hearts and lights

i know that i am super late to this party and most of you probably learned this in a college photo 101 course, but i am just now experimenting with all the cool things i can do with my camera. and right now, i think this is the coolest by far!

following this post that i found through creschendoh, i promptly got to work. i made lens covers for my slr in the shape of a heart, a 6 pointed star and a flying bird. then i waited until nightfall, plugged in the twinkle lights on my deck and started shooting. so, so, so fun!

the pics are a bit blurry because i couldn't find my tripod camera clip and had to steady the camera with my hands. i have this crazy habit where i put something in a certain place because i know it will be safe keeping, but then i can never remember the place. (i think my oldest munchkin has the same trait because his ipod has been missing for weeks, ugh.)

the above shot was taken on the back deck, and...

this is a shot of my 6 bulb dining room crystal chandelier. i think all the lighter hearts are reflections off the crystals. again, so cool! i am definitely going to have a lot of fun with this technique!

the only post editing i did was turn the chandelier shot red instead of an icky orange color.

wouldn't it be cool to take night shots of your kids and use a filter in the shape of the first letter of your last name?

drawings and a new lens

here's another small drawing to close out the week. i am really loving capturing the beauty of a single stem. not sure what these flowers are called, but i have been buying them a lot lately. they are full and colorful and last forever!

on another note, i bought a new lens and holy cow - it's amazing! it is a 50mm prime and while it took a bit getting used to, i think it is going to be my go to lens. my other lenses are all zoom, so my hand keeps grasping the barrel, trying to zoom, but hopefully that habit will die out soon. my favorite part is what they call "bokeh". it is what blurs out the background while making the foreground crisp and clear as you can see on the right side of the photo.

what is your favorite lens???