How lenses are made

This is a TV camera lens being made.

Sigma 50mm f/1.4

Well, I've been so lax about posting here I haven't even mentioned buying a new lens before Christmas: the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM ($450 street price). Here's a review.

I got this instead of the Nikon I mentioned before mostly due to time constraints. I wanted to use the lens while I was visiting Boston over the holiday, and the Nikon wasn't yet available. I'm not sure when it will be available, actually. But, never mind: I'm very happy with the Sigma, though it's a bit of a bear to lug around. I'm glad my D40 body is tiny and light.

I used it on this set:

And here's an exploitation of bokeh:

lens, photography, sigma

AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G

Another lens to covet: The AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8. *sigh*

Last Halloween

I’m really late with this photo set. It is from a show on Halloween night at The Garage. Anyway, I thought The Dex Romweber Duo (record label site) was the highlight of the evening: gritty roots rock 'n' roll. Turns out, Dex is quite well-known. The other half of the duo is his sister Sara, who has her own long career in music. The duo’s new album, Ruins of Berlin, has been well-received in Spin.

"Ruins of Berlin" (Dexter Romweber Duo)

Subgenius surprise in Winston-Salem

I haven’t been blogging as much since I moved out here: between my using my work laptop (running Windows) more, and not spending much time at home, I don’t compose my thoughts as much. Also, my Tumblr has reduced my attention span for blogging.

Anyway, I rode a taxi from an art opening at Krankies this evening. It was a joint show of works by Amanda Hollis and Mandy Hockensmith. As the cab pulled up, I noticed a picture of Bob of the Church of the Subgenius stencilled on the front license plate. (Front plates are not required in NC.) While riding the cab, the cabbie had a CD playing which featured a couple of guys discussing Subgenius philosophy, etc. I asked him about it, and he asked me what I knew about Bob. I said, “Not much”.

Also, just got the new version of ecto, the blogging software I use. It’s great.