Yashica 42-75mm f3.5-4.5

by Posted in Flowers, Lenses Leave a comment
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The lens on my Sony Nex 5N.

I was reading something on one of the web forums (I don’t remember what) and this lens came up with generally positive reviews. I saw one going for very little money and thought about buying it. However, something stopped me. Then a little later I was going through some of my earlier purchases and I came across a Yashica FX-3 with three lenses (and a bunch of other goodies) that I’d bought for, as I recall, $26. And lo and behold one of the lenses was the 42-75mm f3.5-4.5. Sometimes when I’m looking for a lens it’s cheaper to buy the lens and the body together rather than buying the lens separately. In this case I was looking for a Yashica body and wasn’t paying much attention to the lenses. So I almost bought a lens I already had.

I decided to try it. Unfortunately my time was limited so I ended taking pictures of the usual suspects: things in our garden – mostly flowers.

It’s fairly small, but solid lens and fits nicely on the Nex 5N. It’s a little heavy though. I like the colors and it also seems to be quite sharp especially when stopped down a little. The only slight problem I had was with flare when pointed in the direction of a strong light source. I imagine a hood would help.

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Purple Cornflower.

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Coreopsis with bug.

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Obedient plants (mostly).

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Mixture of flowers.

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Bird Houses.

Other pictures taken with this lens can be found here:

Old Waterworks at Pocantico Lake
Boat in the Mist

A Walk to Rockwood Hall

by Posted in Landscapes Leave a comment
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View of the Hudson from the site of the former Rockefeller Mansion. Tappan Zee bridge in the background.

Back down in Westchester County. I had a bad experience earlier in the week. We went for a walk at Wonder Lake. It would have been a very nice walk except that we didn’t make it to the lake. I tripped over a tree root, fell and hit my nose on another root. There was blood everywhere. The worst of it was that I was in the middle of the woods and it took me about thirty minutes to get back to the car. By then the bleeding had more or less stopped. I’d also broken my glasses: one of the side arms came off, but luckily the lenses were intact so I was still able to use them. I thought at first that I’d broken my nose, but apparently not. Just another large cut – one of many I’ve accumulated over the years.

So today I decided to go somewhere flatter, less covered in roots and stones. Rockwood Hall seemed to fit the bill. We walked down the Old Croton Aqueduct and then turned off towards the Hudson and the site of the former Rockerfeller Mansion. Little now remains: just the foundations (with a great view of the Hudson) and a number of impressive trees.

Nice walk – about two hours in all.

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Ventilator on the Old Croton Aqueduct

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Approaching the mansion foundations.

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Old staircase.

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Staircase to nowhere.

A couple of statues from the USS Maine Monument near Columbus Circle

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When I took these pictures I didn’t know that this was the USS Maine Monument – I just liked the pigeons.

According to Wikipedia:

The USS Maine National Monument is an outdoor monument, located in Central Park in Manhattan, New York. It was cast on September 1, 1912 and dedicated on May 30, 1913.

In 1913, a USS Maine Monument designed by Harold Van Buren Magonigle was completed and dedicated in New York City. Located at the southwest corner of Central Park at the Merchants’ Gate entrance to the park, the monument consists of a pylon with a fountain at its base and sculptures by Attilio Piccirilli surrounding it. A sculpture group of gilded bronze figures atop the pylon represent Columbia Triumphant, her seashell chariot being drawn by three hippocampi. The bronze for this group reportedly came from metal recovered from the guns of the Maine. On the park side of the monument is fixed a memorial plaque that was cast in metal salvaged from the ship. It is not known how many of these plaques by sculptor Charles Keck were produced, but they can be found in many locations across the United States. They were cast by the Jno Bronze Foundry and widely publicized

For more on the USS Maine see the Department of the Navy – Navel History and Heritage Command article: “The Destruction of USS Maine“.

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