new lens for christmas

So, I don't know how my husband does it, but he is so good at thinking of things I needed but didn't realize that I needed.

Basically, he's good with surprises.

Two years ago, I received my DSLR camera for Christmas. I didn't know I wanted one. I didn't know I needed one. I mean, I kind of did but not really. If that makes sense. I doubt it does. Let's just say it was a thought I didn't think much about because I didn't think it was going to happen.

And let's just say, without that camera, this blog wouldn't have grown to what it is today. Which isn't much. But it's a lot to me.

This Christmas, my husband surprised me once again with something I didn't really know I wanted but kind of did. Once again, that probably doesn't make sense to you. 

One thing I enjoy is having my husband haul me around the country side looking for old barns, houses and landscapes that catch my eye. I had a lot of visions and would find myself frustrated when I couldn't caption them with the basic lens my camera came with. 

Since I don't necessarily consider myself a "photographer" even though I've really taken a liking to this hobby, I didn't find the need to invest in more lenses. Even though I wanted to. But not really. 

So, to appease my frustrations of not being able to capture some of my visions, my husband got me a new lens for Christmas that allows me to zoom in from long distances.

I think it's exactly what I needed. And I love it so far. I have yet to discover all of it's capabilities.

I should probably start taking some classes or reading my instruction manual. But I hate classes and instruction manuals. I like to learn by doing. I am more of a self taught. I am okay with failing over and over before I learn how to do something the right way. Maybe that's not the right way to do things. But it's my way.

I find people to be so hard to take pictures of. We find so many flaws in ourselves. The camera captures things we can't see in real life. I also think it's because I am shy. I think to be a good family photographer you have to be really outgoing, patient and willing to get the families to try new things. There's something ironic about taking a picture of a gravestone, though. You're not taking a picture of a person, but their life, rather. Their memory left behind. 

This is an old Victorian style farm house. These houses are absolutely beautiful. There are a lot of these in the Northern Indiana area. I always put my imagination to work wondering about the original families that built these beautiful homes. This one is tucked far back in a woods. I wouldn't have been able to capture it with my other lens from the road. 

Thank you husband. I love it. 

You're good.