Lexus LF-LC Blue Concept

The Lexus LF-LC Blue Concept, which is spun off the Lexus LF-LC Concept shown earlier this year at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, made its formal debut at the 2012 Sydney Auto Show.  It gets a lighter body mass thanks to more carbon-fiber parts.  Lexus rates the LF-LC's hybrid drivetrain, dubbed Advanced Lexus Hybrid Drive, at 500 horsepower.

As seen at the recently concluded SF Auto Show at the Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA.

Images were captured through a vintage Pentax 50mm f/1.2 lens on a Canon EOS 30D.

Let The Light Show Begin!

Let The Light Show Begin!, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
(Explore: #11 on Sunday, December 2, 2012)
What could be more cliché than a Christmas Tree in December?!?

Helios 40 85mm f/1.5 on a 1Ds
[ 0.02 sec (1/50) | f/2 | FLength 85 mm | ISO 400 | Manual exposure ]

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Mini Golfers

Mini Golfers, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Some newer cameras make it even easier to create a tilt-shift effect in your image. This one was done using the Olympus E-P2's Art Filter Diorama. Just select the focal point and, voilà, your tilt-shift image is done!

(Explore: #363 on Saturday, November 10, 2012)

Leica Summilux 25mm f/1.4 on an OLYMPUS E-P2 (ART filter Diorama)
[ 0.002 sec (1/500) | f/4.0 | FLength 25 mm | ISO 200 ]

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Doorway After Doorway After Doorway...

Doorway After Doorway After Doorway..., a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
... and on & on & on it goes.

More images can be seen in Lens Wide-Open Photography's FB album.

LUMIX 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 on a G2
[ 0.3 sec | f/10 | FLength 14 mm | ISO 400 ]

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A Different Form of Shooting

A Different Form of Shooting, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
LUMIX 14mm f/2.5 Pancake Lens on a G2
[ 0.017 sec (1/60) | f/2.8 | FLength 14mm | ISO 400 ]

More images can be seen here.

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Bay Bridge

Bay Bridge, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
(Explore: #70 on Sunday, October 28, 2012)

The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (known locally as the Bay Bridge) is a pair of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay of California, in the United States. As part of Interstate 80 and the direct road route between San Francisco and Oakland, it carries approximately 270,000 vehicles per day on its two decks.[4] It has one of the longest spans in the world. ~ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_%E2%80%93_Oakland_Bay...

Tilt-shift images used to be a novelty. With the proliferation of software and apps that can manipulate the image, it has become ubiquitous and cliche. Happy Saturday!

LUMIX G Vario 45-200mm f/4-5.6 on a G2
[ 0.001 sec (1/2000) | f/6.3 | FLength 78mm | ISO 400 ]

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The Sign Says It All!

The Sign Says It All!, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Wipeout Bar & Grill is the San Francisco Bay Area’s wildly popular surfing restaurant. With their wide-open patio and outdoor bar, roaring fire pit, celebrity-signed surfboards and world-famous beach signs, Wipeout Bar & Grill is San Francisco’s killer hangout spot. ~ www.wipeoutbarandgrill.com/about/our-story/

Pentax 50mm f/1.2 on a 30D
[ 0.001 sec (1/2000) | f/1.2 | FLength 50 mm | ISO 100 | Manual exposure ]

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Westward Bound on Interstate 70

Westward Bound on Interstate 70, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Photex 35mm f/2.8 S&T Lens on a 1Ds
[ 0.013 sec (1/80) | f/16 | FLength 35 mm | ISO 100 | Manual exposure ]

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PacMan or PacWhale?

PacMan or PacWhale?, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Photex 35mm f/2.8 S&T Lens on a 1Ds
[ 0.001 sec (1/800) | f/2.8 | FLength 35 mm | ISO 100 | Manual exposure ]

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W 50th & Broadway

W 50th & Broadway, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
As seen on recent visit to NYC and captured through a LUMIX 14mm f/2.5 Pancake lens on an OLYMPUS E-P2 (ART filter Grainy Film).

[ 0.003 sec (1/320) | f/5| FLength 14 mm | ISO 200 ]

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Thin As Air ...

Thin As Air ..., a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
... that the charging cord passes right through it.

LUMIX 14mm f/2.5 Pancake Lens on an OLYMPUS E-P2 (In-camera double-exposure)
[ 0.05 sec (1/20) | f/2.5 | FLength 14mm | ISO 1600 ]

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Black and Bitter

Black and Bitter, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
After a 5-hour flight from SFO, a cup of black coffee is all I needed to perk me up for the drive home. Glad to be back in Philly but I'm anxiously anticipating my upcoming relocation to the Bay Area.

Leica Summilux 25mm f/1.4 on a GF2
[ 0.017 sec (1/60) | f/1.4 | FLength 25 mm | ISO 160 ]

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Olympus E-P2

Olympus E-P2, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
The newest addition to my Micro Four Thirds cameras is this Olympus E-P2. Mounted on it is the $30 Fujian 35mm f/1.7 CCTV lens.

Leica Summilux 25mm f/1.4 on a GF2
[ 0.013 sec (1/80) | f/1.4 | FLength 25 mm | ISO 100 ]

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Scaling New Heights

Scaling New Heights, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
I finally found my dream Pentax lens!

Pentax 50mm f/1.2 on a 30D
[ 0.003 sec (1/400) | f/1.2 | FLength 50 mm | ISO 100 | Manual exposure ]

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Wild Blue Yonder

Wild Blue Yonder, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Somewhere over the Midwest en route to Philly. ♫ Listen and watch

LUMIX 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 on a G2
[ 0.002 sec (1/500) | f/5.0 | FLength 18 mm | ISO 100 ]

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Alternative Glass

Alternative Glass, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
The newest addition to my collection of f/1.2 vintage glass is this Pentax 50mm.

Leica Summilux 25mm f/1.4 on a GF2
[ 0.013 sec (1/80) | f/1.4 | FLength 25 mm | ISO 100 ]

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Di Bruno Bros.

Di Bruno Bros., a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
From the owner: “Gourmet gifts, meats, cheeses and Italian cuisine from our specialty deli since 1939. We have served Philadelphia for over 70 years and with our online gourmet grocery store we serve you too!” ~ plus.google.com/105311120569337348659/about?gl=us&hl=en

Photex 35mm f/2.8 S&T Lens on a G2
[ 0.025 sec (1/40) | f/2.8 | FLength 35 mm |ISO 400 ]

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Philly Silhouetted

Philly Silhouetted, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
I had the white balance set to incandescent in this shot and it turned out too blue. So I increased the hue and contrast beyond what I normally do and came up with this silhouetted Philly skyline.

LUMIX 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 on a GF2
[ 0.001 sec (1/1000) | f/7.1 | FLength 20 mm | ISO 100 ]

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The Demarcation Tree of Blur

The Demarcation Tree of Blur, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Not wanting to mix in with the blur of activity unfolding before her, she decided the focused side was the place to be.

As seen on a recent visit to Newbury Street, Back Bay, Boston, MA.

Photex 35mm f/2.8 S&T Lens on a G2
[ 0.008 sec (1/125) | FLen 35 mm | ISO 250 ]

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Another Bokeh Comparison

Same old picket fence with a different bokeh rendering. This time with a wider field-of-view through a Ukranian-made 35mm t/s lens on a full-frame camera. Photex 35mm f/2.8 T&S Lens on a 1Ds [ 0.025 sec (1/40) | f/2.8 | FLength 80 mm | ISO 400 | Manual exposure ]
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Fujian CCTV 35mm f/1.7 on a G2

Cosina 55mm f/1.2 tilted by hand on a G2

Olympus Zuiko 55mm f/1.2 tilted by hand on a G2

Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 Ai-S tilted by hand on a G2

Minolta Rokkor 58mm f/1.2 tilted by hand on a G2

State of Disrepair

State of Disrepair, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

1994 Eastern State Penitentiary opens for historic tours on a daily basis. Visitors were required to wear hard hats and sign liability waivers. More than 10,000 visitors attend in the first year. ~ www.easternstate.org/learn/timeline#2000 Leica Summilux 25mm f/1.4 on a G2 [ 0.025 sec (1/40) | f/1.6 | FLength 25 mm | ISO 400 ] More images can be found in my FB album. FaceBook | Blogger | Twitter | Tumblr | Pinterest

Focus Issues

Focus Issues, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
It's been a struggle to get tack-sharp focus with this lens lately. But I just don't want to accept that it's soft wide-open. So I continue to find the minutest details to focus on as a challenge. And this is the sharpest I could come up with.

Is the lens soft wide-open? Or is my eyesight failing me? Wishfully thinking it were the former.

Olympus Zuiko 55mm f/1.2 on a 30D
[ 1/2500 sec | f/1.2 | FLength 55 mm | ISO 100 | Manual exposure ]

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Still Looking for Housekeepers

Still Looking for Housekeepers, a photo by jomak14 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
1971 to mid-1980s
Eastern State is all but totally abandoned. Philadelphia Streets Department uses grounds for storage. Vandals smash skylights and windows. An urban forest grows in the halls and cells.
Dan McCloud, the last city caretaker, continues to feed a family of stray cats on the property. ~ www.easternstate.org/learn/timeline

More images can be found in my FB album.

LUMIX 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 on a GF2
[ 0.04 sec (1/25) | f/4.6 | FLength 25 mm | ISO 1600 ]

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Lexus LFA at the 2012 Philadelphia Auto Show

Only 500 total LFA models will be made worldwide, with only 20 produced each month. Each car will be custom ordered to the customer's specifications, and will cost an estimatedUS$375,000, depending on options and customization. In the North American market 150 LFAs will be initially sold through a two year lease program much like the Ferrari F50.

During LFA production, each vehicle will receive a plaque which is individually numbered, indicating the unit's place in the production run. Each LFA V10 engine will also bear the signature of the specialist who assembled it. With 20 units produced monthly, production of the entire LFA run lasted for 25 months, from December 2010 to December 2012. ~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_LFA

Subaru WRX STI at the 2012 Philadelphia Auto show

This latest version of Subaru's venerable Impreza WRX STI features a striking exterior that understates this cars very real performance credentials.


With it's flared fenders, spoilers and wider stance, the all-wheel drive STI has a more aggressive look than the other, more sedate, Impreza's. Featuring a turbocharged 2.5-liter horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine paired with a six-speed manual transmission, this little rocket produces a whopping 305-hp. To plant all that power, Subaru utilizes a Driver Controlled Center Differential (DCCD) system, which claims to be the world's only hybrid mechanical/electronic limited-slip differential. Standard front seat mount, and front and rear curtain airbags offer occupant protection. Standard anti-lock brakes with traction-control and stability-control help reign the chassis in while driving at the limit of this cars potential.