On photos and covetousness and social media success stories

While I love my camera and taking pictures, I’m not a huge gear junkie. I’m mostly happy with the four lenses I have, and the small bag of accessories. I have the kit lens, which I use when I know I’ll need a wider angle and for TtV. I have a telephoto zoom, so I can get in close from a distance. I have a 50 mm f1.8 that I wanted because the kit lens only opens up to f4.5 and I’m a fan of a very narrow depth of field, and I have a 35 mm f1.8 because I got a great deal on it second hand and it will autofocus on my D40 while the fiddy will not.

This is pretty much enough of a lens repertoire for me, with one small exception. I really, really (no, really!) want a Lensbaby Composer. You know how I said I like a really shallow depth of field? The Lensbaby line of lenses goes one further than that, giving you a ‘sweet spot’ of focus while distorting rest of the image. The more you stop down, the larger the sweet spot. It produces fun, dreamy images with amazing bokeh.

Since I don’t yet have a Lensbaby of my own to play with (yet?) I’ve had to borrow some amazing Lensbaby shots from the talented Ms Angela Auclair of “From the Dock” fame. 😉 Here’s what a Lensbaby can do in the hands of a talented photographer:

the tick

my cornwall

Gone, and a cloud in my heart.

Aren’t they just breathtaking images? So yes, the Lensbaby and a D90 are the only two things left on the list of gear I covet.

I like Lensbaby so much that I follow them on Twitter. Every now and then they have giveaways, and I was super excited to see earlier this week that they were sponsoring a winter photography contest with @plywerk, offering a chance to win a Lensbaby Scout.

Now, if you’re Canadian like me, you know what it’s like. Whenever you see a contest or a giveaway, you know you have to go straight to the eligibility rules, and more than half the time you’re out of luck — contest is open to USA residents only. Sigh. It’s tough living under the shadow of the giant who is oblivious to you! I’ve had to pass on more than a few excellent blog promos that were open to US residents only, and you could say I’m a little sensitive to the issue.

So when I read that the winter photography contest was open only to residents of the 50 United States — seriously, who knows winter photography better than us Canadians?! — I sent a quick reply via Twitter saying that I was disappointed that I couldn’t apply. And guess what? Less than 24 hours later, Lensbaby replied to me and said they had reconsidered, and the contest is now open to everyone.

How awesome is that? I’m so chuffed that Lensbaby and Plywerk opened up their contest that I thought they deserved props for it here. I love it when companies actually *listen*!!

So now I have to choose a winter photograph to submit. Oh the angst! And by the way, none of you talented photographers out there are allowed to submit an entry to this contest — I can’t stand the competition!! 😉

Edited to add: awwww, and lookit Angela’s reply. It’s a bloggy love-fest!

Author: DaniGirl

Canadian. storyteller, photographer, mom to 3. Professional dilettante.

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