POTD

I have two for the first day.  One was fort practice and the other just for fun.  Serious stuff first.

Kendall and I were at Olive Garden for lunch and I took my camera in hoping for a window seat but no luck.  So, I put my 50mm lens to the test in the low light at our table.  The only interesting thing on the table at that point was the bowl of sugar packets.  I love all the pastel colors.  I had the camera on the table at first so I could use a very low shutter speed but my lens would not focus on anything.  It’s a bit old and cranky (and very slow) so I moved it around a bit and tried several more times.  Nothing.  So I picked up the camera and to get as much speed as possible I upped the ISO.  Still not tack sharp anywhere and the depth of field is quite shallow, but the best I could do under the conditions.  I am wary of my higher ISO’s right now but I promise to try them over the next couple of days.  I’d really like to have a greater depth of field so I guess I’ll have to.  Here is what I got:

   

f1.8,  1/20th of a second, ISO 400

Post processing included unsharp mask and levels adjustment.  I’ve been working a lot on getting my white balance right in-camera and I’m pretty pleased with this one.  And the best part?  I got a shoot with the family at the next table.  I should probably carry my camera with me everywhere I go!

Now,  just for fun:

I’m so glad they are not serving their food on the floor.