Let's See How Far We've Come

Whatup, izzles. Today is a rather monumental occasion. Some may compare it to the Moon Landing, or the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. But don't be ridiculous. Today is so much more than that. Some might even go as far as to say it is comparable to the discovery of cheesecake. But I would promptly advise these people to shut it and stop being absurd, as there is no day even worthy of being compared to the discovery of cheesecake.

What day is it, you ask? Why, today is the day of my 50th blog post. Please, hold your applause.




But seriously yes, today, or more suitably, this post, is my 50th. Which is something, I guess. I'm surprised and very glad that I've been able to keep blogging, and I hope to keep it up for a long time yet. I've made some great followers in the time I've spent blogging, and I've followed some great blogs as well. This little community of bloggers and blogging is I think, amazing. That we do what we do, write what we write, for complete strangers to read, is really something. I mentioned this in my last entry, but I just have to say it again; blogging really is an amazing tool. I think you'll all agree with me on that point. We've all had our eyes opened and our opinions enlightened, broadened and maybe even changed by what we've read on someones blog. By someone we don't know and will likely never meet. That's quite a feat.

I started blogging just under a year ago with the intention of my blog being more along the lines of a photo blog. I do still post the occasional picture (and will today, but more on that in a bit), but I wasn't able to find the time to consistently shoot new pictures and upload them. Plus, I like the way my blog has shaped now. There's no rhythm to it, there's no sequence or anything, it's just what I'm thinking at the time. There's no order to my posts, there is no method to my madness. It is, for better or worse, unstructured and relatively free-form.

There are a few posts I've written that were completely serious and required me to put forth some real thought in just what to write and just how to articulate it to get my thoughts across correctly. I'm going to risk coming off like a douche for a bit and link to the posts that have meant the most to me (in no particular order) and I hope have come across as such:

Viva La Vida

...And Believe it's a Mircale

You won't know your worth now son, until you take a hit

Be more like the man you were made to be

Lend me your eyes, I can change what you see

They're mostly relatively recent, which I guess shows I've become more inclined to get serious and 'deep' with my stuff, but that's not always the case, as witnessed here..:

The Show Goes On

This Suffering

Responsible Citizen

I Found My Religion in a Pound of Grass

I've done serious posts on things that I'm pretty set on, to posts that have no meaning other than to elicit a laugh or two for no reason whatsoever. I've got great feedback on whatever I've written, and for that I'm grateful. No one has (so far) taken a shot me  for what I've written, which says a lot about how open minded all, or most, of us are. Which I think we'd have to be in the start to blog anyway. The comments, input and advice I've got back from you guys has been truly great. I love reading new comments and getting new followers, and I do honestly check my Dashboard everyday for each everyday.

I just wish I had more time to post. Time's always a factor, but these days I don't have time to do much at all. And that's something I really regret, because I love typing out a new entry and seeing everyones response/s. You meet some great people through blogging; I know I sure as hell have. I'm glad I've taken up blogging, as it has been very rewarding so far, and I hope it continues to be so in the future for as long as I can keep this up. I just hope my blog is worthy of everyones time.

Anyway, onto some news.

I got a new lens the other day (win).

Enter the big gun.

It's an AF Micro-Nikkor 200mm F4 IF-ED lens, and it is a monster. It's roughly 8 inches long and weighs 1.2kg (or 2.6lb), so it's a hefty little titan, and it cost me a pretty penny. I've always wanted a macro lens though, which is why I spent as much as I did on it. Its bulk(/awesomeness) pretty much requires a tripod, or guns for arms (which I have, but I don't like to show off in public...) to support for any extended period. But then again, there are no real 'action' macro images, so a tripod is a bit of a must in the field for these types of lenses anyway.

I haven't had as much time as I'd have liked so far to really put it through its paces and learn how to use it effectively. But I have taken a few shots with it.

Click on each for full-size awesomeness

It's meee

Can anyone guess the exposure time..? HA.

They're pretty basic so far and I'm nowhere near becoming fluent with the lens and its use, but even after a few shots I can glean what it can do and how sharp it is. Here's hoping it jump-starts me back into taking more photos more often.

That's it for now. Again, thanks guys for keeping me blogging for as long as I have, and here's hoping for plenty more posts to come*raises platter of delicious and wholesome cheesecake*.

How Far We've Come
MatchboxTwenty
Exile on Mainstream, 2007