Lens Envy

Last Christmas, Craig gave me the lens of my dreams.  It's practical.  it's compact.  It's versatile.  It's efficient.  And since then it has lived on my camera 90% of the time.  

Over the weekend, we flew to Utah (I will write more about this trip later) and since I knew the weather was going to be beautiful, I brought my camera with my favorite lens, and we planned an extensive barn hunt for Saturday.  

I woke Craig up at 6:30 that morning and then hurried him through breakfast and out the door to chase down the sunrise which, according to my phone, was happening at 7:26am.  We drove about 10 miles to the Saltair Pavillion on the Great Salt Lake.  With camera in hand and iPhone in my pocket, I jumped out of the car and immediately started wandering the vast parking lot looking for the perfect view of the sun coming up over the mountains. 

I had asked Craig if he wanted to come with me to explore, but he said it was too cold.  (I totally should have been suspicious...since when is the Scout Master too cold to explore the great outdoors??)  After about 10 minutes, I saw Craig wandering across the parking lot toward me carrying what I thought was one of my other lenses.  He suggested I try a few shots with it.  Why would I want to do that?  I argued about how comfortable I was with my 50mm.  I argued that I sometimes don't trust my ability with those other lenses because my pictures are notoriously blurry.  And I argued that even if I was farther away than I wanted to be, I could always fix that with some good editing.  But he insisted that I change lenses.  Ugh...since when did he elect himself my lens caddy?  I reluctantly took the lens from him and could tell as soon as I hefted the thing that it wasn't one of mine.  It was way too heavy and completely unfamiliar...  

Do you know why???  Because it wasn't one of my lenses!  Craig bought me the 300mm Zoom lens that I have been asking for since 2011!!!  He really did.  He bought it on a business trip last week, and then he packed it secretly and carried the thing around with him until he found the perfect opportunity to surprise me with it.  Isn't that the nicest thing ever??  I almost cried right there in the parking lot.

And look at the amazing pictures I took with it for the rest of the day... 

That balloon was at least 1/4 of a mile in the sky.  And those sheep were NOT close enough to touch...it just looks like it because I now have a 300mm ZOOM lens!  Holy cow!  New photography doors and windows have all of a sudden been flung open.  I can't even wait to show you the rest of the amazing shots I got this weekend!  I love this new lens.  And I love my sweet husband for always being so thoughtful and for wanting to surprise me.  
Best. Surprise. Ever.