All photos taken handheld as RAW files with Sigma DP2 Merrill p&s camera equipped with (non-interchangeable) 30mm f2.8 aspherical lens. RAW files converted to 16-bit TIFFs in Sigma Photo Pro, then developed in Lightroom 4.2.
As latter-day digital cameras go, the Sigma DP2M is highly problematical (and the Sigma software is too); however, the 46mp APS-C Foveon sensor and dedicated Sigma lens are so incredibly good that it is worth putting up with the ridiculously long write-times, the ridiculously short battery life, the constant software crashes (in SPP ), etc.. To put this plainly, I haven't seen resolution and color like this outside of a 4x5 camera. (Please note that no sharpening has been applied to these images in SPP or Lightroom.)
While the DP2M is much better at base ISOs (100 through 400), it appears to be acceptably good up to and including ISO 1250 (although you will have to use noise reduction at higher ISOs and you won't get the same detail and color as you do at base ISOs).
All photos taken handheld as RAW files with Sigma DP1 Merrill p&s camera equipped with (non-interchangeable) 19mm f2.8 aspherical lens. RAW files converted to 16-bit TIFFs in Sigma Photo Pro, then developed in Lightroom 4.2.
As latter-day digital cameras go, the Sigma DP1M is highly problematical (and the Sigma software is too); however, the 46mp APS-C Foveon sensor and dedicated Sigma lens are so incredibly good that it is worth putting up with the ridiculously long write-times, the ridiculously short battery life, the constant software crashes (in SPP ), etc.. To put this plainly, I haven't seen resolution and color like this outside of a 4x5 camera. (Please note that no sharpening has been applied to these images in SPP or Lightroom.)
While the DP1M is much better at base ISOs (100 through 400), it appears to be acceptably good up to and including ISO 1250 (although you will have to use noise reduction at higher ISOs and you won't get the same detail and color as you do at base ISOs).
Cincinnati's Spring Grove Cemetery was chartered in 1845, and is the second largest nonprofit cemetery in the United States and one of the most beautiful. Of its 733 acres, approximately 433 are developed. The burial site for many Union dead (including 40 Civil War generals) and most of Cincinnati's social and political elite, it has been placed on the National Historical Register.
Burnet Woods became a park in 1872, when the city leased this Clifton property at the behest of Robert W. Burnet and William S. Groesbeck. When the land was acquired by the city in 1881, it included the area now occupied by the University of Cincinnati campus. The present gazebo replaced an earlier one on the site. The pavilion reflects the mission style in its planar wall surfaces, stucco finish and red tiled roof.
The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, is the second-oldest zoo in the United States and is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It opened in 1875: just 14 months after the Philadelphia Zoo on July 1, 1874. The Reptile House is the oldest zoo building in America, dating from 1875.The Cincinnati Zoo, which has been rated (on numerous occasions) as one of the top zoos in the country, resides in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Avondale. It was founded on 65 acres (260,000 m²) in the middle of the city, and since then it has acquired some of the surrounding blocks and several reserves in Cincinnati's outer suburbs. Cincinnati Zoo's urban setting differentiates it from other American zoos which are in suburban areas. Nicknamed "The Sexiest Zoo in America" it is world renowned for its breeding programs, especially for cheetahs. A bonobo born at the zoo in December 2003 raises the U.S. zoo population of our rapidly-disappearing closest cousin to 60, of which seven are in Cincinnati. A less happy claim to fame is that the Cincinnati Zoo was the home of Martha, the last living passenger pigeon, which died there in 1914. It also was home to the last living Carolina parakeet in 1918.
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish: Sultanahmet Camii) is the national mosque of Turkey, and is a historical mosque in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkeyand the capital of the Ottoman Empire (from 1453 to 1923). The mosque is one of several mosques known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, amadrasah and a hospice. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque has become one of the greatest tourist attractions of Istanbul.
After the humiliating Peace of Zsitvatorok and the unfavourable result of the wars with Persia, Sultan Ahmed I decided to build a large mosque in Istanbul to placate Allah. This would be the first imperial mosque in more than forty years. Whereas his predecessors had paid for their mosques with their war booty, Sultan Ahmed I had to withdraw the funds from the treasury, because he had not won any notable victories. This provoked the anger of the ulema, the Muslim legal scholars.The mosque was to be built on the site of the palace of the Byzantine emperors, facing the Hagia Sophia (at that time the most venerated mosque in Istanbul) and the hippodrome, a site of great symbolic significance. Large parts of the southern side of the mosque rest on the foundations, the vaults and the undercrofts of the Great Palace. Several palaces, already built on the same spot, had to be bought (at considerable price) and pulled down, especially the palace of Sokollu Mehmet Paşa, and large parts of the Sphendone (curved tribune with U-shaped structure of the hippodrome).Construction of the mosque started in August 1609 when the sultan himself came to break the first sod. It was his intention that this would become the first mosque of his empire. He appointed his royal architect Sedefhar Mehmet Ağa, a pupil and senior assistant of the famous architect Sinan as the architect in charge of the construction. The organization of the work was described in meticulous detail in eight volumes, now in the library of the Topkapı Palace. The opening ceremonies were held in 1617 (although the gate of the mosque records 1616) and the sultan was able to pray in the royal box (hünkâr mahfil). But the building wasn't finished yet in this last year of his reign, as the last accounts were signed by his successor Mustafa I. Known as the Blue Mosque, Sultan Ahmet Mosque is one of the most impressive monuments in the world. It is one of the elements included in the complex built by Ahmed I to compete with Ayasofya
Our friend, Adnan Salihoglu, organized a boat trip on the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus, where these views of the European and Asian shorelines of Istanbul were snapped. Also on board were Adnan's friends Aydin and his lovely wife Gurur, a photo of whom (taken aboard our boat) ends this series of vistas.
One of the largest metroplises in the world at 14 million, Istanbul is the only city that spans two continents (the Thracian part of Europe and the Anatolian peninsula of Asia Minor).
Hagia Sophia (Turkish: Ayasofya, Greek: Αγία Σοφία; "Holy Wisdom", Latin: Sancta Sophia or Sancta Sapientia) is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral ever built in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Seville Cathedral in 1520. The current building was originally constructed as a church between A.D. 532 and 537 on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, and was in fact the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site (the previous two had both been destroyed by riots). It was designed by two architects, Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The Church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among other things, a 50 foot (15 m) silver iconostasis. It was the patriarchal church of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the religious focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly 1000 years.In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and Sultan Mehmed II ordered the building to be converted into the Ayasofya Mosque. The bells, altar, iconostasis, and sacrificial vessels were removed, and many of the mosaics were eventually plastered over. The Islamic features — such as the mihrab, the minbar, and the four minarets outside — were added over the course of its history under the Ottomans. It remained as a mosque until 1935, when it was converted into a museum by the Republic of Turkey.For almost 500 years the principal mosque of Istanbul, Hagia Sophia served as a model for many of the Ottoman mosques such as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque of Istanbul), the Şehzade Mosque, the Süleymaniye Mosque, and the Rüstem Pasha Mosque.Although it is sometimes referred to as Saint Sophia (Greek for wisdom), the Greek name in full is Ναός τῆς Ἁγίας τοῦ Θεοῦ Σοφίας, Church of the Holy Wisdom of God, and it was dedicated to the Holy Wisdom of God rather than a specific saint named Sophia.
Although scarcely short on opulence (its Treasury is one of the wonders of the world), the Topkapi Palace of the Ottoman Sultans must also be one of the most serenely beautiful and tranquil seats of empire, a series of green courtyards and airy vistas opening on the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. It's that serenity and tranquillity--and not the splendid opulence--that these photos reflect.
Intended as a studio camera to be used with high-key flash, the Kodak DCS 14n was and remains one of the sharpest digital SLRs ever made, thanks in part to the fact that Kodak omitted an anti-aliasing filter to achieve maximum resolution from its 14Mp full-frame sensor. Unfortunately, as it did in the Leica M8, this little omission caused as many problems as it fixed. Not a great camera in low light and miserable in really low light and incapable of really long exposures, the 14n remains a paragon in medium-to-bright light. These photos were doctored in LightRoom to achieve the saturation of transparency film. I'll leave it up to you to decide how successfully this has been accomplished. There is no question that 35mm digital cameras--or at least this 35mm digital camera--are slightly higher in the resolution of certain kinds of fine detail than 35mm film cameras (or, rather, film that has been digitally scanned). Dynamic range and color and the sheer beauty and plasticity of light are separate issues. Judge for yourself.