Aperture Experiments

I've been experimenting more with aperture since buying the new camera (LOVE IT) and took these a couple of weeks ago. My mom wants to sell my brother's trumpet, and left it with me to take it to our local middle school band director to see if he can sell it. I took the opportunity to play around. I love slightly abstract shots like this and love music and instruments. And it is a beautiful trumpet.

I think it's obvious here that I am going for a "view while playing the instrument" shot. It would have been way cooler with a blue sky background, a la marching band, but that was lacking at 11pm or so at night. So you got "trumpet a la as much light as I could muster in our bedroom without waking the boys". I did this shot where the entire instrument remains in focus, but due to the ceiling background versus a real sky, this is the better shot:

This second shot has its faults - technically I should have focused on the first key (and meant to do so) but I am still learning on the D-SLR, folks. I got some good critique on it as a subject on a online website I sometimes participate in. A lot of people thought this was a radio dial when just viewing the thumbprint: