Sunday, January 13, 2013

Golden Retriever Duo

Four. Looks like that's the number of paintings I finished in 2012. This is also the third dog painting to add to my collection. And second (here's the first) golden retriever painting!

goldens
Completed 2012
16"x20"
Oil


This last painting was a commission for two golden retriever dogs, Max and Jake. I never set out to be a pet painter but people do love their pets. I'm guilty of this myself. Lets not forget that I have a giant painting of Meatball hanging in our office. What a cutie.

These two dogs totally make me want to get another bulldog so that Meatball has someone to cuddle with. His name would be Slugsworth.




Tuesday, January 8, 2013

A 35mm Gift

Phew, that was a long break. Apparently the Christmas season overwhelmed me... in a good way, of course. I was able to take time off from my day job but my schedule quickly filled up with visiting family and house projects. And playing in snow. Naturally, blogging took a back burner.

camera

As one of my Christmas gifts this year I got a new camera lens. It's a Nikkor 35 mm f/1.8 lens. It has a fixed focal length (no zoom capabilities) but I wanted it for its ability to do a bokeh effect (blurry background) and its supposed abilities for shooting in low light conditions. I debated between the 50 mm and the 35 mm but finally settled on the 35 mm after reading many reviews. The 35 mm essentially shoots equivalent to 50 mm whereas the 50 mm lens is really a 75 mm lens. I can't really explain why this is. I just know its true for the particular camera I have. So I went with the 35 mm because I worried that the 75 mm zoom would give me issues when shooting people indoors. As in having their nose take up the whole picture. Have I bored you yet?

I haven't tried out the lens too much but did use it during Christmas and our sightseeing trip to DC.

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Honestly, I still get confused with the aperture settings especially if a couple weeks have gone by since I've touched the camera. I think I'm slowly getting it though.

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Meatball always makes a great subject though. So I should be getting lots of practice in.

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