Month 2 in Review - February

Two months down, ten more to go.  I continue to be amazed at how forcing myself to take a photo each and every day actually makes me learn things, day after day.  Before this month I hadn't a clue as to what it meant to have a 'fast lens', or how much of a difference there is between 8mm and 11mm.  I never understood why anyone would ever really need more than maybe a couple of lenses unless you're a pro.  I knew about wide angle and telephoto, but I thought my 18-200mm covered the bulk of that.  And if you had suggested a year ago that within seven months I would accumulate two more lenses (and spend a little fortune in the process), I'd have thought you're perhaps a little off.  And yet, here I am, totally enthralled by what I had learned in John Marriott's photography seminar, photography in general, and learning more about lenses.  At first I was eyeing that Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6.  I questioned its real-life application, but I continued to be amazed by Darwin Wiggett's stunning wide angle shots (heck, I seem to be amazed by any image of Darwin's).  Then, in the midst of this 365 project, and in the midst of having my oh-so-many darn-it's-10pm-and-I-need-a-photo shots, I realized that perhaps more than the wide angle photography, the macro is something that I drift towards.  Should I get a macro lens or a wide angle lens?  That was my dilemma, until I thought, why not both?!  I've only tried the macro on a few occassions and the wide angle hasn't come in yet, but I'll be sure to have a wider variety of images in March. 

The end of the month was topped by me taking a nice big fall in extreme weather in Waterton.  My 18-200mm lens got damaged in that fall: the UV filter was completely busted and the lens is acting up.  It's stiff from about 50-200mm and makes funny noises when focusing.  The Camera Store tells me it's four weeks to get an estimate, and four more weeks for an actual repair.  That would put me right into my Colorado and Utah vacation (where having this lens non-functional is simply not an option), so I'll keep testing it over the next week and decide if it's trustworthy enough as is.  No repairs right now.

Some stats for February:

• Favourite photo: Day 50 - Spray Lakes Sunset
• Least favourite photo: Day 47 - Beyond the Butcher Block
• Most challenging photo to take: Day 54 - Jade - water kept dripping off
• Most creative photo: Day 43 - Aspen Grove
• Most used Photoshop edits: sponge (saturate), unsharp mask - less editing than last month 
• Number of photos taken this month: ~990
• Number of days on which I wouldn't have taken a photo if I didn't have to for this: 21
• How I feel about this project: happy, excited, and torn with all these lens issues.  I'll keep going.

Which is your favourite photo from February?