My new favorite photography toy!

I've had my semi-fancy Canon Rebel XT camera for almost 2 years now and I still have no idea how to unleash all of it's awesome capabilities. I'm a wanna-be photographer who hasn't had the extra time yet to take a good photography class. I have learned a ton from library books, websites, and photography blogs but there is always truck loads more information I want to cram into my brain.

One item that kept popping up all over the web labeled as a great tool and an inexpensive way to amp up your pics is this baby:  a 50mm Canon lens.

It's a small lens that packs a big punch!

After drooling over it for a long time I finally bought mine! At only about $120 it's an investment that won't empty your pockets.
 I just got mine in the mail last week. Holy monkeys! I can't tell you how excited I am to use this lens for my next Cantaloupe Corner photo shoot! It creates that nice blurry background that takes a picture from amatuer to professional in a single click.
My hubby thinks I'm a little crazy. The first time I tried out my lens I got so excited and started spouting out photography vocab like "aperature" and "ISO", words that I barely understand myself. I was seriously excited about the f1.8 aperature!
Here are a few random shots taken with the new lens.

I am sooooo digging the blurry backgrounds. 

This is Zues, he is our loyal mini Schnauzer. He loves to pose for photo ops.

They say that a good camera (or lense) is like an artist's paintbrush. Having a good camera doesn't make you a fantastic photographer but it can definately make a difference.

Now to practice with my new paintbrush!