Posted on 02/02/2011 9:45:52 PM PST by SWAMPSNIPER
My "new" 50mm f1.4 lens brings me closer to my models, getting light in the right places at the right strength took some study.
With the help of the faithful Wonder Cat Missy I figured it out!
Missy is great at this, I hope she ever joins the union I won't be able to afford her.
pinglist
You got the exposure perfect.
Looks like flash used, so what is the value of the F=1.4?
wow - nice work! You pleased with the results and the possibilities with the new equipment?
Mum’s the word on unions. ; )
I use a generic flash and homemade diffusera, if something works I will keep doing it.
Such a pretty Missy!
Again - Missy at the end of my day. How special.
bttt
Nice, I like the middle pic. Anytime you capture a cat’s “Are you allowed to speak to me?” look, it’s great. They can express so many different feelings. But I think they have aloofness down pat.
She will pose for a few minutes at a time, then turn her back or walk off. I keep the camera ready all the time, never know when a shot will come.
Nifty Fifty - can’t beat it! Taking photos of cats is a labor of love. I caught mine underneath the Xmas tree. Whipped out my camera in an instant, and she still gave me the evil eye. Nice work!
Aaaah... So cute!
I made a diffuser from the bottom of a plastic rubbing alcohol bottle, with a couple of strips of foam rubber glued in it snaps right over the swivel head on my flash. It worked out great! The frosted white plastic is just about right.
These are nice photos, but I have to agree with the other poster who said you are sort of missing the point of even owning a 50mm/1.4 if you use a flash. The flash means you are probably shooting at f2.8 or f3.5 or a smaller apature.
The whole reason for existence of the f1.5 lens is for two things. First, and far most important is to shoot it wide open in available light. You shouldn't need a flash to get nice pictures of kitty with that lens. Lets see some available light pix of the cat: in the pantry, in the living room by the light of the TV, etc.
The second reason to get a f1.4 is to shoot it wide open in good light and achive the wondeful out-of-focus background and paper thin depth of field the is loved by fashion photographers. So, lets see some of kitty outside so we can see the lens in action!
Nice looking cat, by the way.
Congrats on the new lens.
Now HERE is a true "lens of the gods",
the Zeiss/Contax 85mm/1.2 mounted on an Contax RTS. More zoom and even faster than your lens. Of course it takes a lot of glass to make it happen. Perhaps the only lens that was even greater than this for shooting beautiful woman was the legendary Zeiss Apo-Sonnar 200mm/f2.0. They go for $6000 to $8000 if you can find one.
You get this nice box too!
Bokeh: or pleasantly out of focus background:
I shoot a lot at the local arboretum in the Spring, and chase birds when the weather is good. Right now I'm pretty well stuck in the house.
http://www.pbase.com/tsiya
Nice, as always. You’ll enjoy that shallow depth-of-field with that f/1.4 lens - how it tosses the background into a soft blur.
I'm still half asleep, need more caffeine - Will Be Back.
That's a promise I have to comment on *something* on this thread
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