I’ve had my camera for over a year now and never really knew how to do long-exposure photographs. Well, I knew how, just never attempted. But I’ve always meant to, so tonight I gave it a whirl out of sheer boredom and curiosity. I was pleased with my efforts, but as soon as the weather is nicer I’d like to try for something a little more dramatic and…interesting.
In honor of having too much money saved up in my bank account, I decided to spend it on something ridiculously expensive. I chose a new camera lens. The newest victim to my camera bag menagerie is a Canon 135mm f/2L. I had a tough time determining which lens would best suit my needs as a hobby photographer, and chose this one as it is versatile in function. I also like a good boke and this one is smooth as butter.
I haven’t had long to try out my new lens yet, so the only shots I have so far are of my parents’ dog, Chewy. He’s an old mutt, but my most patient guinea pig model. Hopefully this weekend will yield many opportunities to break out this lens and snap some stellar photographs.
Yesterday was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, birds were singing, the air was crisp, and I had a day off from work because, well, I didn’t feel like going in. Instead I went to Chicago for a pre-birthday mini excursion. Since I normally visit the flat lands to play video games or raid Lush, I decided on something completely different for this visit, the Sears Tower. Then a stop at Lush.
The Sears is massive, and was at one time the worlds tallest building. It has since been surpassed, but standing on the 103rd floor is nothing short of amazing. My overall impression on the Sears trip is this: The elevator was amazingly fast, the restrooms were dingy and uninviting, it costs too much and the view is amazing.
After standing in line for tickets, standing in line for a short “movie”, and standing in line for an elevator, I made it to the top at the rate of two floors per second. Chicago is still a very large city even when viewed from almost a mile in the air. I could see the museum “campus”, Navy Pier and Millennium Park. The John Hancock building was in clear view, towering above almost all the rest. Wouldn’t you know, I remembered to charge batteries but forgot to grab the card for my camera! I was limited in the number of photos I could take, not that they’d turn out too well with the glare from the glass. I’d say that even though the price of the trip is ghastly at first, the view was totally worth it.
The rest of the day in Chicago was spent trying to dodge kamakazi taxis and avoid running over pedestrians who felt the need to dart across intersections without notice. I hate hate HATE driving in Chicago, and I would completely avoid it if the train didn’t cost $40 for a round trip ticket. Damn that city for having so much to do, and many places of interest.
I was on my way to work the other day and saw this on the back of a Semi:
It reminded me of the Laughing Man from Ghost in the Shell:
Longest Post title to date, in this blog. I shall celebrate it the shortest entry. Not really, but it is short:
Sunday I woke up, grabbed some Cheerio’s and sat on the porch to eat them. It was a nice breezy, sunny morning at that.
I’m taking a break this weekend and going to visit my grandma in Iowa. It’s been far too long since I last saw her. Since I won’t be around tomorrow to wish everyone a happy Easter, I will treat you to an early gift. Two weeks ago I tormented Captain Murphy and Chester by making them pose in an easter basket. Neither of them liked it much at all but I managed to get some “ok” shots of the two. I didn’t get around to editing them all, but here are the best two, fixed up and looking purty. Enjoy! 
