Posts Tagged: Sigma Art Lenses
Shadbush
Shadbush, serviceberry, sugarplum, juneberry, wild pear, wild plum, and a few other common names are used for the genus Amelanchier, a bush or small tree that is at its most diverse in northeastern North America. Which is the excuse I will use for not knowing the species name for this specimen. This was in Dolly Sods on April 19 of this year… nothing in bloom. At about this time in a previous year the shadbush were in full bloom. Since nothing else up there blooms that early I got a sense of just how many shadbush there are there, which is to say many! The blossoms don’t last long. The one on my property in Flatland was at its peak for no more than two days. I hope to see them on Dolly Sods again this year.
35mm Sigma A, Nikon 800e, Lr5, Ps CS6.
Tupelo on the Front
This is what the weather does to Nyssa sylvatica (tupelo, black gum, etc.) on the Allegheny Front. These are old trees. Total height is perhaps 15 feet. There are other groves of tupelo on the front, another that I photographed can be seen on the wilderness page of my main web site (Navigation / Front Door / Wilderness). They grow normally until their height gets them into the wind. Then desiccation of buds and the weight of snow and ice takes over. The form of most trees on The Front is distorted beyond what is easily recognized by the severe conditions.
35mm Sigma A, Nikon 800e, Lr5, Ps CS6.
More A-Lens at the Crossroads
Hackberries and ailanthus withstand being nuked every spring by the chemical onslaught of modern farming practices. They’re tough trees… oaks, hickories, and people don’t fare as well. Last spring, for whatever reason, they plowed instead of spraying! I continue to hope that it was not a fluke but is a long term change in practices. I owe someone a big thank you if it proves to be a change. How long I live might depend on it being a change.
Hackberry, Celtis occidentalis; ailanthus, Ailanthus altissima (highly invasive nonnative); Homo sapiens (a self endangered species, apparently bent on self destruction).
35mm Sigma-A, Nikon 800e, Lr4, Ps CS6.
About at the Crossroads
I was out and about last evening, checking out a new lens. For the photographers who might stumble onto this, it is the Sigma 35mm f1.4 A. It really is as good as the hype! I will be watching with interest to see what other A lenses they bring to market.
35mm Sigma A, Nikon 800e, Lr5, Ps CS6.