Another Update

I've been having issues with shooting lately. I can't seem to get the one lens I have wide enough to fit whatever I'm shooting into the frame without getting a bunch of stuff in the frame with it. the lens I have is the 18-200mm VR, and for some of the stuff I've shot recently (Stella Maris Chapel and the old bridge) ,I really wanted to get in closer, but couldn't, because of the lens limitations. Researching online, I realized I needed a wider-angle lens. Checking my options, I decided on saving up for the 10-20mm Sigma 4-5.6 lens. I can use it for funky close-ups, and use it to fit in scenes that I want to capture still. I was going to save up for it, and I did - I had $300 towards it within a couple weeks (sold some prints, sold some skateboard stuff that was collecting dust). Digging around on Flickr, I came across a "for sale" posting in the Nikon D300 group. And of course, someone in Chicago had the exact lens I was looking for, used for a short time, for about $100 less than a new one would go for.

So I jumped on it. It arrived yesterday. I haven't had much of a chance to play with it, but from what I've seen so far, it's going to be a fun little lens.

I've also been shooting the old bridge. I can't say much about it, as I told the person who currently owns it (it is on her property) that I wouldn't talk much about it. But, it's an amazing bridge that she is trying to get restored to the original state. The problem is, local kids seem hell bent on destroying it. They trespass on her land, and try to kick some of the limestone blocks off of it, and even place M-80s in parts of the arch to try to blow it up. Yes, kids will be kids, but you'd think that even after a talking to the parents, they'd stop. And the more traffic the bridge gets, the more she fears it will be damaged and unrepairable. So I've been very quiet as to where it actually is, but have taken a bunch of pictures of it.