Photo courtesy of: ientu.
Colors courtesy of: Wikipedia.

Photo courtesy of: waferboard.
Colors courtesy of: Wikipedia.

Photo courtesy of: Interiors Porn.
Colors courtesy of: Wikipedia.

Photo courtesy of: Ashley Ziemianski.
Colors courtesy of: Wikipedia.

First of all, the camera I use this lens on is a Canon 450D (EOS Rebel XSi). And the lens itself is dirt cheap at about $100 — I couldn’t pass up trying it!

Now I’ve read A LOT of reviews about A LOT of cameras & lenses – on forums, camera sites, Amazon, etc. It gets tiring, because each one is the same — there’s a good chunk that love it, a chunk that hates it, a chunk that thinks the price was good (and another that thought it to be too pricey), ones that always use it, ones that used it once and never again… You get the picture. Which is exactly my point – where are the actual photographs taken with these lenses & cameras?! I absolutely LOVE that people can upload their photos to Amazon. It puts everything I need at my fingertips — information, cost, reviews, & most importantly EXAMPLES!

So while I may throw in some specs or opinions, I’d like to let the lens speak for itself. Here are a batch of the photos I’ve taken with the 50mm in the past month:

(click each for larger image)

50mm | ISO 400 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0 | SooC*

*Straight out of the Camera (no editing other than resize/watermark) – examples

The very first photo I took with the lens was about 9:30p, in very low light, of my car key on my bedside dresser. The key was on the very edge, and in the background on the left is a glass on a coaster – only about 5 inches behind the key. It was a quick snapshot – my hands were a little shaky – so the photo easily blurred in the low light, but it wasn’t extremely blurred. An excellent low-light lens.

50mm | ISO 800 | 1/8 sec at f/1.8 | SooC
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/250 sec at f/4.5	50mm | ISO 400 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0
50mm | ISO 400 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/60 sec at f/2.2	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0 | SooC
50mm | ISO 160 | 1/4000 sec at f/1.8 | SooC	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/500 sec at f/6.3 | SooC
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/60 sec at f/2.2 | SooC
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/200 sec at f/4.0	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/200 sec at f/4.0
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/200 sec at f/4.0
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/250 sec at f/4.5	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/250 sec at f/4.5
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/80 sec at f/2.5 | SooC	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/125 sec at f/3.2 | SooC
50mm | ISO 800 | 1/25 sec at f/1.8 | SooC
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/50 sec at f/1.8 | SooC	50mm | ISO 640 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0 | SooC
50mm | ISO 400 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0 | SooC	50mm | ISO 400 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0 | SooC
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/2000 sec at f/13 | SooC	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/250 sec at f/4.5
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/500 sec at f/6.3

So if you’re a Canon user and considering a new lens, I definitely recommend this one! Although it’s a prime lens, it’s great for a walking-around lens – small and lightweight, and able to capture your “on the fly” photos rather well (it’s quite speedy, and again I say, great in low light). And it’s CHEAP! haha :)

RESOURCES:
Amazon
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Anyways, this week I’d like to share with you some shots I snapped of my mom’s delicious homemade bruschetta!

Now, I don’t know the recipe, but I do know that she chopped up vine tomatoes, onions, and cilantro and mixed with balsamic vinaigrette and fresh mozzarella. We toasted French bread in the toaster oven and poured the tomato mixture over. Oh so delicious!

Amanda Brown’s Austin based shop, Spruce. (Click on images to enlarge…3/4 down for bigger picture of this chair -no direct link to chair.)

Well, I finally bought a little something something to push me in the right direction. At Michael’s, jewelry stands were on sale, so I picked up these funky stands xD

So far, they’re already helping tremendously — I’m not wearing the same jewelry simply because it’s all I can find! And I feel that I’ll be less likely to break anything if it’s up and out of the way. Yay! Finally! ;)

Anyways, while I was making a pair for myself to wear out tonight, my sister rummaged through my beads and oohed and ahhed (and spilt a container of star beads all over – can you tell we’re related?). So I took an earring I had just started and modified to include some things she mentioned, and came up with the following pair:

So I thought I’d finally share a bit of the jewelry I make before I head out for the night. I hope you all enjoy your weekend!

Finally, I just “went with it.” I took two yarns, Red Heart’s Super Saver & Sensations Cello, and chained a length of about maybe 8 inches or so, and double crocheted up. I had NO IDEA what I was going to make…

When I got to a height of probably about twelve or fourteen inches, I was running out of Cello yarn, so I had to figure something out to do with my little swatch. I folded it in half, and single crocheted up the sides to make a pouch/purse. I figured I could crochet a strap, and have my mom sew in a liner.

Well, me being the goon that I am, I stuck the purse on my head. Voila! Instant hat with faux ears!

In other news, it’s quite the shitty day. It’s shitty outside, it’s shitty inside, I’m bored, I’m cranky. poooo. I need a pick-me-up badly.

Photo courtesy of: Ashley Ziemianski.

• The November 2011 issue of Vogue ♥
• Crayons from Germany, brought home from my dad’s past work visit. He’s back in Germany as of Saturday, and I miss him terribly already.
• A photo of my sister & I on the beach, likely in Florida, as kids. I found this photo in this frame in a box in the basement, and I LOVE it.

I love that he brings me miscellaneous creatures to photograph – frogs, turtles, snakes… It was, however, a poisonous frog, so I didn’t play with it haha

Once upon a time, I spent quite a few hours leafing through the vast abyss that is Tumblr. I’ve found some great time-passers over there, and one is image quotes – sites that take a variety of images, and overlay quotes, phrases, lyrics, and more over them. Some are uplifting, sombering, depressing, cheery, or just plain fun. So I’d like to share a few with you:

There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable.

I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you.

When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life.

Has it all gone to waste, all the promises we made?

The moment you stop loving is the moment you stop living.

Beauty can be seen in all things. Seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph.

Happiness is the result of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it. And sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly.

Just because you don't see my pain doesn't mean it's not there.

You shouldn't miss people who don't miss you, right?

Do you remember when you said you'd never forget this?

Click each individual image to go to its original post on Tumblr.

After we woke up, we went for a bit of a hike. We stumbled through brush, over dead logs, and cut through vines, to momentously reach our destination — the highest point in Oakland County. It was so beautiful and so serene. A camera couldn’t capture the moment. But I took some photos of the scenery nonetheless.

Unfortunately, I guess this spot is on the property of a monastery and belongs to monks, so I don’t foresee picnicking here anytime soon ;)

Photo courtesy of: Ashley Ziemianski.

(1) Vintage cameras, including a gorgeous Minolta. (2) Vintage bottles and cans. (3) Glassware. Interesting tidbit about the seller of this glassware? She’s a rude bitch. (4) Fabulous dragon and faery items throughout the market. (5) Mason jars = love. (6) Old school Pepsi bottles! (7) Some of the soap I purchased. (8) Good ol’ Daniel sporting a Mickey hat ^.^

• My new 50mm f/1.8 II lens. In fact, the only time this lens came off the body of my camera was to photograph it. It’s been a huge challenge for me to work with a fixed focal length, but I’m learning to love it. It forces me to focus on other elements of a photograph.
• A fabulous Dijon mustard-y colored tote for hauling my “overnights” with me everywhere I go. It’s never actually this empty — I usually can’t close it… I recently picked up this Merona bag on clearance at Target.
• Okay, technically, the rock has only been in my possession since yesterday, but it’s too cute to not include. My new friend Virginia picked it up from the beach during her trip up to the Upper Peninsula. :)

• Seasonal gourds and flowers that currently decorate my work.
• Hand-blown glass pendant from Glass by Daniel. I bought this on the trip I just took with Renee upstate. This pendant was sold as a key ring for $9.99, and I put it on a chain & hung it from the rear-view mirror in my car.
• Soap from Candle Creations in Dixieland Flea Market. $11 for four bars, or $2.95 each. The owners, Kenny & Debbie, guarantee you’ll love their soap or 100% of your money back. All natural ingredients, great smells! Can’t wait to try it ♥

Monday, she took me to a local art supply store, Arnie’s. The store was huge, and full of a wide variety of almost any artistic product you could imagine! We were like kids in a candy store. If we didn’t have to get back for dinner, we would’ve never left…

So that’s our eye candy for the week. Everything in the store was sooo gorgeous. A must-stop if you’re around Houghton Lake, Michigan.

Photo courtesy of: B. Jones Style.

This is my cat, Heidi ♥

I liked it because it feels very autumny — a mysterious black cat, warm autumn colors, soft candlelight glow.

Now, Heidi is extremely difficult to photograph, especially in low light. She rarely seems to want to sit still when my camera is out. So I’m hoping I can get a few better ones out of her in the weeks to come ;)

• A bright red picture frame originally from Pier 1 that I thrifted from Sal’s. In it, I have a photo of my father and me from this past Summer ♥
• Soft & cozy purple yarn that was gifted to me from my fabulous former boss, Renée. I’m going to use it to crochet a scarf.
• A fresh homegrown tomato from my mother’s garden — so tasty!
• A hardcover spiral-bound notebook. I bought two recently at Barnes & Noble — one for journaling, and one for documenting my various projects & products.

Now that summer is officially over, I am thinking about what I did over this past summer and what has happened in these past few months…

In no particular order, here are a few of the big & smalls of my summer of 2011:

• Made a trip down to Ohio for massive amounts of Roman candles.
• Celebrated my birthday by shooting said candles at my friends; I ended up with a lovely scar.
• Played disc golf (and not well).
• Took a vacation up north to Indian River.
• Got a new phone.
• Visited Mackinac Island for the first time ever, and watched the sun set behind Mackinac Bridge.
• Rode in a brand new Chevy Corvette.
• Played mini golf with my sister & best friend.
• Watched the Lake Orion fireworks with Renee.
• Rolled my Corolla into a swampy ditch.
• Had a girls’ day with my sister doing dinner, a movie, and ice cream.
• Sang to a baby turtle and eggs.
• Made brownies with my boyfriend.
• Welcomed my brand new niece into the world.
• Went to the Michigan Renaissance Festival for the first time!
• Visited the Rochester Cider Mill for yummy cider & doughnuts.

What did you do over the summer of 2011?