Fire Station #315

Quite a few historic fire stations in Toronto have very unique architectural designs, and each one is different. This fire station #315 has one of the tallest towers of all the ones I have seen. It's located on College street &  Bellevue Avenue.

Fire Station #315, Toronto - NEX-6 & Voigtlander-Zoomar 36-82mm f2.8.

Graffiti in Toronto

Graffiti is prevalent in most cities, and here in Toronto, graffiti that is not defined as art is considered illegal. Any graffiti appears on the outside of a personal or business property must be removed at the owner's expense. Because of this city by-law, the building right across from where I work has been fighting a losing battle with graffiti "artists". They have been busy removing graffiti on its wall, but usually a few days after the removal of the existing graffiti, another one will replace it.

Graffiti - NEX-6 & Voigtlander Zoomar 36-82mm f2.8 DKL. Click for larger.

Voigtlander-Zoomar 36-82mm f2.8 - Another Sample

A little over a year ago, I bought on impulse, the Voigtlander-Zoomar 36-82mm f2.8 lens, for not a small amount of money (for me). The main reason for the purchase, of course, was because this lens was the world's first zoom lens in 35mm format and it was introduced in 1959. Being the first zoom lens, and a constant f2.8 through out the zoom range, naturally, there were many compromises in design. It's not the sharpest f2.8 zoom lens around, and the edges won't win any awards, especially on full frame, but it's such a beauty, both in design and workmanship!

Even with some limitations, the lens can still produce some nice pictures with certain subjects. Not bad for a lens that's more than 50 years old.  I intend to use it more often, now that I have made a DKL to E-Mount adatper with helicoid for close focus. I think it will make some nice close pictures.

Grand Tree - NEX-6 & Voigtlander-Zoomar 36-82mm f2.8