Speaking to self:
“I’m going to use that 24mm I bought when I purchased the camera and try for some dramatic photos of landscape. And you know what else? Maybe I could stop off in a small town and come up with some interesting photos of the place on the way to the reservoir/lake.”
Problem 1: to avoid highways to the final town destination, I thought I could shoot some features in other locales along the way. The snow, which had fallen the day before, made that quite difficult. Not every pull-off area, parking lot, etc was cleared. If you don’t know the area well, you’d be a fool to pull off into fresh snow without knowing the terrain underneath. I did not know the area well.
First stop:
Sigma Bf Meike 55mm 1.8 Pro – f4
A small pond nearby. I don’t think I traveled more than 3 miles before this stop. I was too preoccupied with parking and making this a very short pitstop on my way to the town where I intended to shoot some street photos. The “nifty fifty” (my version anyway) stayed on the camera. The Meike lens was a gift from my family from the holidays. Plastic composite construction with the advantage of being light, weather sealed and sharp as a tack, the lens provides nice contrast (even wide open) and very nice bokeh which remains round in the center of the frame with little “onion-like” visual artifacts and a slight “cat’s eyes” distortion as soon as it starts to move from the center of the image.
While not a review of the Meike, here’s a shot with the bokeh on full display during Christmas:
Sigma Bf, Meike 55mm 1.8 Pro – f1.8
During the holiday shopping season (Black Friday sales) in the US, this lens went on sale for about 240 bucks and was, in my opinion, a steal. My understanding from reading on-line, stay with the Pro versions: better focusing, better rendering of color and bokeh, better overall contrast and weather-sealing. I can’t say from first-hand knowledge, so if budget is a concern and you’re a gambler, go for a different model.
Arriving at my first locale, Pompton Lakes, I knew my real intention was to visit a local record shop while walking along the main street and snapping a few a photos. On the road into town, I stopped the car and got out to photograph the garland along a guard rail leading to the Wanaque River below. Wanaque and Pompton Lakes were once iron making areas during the Revolutionary War era, with historic roots extending for centuries. There is a dam/lock like system in town I drove by at about 20 miles per hour. Rolling down the car window, I shot the damn, or more specifically, the overhead power lines (contrast detection took over I guess) nearest the car and well…the dam is visible…call it a mild win.
Sigma Bf, Meike 55mm 1.8 Pro – f4
The dam adjoins the Pompton Lake (formed by the dam, I presume) and the Ramapo River is the source of the lake as it continues South towards the Passaic River.
Sigma Bf, Meike 55mm 1.8 Pro – f1.8
Bokeh rendering of the Meike lens is fairly smooth in the background without being distracting. Once you own a lens that controls those washing machine agitator swirls in your image’s background, it’s hard to go back. (I’m thinking of the 20mm Panasonic f1.7 in the m4/3 system) I got out of the car and crossed the street for this snap before returning to the car and pulling over in front of a fire exit alley to snap the shot from the car window. Not much of a pic, but the exposure of the Bf is usually spot on.
Sigma Bf, Meike 55mm 1.8 Pro – f4
The Morris Canal was constructed to transport coal and other mining products from Pompton Lakes towards Paterson and southerly locations. Eventually when these industries became less important to the New Jersey economy, the town hosted vacationers taking in the local lakes and boating offerings. Eventually, a permanent population settled with work and it bloomed into an exurb of New York City. Industry transformed and focused on munitions manufacturing, whereby local waters eventually became polluted. A common story in the rivers of North Jersey. The landscape, adjacent to Wanaque and Ringwood (located in the Ramapo Mountains, an eastern extension of the Appalachians), is mountainous, with streams, rivers, lakes and other landscape features that make it quite beautiful and interesting.
Sigma Bf, Sigma 24mm 3.5 – f3.5
What looks like the old train station has become a record and book store. Pompton Lakes has two record stores with two different vibes. To have a choice of record stores in one small town is like stepping into the past 40-50 years ago.
Sigma Bf, Sigma 24mm 3.5 – f3.5
Faceless holiday mannequins are put on display. Something about these windows scream a “Handmaid’s Tale” to me.
Sigma Bf, Sigma 24mm 3.5 – f3.5
I’m not sure, but the combination of faceless mannequins and American pop culture adds to the half cheeky, half creepy unsettling feel to these windows. It’s as if the uneasy nostalgia which resides in front of this shop…sits patiently…and watches the pedestrian…
Sigma Bf, Sigma 24mm 3.5 – f3.5
On to the record store I intended to visit this trip:
Sigma Bf, Sigma 24mm 3.5 – f3.5
Remember when a new record was about 7 or 8 bucks? Remember when discounted records were less than 3 bucks? Many for $.50-$1? Here I experienced a different kind of uneasiness.
Sigma Bf, Sigma 24mm 3.5 – f3.5
Joking aside, the place has good selections and some interesting finds.
Sigma Bf, Sigma 24mm 3.5 – f3.5
While some new multifamily and mixed-use developments have been erected down the street, this facade looks like it has been abandoned for a while now (at least several months after counting from my sporadic visits). It’s facade is very 1950s/60s with the look of an old lunch counter…more so if the red were black and windows trimmed in chrome.
I left soon after and wanted a picture of the Wanaque Reservoir. Well, there were no places to stop, barbed wire fences all around. No walking paths or access in the post-snow weather…around its protected perimeter. The edge of the road just offered a guard rail, snow bank and cyclone fencing.
Sigma Bf, Sigma 24mm 3.5 – f6
Problem 2, Technique: slow the car down, lean over the passenger seat, roll down the window, stick your arm out as far as it can reach, hope the cars behind don’t get antsy and take the shot while still traveling at a pace that is enough to avoid an accident. Avoid the car side mirror and guard rails from getting into the shot…crop a little to make sure…voilá!
In an effort to find another place to take photos of this reservoir and lake system, I resorted to traveling North and hoped for a place to pull over. At a local marina at the nearby Greenwood Lake, the lighting was more dramatic.
Sigma Bf, Panasonic 85mm f1.8 – f4
Clouds moved and shifted as light reflecting different shades of blue and grey.
Sigma Bf, Sigma 24mm 3.5-f6 tweaked for more contrast
Sigma Bf, Panasonic 85mm 1.8 f4
I moved along the marina and then returned to the covered pontoons for the shot above. Without the ability to stop along lake and trespass on private property or take a chance of getting jammed up in small private snow filled roads, I continued North.
Sigma Bf, Panasonic 85mm 1.8 – f2.8
Shot through the windshield.
Problem 3: shooting through tinted glass is hard to correct in post processing.
Sigma Bf, Panasonic 85mm 1.8 f4
Once out of the Ramapo Mountains, I started to head home. The built environment and its infrastructure took over. Can it be beautiful? Can a good photo be had of this steel and concrete? You judge.
Sigma Bf, Panasonic 85mm 1.8 – f4
Sigma Bf, Panasonic 85mm 1.8 f4
Amateur in photography. Amateur in life. 
Leave a comment