Hot Dog Stand in IR

Hot Dog Stand on Soho & Queen -- Canon 20D IR Modified & Pentax-M 20mm f4. Click for larger

I find that IR pictures get boring very fast.  They tend to have the same look and there is only so many ways you can process it.  They look dull if there are no vegetations in the picture, they don't look good when taken with larger apertures.  Even taking the pictures is a bit of a hassle, because you will always have to be aware that what's focused in the viewfinder is not focused in the picture, because focus point moves in IR, and how much it moves depends on what lens you are using.  Most modern lenses do not even have IR markings on the lens any more, except the very expensive ones. That's why I usually shoot with the Pentax-M 20mm f4, because I know how much I need to compensate.  But, once in a while, it's a nice alternative to the colour pictures that comes out of an ordinary camera.  For this reason, I would spend too much money on the IR camera.  Your interest could quickly wear thin.

The Bird Feeder

Feeding the birds -- NEX-5 & Leica-R 35mm f2. Click for larger.

The Leica-R 35mm f2 Summicron is one of my favourite 35mm lenses, right up there with my Canon EF 35mm f1.4, but I like the Leica colour and bokeh much better.  Absolutely usable at f2 and extremely sharp stopping down just a bit.  The built-in lens hood comes in very handy in sunny days.  Very heavy lens for the size.

This is one of the many lenses I bought from Stan Nycz, who owned and operated International Camera Repair for many decades.  Stan passed away in January of 2011, only a few months after he closed his business.  He was a nice man and will be missed.

Grange Park in Infrared

Grange Park -- Canon 20D IR Modified & Pentax-M 20mm f4. Click to see larger.

The Grange Park is a relatively large park that attract a lot of people, especially on a nice day during lunch.  The park is right behind the Art Gallery of Ontario, and beside the Ontario College of Art.  I also enjoy a walk to this nice park during lunch time.  Only a few minutes from my work place. Lots of photo opportunities.

Waiting to Be Demolished

Beautiful Old House -- NEX-5 & Vivitar 24mm f2.0 FD Mount.

There is a piece of land near the north west corner of Broadview & Gerrard Street in Toronto, marked for re-development.  There are couple of houses in the lot that's been abandoned for a few years.  The one in the picture is one of the bigger one.  It's sad to see a nice house with so much character has to be demolished.  Compared to the new house built, this old one looks so much more grand and beautiful.  I wish they can spare it and renovate it instead.  

As for the Vivitar 24mm f2, I have had many versions of this Vivitar lens and some with performance variance.  The worse of the lot is the 49mm filter thread version, forgot what the manufacturer is, but this one was a Kino-made version with 55mm filter thread.  I actually have the Kino 24mm f2 (OM Mount) and both have similar performance, but I will give the slight edge to the Kino.  All of the the 24mm f2 lenses are nice lenses.  At the last count, I still have four of these (FD, OM, Nikon, MD mounts), I believe all made by Kino.

Shooting Gymnastics

Untitled -- Canon 1D IIn & EF 135mm f2 @ f2, ISO 1600. Click for larger size.

Yesterday was the last gymnastic class for Megan and her team at Jimmy Simpson.  The coaches and the team had worked very hard, and the team did great overall in the competition few weeks ago.  The Jimmy Simpson team is relatively small compared to other teams, but the team did amazingly well.

The picture above is Megan's team mate, and is one of my favourites from the competition.  There are few more that I like, but all of them show faces of team mates and I don't want to post them without their permission.  It was my first time shooting gymnastics, but I think it's easier than shooting swimming.  Thankfully the gym was relatively well lit and I was able to get very fast shutter speeds to freeze the actions at ISO 1600. The 1D IIn proved its worth with its great auto focus capabilities, and the only lenses I used were the 200mm f1.8L and the 135mm f2L.  Most of the pictures were shot wide open.  I am especially pleased with 135mm f2L.  It's one of the sharpest lenses I have used.  For the 200mm f1.8L, it's expected that it should perform well at f1.8, due to it's high price, but for the 135L, every Canon prime shooter should own one.  It's relatively cheap, very fast and usable at full aperture, and focuses extremely fast and quiet.  It's perfect for indoor sports like gymnastics.

In the air -- 1D IIn & EF 135mm f2 @ f2, ISO 1600. 

Thanks for the Beauty and Memories

Beautiful to the end -- NEX-5 & Schneider-Kreuznach Procolar 60mm Projection Lens. Click to enlarge.

I love the beauty and grace of tulips.  They are beautiful to behold in any colour and variety, a lone stem, or whole bed of them.  I don't think I have ever taken so many pictures of tulips in my life.  Perhaps the long and cold winter made me appreciate them more.  It's sad to see them wither and wilt, but life of any kind, much go through its intended journey.  I am grateful for the beauty they left in my mind.  I have a full year to appreciate and look back at the pictures I have taken of them, until next spring.

20D Infrared Sample

Relaxing under the tree -- Canon 20D IR Modified & Pentax-K 28mm f3.5.

Dusted off the IR Modified Canon 20D today.  It hadn't see much action for many months.  The recent nice sunny days are perfect for IR pictures.  The Pentax-M 20mm f4 lens continues to be my favourite lens for IR on the 20D, and now the Pentax-K 28mm f3.5 is also winning my heart.  Both are fantastic lenses, although the 20mm f4 has pretty severe distortions if not used carefully.  They are insanely sharp lenses and the built quality is excellent.  My PK-EOS adapter is slightly thinner than specification,  which turns out to be even better, as it allows focus slightly past infinity.  The focus point is actually slightly ahead in IR spectrum than in visible light.

Conversation

Lunch Talk -- NEX-5 & Russian Jupiter-8M Rangefinder 50mm f2 Lens.

Surprisingly good little lens.  This Jupiter-8M lens, I believe is for the old Contax mount, is without a focusing barrel, so I mounted it on the focusing helicoid and works fine now as a lens.  More test shots to come.

Lone Dandelion

Dandelion - NEX-5 & Schneider-Kreuznach Procolar 60mm Projection Lens. Click for Larger 

One of the best features on cameras like the NEX is that articulated screen.  This makes taking ground level picture so easy.  It's nice to see more and more DSLRs like the Canon T3i, 60D, etc, now have nice swivel screens.  Combined with live-view, this feature is perfect for macros too.

More Kowa Eiki 50mm f1.2 Projection Lens Samples

Blossoms -- NEX-5 & Kowa 50mm f1.2 Projection Lens. Click to see larger

I have become very fond of this little lens.  The lack of infinity focus is a disappointment, but the uniqueness of the picture rending quality makes up for most of it.  The incredibly thin depth of field at f1.2 at close range makes pictures interesting.  The creamy and slightly dreamy quality of the lens begs to take pictures at high key.

Pretty in Pink -- NEX-5 & Kowa 50mm f1.2 Projection Lens.

Projection lenses have the best price to fun ratio.  They are cheap and in abundance.  Easy to make it work with EVIL cameras and they are great for portraiture, close-ups, flowers, and anything that looks nice with thin depth of field.  If you have considered doing it, you should really start and the amount of fun and satisfaction you will have, money can not buy.  Be warned, though.  You might get addicted.