I enjoy taking pictures for the blog. I keep trying to up my skills, but that requires donning bifocals and reading and studying about my camera. ISO, aperture, shutter speed, white balance and focus mush my brain into a slimy swamp.

Recently, I acquired a ‘new-to-me’ lens. Bought it used from local photographer extraordinaire–Pam Lary. In case you are interested, this beast of a lens is the Nikon AF-S VR-Nikkor 70-200mm 1:2.8G. It’s heavy as an anvil and as long as a submarine sandwich. Big enough to keep my chiropractor in business for years.

I’ve been trying it out. Learning. Making mistakes. When I whip it out, people automatically assume I know what I’m doing. Lens envy, I guess.

It’s fun to put the camera in aperture mode (‘A’ on the dial for most DSLR’s) and shoot with the aperture wide open. In this case, 2.8.

A gorgeous, milky background makes the subject of the photo really ‘pop’

Do you like the fuzzy backgrounds for these portraits? The learned call this ‘bokeh’.

Here’s another wide-open shot.

One more blurry background for your consideration.

Do you know what instinct these rodents trigger in my dachshund?

Another handy setting on the camera is the shutter-priority mode ( ‘S’ on the dial of most digital cameras).

I use this setting when I need a certain shutter speed to capture the action.

Have I told you I am compulsively trying to get the perfect hummingbird photo? Been at it for 3 years. I know I need a fast shutter speed to catch them, but man, are they difficult to photograph!

I suspect I have neither the skill nor the proper equipment to get a truly great shot.

I won’t stop trying.

Well, that’s the A and the S mode for you and how they look through my new lens.

At times I just point the camera and shoot on auto. Maybe I’ll get lucky.

That’s why I enjoy photography. It makes you LOOK. You never know what you’ll find lurking in the weeds.

Hope your week is coming into clearer focus.

Big lens love to all.