Exploring Downtown Raleigh

This past weekend, I was able to visit Raleigh and explore some of the many unique places Downtown. On a few of these outings, I brought my camera along to take some pictures. One of my favorite places I visited in Downtown Raleigh was the Videri Chocolate Factory. I grabbed a few photos, sampled different types of chocolate, toured a section of the factory, and enjoyed a hot chocolate.

I also stopped by the railroad tracks and Boylan Bridge where I found a nice cityscape view of Raleigh.  

While exploring Boylan Bridge with a friend, I also stumbled across a small coffee shop called The Oak City Coffee Roastery. We met the owner who served us free coffee and showed us around his shop. While he told us a little about his shop and how he began his coffee business, he also let me take a few pictures.  

Although I only visited a handful of places around Raleigh, I enjoyed snapping photos of those interesting locations. I recently purchased a new Canon 50mm f1.4 lens, so this was my first chance to try it out. Even though I wasn’t entirely satisfied with all my pictures, I am very impressed with the lens and will continue to experiment, especially with portraits photos. Because it is a fixed lens, I was forced to move around much more than I usually do with a zoom lens. I wasn’t used to this, but it forced me to be more creative with where I positioned myself in order to get the best possible composition. All in all, I am very happy with my purchase and hope to continue using it in my future shoots.  

Guest Post by Kaitlyn Semones.