10 Lenses i'd sell a kidney for

Since taking up photography almost a year ago.One thing i have noticed is just how bloody EXPENSIVE photography equipment is.And I'm not messing around either.Iv had some bloody expensive hobbies in the past but photography tops the lot i think.Especially since buying my first L lens.I'm pretty sure its safe to say i have the L bug BIG TIME !.For example Canons 85 mm f/1.2 L mkII usm.Id probably sell my soul to own it.Not being overly religious myself i think that would be a good deal.But not being 100% sure, I still don't like to upset the big guy up stairs,Just in case. So maybe id rather concider selling one of my nuts or a Kidney or something instead.But this lens does crack in at £1760.00 and a regular Joe like myself who works for a living,I just cant justify spending that amount of wedge on a lens for my already overly expensive camera.Well not until im a proffesianal photographer working for natianal geographic anyway.So that in mind,My (When i win the lottery shopping list) is MASSIVE !......
So i thought id compile a list of my 10 Lenses id sell a kidney for.In no particular order here are a few gems id love to have in my kit bag.

1; EF 85 mm f1.2 L II USM
2; EF 100 mm f2.8 L Macro IS USM 
3; EF 70-200mm f2.8 L IS II USM
4; EF 135mm f2.0L USM
5; EF 8-15mm f4.0L USM Fisheye Zoom
6; EF 50mm f1.2 L USM
7; EF 17mm TS-E f4 L
8; EF 28-300mm f3.5-f5.6 L IS USM
9; EF 800mm f5.6 L IS USM
10; EF 600mm f4.0 L IS USM

Surely with this little lot in my Lowepro id be the best photographer on the planet.No doubt if i actually bought this lot id be a single man or a dead man because my wife would fucking kill me.But we can but dream,Hay .

There are other alternatives to some of these lenses,For example the 100 mm macro,Canon do a non L version of the same lens minus the image stabilizer for pretty much half the price of the L.

I did see a Digital rev video comparing the two and the legend Kai Wong did say that there wasn't much in it between the two.So more realistically i will probably end up buying the non L version.

                                                             http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njqTFlMiGLQ

Same goes with the Fisheye lens.The 8-15 mm L version does have zoom from 8-15 mm.But Canon do do a non L, 15 mm fisheye lens again for half the damage of the L version.So again i would probably be saving for this lens at some point for some fantastic fisheye effects with its 180 degree view. 

                                                             http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y-O2AH6Ot

                                                                        

                                                              

The70-200 mm f2.8 L IS USM is a £2000 lens but worth every penny of it.It is a lens for a pro. In fact no pro would be with out this lens.I on the other hand have this lens but i have the more cheap f4 version,Which is still AWESOME in its own right .I use this lens as my main walk about lens,usually choosing this lens over my more expensive 24-105 mm L.

The thing with L lenses are they are just so EXPENSIVE.And even searching to buy a second hand one you would only shave a measly couple of hundred pound off of the brand new price.If you was lucky enough to find one any cheaper it would probably be fucked with fungus or scratches all over the front element with a bit of internal dust to boot.

But if you are looking to buy one second hand a good place to check first would be MPB they have a huge range of second hand photography goods. 

Well,I am holding out to win the lottery so i can buy them all.So until that happens ill just keep dreaming shall i .... :0)

Selective colouring

Selective colouring is a great twist to your photographs.Took me a while to get my head around doing it .But so glad i took the time learning it.You can make a completely non interesting image look great.Like a leaf on the ground .I took this shot in the park across the way from my house .Initially it was the colour of the leaf that caught my eye.But while looking at my shots on the P.C it was bland to say the least,UNTIL i whipped the colour out the shot leaving only the leaf in colour.Turned out to be one of the best shots i got that afternoon.Selective colouring works really well with portraits too.The shot below i got of my children was a nice touch leaving them in colour and turning the rest of the shot to mono.Not only is it good to experiment with post processing like this .Its fun for the kids too.My kids are little buggers for posing for pictures.You can almost see their little brains ticking away when i get my camera out,Thinking to them self's RUN!! dads getting the camera out.Not like me..When i was a kid and someone got a camera out i went into full idiot Zoolander mode,Throwing out every pose i could think of .Its been said before I'm a bit of a show off.That and the fact i like the sound of my own voice. Personally i don't see it ,I just think I'm just very out going .Well, When i start messing around with the image like this, My kids then become quite interested and are willing to sit nicely and have a nice photo taken of them.I suppose its different to them isn't it .Almost like magic ...lol

The dripping tap shot was quite a nice one i thought .shot in shutter priority,Shot at high speed to capture the drip in mid fall.I placed a tea towel on the window ledge so the drip would reflect the pattern of the tea towel.Shot with a Canon EOS 1000D with a 18-55 mm kit lens with x10 macro filter attached .I left the actual drip in colour and made the rest mono.

I have so many ideas in which to experiment with this technique,Yet i don't use it enough.Its not until you sit back and take a look at ya previous shots and think i should do that more often.So by writing about it is kind of my pledge to myself to do more selective colouring shots in the future. 

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside .

Growing up in the coastal country side was boring to say the least.I always had dreams of moving to the city or a big town where stuff actually happened from time to time.Now im a big boy an all grown up i am so happy to live in this boring hole iv winged about for so long.Its in our nature to take the things we have for granted.And not appreciate the things we have until they are gone.Well lucky for me that despite the population growth and influx of Herbert's who seem to populate the streets around my area.The area i live in is still beautiful with hidden gems everywhere you go.As a photographer i have my eye trained on looking for beautiful and interesting things .Just going for a walk with the family while geeking it up with my camera i seem to come home every time with some beautiful images.Well I think they are beautiful anyway,And this is my medium in which i share what i capture with the world,To see if you also think they are beautiful.Giving you guys the opportunity to Crit my work.Maybe give some of your own suggestions and ideas.Feel free to comment below .

Down by the river

Went for a walk along the canal the other day and lucky for me i was geek enough to have my camera with me again .lol.As i was down by the water's edge the birds all came swimming up to me, Pent up with anticipation that i might be there to throw a few scraps of bread in for them.A clever swan would have realised after a few minutes that they were wasting their time with me.And i was only there for my own selfish reasons of taking photographs of them as they swam in the freezing water's of the Hythe canal.I will admit i was a bit scared they might peck me as i was once told a swan was powerful enough to peck your leg in half.So i didnt want to get too close in case the little buggers done me over with its ninja peck of death.But while i was there shooting,I made sure i had a zoom lens on so i didn't have to get that close.I got some beautiful snaps of these ninja birds.I was that happy with these shots i might even go back on my next days off and get some more shots of these gorgeous creatures.

Shooting the moon

As a photographer i look for beautiful things all around me to shoot.I am sometime looking so hard to find something lovely to shoot that i miss cracking opportunity's.Sometimes slowing down and opening your mind is key.You don't have to look that hard to find a beautiful picture.For example, Look up ! Space. It fascinates us from such a young age watching sci fi films etc .Well it did with me anyway.Night scapes can be so beautiful.But sometimes difficult to shoot without blowing the highlights .Even in all that darkness the moon is bloody bright.
A little while ago i was messing around shooting the moon and the settings i was using i was getting some fantastic results.I found that using a tripod is a MUST.Also a shutter release switch is best although you can get away with using the cameras self timer.But i found the release switch better.I was using a sigma 70-300 mm macro lens on a Canon EOS 1000D body.The settings i found best was Manual with ISO 100 for low noise and a shutter speed of 1/250 sec and an aperture of around f11 focal length of 300 mm.I also switched the macro function on to sharpen up the shot to get more detail in.I also cropped the image in,To get just that bit closer in.

Both these shots where taken on different evenings.But I was quite pleased with my results as my previous attempts at shooting the moon were quite poor.Either too dark or highlights really blown.But if you too are new to photography and want to try taking some great shots at the moon try my settings and see what you can come up with .Just remember Use a tri pod otherwise you will balls it up.And try to use a lens of 300 mm or more or use a better camera with a better crop factor.Good luck and happy snapping.