last week i rented this incredible portrait lens (i think it's fair to say that i am obsessed with portrait lenses) from looking glass photo for our trip to the monterey bay aquarium.

since i have some major issues when it comes to wanting to buy every doodad i see anyone else using, i tried to ground myself and see if my amateur-level skills were enough to take advantage of a piece of equipment that costs half as much as the camera itself. i rented it for $25 for the entire weekend, and shot about 500 photos over the course of two days. it was totally, totally worth it.

i also signed up to take a basic photography class this month, which will do me a lot of good. i have this weird thing where i don't want to admit i'm a beginner, so i convince myself that i'm good enough for intermediate or advanced classes. then i realize i'm hallucinating, and really bad at math. maybe if i'd have stayed in the high math classes, i'd be a better photographer. why don't they ever tell you that kind of stuff when you're trying to figure out a way to get out of math in college?

i do have a little photo wishlist, though, and here it is:

portrait lens
camera bag
wide angle lens
dream lens
flickr pro account


but i promised myself that i wouldn't spend any big bucks on camera gear before i learn how to take full advantage of what i already own, so for now, those things are going to stay right there on that wishlist.