A Little Splurge

Wednesday I came home from work in the evening to find a package I had ordered on my front porch. After coveting a wide aperture lens and an external flash for a long time I finally bit the bullet and had decided to buy a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens and a Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash.

This past month I had a pretty rough schedule at working a ton of overtime to meet deadlines for my job. I was exhausted mentally and physically and I needed a little pick me up. Normally I am not one for retail therapy but in this case I decided to do it for a few reasons.

First, this was not an impulse purchase but instead something I had been thinking about for a while. Second, it fit into the budget I have set aside and save up for myself to buy fun things. Third, although the reality is that it is better to take photos in natural light I really don't have a chance to work on projects much outside of evening hours. I wanted to be able to take better pictures when I am working on things at night and I am hopeful this will help me do it. Fourth, after pulling a seventy hour work week a girl just needs something to look forward to and I felt a little splurge could be justified.

Now that I have the lens and flash I couldn't be more thrilled with them. I have been having fun taking pictures around the house and my neighborhood just to try them out. Next week I plan to post some pictures and results using my new set-up.

I can't resist sharing one photo now (this is just with the new lens, no flash) so here is a picture of a purple kale in my front yard. I have a lot to learn about using this new equipment, but I think it is going to be fun.

Have you splurged on anything recently? Have you ever rewarded yourself after a stressful patch at work?