Prime lenses?

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by bonbon

The new lens was already here when I got home from work. I've been playing with it a bit and I think it's probably the lens I'm going to have the most fun with. I've taken pictures of things - just stuff I don't really want pictures of - and gotten a decent bokeh effect on some of the shots.

What mode(s) do you usually have your camera in when you're using this lens? So far, the A mode is my favorite overall.

Oh fun ! I almost always use Aperture Priority mode. To really see what that lens can do, it's fun to open it up all the way to 1.8 and just shoot whatever, and it's just so cool ! Like, if you have a necklace, with a pendant - spread it out, focus on the pendant. Take a pic of the rim of a glass, but focus on just one part of the rim. Who knew the rim of a glass could be so fun? Anyway, just gets you started. Oh, or put a bunch of votive candles in a row, one behind the other - and try focusing on first candle 1, then the 2nd etcetera - that's a neat practice too .

[livingdustmops]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

I know ...I just love that guy's pics! He takes the simplest things, and makes them stunning. I could stare at that dang picture of *chalk* for the longest time, LOL!

That's a Prime for ya, love those primes...so fun.

HaHa...I am from the 60's and I cracked up at the "stare at the chalk" comment...many people did...

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Oh fun ! I almost always use Aperture Priority mode. To really see what that lens can do, it's fun to open it up all the way to 1.8 and just shoot whatever, and it's just so cool ! Like, if you have a necklace, with a pendant - spread it out, focus on the pendant. Take a pic of the rim of a glass, but focus on just one part of the rim. Who knew the rim of a glass could be so fun? Anyway, just gets you started. Oh, or put a bunch of votive candles in a row, one behind the other - and try focusing on first candle 1, then the 2nd etcetera - that's a neat practice too .

Oooh, I like these suggestions. That'll be great practice. I kept playing with the 50mm for while last night and I know need to work on distance from the subject.

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by lisaly

Thanks for asking. I don't have a flickr account, so I have all of my digital photos on my computer. I have been trying to attach one photo as a start, but it has not allowed me to do that. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I'll keep trying. I'd love for you to see my sweet, baby girl.

Usually the site won't let you upload pics because they're too big and need to be resized. In the My Pictures forum, I think it's the third sticky down, are the guidelines for sizes and tips for resizing. I hope this helps - I would love to see pics of your baby!

[lisaly]

This is a picture I took of Ashley last year. I will post a couple more. I usually bounce the flash off of a wall or a ceiling, or I use natural light. It still doesn't matter, because she's not crazy about the camera. It's difficult to get in a picture how animated she is. This was the first one that I was able to upload. Thanks very much for your help.

Lisa

[lisaly]

I am hoping this works this time. The last picture was taken last week, but the first two were taken when she was 15.

[lisaly]

Here are a few more pictures of Ashley. All of these were taken when she was 15 or 16 years old.

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by lisaly

Here are a few more pictures of Ashley. All of these were taken when she was 15 or 16 years old.

OMG!!! Ashley is absolutely precious! Her eyes are gorgeous, and that little face....so cute!! These are all great pics, I can't pic a favorite. Is that you with her in the one pic - I feel so much love in that one that it has to be you. I really hope you're going to be sharing many more pics of this little darling.

[lisaly]

I will try to scan a few pictures of Ashley when she was younger. Since I only went digital two years ago, I only have pictures from when she was older as digital files. Thanks for looking at my pictures of my little baby girl.

[lisaly]

It is me holding her so closely. It's awful of me, but I still like it because you can see how much I love her. I will try to have someone at work help me scan some of her puppy pictures. She was so beautiful and cute, but I still think she is. I had three, all with the same father, and not many people could tell them apart. Gracie was very tiny and Kiwi was a little bigger than Ashley, and they looked so different to me. Thank you so much for what you wrote.

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by lisaly

I will try to scan a few pictures of Ashley when she was younger. Since I only went digital two years ago, I only have pictures from when she was older as digital files. Thanks for looking at my pictures of my little baby girl.

I have to say Ashley looks terrific, no matter what her age!

I lost the light of my life, Becca, to a very aggressive cancer last year (she was 11). Alexander, my oldest, turned 14 just last week and I don't think I'll have much longer with him. He was attacked in my front yard by 3 large dogs when he was less than 2 years old. They did horrible damage to both knees and a hip before I could get him away from them. As a result, he's had severe arthritis most of his life, and the arthritis medicines aren't easy on their body. This winter has been very hard on him, and I'm not sure how much longer.....well, I can't talk about that right now.

I love how much you obviously love Ashley. I would tell you to treasure every single day with her, but I get the feeling you're already doing that. She is a very, very lucky little girl.

I really am so glad you found YT. You're the type of yorkie lover we need more of here.

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by browniesmom622

Wow love those picture's!! I want the 35mm.

I have to give credit to Lenora, too. She also been a HUGE help to us beginners and is so patient with us asking the same questions over and over...and over. Thanks Lenora!!!

She's taken some pics lately and I really want to learn how to achieve those same affects.

Is there ever a point you reach where you feel like you know all you want, that you don't need to learn anymore? I'm having so much fun now, I almost hope not. But, here I am playing on YT and not practicing with my camera and lenses....by all!!

[lisaly]

I am so sorry to hear about Becca and also how Alexander is doing. It is truly heartbreaking, and I know the pain you are experiencing. I can tell how much you love your babies. I only saw pictures of Murphy and Chelsea, and they are gorgeous.

I know what you say about cherishing each day. That's what we do. I am a teacher, and I was trying to explain how much I related to The Little Prince when he realized how special his rose was. Ashley has some medical issues, but her doctor is wonderful and we are trying to keep her healthy. She has canine cognitive disorder. It only started a little over a year ago, but it has gotten worse since October. We started her on Anipryl, and it helps her a great deal. She requires a great deal of care, but we love her and will do anything for her. She is very responsive with us, and she is very affectionate too. She gets confused, but she goes in and out and is very alert too some of the time. Our biggest worry is the anxiety it is causing her and we are watching that very closely. Her doctor feels that we are doing the right thing by keeping her alive, and that of course is what we want, but we know we must do what is ultimately going to be best for Ashley. Right now she is happy most of the time. Ashley still loves going for walks, and even though she has some arthritis, she walks a couple of miles a day when the weather permits us to. It really helps her a lot. If you ever need anyone to talk to about Alexander or Becca, you can pm me. I know how difficult it is, especially when you love them as much as I can tell you do.
Lisa

[browniesmom622]

Originally Posted by bonbon

I have to give credit to Lenora, too. She also been a HUGE help to us beginners and is so patient with us asking the same questions over and over...and over. Thanks Lenora!!!

She's taken some pics lately and I really want to learn how to achieve those same affects.

Is there ever a point you reach where you feel like you know all you want, that you don't need to learn anymore? I'm having so much fun now, I almost hope not. But, here I am playing on YT and not practicing with my camera and lenses....by all!!

there are so many ways to improve photography i learn something new everyday just by googleing & looking up how i want things to look I hope i don't run out of things to learn.

[lisaly]

It's great to experiment by using different apertures and lenses to see how images of ordinary things can be so different. I took the picture of the water bottle when I first got my Nikkor 50 1.4g. It was taken wide open at night with no flash, and I was testing out the bokeh. There's nothing special about it, but it was fun to take. I like the pictures of the tiny daffodils more, because of the natural light coming into the room. The one with two daffodils was taken with my 50mm lens, too, and the other two images were taken with my Nikkor 105mm macro. I played around with the depth of field on all of the flowers, and I like how abstract the one daffodil with little depth of field was. Flowers are fruit are great to use when you are playing with depth of field. There is a much faster learning curve with digital, because you get such instant feedback. Just keep practicing and have fun!