Choosing to learn

I was asked "what's the deal with all the Tokina AT-X 100-300 F4 images? What about the rest of your kit?" Good question. There are several reasons:

1. It's a new lens to me. With anything new, there is going to be a bit of an infatuation with it. Isn't this normal behavior?

2. I'm struggling with the lens. It isn't quite fitting me right. What I am doing is forcing myself to use a tool until I'm either totally satisfied that it was a bum purchase or I've become adequately skilled in the usage of it.

3. I'm able to take pictures using the longer focal lengths that I wasn't able to before. There's been a lot of pent-up demand.

4. I haven't bothered telling you about the hundreds of other pictures taken with the 14-54 zoom as part of normal usage.

This reminds me of the story about the sea captain and his first-officer. The first-officer was an excellent seaman and took his job seriously. Upon return to home port he was going to be promoted to captain. However, one night he partied a little too hard and the next morning was still a bit off. The captain wrote in the log "First-officer drunk today." The first-officer pleaded with him to not do that as it would ruin his career. The captain responded "It's the truth, isn't it?" Several days later, the first-officer wrote in the log "Captain sober today."