Tuesday 11 December 2012

A New Toy and a Bokeh Attempt

























I got a new lens in the mail today! As a reward and motivation catalyst for my restaurant-less November, I decided I was going to buy myself a 35 mm lens.  I know, "doesn't spending the money you saved defeat the purpose?" Well, yes, sort of.  But seeing how much money I spend a month on dining out that I could be spending on awesome stuff like camera equipment, is a big motivator to cut back, and cook more.  I was going to buy the lens (which is actually quite affordable) for roughly what I was spending dining out for the month.  On a whim, I thought to check Henry's online to see if they had a better price (I'd rather not support Best Buy if I don't have to) and checked out the used section while I was there.  Sure enough, they had the lens, rated a 9 for factory new without packaging, for $90 less than new.  That lens was totally properly packaged, including all papers, when it arrived in the mail this morning.  There it was, perfect, second hand, floating in its box amidst an excess of inflated baggies.  Next time you're lusting after a new piece of camera equipment, consider buying used.  Lenses can last decades if you treat them well! Give someone else's unused lens the attention it deserves!




















Just as I was putting my coat on, itching to use my new lens, I thought I should try out some shaped bokeh to make use of the Christmas lights up around town.  I made the star too small, and the images came out dark and vignetted.  Still, these looked really dreamy, so I thought I'd share.  I really like the one below, it's the icicle style fairy lights hanging off a house, which I am peeking at over their hedges! I like that you can just make out a couple bits of hedge. It really is a magical technique!
I'm looking forward to trying this again when I head up to Ephraim's parents' place on Boxing day.  They really decorate for Christmas, and if we get snow like we did last year, I'm going to fill my memory card.  I'm so excited to have more flexibility shooting indoors with this wider angle lens! Guess this means I have to set up a nice spot to do outfit photos indoors now...

--Erin

19 comments:

  1. I had no idea that shaped bokeh was a possibility! I love bokeh photographs, even if everyone does them, there is such a loveliness with them. How did you get the star effect?

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    1. I am already planning some super sappy pictures of Ephraim and I with heart shaped bokeh in the background. 'cause that's how I roll.

      --Erin

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  2. These photos are beautiful, I love Christmas lights! These photos are gorgeous xo

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    1. Thanks Alice! I love christmas light too! I usually buy a couple boxes of them when they go on sale on boxing day each year, haha! I bought blue ones last year, blue is for channukah, right?!?

      --Erin

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  3. These photos are beautiful. I hope you do a tutorial on this :) I'm kind of not good with a camera at all!

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    1. I am totally going to write a tutorial once I've experimented a bit more! And any skills I have photography wise have been hard earned. I was totally terrible with my camera when I first got it, and neglected to use it regularly for the following year or so. It's all practice! Well, practice and good lighting :P

      --Erin

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  4. ohh, this is super pretty. i've been meaning to try out some bokeh too... just lovely!

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    1. It's like magic!! Now is the perfect time of year for it, twinkly lights everywhere!

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  5. I know nothing about cameras and lenses but I'm happy you got a new toy! :) Your bokehs are so pretty!

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    1. Thanks Lisa! I am so happy to have a lens that will accommodate outfit shoots indoors during the long, cold Canadian winter. Brr!

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  6. These turned out beautifully! I recently saw a similar post on another blog and immediately put it on my "to-try" list! I saw in the comments you were going to make a tutorial, can't wait to see it!
    Hope you're having a great day!
    xo Hannah

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    1. Thanks Hannah!
      I'm going to have another crack at it this weekend, and I'll write up a tutorial from my findings! It's definitely easy, but I'll do the trial-and-error so you guys can just make pretty photos :)

      --Erin

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  7. I love bokeh , especially in shapes. I did a bird bokeh in an outfit post once, and I would love to do it again. It's so much fun!

    <3 katherine
    of corgis and cocktails

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    1. I love that you used shaped bokeh in an outfit post! It was way too dark out for me to really keep anything in focus in these shots, but I'm going to try out some daytime (or just better lit :P) bokeh this weekend. I'm loving learning something new!

      --Erin

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  8. Those look so cool, love the effect! I started using my old 35mm this fall and have been lusting for new lenses.

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    1. Oh awesome! I take it you're shooting on film then? I love my 35 mm lens, it's given me the flexibility to shoot indoors I was really needing! Now I can do self-shot outfit posts indoors, hooray!

      --Erin

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  9. So awesome you found the lens for cheaper & stayed away from the corps! yay. AND supported secondhand and are blogging about it, yeah girl crush multiplied by 10! haha I've never heard of bokeh but this are pretty awesome!
    http://dusanabotswana.com/

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    1. Second hand is the best! I won't buy everything second hand, but my father has had his lenses for decades, and they still work perfectly. Camera equipment, especially from Nikon right now, is super expensive (the 50 mm lens I bought doubled in price after the tsunami!), it's worth it to save a couple bucks and support a smaller company that lets you trade in your old equipment for store credit or cash. I get a hankering for a shiny new toy too often to buy everything new (and I am a militant sale shopper, haha!)

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  10. Great pictures! I've tried taking bokeh photos as well of our christmas lights and they came out pretty good as well :D

    - http://cappuccinoandchocolate.blogspot.com
    Grace

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Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I love answering questions (comments, concerns, the works!) so check back sometime for a reply! :)