Unexpected Surprises

This past weekend we went camping with some friends of ours out near Gettysburg. We had a lot of fun and had some good food too. I had brought my camera and was prepared to take a load of photos to document our good time when I hit a wall of frustration: my camera lens was not a zoom lens, and I had great difficulty recording the events without stepping way back from the scene and losing some of the details I was looking for. I did take some shots, but spent a lot of time with my camera in the bag, talking with my friend and Meg about my desire to get a wider angle lens to be able to capture these events easier.

Fast-forward to the time that we arrive home and we're unpacking everything:

Meg: "Honey, what's this 'image-stabilizer' thing?
Me: "Oh yeah, I was researching that lens I was talking to you about..you can just close that page if you want.
Me: "No, I mean THIS thing on the desk!"

I stopped what I was doing only to come over and see a box sitting in front of the keyboard containing the EXACT lens I had been researching for weeks. After inspecting my house for Santa or magical gnomes, I figured out the identity of the benevolent gifter and after a gracious conversation of thanks (well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but I did thank them), I took the camera downtown to try out my new lens.

The first Friday of each month is known as First Friday (go figure) in Lancaster City. This is a monthly event in which many of the small art galleries and shops open their doors to visitors from all over. The city is bustling with activity all evening. Meg and I decided to go for the first time with some of our friends, and after a while, I convinced everyone to go to the top of the Prince St. Parking Garage to catch some birds-eye view of the city with my new lens. Here are a few of the first photos with this lens: