As has become our annual tradition, Rachel and I and a bunch of friends went to a nice brunch on Easter Sunday and took easter eggs to a cemetery where we did some sightseeing and photography.

The first year it was just Rachel and me wandering around the cemetery across the street from my apartment in Pittsburgh. Last year it was Karen, Crystal, Gina, and a tiny, old (150 years; that's old by California standards) cemetery in Half Moon Bay, where we dyed the eggs off the back of the car with vinegar we brought and cold water we got from the diner next door.

This year eleven of us went to a really fine brunch at Crimson then went to Oak Hills cemetery, a sprawling expanse of resting places in such a variety of ages, themes, and ostentation. Along the way we took plenty of pictures which I'm sure Rachel and I will be posting for several days.

To start things off though, I have a small gallery of portraits I shot at brunch and later. Last month I got a new lens, a fixed 50mm f/1.4. It's a really fast lens (lets in a lot of light allowing for fast shutter speeds and very narrow depths of field) and was great for indoor photography. Using spot-metering for exposure, I got a lot of nice pictures with good subject tones and completely blown out backgrounds. I really like this effect.

Mostly because they do a better job than I can, I've taken to using Flickr for most of my blog galleries for the time being. Feel free to comment on pictures there.

Enjoy!