Recent randomness

[MuZ0NaZ]

Just messing around with 85mm f/1.8 and flash outdoors. Both shots taken within 15 minutes of each other.

[overwatch]

I like the first - the contrast between the front and back pots works well with the snow - and I am jealous of your snow!

As for the second -- tricky, it seems to have two focuses of the image - the chain and the bud -- I would say that a greater depth of field or focusing more on one (I say the bud) would have possibly worked a little better

[Leorina]

The picture of the pots and snow interests me more than your second. The tree in the background, along with the snow, looks as if it were painted in almost--which I really like.
What I'd like to know is how you managed a blurry foreground, a midground in focus, and an out of focus background as well?

[wizz-o-matic]

What I'd like to know is how you managed a blurry foreground, a midground in focus, and an out of focus background as well?

it's the so-called Depth of field. Good DoF can be achieved only with SLR cameras.

And, nice job with the first one

[MuZ0NaZ]

I agree with you both that the photo with the bud is less interesting and the composition is a bit flaky, just for some reason I really dig the colours there.
@overwatch: I'll try to experiment more with the DoF when it's sunny outside again.
@Leorina: the key is flash (and pretty fast shutter speed). It brings out the out-of-focus snowflakes really well and by lighting up the pots it allowed me to make it all much brighter, tho I had to remove the reflection in photoshop. I'm attaching the same shot with natural light only. Edit: that is all assuming you have a relatively long, fast lens.

[Leorina]

This'll probably sound odd, but I'm actually feeling a chill from the original photo.