Photographs and thoughts on photography and camera collecting
I’ve come to realize that Llamas are quite popular in the Hudson Valley (See:The Famous Hudson Valley Llamas site). I supposed they’re a nicer, cuter, more pleasant version of a camel (in my experience camels are mean, foul-tempered beasts that smell, bite and spit).
This guy really looked authentic! Right out of the history books. He was answering questions at the time and looking intently at the people asking. I love the expression on his face.
Taken with a Sony A77 II and Minolta Maxxum 50mm f1.7
At one point I thought of giving this picture a sepia toned, distressed look to make it look old. But then it occurred to me that photography would not be invented until around 60 years after the Revolutionary War so I decided to leave it as it was.
I seem to recall that this was described as some kind of Parrott gun, which if it’s authentically from the Revolutinary War would not be possible as the first Parrott gun wasn’t invented until 1860. The exhibit also had items from the Civil War so maybe this was a bunch of Revolutionary War re-enactors explaining how a Civil War period gun worked. My friend is a former Lt. Colonel of Artillery and seemed fascinated by the lengthy description of how this gun was operated – given by the gentleman below.
Taken with a Sony A77 II and Minolta Maxxum 50mm f1.7 lens.
This was one of the few occasions when I’ve asked someone if I could take their picture. I generally avoid taking pictures of people, and when I do I usually do it without their knowledge as I don’t like the look that I get when people know they are being photographed. In this case, however, I asked his permission and he was kind enough to give it.
I like the eyes. So soulful. He didn’t look the way I thought a Native American would look, so I’m unsure of whether or not he was Native American himself. I suppose he might have been of Native American extraction or merely someone with an interest in Native Americans. Whicheve it was I like this portrait.
This was one of the first photographs taken with my new Sony A77 II. The first few didn’t come out all that well as I was unfamiliar with the camera and had changed some of the settings (most notably setting up back button focusing) and found myself reaching for buttons in the wrong places. It didn’t take me long to get up to speed though.
I like this picture because the rider is pretty much in focus, but parts of the horse (e.g. the hoofs) aren’t. The blur around the feet of the horse, and the dust being kicked up gives a sense of motion that I like.
Taken with a Sony A77 II.