Sony Alpha 700 – Page 17 – The Bald Heretic – Short, bald dude with a goofy beard

Iris

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When I first started shooting with a digital SLR I was keenly interested in fast lenses for low light photography. During one of my early visits to the camera store my ~~connection~~ ~~dealer~~ friend Charlie showed me a used Sigma 20mm f/1.8 lens they had available. I jumped on it thinking it would be a great concert lens and give me a much needed wide angle that I was unable to achieve with my 50mm.

As it turned out the lens was a poor performer. Soft, even blurry stopped down to 1.8 or 2.0 making it fairly useless for my needs. Being the procrastinator I am, I never took it back or sought a refund.

Fast forward to yesterday and I decide to revisit the lens.

Keep in mind that the lens wasn’t overly expensive, but it wasn’t free either. I was thinking I might put it up for sale “as is” on EBay and wanted to have one more look at what the lens produced, image-wise.

Holy sharp focus, Batman!

Iris

The above shot was taken at f/1.8 and is a 100% crop only reduced in size to fit this page. If you click on the image you will see the full sized crop.

I’ve changed cameras since that purchase and have not tried the lens since then. What a difference a new camera makes. I am guessing that the lens just works better with the Sony A700 than it did with the Sony A100. It makes sense. This lens is rather old and may not have communicated properly with the first gen Sonys.

At any rate, I am very happy I hung on to it. I love prime lenses. I just love them.

Table Top Roller Derby

Click images to view larger version.
Best if viewed large.
You’re missing out if you don’t view large.

Houston Roller Derby – Ring Of Fire

I was looking forward to this month’s roller derby match as I knew it would be a good chance to put the new lens through it’s paces. Shooting sports in low light presents a unique set of optical challenges and I figured the new toy would be up to the task, and it was. I ended up shooting most of the match with it and only swapping to the wide angle for some experimental shots.

I liked being able to shoot the far side of the track as well as being able to go up into the balcony seats and shoot down on the action. Much more versatile than I imagined once I began to embrace the concept of “being the zoom.” In other words, moving my physical self to change the framing and focal length. Something that’s not always easy to do, but this event lent itself well to the concept.

Houston Roller Derby

The rest of my shots are in the HRD Flickr site. Check them out at http://www.flickr.com/photos/hrdart/sets/72157606680709501

Inflight Meal

If you click the image and view the larger size you can see pollen dotting his teeny little head.

Beat Box

Percussion instrument used during a performance of Clouseaux.

I like the absurdity of a box being miked as it looks like it’s about to be interviewed…

Host: Joining us now, a wooden box touring with the musical group, Clouseaux…

Wooden Box: It’s great to be here!

Host: How’s the tour going?

Wooden Box: Aside from the constant beatings, it’s terrific!

More pics here

Ryan Scroggins – Trenchtown Texans

That’s quite the cookie duster Mr. Scroggins is sporting these days!

Ryan Scroggins

Whatchoo Lookin At?

Setup the camera on a tripod in the breakfast room and focused on the spot where the hummer was landing with some frequency. Used the IR remote and bounced it off the window pane so I wouldn’t startle the hummer when taking the shot.

The shutter noise didn’t scare him off, but did make the little guy look at the camera and cock his head in a rather quizzical manner.

Whatchoo Lookin At?

First Dance

Congratulations Barrett and Amanda!