Category: 2019

Colpoy’s Bay with a $33 lens

David M2 Comments

This post is partly a contribution to Jez Braithwaite’s Water Water Everywhere #10 Photo Challenge and partly a ramble about a lens I picked up before Christmas. A 35mm f/1.6 lens that cost me $33.41 CDN although the shipping from China was $7.99 CDN so it was over $40 in total.

Other than the shipping that’s a similar price to what I paid for the various CCTV lenses I was experimenting with last year. Except this lens came with a native E mount to fit directly on to my Sony mirrorless camera without an adapter. It even came with a rather nice rectangular lens hood.

For the price I wasn’t expecting very good optical quality and although it’s not very sharp wide open it does improve when stopped down. I find the colours are a little muted and the contrast low but nothing that can’t be corrected in editing.

Colpoy’s Bay and the Niagara Escarpment at sunrise a couple of days before Christmas.

Water Water Everywhere #10

2019: Leftovers

David M6 Comments

A small selection of photos from 2019 that I edited for a post but never got used.

In no particular order.

Storm clouds over Colpoy’s Bay and the Niagara Escarpment at sunrise a few days before the summer solstice.

2019: Leftovers

 

Hosta leaves with a 25mm CCTV lens adapted to fit a mirrorless camera.

2019: Leftovers

 

A giant red butterfly garden ornament in the snow in early December.

2019: Leftovers

 

A monochrome study of a Dandelion clock taken with a 35mm CCTV lens adapted to fit a mirrorless camera.

2019: Leftovers

 

Colpoy’s Bay and the Niagara Escarpment at sunrise in mid August.

2019: Leftovers

 

Ivy leaves and rocks in the snow in early January.

2019: Leftovers

 

2019 in Monochrome

David M6 Comments

A small selection of monochrome shots from 2019.

A seed head in the snow in January.

Minimalist plant remains.

 

A Bracken frond, testing a 35mm CCTV lens adapted to fit a mirrorless camera in June.

Monochrome Monday: 30th September 2019

 

Hosta leaves with a 25mm CCTV lens adapted to fit a mirrorless camera in July.

Hosta leaves in monochrome.

 

Clouds over Colpoy’s Bay and the Niagara Escarpment at sunrise in August.

Cee's Black and White Photo Challenge: Take New Photos.

 

Ivy leaves on a tree trunk in November.

2019 in Monochrome

Viennese Shortcakes

David MLeave a comment

As a follow-up to my recent A Photo a Week Challenge: Christmas Memories post Nancy that runs the challenge asked for the recipe for the Viennese Shortcakes.

Viennese Shortcakes (also known as Viennese Whirls according to Google).

  • 1 cup of all purpose flour
  • 1 cup of butter (or margarine)
  • 1/4 cup of sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and half of the flour and beat well. Add the rest of the flour and beat again.

Put the mixture into a piping bag and pipe a swirl into a paper muffin liner leaving a hollow in the center.

Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.

When cool dust with icing sugar and fill the center with jam.

Viennese Whirls

A recent dawn

David MLeave a comment

A recent dawn and another outing for my lightweight, back to basics camera kit.

Since I last wrote about it I have made a small change to the kit. I have swapped the 7artisans 35mm lens for a Meike 25mm f/1.8 lens. I was finding the jump from 12mm to 35mm a little large and the jump from 35mm to 55mm a little small. The 25mm sits more centrally between the 12mm and 55mm.

The reason I went with a 35mm lens rather than 25mm was because I found a 35mm a nice focal length for the way I “see” when out and about shooting personal work. So I  plan on using the 35mm when out with just a lens on the camera and no camera bag.

A recent dawn over Colpoy's Bay.