More on photography in Juggling with Hedgehogs

I don't want to become a photography bore, but (oh there's that word - and everything before the 'but' doesn't count, we all know that). OK, move along now unless photography interests you because I AM going to be a photography bore.

I go out with my camera every day. Every single day, no matter what the weather. Even when I had a dog, I would resent having to go out in all weathers to walk him, so there's something about this photography malarkey that has got under my skin. I am NOT a cold weather, wet weather, windy weather person. Not at all. I hate weather. Unless it's hot and sunny - and even then, my poor skin suffers, so generally just not an outdoor person of any kind. If you should ever need to find me (you poor sod) I can normally be found indoors, in a corner somewhere dark and gloomy, reading a book on my Kindle paperwhite (yes, dark and gloomy is fine when you have a paperwhite). Reading, under my duvet, is even more likely. Either that, or I'm on a train, snoring, or at a gig, videoing or taking pictures. That's pretty my the sum of my life. I don't count the bits where I'm at work, because even when I'm there, I'm not really. In my head, I'm always somewhere else when I'm at work. Work is not important to me any more - not sure it ever really was, but I did used to enjoy it.

Anyway, tangent.

What I was really coming here to say, was something a bit technical - hence the boring bit. Since getting my DSLR camera (it's an entry level Nikon D3100, nothing flash), I've delved into the world of lenses. I've gone a bit potty to be honest. The camera came with a kit lens - an 18-55mm VR zoom, a kind of all-purpose lens for getting people used to the camera. It has its limitations though, and as I started reading, I found out about prime lenses, (fixed focal length - in other words, they don't zoom, you have to move your feet) and I invested in a Nikon 50mm f1.8G. I was a bit scared of it to begin with, but then I started noticing the quality of the pictures, and how having to move yourself into position to take a shot turns you into a slightly better photographer. So that was that. And then I got a macro lens. A Tamron 90mm f2.8 1:1 proper honest-to-goodness macro lens. Not a zoom lens with a macro function - because that's different. I started taking pics of flowers in close-up and struggled a bit with depth of field until I got the hang of it, but god I loved it. Then I got a fisheye converter thingie for the kit lens and went bonkers taking fisheye shots - I really need to get a proper fisheye lens though. And THEN, I got an 18-200mm zoom. I got that one for going on holiday, because it really is an all-purpose lens. It's fantastic, but after using it almost exclusively for about a week, I started to feel like less of a photographer and more of a snapper. I know that probably sounds bonkers, but I did. So I put the 50mm prime lens back on and suddenly my pictures got better.

There's something about the character of a prime lens. I listened to photographers talk about these as if they were some kind of holy grail and just thought to myself 'what tossers, I mean honestly a lens is a lens, how good can it BE?' - but I get it now. I really do get it. If I can manage to upload some of the shots I've taken recently with the 50mm lens, you'll see it too.

So. Random photography entry. You can wake up now.