Photography – Page 19 – The Bald Heretic – Short, bald dude with a goofy beard

Random

On our way to the grocery store Cynthia and I randomly encountered a buggy drawn by two magnificent Friesian horses just going down the road (Briar Forest) clippity clop. Stupefied and excited we whipped a u-turn, passed them and pulled onto a side street with the idea we would snap some pics as they rode by.

Cynthia got to the street but I was not so quick. She snapped some shots but I was thinking I was going to be too late when all of a sudden they turned onto the side street we were on and came to a stop.

The man at the reigns asked if we would like a ride. Cynthia and looked at each other and said “yes.” As we climbed in the man introduced himself as Chet (I think that’s his name) and his grandson Griffin.

We rode down the street for a bit, but I became concerned about leaving my car on the street so we kept it short.

What a fantastic random encounter. I hope we see them again sometime.

First Dance

Congratulations Barrett and Amanda!

Practical Application

More than selling my pictures I just love seeing them get used and appreciated. This is my “Ascension” photo being used as the wallpaper on a friend’s iPhone.

First Hummer Of The Season

We put the feeders out right after the “hurricane” and today we had our first sighting. That’s a Ruby Throated for sure. We saw one other that was very reddish in color. Did not get a picture. I should be able to get some good shots this season since I’ve placed the feeders right outside the kitchen window.

Edouard Aftermath

The rain is a much appreciated byproduct of non-hurricane Edouard, as is the lack of catastrophe. But kudos to the local media outlets for milking it for all it was worth. I’ve never seen so much televised sprinkling and ponding!

I for one was happy this turn out to be a “non-event” even though many of my co-workers chose to take the day off. All the better for me to get caught up on my work and enjoy a traffic free commute both ways.

Main Street – Houston

Happiness Is A Clean Car

The Monster Lens

I literally agonized over whether to buy the Sony SAL-135F18Z 135mm f/1.8 or the SAL-70200G – 70-200mm f/2.8 when picking out this new lens. They are similarly priced and both excellent lenses.

While the 70-200mm 2.8 is more versatile in terms of focal length, the 135mm 1.8 is unquestionably sharper and more suited for my style of photography. I also had to consider that Tamron’s 70-200mm 2.8 is coming out later this year and is less than 1/3 the cost of the Sony.

I even went so far as to make my sales guy and friend Charlie from The Camera Exchange assist me with some test shots at the store which we compared on the computer. We took the 70-200mm and shot at 135mm and compared the results to the 135mm and you could see that the 135mm was sharper and had better color saturation. After much discussion and me attempting to mentally will the 70-200 to be as sharp I settled on the 135 and Charlie rung me up.

It is quite impressive when mounted to my Sony Alpha 700

And it’s also rather intimidating as evidenced by the expression on Dr. Matthew Wettergreen when he encountered it at close range:

The lens adds a little over 2 lbs to my kit so it’s giving me a workout just carrying it around.

The real test was how it would perform in a concert situation. The focal length means I need to have some distance from my subject. This has it’s pros and cons. On the one hand, I can shoot without crowding the stage which means I don’t have to crowd surf to get the shot. On the other hand, some venues may not have a stage with enough elevation or a clear shot.

At the Houston Press Music Awards I was able to give the lens a proper workout at The Tontons performance at Venue. Venue had outstanding lighting and an elevated stage. The results, well…the results speak for themselves..

While this is obviously some superior glass, I still like to think there’s something to be said for what’s going on in front of an behind the camera. It is, after all, just a tool. A means to an end as it were. But OMG!!!1!1! is it ever a fantastic lens!