New Ultrawide Angle Lens!

Last week I bought myself a Tokina 12-22mm f/4 AF Ultrawide Angle Lens for about $350.00 with the money I got from my internship at Mission Hospital. It is a really hard lens to learn how to use which is why I haven't posted in a while because I wanted to post my next picture as an ultrawide angle picture! It's hard to use because everything in the picture is exaggerated a bunch. The corners of the pictures are pulled out and it is about a 160 degree angle of view. The best pictures are pictures with lines in the framework of the picture like this bridge, or something that you want in the foreground to be exaggerated from the background and seem much bigger than it really is. There aren't many situations where it's a viable lens but it is really fun when you can use it. It won't autofocus because my camera is an older camera without an autofocus motor in it and the lens is newer without an autofocus motor either. The newer lens' have no motors because the newer cameras do. Since my camera is an older version, there isn't an autofocus motor. It works perfectly well with manual focus so I just need to learn how to perfect my usage of that, which shouldn't be too hard. Please excuse my lack of crisp and focused pictures for a few weeks while I get the hang of this new lens!

I took the picture of the bridge and car in the river-arts district in Asheville and the other one at the Battery Park Book Exchange downtown. The Book Exchange one has my grandmother in it, please view her art blog where she posts upwards of everyday at Real Life Journals.

Bee Sting

A couple of days ago, I was walking back from the pool and I got stung by a bee for the first time this summer. It was terrible. I had no shoes on and I was walking through grass and stepped on a flower that must have had a yellow jacket on it or something because when I stepped down it was the worst pain I've felt in a while. The funny thing is, I saw the bee subconsciously before I stepped on it! Right before I stepped on it I knew what was going to happen but it was such a quick thought that I had no time to react before I stepped down. Last July 4th, I stepped on a Black Hornet nest and got stung on my toe by that. My mom put some tobacco on it and it healed instantly. This nasty yellow jacket stung me and the stinging didn't go away until the morning after when it turned white like this flower. I took this the same day as the sting because it reminded me of my white toe.

Sunset in the Marsh

    I'm not completely sure what type of plant this is but it sure looks cool at sunset. The silhouette really creates a dark and soothing feel to the image, where if the plant had been fully shown with plenty of light, it would look dull and boring. I like this one because each spike on the plant is entirely defined and the whole picture has an orange glow to it. I took this one a few minutes before I took the photo of the mallard.

Sleepy Ducks

    Today, Gram and I went to the riverside trail (opposite side this time) and took some photographs. On our way there, next to the parking lot, there was an enormous flock of wild ducks and canals near the lake. I took some mediocre pictures of them at first, but after we returned to the car at sunset, I got this photo. The sunset was really pretty at the water and I got another shot that I'll post tomorrow so be sure to come back and see it! Anyways, I was pretty grumpy most of the trip because it was so hot and humid outside so to cool off, I jumped into the river and swam around in there for awhile and then, voila, I was in a great mood! That's when I started getting good shots too! However, I did have to change clothes due to le poisson smell to them.

Fireworks!

    This picture, as can most likely be assumed, is from July 4th. We went to Chimney Rock, and to a waterfall near there, and then when we got home, we had a small family cookout in our fire pit in our back yard. We shot off fireworks in the grass near the fire pit too. Here is a picture of one of the fireworks we shot off.

Waterfall Portrait

    This is my step-sister Lindsay in the waterfall near Chimney Park, North Carolina. Chimney Rock itself was a bit ridiculous, there were way too many people and most of the people were a bit icky. Anyways, after we spent an hour up on the overlook, we went down to a waterfall about 3/4 of a mile away. It was much less crowded and we got to cool off in the water so it wasn't too miserable anymore. I saw the photo opportunity of the waterfall and also thought that Lindsay would like a quality portrait of herself so I told her to stand in the waterfall and I started shooting. I really like this picture and the mysterious yet glowing characteristics. Overall it was a great day!