Testing Out EF85mm f1.8 USM for the New 2007

First of all I would like to greet all my avid readers a Happy New Year, a Happy 2007!

My first prime lens, the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM lens, according to reviews produces sharp pictures and performs well in low light conditions. The AF is fast and produces beautiful bokeh when shot as wide as f1.8.

Let’s see some samples of the pictures I took:

the_new_year.jpg
Waiting for 2007!

sandisk card reader
The Sandisk Card Reader

cliff
Cliff

apples_for_newyear.jpg
Apples for the New Year

the new year food
OK, so this one was actually taken using the EF-S 17-85mm IS USM, not the 85mm prime. The latter was too long to accomodate us all in the picture given the limited space in our kitchen.

the manikins
The Manikins

superman
Superman

the chief
The Chief

Yet, you know what? I’m not yet convinced. This lens (85mm) has still a long way to go to convince me to really become my favorite lens. It has yet to prove its superiority (actually) over the 17-85mm zoom.

Doha 2006 Closing Ceremony

Pictures taken during the closing ceremonies of the 2006 Doha Asian Games:

The busy road going to Khalifa Sports City:

running.JPG

The view of the Khalifa Stadium at night:

sport_city.JPG

The beautiful Khalifa Tower:

khalifa_tower.JPG

The long line of gate signs along the hallways of the Khalifa Stadium:

gates.JPG

Lea Salonga, a pride for all Filipinos, was one of the performers:

lea_salonga.JPG

The Qatari Flags waving throughout the ceremony:

qatar_flag.JPG

The lamp, but not Aladdin’s:

lamp.JPG

This picture reminds me of Battle Realms we used to play:

battle_realms.JPG

Sindbad, the explorer:

sindbad.JPG

The show:

inthe_hole.JPG

the_flags.JPG

the_party.JPG

And of course, the company:

the-group.JPG

By the way, China won over Qatar in the Men’s Basketball Finals.

On Photography

canon eos 30d

My fancy for photography actually started when I acquired my first ever digital camera, the Sony Cybershot DSC-S60 ((I didn’t have a camera phone yet then)). I was browsing through all the features of my camera because I wanted to maximize its use.

Learning the basics of photography and the limitations of this point-and-shoot camera, I realized that should I have a more sophisticated camera, I can at least duplicate those spectacular photos in photography books, magazines, brochures, newspapers, internet, etc., by professionals. I can even have my own personal collection (Now, what do you think of that? LOL).

My interest even grew deeper when I learned photoshop. I was wondering– if I only have my own salient photos to work on using photoshop.

Well, there goes the story…

The Camera

Canon EOS 30D

The Lens

Canon EFS 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

On Photoblog

Maybe, in the future. Who knows… Just keep visiting, and subscribe….

The Photographer

Here’s a joke I found somewhere:

A photographer for a national magazine was assigned to take pictures of a great forest fire. He was advised that a small plane would be waiting to fly him over the fire.

The photographer arrived at the airstrip just an hour before sundown. Sure enough, a small Cessna airplane was waiting.

He jumped in with his equipment and shouted, “Let’s go!” The tense man sitting in the pilot’s seat swung the plane into the wind and soon they were in the air, though flying erratically.

“Fly over the north side of the fire,” said the photographer, “And make several low-level passes.”

“Why?” asked the nervous pilot.

“Because I’m going to take pictures!” yelled the photographer. “I’m a photographer, and photographers take pictures!”

The pilot replied, “You mean you’re not the flight instructor?”