I am one of those girls who, as J would often proclaim: “don’t seem to have sensible shoes”.

And it’s become even more apparent over the past few weeks that he is right! I get blisters from my Steve Maddens after a night out. I get knee/back aches from my DUO boots after an afternoon of shopping and most recently, I freeze my toes off in 5 minutes and slide all over the pavement regardless of which footwear I’ve got on.

Which brings me to the fact that I haven’t got good proper, warm & sturdy snow boots.

Surfing the web over the past few days brought me into a world of “Removable inner Thermoplus lining”, “Bonded felt frosted plugs” and “Seam-sealed waterproof construction”. Not forgetting “thick rubber midsoles” and “non-loading outsoles”

Woah! I bet they are warm.

I mean, some of these boots are rated to keep your precious little toes warm up to -40degs! However, they don’t come cheap. With the cheapest going at £74.95, you can be sure that this would be one purchase you won’t be taking lightly. However, based on the various reviews online, it would be a long-term investment as these boots were build to last. Now, I just gotta decide on which one….

All this snow we’ve been getting might be pretty but is an absolute nightmare to drive in. I was unfortunate enough to be stuck in the utter mayhem that hit Hampshire during the Christmas week last year and it took me 9 whole hours to get back (yes you heard it right, 25miles in 9 hours). At one point, I seriously thought I was going to spend the night in my car. It was horrific.

Needless to say, I was adamant not to be caught in such a situation again. Therefore, when the Met Office issued severe weather warnings early this week, I didn’t think twice about leaving work early and working from home for the rest of the week. Mind you, working from home for 3 consecutive days does have its perks.

For instance, you could pop out during your “lunch break” for a little photowalk in the snow…

While we were in London over New Years, we caught the much hyped about new movie by James Cameron – Avatar.

Like many, I had high expectations for this film. The media/publicity generated around this film was so intense, it was impossible not to expect anything less from Mr Cameron. I wasn’t a bit fan of Titanic (slept through half of it) and I’m not much into computer generated imagery (CGI) & heavily graphic dependent films. So really, all signs point to the fact that I probably will not like this film.

However, low and behold, I  was impressed! It was breath-taking! I managed to watch the entire film and was on the edge of my seat throughout.

If you like special effects and totally new computer generated graphics you have never seen before, go watch Avatar. We watched it in 3D but I’m sure the 2D version would be just as spectacular. The filmatography around the blending of the two worlds was very well executed. I mean, Cameron even created a brand new language from scratch just for this movie.

The only dissapointment I had didn’t even have anything to do with the movie. If you’re ever been to Odeon in Leicester Square, you would know what I mean. We were seated towards the very back and the screen was dissapointing tiny back where we were. Would I watch Avatar again? You bet! But this time in a regular size theatre and experience it on a big screen.

A few months ago, I bought a second-hand Nikon 85mm f1.8D lens off eBay. On doing some research, I discovered that this brilliant piece of kit outperforms the 1.4D in distortion & vignetting at its widest aperture. Therefore, rather than forking out 3 times as much money for the 1.4D, I settled for the rather easy-on-the-bank-balance 1.8D instead.

Aside from my favourite lens (50mm f1.8), this is now my second favourite. The only reason is because I use my 50mm a lot more than the 85mm. The 85mm produces the same brilliant result as the 50mm. It works really well in low-light & produces brilliant pleasing bokeh. However, it’s too ‘long’ to be used at a dinner party for example. But works brilliantly for indoor shots like concerts etc. I got some really lovely bokehed shots of the Christmas tree this winter

What really sents this lens apart from the other prime lenses is the quality of images when snapping outdoor portraits. Because of the longer focal length (it’s almost like a mini telephoto), I could easily capture candid moments from a distance rather than shoving the 50mm in the subjects’ faces which I feel instantly disintegrate the ‘candidness’ of a portrait. It’s sharp. It’s quick. I like it. It autofocuses really quickly on my D90. However, that it doesn’t autofocus on the D40 or D60 to bear that in mind.

On the other hand, it can also be used to create interesting indoor shots:

I have to say, it’s only been a couple of months but I can safely say that it is a brilliant buy and I’m loving it more each time I use it. Considering I only paid £100 for it, it’s exceptional value for money for the quality of images I’m getting. Can’t often say that for many lenses…