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Showing posts from April, 2013

City Gardens: Trenton's Lost Punk Rock Mecca

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The building seemed to sag against the Trenton sky, its walls leaning in a way that looked both tired and dangerous. I was driving, searching for a lunch spot after a morning spent exploring the city's industrial skeletons, when I saw it. A questionable choice, maybe, but curiosity is a powerful guide. I pulled over. Getting inside was one of the sketchiest entrances I’ve ever attempted. But once my feet were on the dusty floor, the danger faded. An enormous space stretched before me. It was sparse, cleaned out. My footsteps echoed where a stage once stood, a fact I’d later confirm in a NNKH YouTube video about the building’s past life as an underground punk club. The video showed a vibrant scene, an electric place. But the ghosts of that life were mostly gone. The long, rounded bar, where thousands of hands must have slapped down crumpled bills, had vanished. The dust-coated wine and shot glasses that once lined its shelves were gone, too. The club’s glittering crown jewel, a l...

Fenced In

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A quick test of the Quantaray 70-210mm 1:4.5 M42 mount lens using the Canon T3i neutral setting. Quick touch-up in Lightroom 4 (Lr) and exported. I gave it a gritty 1960s feel to it. More to come!

Buds of Spring (2013)

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Canon 600D/T3i w/Vivitar 135mm 1:2.8 Telephoto Lens w/LR Punch Preset  Took a few snaps of budding greens from my window using a Vivitar 135mm 1:2.8 Telephoto lens w/a  M42 mount. So far the lens offers great bokeh at f /5.6 and cropped you can still the vivid detail lines of green on the leaves and bark of the bush on the side of my house. I can see this lens really opening up a bit during the nighttime in a busy city with all the flashing lights in a composed photo with great nice round balls of bokehlicious deliciousness. Too bad I am in the wilderness up here in the suburbs. The cropped image above. I think I'm having a bad case of G.A.S. (Gear Addiction Syndrome). I have bought three more lenses since I debuted on here the Samigon 35mm lens . I need to catch a grip or my wallet might go on strike. Lens Gunner More testing and reviews are coming up. Stay tuned!

BEWARE of Vintage Lens Fungus

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A fallen Yashica ML 50mm 1:2 One thing to be aware of when purchasing from Flea Bay (eBay) and other places is looking for any instances of fungus matter inside the lens elements. It can be either in the front or the back. You can't clean fungus easily with these lenses since the cost to have them cleaned is not proportionate to how much they cost. The expense is more than the purchase price. Nothing makes you feel worse than a huge spot of fungus or the beginning of fungus growth. So make sure you double-check and look over more than twice over pictures by sellers online and in person. There are remedies out there that say you can destroy it by placing the lens on a windowsill and letting the sun take care of it. This can be met with some success but in actuality may cause the lubrication on the aperture blades to run or even leak causing the aperture mechanism to stick and lock up rendering it useless. So take these words of wisdom and inspec...

Samigon 35mm f2.8 Manual Focus Prime Review

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We have here the Samigon 1:2.8 35mm M42 mount lens with an M42 to EOS adapter for the Canon Rebel T3i. As you can see the lens is all metal construction. The light pro-consumer T3i succumbs to the hefty weight of the well-made almost indestructible Samignon lens. Made in Japan means quality. This lens will be in use for my summer photography gunning. Unfortunately, the weather is still a bit windy and cold for me to take my precious DSLR outside to really open the aperture on a bright sunny day like today. I am amassing a nice collection of vintage glass for my camera bag and personal collection. The quest for cheap vintage glass for a modern DSLR is really making my wallet happier but a little bit slimmer. Shipping is a killer in the final price. Nifty Fifty is in focus with an aperture of f22. Playing around with the lens today showed me the lens is sharp with enough surrounding light it brings out great detail. It has a bit o...

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