maybe I should add a lottery ticket to the list.