Onegav

Today I wanted to see if I could get more of a landscape shot, not a wide vista of course, not with a 50mm lens, but something more medium frame, if you like.

After yesterday’s fun with the girls on the trampoline, I thought to myself I kind of knew the lens would be great for portraits and stuff, but having discovered that new emotion it gave me when using it, I couldn’t help my mind from racing; wondering what else I could capture.

So on the way home from work I took a little diversion to the local dry ski slope, thinking it might look cool.

It didn’t, rather unsurprisingly a dry ski slope with no people on it it’s that interesting at all………. that said, I did spot a couple of mechanical workings on the lift that might make a cool image, on another day.

So, undeterred and with the thought that just wandering off has served me well in the past, I headed off on foot further into the park.

I knew that there was a pond, and a miniature railway in the park, and my first thought was to have a look at the pond. However, as I got close I could see a couple sat on a bench watching the water, so rather than disturb them I headed on past, and found myself following the miniature railway tracks.

They led me into some denser bushes and undergrowth, and though the park is very popular, this little “off the beaten track” area looked a lot less well trodden.

It was squelchy underfoot, from all the heavy rain, and didn’t seem to be leading anywhere near the regular attractions of the climbing rocks, the play area, the pond or the ski slope; so maybe it was a little neglected corner.

As it turned out, it was just like a fishing trip, where by if you avoid the crowds of people, you often have better results; this was no different and I found a little clearing where the tracks weaved their way in and out of the undergrowth.

It was kind of surreal, and when I spotted this end of the tracks it literally stopped me in my, tracks….

The whole process of capturing this little oasis I happened upon was awesome. It looked cool everywhere, and whilst at first the fixed focal length caught me off guard using the lens on my tripod for the first time, I soon got into it and found my groove.

The little Nifty Fifty likes what I like, moody shadows, being low to the ground, detail contrasting with creamy blurryness. These are all technical photography terms by the way……. ahem.

Learnings – as I said yesterday, I still have a lot to learn about my new lens, but my goodness has it opened up a whole new world of opportunities!

It was fun, and again I felt that new feeling wash over me as I let the lens almost guide me, threw having no focal adjustment.

It’s just a really fun and rewarding lens to use. I actually took it down from it’s maximum f/1.8 today, just to see how it performed. It was as expected, delivering a wider depth of field of course, but also an even better clarity in the focal area.

I’m not sure if I’m learning or just having loads of fun at the moment!