Back to Westminster, MD – Sigma 28-80mm on Sony A700

A couple of weeks ago, I had posted a series of photographs I made with a Sigma 24mm f/2.8 in a little park in Westminster, at the intersection of Bond Street and Green Street. The Sigma 24mm is an effective 36mm lens on the Sony Alpha 700. I wanted to try a 28mm lens (42mm on A700). I took along my lightweight Sigma 28-80mm (42mm-120mm in 35mm format) and shot from the same locations as with the 24mm, and a few others. It wasn’t as cold as the last time, and I could loiter a little while longer without freezing my poor hands.

When I left the park, I turned onto Green Street and photographed a couple of the historic homes. I ended up close to McDaniel College, so I grabbed a few shots of the school buildings, as well as the corner of Main and Union Street. Here are the pictures with the Sigma lens set up – these were taken on Wednesday morning with the same lens.

The Sigma is truly a versatile lens, and has a macro capability down to 1:2 as well in case you need it. It’s one of those lenses that you tend to ‘fit and forget’ since it seems to feel so natural.

Westminster – Sigma 28-80mm	Westminster – Sigma 28-80mm
Westminster – Sigma 28-80mm	Westminster – Sigma 28-80mm
Westminster – Sigma 28-80mm	Westminster – Sigma 28-80mm
Westminster – Sigma 28-80mm	Westminster – Sigma 28-80mm
Westminster – Sigma 28-80mm	Westminster – Sigma 28-80mm
Westminster – Sigma 28-80mm	Westminster – Sigma 28-80mm
Westminster – Sigma 28-80mm	Warfieldsburg Rd

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Westminster, MD – Sigma 28-80mm

Westminster, MD – Sigma 28-80mm

Westminster, MD – Sigma 28-80mm

Westminster, MD – Sigma 28-80mm

Westminster, MD – Sigma 28-80mm – Green Street

Westminster, MD – Sigma 28-80mm – Green Street

Westminster, MD – Sigma 28-80mm – McDaniel College

Westminster, MD – Sigma 28-80mm – McDaniel College

Westminster, MD – Sigma 28-80mm – McDaniel College Gateway

Westminster, MD – Sigma 28-80mm – Union St and Main St

Westminster, MD – Sigma 28-80mm Kridder’s Rd Church

Westminster, MD – Sigma 28-80mm – Warfieldsburg Road

Westminster, MD – Sigma 28-80mm – Rte 27 Ridge Road

Westminster, MD – Sigma 28-80mm – Rte 27 Ridge Road

Westminster, MD – Sigma 28-80mm – Rte 27 Ridge Road

Photographed with a Sony Alpha 700 and Sigma 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 aspherical macro lens. ISO 200, Cloudy white balance. 1/80 at 28mm and 1/160 at 80mm (The Sigma is 42-120mm in the 35mm format equivalent)

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olympus/zuiko by Ajoy Muralidhar is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
text and images © 2008 ajoy muralidhar. all names, websites, brands and technical data referenced are the copyright or trademark of their respective owners. thank you for visiting olympus/zuiko. dhar. all names, websites, brands and technical data referenced are the copyright or trademark of their respective owners.

 

Sony A700 Street Photography – C Street, Washington DC

I happened on this location by chance, as I returned to Gaithersburg from Baltimore . I took 295 (Greenbelt parkway) on my way back, and got off the exit that leads to the Robert Kennedy Stadium – going around it, I soon found myself on C street, and all these beautiful buildings. There was plenty of parking, near the intersection of C street and 11th, and I lingered there for a few minutes before driving down west towards 10th, where I stopped for a few more minutes.

Winter is a great time for streetscapes and architectural photography, since the buildings in the older localities aren’t obscured by trees, as they normally would be in the Summertime. I was carrying the Sony A700 with the Sony 18-200mm lens, nothing fancy. The Sony lens (SAL 18200) is a great all-around lens, especially if you make a modest investment in a 62mm Circular Polarizer.

Zooms give a great deal of flexibility, but at the same time, the perspective varies from shot to shot. You don’t really notice it while shooting, since we’re so focused on getting the proper framing and composition, but later, when organizing, we find a wide range of focal lengths. Interesting, of course, but not easy to catalogue.

I think street-photography is best with a zoom, but when recording specific architectural details, it may be better to use a fixed length 35mm or 50mm equivalent prime. I think I will go back again soon, and re-shoot some of the more interesting buildings with a 35mm equivalent prime as well (that would be a 24mm lens, which would give me 36mm on the A700).

Here are the photos from C street. The buildings are in perfect condition, and in the late afternoon sunlight, they look delicious.

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C Street	C Street
C Street	C Street
C Street	C Street
C Street	C Street

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C Street

C Street

C Street

C Street

C Street

C Street

C Street

C Street

C Street

C Street

C Street

C Street

C Street

C Street

Photographed with a Sony Alpha 700 and Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 lens with a Circular Polarizer.

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olympus/zuiko by Ajoy Muralidhar is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
text and images © 2008 ajoy muralidhar. all names, websites, brands and technical data referenced are the copyright or trademark of their respective owners. thank you for visiting olympus/zuiko.

 

View from Lady Bird Johnson Park, GW Parkway

Earlier this summer, I as testing my Toyo 500mm lens, happened to stop by at the Lady Bird Johnson Park off GW Parkway. The Navy memorial is located at one end of the park. Park affords a great view of the Washington Memorial and the Jefferson Memorials across the Potomac river. The other lenses I had that day were the Zuiko 200mm f/4 and the Zuiko 35-70mm f/4 and the reliable old Olympus OM-2. I figured it would be a great to be able to compare the lenses, so busily switched lenses for these shots – the early summer evening ensured that there was lots of light on the Memorial buildlngs, but most of the Potomac river was in shadow. It was a challenge to handhold the Toyo Fivestar 500mm lens for the shot of the Washington Memorial. Next time I’ll remember to lug a tripod along.

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Zuiko 35-70mm f/4 at 35mm

Zuiko 35-70mm f/4 at 70mm

Zuiko 200mm f/4

Zuiko 200mm f/4

Toyo 500mm f/8 at f/11

Toyo 500mm f/8 at f/11

Zuiko 35-70mm f/4 at 70mm

Zuiko 200mm f/4

Toyo 500mm f/8 at f/11

Photographed with an OM-2, Zuiko 35-70mm f/4, Zuiko 200mm f/4, Toyo Five Star 500mm f/8. Film was Fuji Superia 400, and exposure was calculated with the Sunny 16 rule. Exposure for all 3 lenses was 1/500 at f/11, using a Polarizer.

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text and images © 2007 ajoy muralidhar. all names, websites, brands and technical data referenced are the copyright or trademark of their respective owners.

 

More Inner Harbor Pictures – Minolta 800si, Phoenix 28-105mm

I finally had the last roll of film from the Baltimore Inner harbor shoot developed this week…. these were with the Minolta Dynax 800si and the Phoenix 28-105mm lens. This is one of my most used Minolta AF lenses, since it spans such a useful range of focal lengths – from wideangle to medium telephoto.

Although it is most useful as a portrait lens, the 105mm is just right for closing in on interesting architectural detail, and the 28, 35 and 50mm focal lengths are always available. I believe that this is the one lens to pack if one is traveling light. I usually carry a Tiffen 812 warming filter in case of overcast or open sky photography and a Tiffen circular polarizer when its bright and sunny out.

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Inner Harbor, Baltimore	Inner Harbor, Baltimore
Inner Harbor, Baltimore	Inner Harbor, Baltimore
Inner Harbor, Baltimore	Inner Harbor, Baltimore

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Inner Harbor, Baltimore

Inner Harbor, Baltimore

Inner Harbor, Baltimore

Inner Harbor, Baltimore

Inner Harbor, Baltimore

Inner Harbor, Baltimore

Photographed with a Minolta Dynax 800si AF camera and Phoenix 28-105mm f/2.8-3.6 lens on Fujis Superia 200 film. I used a Tiffen circular polarizer

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text and images © 2007 ajoy muralidhar. all names, websites, brands and technical data referenced are the copyright or trademark of their respective owners.

 

Inner Harbor and Harbor East, Baltimore

On the last day of my conference at Baltimore, I lugged along my autofocus Minolta Dynax 800si with the Phoenix 28-105mm lens. This road is leads to Harbor East, which is the former warehouse district. Most of the grungy old buildings have been torn down, and it’s being developed into a vibrant business and commercial area.

Two blocks further down, you can still see some of the remaining warehouses, they are really decrepit, and the neighborhood is generally rundown and boarded up. No trees, just concrete sidewalks, uncared for streets and no place you’d care to stop. I walked through that area one afternoon looking for a decent place to eat, and ended up walking 3 blocks back to the edge of Little Italy. I can recommend Petalos Restaurant for their fine salad.

To anyone who believes all development of older city areas is bad, I’d recommend that they walk along Pratt Street in Baltimore, and go past the ritzy hotels to the older, undeveloped areas, and tell me if they still feel the same. What I am against though is the tearing down of older housing to make for multiple residential complexes, and shopping places filled with the same old coffeeshops.

I wish cities would encourage more diversity in the commercial areas, and make it possible for the smaller artisan shops to afford a location in the newly developed areas. Would be like adding a bit of spice to otherwise bland fare.

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Harbor East	Harbor East
Harbor East	Harbor East

Additional pictures of the Inner Harbor area

Inner Harbor

Inner Harbor

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Inner Harbor

Inner Harbor

Inner Harbor

Inner Harbor

Inner Harbor

Photographed with an autofocus Minolta Dynax 800si, Phoenix 28-105mm f/2.8-3.6 zoom lens, Fuji Superia 200. I used a Tiffen 812 filter in the shade and a Tiffen Polarizer in the sun.

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text and images © 2007 ajoy muralidhar. all names, websites, brands and technical data referenced are the copyright or trademark of their respective owners.

 

Baltimore: Inner Harbor

I attended a conference in Baltimore in early October, and since I was there for almost a week, from early in the morning to late evening in the waterfront area, I took the opportunity to capture the inner harbor at different times in the day. The meetings were held the Waterfront Marriott which has an awesome view of the harbor from the 5th floor balcony.

The historic buildings all around the inner harbor area are well preserved, and the old shipping warehouses in the Harbor east area are being torn down one by one to make room for fancy new hotels and condominiums.. I suppose that in a few more years, the entire harbor area will be a vibrant commercial and tourist area. I always feel a twinge of regret when historic parts of a city are transformed so radically, but in this case, it will rejuvenate the city, and I am happy for Baltimore residents. Baltimore is a city of great charm, if you know where to look for it. It reminds me very much of Chicago, with all its neighborhoods.

Most of the neighborhoods are human scaled, as the buildings in residential areas are mostly one and two storys tall. Like Chicago, the large concrete, steel and glass towers are concentrated near the waterfront, with the rest of the city still zoned for normal sized buildings. I carried my trusty old Ricoh 500G manual rangefinder loaded with Fuji Superia 200 film.

I will be posting the Baltimore water front pictures in a series of posts in the next few days.

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The Waterfront Marriott	Waterfront promenade seating
Waterfront Promenade	Waterfront Promenade

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Scarlett Place

Pumphouse and Museum

Waterfront Hotels

Waterfront

Concert venue

Waterfront

Old Steam Roller

Photographed with a Ricoh 500G Rangefinder (fixed 40mm f/2.8 Rikenon) and Fuji Superia 200 film. I used the Sunny 16 rule – f/16 at 1/250.

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text and images © 2007 ajoy muralidhar. all names, websites, brands and technical data referenced are the copyright or trademark of their respective owners.