My new second-hand lens gifts us autumn sunshine

maipenquynh on 26. January 2025

It was the end of October, the sun was peeking out that day. I went out with my Sony alpha 99 in hand and had a mission: to take photos and test the new second-hand lens.

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My favourite lens (Minolta AF 50 mm f/1.4) said bye-bye in September. The focus ring no longer works. I was only reminded of the malfunction when I was about to go on holiday at the end of October. But it was no longer realistic to bring it in for repair to then take it with me on holiday. It remains to be seen whether a repair is possible at all.

As the camera was supposed to come with me, I looked for another solution. The solution was: Look on Kleinanzeigen (german online classifieds) for an alternative lens. No sooner said than done.

The universe was very kind to me and I came across a new second-hand lens via Kleinanzeigen. It wasn't the same model but for me it was absolutely comparable (Minolta AF 50 mm f/1.7). I was able to have a look at it in the neighbourhood before I decided to buy it and the price was more than fair. The seller was friendly and we chatted a bit about analogue photography before I left. A really good Kleinanzeigen buying experience.

I checked out the lens at home. First indoors. And then outdoors. And so we are back at the beginning of this text. I went out with my Sony alpha 99 in hand and had a mission: to take photos and test the new second-hand lens.
Result: Test passed.

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If you're like me and miss the sunshine of warmer days, perhaps these pictures bring a bit of comfort today.

Camera + lens: Sony alpha 99 + Minolta AF 50 mm f/1.7

The clapping poppy – 1 picture and 1000 words

maipenquynh on 22. November 2024

Photos that get the privilege of being shown as a single image also get the privilege of being given a particularly thoughtful title. That's a very entertaining task for me.

How did the photo shown above, which was recently shown as a single image , come to its name?

The poppy photographed here is the corn poppy - if it were a colour film, this photo would glow red. Note from the translator: corn poppy in german is 'Klatschmohn' - the second part of the word, 'Mohn' is poppy while the first part of the word, 'Klatsch' has the same root as the verb 'klatschen' which means to clap.

I wasn't convinced by ‘Klatschmohn’ as a title. Hoping for an idea passing by, I looked at the picture more or less intensively.
And indeed. With a little imagination, I thought I could see that the two inner petals touching were photographed in a moment of a clapping motion. And shortly afterwards, the two petals would separate again to get ready for the next clapping movement. And that is how the title of this image was born.

In case you're also wondering: Is the poppy called like that in german because the petals can actually clap? Completely wrong.
After a little bit of research, I learnt that if you form a ring with your thumb and forefinger, place a poppy petal on top to cover the ring and hit it flat with your other hand, you'll probably hear a Clap!. One reason more to looking forward to the next poppy season 😋