Went out and grabbed myself the 85mm 1.8 today, and all of a sudden I'm not sure what to do with it.

Duh.

Gonna do some extensive testing over the week, but initial results are good.

Received some constructive criticism for the Istana shoot.

I think the most important thing that I've got to work on now is posing. God, my posing is seriously dreadful.

I can't look at some of the photos without cringing.

Also, I've still yet to develop an eye for lighting conditions. Some of the shots are nice, but I've piggybacked on Albert's eye.

I'm most pleased with my progress with composition and exposure, but it's still pretty far off from Ling's work. I tend to shoot the subject in the center too much. This is especially so for the 85mm. But for wide angle shots the shots tell me that I'm still a little bit afraid to get in real close.

And being real close is where the drama lies.

I really like the feel of the 85mm. It feels like a specialized weapon - reminds me of the AWP from CS actually - that requires skill, time and practice to master. Maybe in time I will get the 50mm 1.4.

I still admire Ling's work very much. He has the uncanny ability to crop a picture just right way to bring out the essence of the idea.

Miss the good times.