Flowering Dogwoods and Wild Mustard – Carroll County

Mid-April is the time for flowering dogwoods and vast expanses of wild mustard growing in the fields all over Carroll County… later in the year, these fields will be planted with Soya beans or Corn, but for now, they are just a golden mass of flowers, gently swaying in the slightest breeze. The dogwoods are something to look forward to, as they appear just as the Cherry Blossoms and Magnolias are fading, and they are much more durable blossoms. April is also the time of heavy rainfall here in Maryland, and delicate blossoms like the cherry don’t hold up well. Here are some of the pictures I took in Gaithersburg, and along Rte 27 north of Mount Airy, on the road to Westminster, MD. Mostly flowering dogwoods and fields of mustard blossoms – and a few redbuds.

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Dogwood and Mustard	Dogwood and Mustard
Dogwood and Mustard	Dogwood and Mustard
Dogwood and Mustard	Dogwood and Mustard
Redbud	Redbud
Redbud	Dogwood and Mustard
Dogwood and Mustard	Dogwood and Mustard
Pin Oak flower	Birch flower

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Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Redbud

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Thistle

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Dogwood and Mustard

Photographed with a Sony Alpha 700 and Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Zoom lens. I used a Polarizer. Close-up of Pink dogwood photographed with a Sigma 50mm f/2.8 Macro 1:1 lens with Tiffen 812 warming filter

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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.

 

One misty morning in Carroll County: Landscape Photography with the Sony A700 and Sigma 28-80mm

It was unseasonably warm last week, with temperatures in the upper 50’s and even 60’s. Tuesday morning was unusual, with moderately heavy fog all along Rte 27 running North towards Westminster. The mist changes the appearance of the familiar landscape, and the soft morning light makes for some excellent photographic opportunities.

As I drove along Rte 27, the mist slowly lightened until it was completely burnt off by the time I got to work. I stopped at several familiar spots along the way to take these pictures. I had the Sony A700, of course – with the Sigma 28-80mm still on it from last weekend’s hike along the Great Falls towpath.

The Sigma is an unusually light lens, and perfect for hiking. It’s no slouch when it comes to landscape and architectural photography either. On the Sony Alpha, the lens becomes a 42mm-120mm, which gives me enough flexibility for most landscape and architectural applications. Although I’d preferred top have a 35mm for street photography, 42mm is acceptable. Besides, a 42mm lens presents the world with a slightly better perspective than a 50mm, with no distortion at all.

The 2 close-up’s are included to show the macro capabilities of the Sigma 28-80mm.

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Misty Morning	Misty Morning
Misty Morning	Misty Morning
Misty Morning	Misty Morning

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Misty Morning

Misty Morning

Misty Morning

Misty Morning

Misty Morning

Misty Morning

Photographed with a Sony Alpha 700 and Sigma 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 aspherical macro lens. Auto ISO, Cloudy white balance.

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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.

 

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.

 

Potomac River in February: Wild water at Great Falls, MD

I headed off to the Great Falls park last Saturday (02/02/08) to hike along the river and photograph the falls. It was beautiful out there… about 50 degrees – perfect hiking weather, although the trails and towpath were still muddy. I was carrying my Sony Alpha 700 and 2 lenses – a Sigma AF 28-80mm and the Tamron 70-300mm. The Tamron was for closeup views of the raging waters. The Sigma is a recent acquisition, and I was trying it out.

It’s still early in February, and we’ve already had a lot of rain in Montgomery county – the average rainfall for February is about 2.85 inches here, and by the 2nd, we already had about 3 inches… which means, every stream in the county is overflowing and that the Potomac is running full already. Normally, we’d have to wait until the Spring thaws.

Since my intent was to photograph the falls, I did not mind lugging along the heavy Tamron, but on my way over there, I was thinking about the most desirable characteristics for a hiking lens – good zoom range, rugged, light, cheap, close up capability etc. At the same time, the optical characteristics of the lens should be good enough that you don’t regret the quality of the pictures when you get back.

The more I thought about it, the Sigma I was carrying seemed to be the perfect fit. After all, it had a zoom range of 28-80mm, which is a 42-120mm on the Sony A700. Besides, it has a plastic body, which makes it lightweight. Great optical quality with multicoated aspherical lenses, very cheap so it would not matter if it was damaged or lost – and it has a 1:2 Macro capability, for those occasional very close-up shots of interesting grass or moss or little critters that I might come across.

I would have liked at least 35mm at the wide-angle, but I’ve found that in the open woodlands and hilly areas of Maryland , even a 50mm is sufficiently wide, since one can always step back a few paces to include more of the scene. The Sigma 28-80mm definitely qualified as a Cheap Awesome Lens. Some may complain about the “cheap” build quality – it’s plasticky – but one can’t fault it optically for the price.

The 1:2 macro capability is only at 80mm f/5.6 (120mm f/5.6 on the Sony Alpha 700) and is is a matter of moving a switch on the lens from Normal to Macro position to lock it. Now, f/5.8 is pretty slow, I was able to get decent images even at 100 ISO. I’m not complaining, since I can always increase the ISO to compensate. However, in Winter, with no overhead tree canopy and bright sunlight, it beats carrying an extra lens for the rare occasion one might want to take a real close up.
Here are some of the pictures at the Falls and along the Towpath. The river is very impressive this week.

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The Tamron is a beast on the Sony Alpha 700 – it’s equivalent to 105mm-450mm and fairly fast for such a large focal length f/3.5 at the shorter end, and f/5.6 at the 450mm end. Fast enough to handhold at 100 ISO on a bright day. It’s a macro lens as well, and goes to 1:4 along the entire focal length range, which is pretty impressive. This is another Cheap Awesome Lens.Tamron 70-300mm– Potomac River and Towpath.

Potomac River

Potomac River	Potomac River
Potomac River	Potomac River
Potomac River	Potomac River
Potomac River	Potomac River
Potomac River	Potomac River
Potomac River	Potomac River
Potomac River	Potomac River

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Potomac River 1/5 sec exposure

Potomac River

Potomac River

Potomac River

Potomac River

Potomac River

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Sigma 28-80mm – Potomac River

Potomac River

Potomac River

Potomac River

Potomac River 1/5 second

Potomac River 1/5 second

Potomac River

Potomac River

Potomac River

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Sigma 28-80mm Canal and Towpath

Canal and Towpath	Canal and Towpath
Canal and Towpath	Canal and Towpath
Canal and Towpath	Canal and Towpath – macro
Canal and Towpath	Canal and Towpath

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Sigma 28-80mm Great Falls Tavern

Tavern	Tavern
Tavern	Tavern
Tavern	Tavern
Gate at Widewater	Great Falls

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Sigma 28-80mm – Great Falls Tavern

Great Falls Tavern

Great Falls Tavern

Great Falls Tavern

Great Falls Tavern

Great Falls Tavern

Great Falls Tavern

Great Falls Tavern

Great Falls Tavern

Great Falls Tavern

Great Falls Tavern

Great Falls Tavern

Great Falls Tavern

Great Falls Tavern

Great Falls Tavern

Great Falls Tavern

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Sigma 28-80mm – Canal and Towpath

Canal and Towpath

Canal and Towpath

Canal and Towpath

Canal and Towpath

Canal and Towpath

Canal and Towpath

Canal and Towpath

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Sigma 28-80mm Macro Photos (approx 8-10 inches)

Sigma 28-80mm macro

Sigma 28-80mm macro

Sigma 28-80mm macro

Sigma 28-80mm macro

Sigma 28-80mm macro

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Tamron 70-300mm

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Great Falls	Great Falls
Great Falls	Great Falls
Great Falls	Great Falls
Great Falls	Great Falls
Great Falls	Great Falls
Great Falls	Great Falls

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Tamron – Wildlife

Wildlife

Wildlife

Wildlife

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Tamron

Lichens on Rock

Lichens

Wildlife

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Photographed with a Sony Alpha 700, Sigma 28-80mm f/3.5-f/5.6 Aspherical Macro 1:2 and Tamron 70-300mm f/3.9-f5.6, ISO 100, 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.

 

Sigma 24mm f/2.8 on Sony A700

In an earlier post discussing the DSLR crop factor, I had mentioned that if you really need to shoot really-wide angles, just use your film camera – because ultra wide-angle PRIME lenses (24mm equivalent or better) for DSLRs are still prohibitively expensive. The Kit zoom lens that Sony bundles (18-70mm) and the other lenses such as the 18-200mm and 18-250mm are all equivalent to 27mm at the wide end.

The Sony 16-105mm Zeiss zoom is equivalent to 24mm at the wide end, but markedly more expensive than the other lenses. So if we need 24mm and better, it’s either shelling out the big bucks for the Sony 16-105, and if choosing a prime, there’s not many choices. It’s one area where a film 35mm camera like my Minolta 800si still has an edge especially if you currently own a 24mm lens.

However, if a moderate wide angle is fine, the fine Sigma 24mm f/2.8 AF is still widely available at a reasonable price. On the Sony Alpha DSLR, the Sigma 24 is an apparent 36mm focal length with a 63 degree view angle. A true 24mm has a view angle of 74 degrees.

The Sigma 24mm AF Super-wide II is a particularly good deal, since it is available at a reasonable price. One of the reasons (other than that it’s a 3rd party prime) was that the lens came with a matte black “Zen” finish that tended to flake off easily, giving even well cared for lenses a used and battered appearance. This means the prices are often substantially marked down.

My recommendation? Don’t be afraid – unless you are a stickler for cosmetic appearances, the external finish does not affect the lens performance at all. It is an excellent lens by all accounts, and I can vouch for that.

The Sigma lens was also re-badged and sold by Ritz Camera as a house-brand Quantaray 24mm lens, but with a different, more durable, though cheesy finish, gold line and all. It’s still the same optics, though. Don’t be fooled by the appearance – this is a very high quality lens. Besides, the Sigma 24mm can be used as a 36mm normal lens, since many photographers prefer a 35mm lens as their standard lens.

The 24mm has well corrected distortions and moderate wide-angle allows us to include more of the subject, having the effect of ‘getting into the picture’ . We’d pay hundreds more to get a similar “designed for digital” Sony (or any other OEM) lens. High-priced lenses are an anathema for the thrifty amateur, of course.

These pictures are from Westminster, MD – the little park at the intersection of Green Street and Ridge Road (MD Rte 27) looking towards St. Paul’s Church and Green Street. I used the Sigma 24mm AF lens on the Sony Alpha 700 – the 1.5x digital crop gives me an apparent focal length of 36mm. The soft morning light with a light overcast sky was just right.

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Westminster, MD

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Westminster, MD	Westminster, MD
Westminster, MD	Westminster, MD
Westminster, MD	Westminster, MD

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Westminster, MD

Westminster, MD

Westminster, MD

Westminster, MD

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Here’s a couple of pictures of the Sigma 24mm mounted on my Sony Alpha 700. It’s a small lens, about the size of a Minolta 50mm f/1.7 normal lens.

Sigma AF 24mm Super-Wide on Sony A700

Sigma AF 24mm Super-Wide on Sony A700

Sigma AF 24mm Super-Wide on Sony A700

Here’s my daughter Sunny, making faces from very closeup as I was checking out the Sigma lens. She though the distortions were hilarious.

Being Silly

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Here’s a some pictures taken with the Sigma 24mm at sunset – I was in Bohrer park with Sunayana and the light was changing rapidly. Note the reddish light in some of the pictures.

Sigma AF 24mm – Sunset Bohrer Park

Sigma AF 24mm – Sunset Bohrer Park

Sigma AF 24mm – Sunset Bohrer Park

Sigma AF 24mm – Sunset Bohrer Park

Sigma AF 24mm – Sunset Bohrer Park

Sigma AF 24mm – Sunset Bohrer Park

Sigma AF 24mm – Sunset Bohrer Park

Photographed with a Sony Alpha 700, Sigma AF 24mm f/2.8 Super-wide II (the lens has an apparent focal length of 36mm when mounted on the Alpha 700)

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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.

 

Strawbridge Shrine revisited…

I was up in Westminster again a couple of days ago, and on the way back, I drove out towards New Windsor. I took the old winding Wakefield road to the Strawbridge Shrine – it’s been a while since I stopped there, there have been some changes – first, they finally erected a second life size granite statue – of Elizabeth Strawbridge, the good pastor’s wife and companion.

I wish they had placed the statues lower – more eye-level, so to speak. The pedestals somehow seem too much. These were simple farming folk who were called to spread the word of God. Robert Strawbridge was never ordained, and thus faced a lot of criticism and censure for daring to preach. When called upon to defend himself and his actions, he is said to have replied “No right but that of the Divine. The Need creates the Grant”. The good Bishop Francis Asbury of Baltimore wasn’t having any of that, though. Apparently, he gave him a really tough time.

In spite of all that, Robert Strawbridge’s ministry thrived, and grew. That whole part of Carroll County – New Windsor to Sam’s Creek is called ‘Strawbridge Country’. It’s bounded by Rte 27 to the East, Rte 140 to the North, Rte 407 to the South and Rte 31 to the West. The area is very rural and picturesque. Archaeological opinion is that the site may not be authentic, and that Strawbridge may never have lived there.

Be that as it may.. .it does not matter in the least. There is a sense of peace and serenity at the Strawbridge shrine that whether or not the good man actually lived and preached in that spot, you understand the spirit that drove him. It’s a shame that he never made it into the Heroes of Methodism book (published in the mid-1800’s) along with other primitive preachers like Bishop Asbury and others. Guess you had to be an ordained minister, or a Bishop. The irony of it all is that the museum at the Shrine is named after Francis Asbury, the very man who tried to put poor Robert and Elizabeth out of business.Correction: David Bearr wrote to let me know that the Visitor center is actually named after a Asbury Smith, a Methodist minister who helped develop the site. I apologize for the error.

It was almost sunset when I got there, and very cold. The light was fading fast, and I just managed to get some photographs. Unlike my previous visits, where I was using film, this time I had the Sony Alpha 700, so I could switch ISO’s quickly to accommodate the fading light.

I switched between a couple of lenses as well. Most of the pictures were made with the Minolta 35-105mm (52-157.5mm eq. 35mm format) and the rest with the Sigma 24mm wide angle (36 mm eq).

I even had a chance to chat with the site curator for a few minutes. Rev. Laura Apostol lives right next door and offers guided tours from April onwards.

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Robert Strawbridge Shrine	Robert Strawbridge Shrine
Robert Strawbridge Shrine	Robert Strawbridge Shrine
Robert Strawbridge Shrine	Robert Strawbridge Shrine
Robert Strawbridge Shrine	Robert Strawbridge Shrine

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Robert Strawbridge Shrine

Robert Strawbridge Shrine

Robert Strawbridge Shrine

Robert Strawbridge Shrine

Robert Strawbridge Shrine

Robert Strawbridge Shrine

Robert Strawbridge Shrine

Robert Strawbridge Shrine

Robert Strawbridge Shrine

Robert Strawbridge Shrine

Robert Strawbridge Shrine

Robert Strawbridge Shrine

Photographed with a Sony Alpha 700, Minolta AF 35-105mm and Sigma AF Super-wide II 24mm f/2.8 lens. I’ve posted some additional photos here.
Here’s my previous post on the Strawbridge Shrine.

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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.