Slowly improving my focus

I've been having fun shooting with my new 50mm 1.4 lens. Last weekend, I took it to our friends' wedding. I brought it along on a visit to see Christopher and Susie. And today, I shot 132 pictures at Christopher's baptism. Out of the 132 shots, I got 22 pics I actually liked. Hopefully my success rate will continue to rise.

I find I am getting much more comfortable with the manual mode on the fly. I've been adjusting white balance as well as aperture and shutter speed settings pretty quickly. At the wedding, I had more time since Steve had to be there early. I was able to pick my seat and play with the settings for at least 15 minutes before the wedding started. Today, at the christening, I had about a minute before everything started, so I was adjusting as I went along.

The focusing is getting a little better. I think part of my problem is my eyesight. I've been wearing my contact lenses, which I think is better than my glasses. But I still second guess what I see in the viewfinder as focused. Or I will think it looks great, take the photo, and then in the preview I can see that it is definitely not in focus. Oh well, I just will have to practice more.

So here are a few of my favorite shots from the last few events. Feel free to critique and/or give me pointers to improve! I love constructive criticism. You can also tell me which ones you like best. These are all unedited, right from the camera.