My Backyard…
I decided to snap off a few pics last night and this morning, and kept a few to share…
We decided to grill last night, and while I have an old, ugly grill, it absolutely gets the job done… Here is a quick, kinda abstractish shot of the top of said grill:
And the AWESOME chicken that my lovely wife grilled for dinner. Seriously, it was amazing. She has some serious skills, which I happen to know she picked up from her Mom, Dad, and Brother. I DEFINITELY married into a family that knows how to make awesome food!:
And, I thought I’d throw in the view from my backyard. I like it a lot, and not many people I know can stand on the back porch and watch the farmers harvest crops! It tends to be really windy where I live, and at night in the wind, the crops are really loud. They sound like a really powerful sprinkler. I know that sounds weird, but to go outside and listen to it is very relaxing. lol
Jelly Belly’s? No. Belly Flops!
Just one more shot with the new Canon 85/1.8 from today (that I forgot to post earlier)… Those are not Jelly Belly’s inside the “jar”, they are “Belly Flops”, and they are REALLY good! Yum!
New To My Gear List:
So, as usual, I made a trade, and this time have 2 new lenses. The Sigma 15/2.8 left on Monday for Brea, CA, and yesterday I received my new lenses:
1) Canon 18-55/IS
2) Canon 85/1.8
After the 15/2.8 was gone, my shortest lens was the 70-200 F/4L. 70mm on a crop body (1.6) is FAR too log for an everyday lens, and the 85/1.8 would be even longer. To combat this, I got the 18-55/IS, which is a VERY underrated lens. So now, the only missing slot in my range is from 55-70mm, which I don’t need anyway. Needless to say, I am completely stoked!
I have wanted to 85/1.8 for a while, and I am fairly sure that it will get a lot of use. I took a few quick shots last night and this morning, all with the 85/1.8, so I thought I would share them. I’ll give a little info when I do as well… As you can probably tell, I am already in love with this lens!
Here is the 85/1.8 & it’s aftermarket Hood (this one taken with the 70-200 F/4L…
So, being as I have been missing really shallow DOF in a fast lens, I wanted to play with that a bit. The first one was taken last night at home, more-or-less just playing with the bokeh. The second was taken at work this morning, and was to show the shallow DOF I can get with it.
On to these. I just took them for fun. I, of course, wanted to play with the new lens, and kinda went looking for things to shoot, instead of waiting on them to come to me. What did I find? Well, some wasps, one of our cats, and both dogs. I also found this guy at work. He was WAYYY tired, and it shows! His name is Jason, and I also have a video of him on YouTube. The black & white cat is Gadget, A.K.A. Gadgers. The brownish dog is mine, Roxy, and the little white fluffy thing is Ruby, my wife’s dog. On to the pics:
I, personally, love this shot…
And………… Here’s Jason. Obviously I PP’ed this to be very contrasty. His comment, “You made me look like an ‘angry black man’” hahahahahaha!
A Quick Video of My Son…
This was at Trudy’s last weekend. Watch how his expression changes toward the end… Hilarious!
Elgin, TX… Hay?
I decided to stop on the way home Monday and take a few pics. These are from a field near my house, and by near, I mean right across the street. I am not too happy with them, but I thought they were ok, so why not share?
This is an HDR version of the one below it. I’m not sure which one I like better (I think the second one), so I am sharing both…
And here is one of the Jeep. I’m not too sure why, but I really liked this…
An me, saying hello in the reflection on the Jeep’s rear passenger window…
4th of July Fireworks…
None of these are great, period. This is my first time actually shooting fireworks, and it shows. These are at various settings, all manual, as well as manual focus. There are only a handful of them, but I thought I would share…
Canon 30D and Sigma 15mm F/2.8…
The Curved Mirror…
Playing w/ HDR again. This is in the parking garage at work this morning. Notice how it seems “foggy”? This is TX, so it’s hot in the morning at 6am. I got out of the A/C filled Jeep, popped the lens cap, and the glass fogged up. The center was clear after a few seconds, so I could get focus in the middle. I thought that would be a creative look, so I grabbed this pic before it cleared all the way… Thought I would share…
Canon 30D w/ Siggy 15/2.8…
