Some weekend Philly pics

I took quite a few pictures this weekend - the weather here in Philadelphia was picture-postcard perfect. Plus, I wanted to take my Canon "L" 24-70mm f2.8 lens for a shake-down cruise. The mural below is the very first picture I took with it. More on the lens after the pictures.

Starting our walk downtown yesterday, we came across this beautiful mural at around 19th and Callowhill streets. The mural is one of the nicest and most colorful I've seen in the city. Philadelphia is well known for its mural arts program, but perhaps The Washington Post put it best in December 2005: "No city in America has so much mural art, a brick wall poetry that reflects every mood in Philadelphia."

I'm going to try to take as many pictures of Philly's murals as I can this year. If there is one out there with as much beautiful color, art and detail as this one, I can't wait to see it.

Quick confession - I forgot to check my ISO setting until after we got home, and it was at 800 the whole day! I can't believe I forgot. Anyway, it turned out to be quite a good test for my 5D - before yesterday, I had never shot outside at a speed that high with any digital camera. Considering all of my shots were at 800 ISO, the results are quite remarkable. Virtually every time I use my camera, I get pleasantly surprised in some way.

Above shot: Canon EOS 5D with a Canon L 24-70mm f2.8, ISO 800, exposure unrecorded.

I took a few views of the new Comcast Center, now the tallest building in Pennsylvania, and the tallest building in America between the Empire State Building and the Sears Tower. It really is something to see - it's a massive building that really made me feel small and humble when I stood under it. This is the view from Arch Street.

Above shot: Canon EOS 5D with a Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L lens, ISO 800, 800th sec. @ f9.5.

This is another view of the Comcast Center from JFK Blvd. The shell of the building is nearly complete on three sides, but as you can clearly see, there's lots of work to go inside the building. Right now, it's scheduled to be completed in 2008.

Above shot: Canon EOS 5D with a Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L lens, ISO 800, 800th sec. @ f11.

This is a picture of Logan Square, the circle opposite the Philadelphia Art Museum on Benjamin Franklin Parkway. I played with the idea of cropping out part of the fountains in the distance, because this image is a bit too busy. But, in the end I decided to keep it in. I'm very impressed with the sharpness of my Canon "L" lens, as well as my EOS 5D's rendition and saturation of the colors in this image.

Above shot: Canon EOS 5D with a Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L lens, ISO 800, exposure unrecorded.

On the way home, we passed this stray cat sitting on a Green St. ledge atop the sidewalk. We see him around often, and he's notoriously cranky. When we approached him yesterday, I decided to get a few pictures of him. I wanted to see how close I could get without him freaking out - since the minimum focusing distance for my lens is 1.25 ft., I wanted to see if I could get that close. Well, he let me, but then I had Vandra try to pet him, knowing full well that he wouldn't like it (and I did warn her!). Well, of course, he didn't like being touched at all. Take a look. ...

These are the three best images that I snapped of our neighborhood meanie getting angry.

What always cracks me up about taking pictures of cats is that they aren't nearly as mean as the pictures make them out to be. He may have even been play biting, but we don't know him, so I kept telling Vandra to make sure he didn't bite her, or it could have meant a trip to the emergency room for a shot.

This one is my favorite. I told Vandra after we were finished that I got better pictures of this cat than I typically get with our own cat, Butter. The minute I get near our little man with a camera, I usually have time for one or two shots, and he's off.

All cat shots: Canon EOS 5D with a Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L lens, ISO 800, 500th second, various wide apertures for shallow depth of field.

**

Thus far, my Canon L lens is amazing. While this is anything but a review, it mighty impressed. The focusing is as crisp and fast as I've ever had on any lens, and I've probably owned 10 autofocus lenses in my life. I've only had it out a few times so far, but so far I have noticed zero vignetting at the edges at 24mm, a stark contrast to the Sigma 24-70mm I just sold. The minimum focusing distace of 1.25 ft. is impressive as well, as evidenced by the cat images above. I kept waiting for my camera to indicate it couldn't focus as close as I was, but it never happened.

I just thought this sign was funny - the English major in me will never die.

HP Photosmart R967 at ISO 400, Program Mode.

I literally fell on my butt getting this shot. As my friend Jhanna ran up to throw her ball, I ran behind her right up until the foul line. I want into the next lane (which thankfully wasn't being used) and a nanosecond after my feet hit the oil on the lane, I went down like a sack of potatoes. But, I got the shot, and it isn't half bad. I love angle shots.

HP Photosmart R967 at ISO 400, Program Mode.