A Trivial Tuesday with the Pany

There's something enjoyable about a new lens, that feeling of discovery, of what you might accomplish with the new lens that you couldn't accomplish with whatever it is you currently have. So today I mounted the Panasonic 20mm on my E-P2 and took it with me as I walked and traveled around Orlando to document a few more mundane moments of my life.

The local office finally got a batch of the new polar bear regular Coke cans today, and I was able to see what the tempest in a coke can was all about with certain diet Coke consumers who either can't, or have forgotten how to read. One version of the regular Coke can with the polar bears is white and silver, similar to the diet coke can, which is actually a lot of silver with a few spots of white. The regular can sports the Coca-Cola script, while the diet can is simply Coke in regular blockier font. Note also that the diet coke can has 'Diet' in big black script. These are all cues I use to easily distinguish one from the other.

Regular and Diet Coke from the side
Regular and Diet Coke from the top
Marketing Miscues - Regular vs Diet Coke, December 2011

Of course, if you're looking at the two cans from the top in a mixed setting, and you're in a hurry, then I can see how you might confuse one with the other. You know, with all the problems this old world has faced this year, people getting upset over how Coke labels its cans of carbonated water is just another example of the self-absorbed banality of this society.

Condiments at Papa Gios
Condiments at Papa Gios, the former Extreme Pita

The empty store-front where Extreme Pita used to be is finally filled with a Papa Gios, a place where they sell gyro wraps, pizza, and other Mediterranean fast food. They just opened as I usually head over to Jersey Mike's for a sub. But today I decided to break and order a grilled chicken gyro. It was OK, but nothing to rave about. I think I'll be back over to Mikes next time I'm walking around for lunch.

Physical Therapy

It's been over a solid month since my left knee went all wonky. I finally got a prescription to head over to Florida Hospital's physical therapy section of RDV Sportsplex. My wife goes there for her physical therapy, so I headed there myself. The doctors basically said they could go in orthoscopically and fix the tear in the knee's cartiledge, and it might work. Or I could try physical therapy, with equal or better chances for success. No matter what, procedure or not, physical therapy was the common thread in both treatment plans, so I said why not? I don't care all that much to be cut on.

When I got there the left leg was flexed, pulled, pushed, prodded, and theraputically twisted every which way. And not one twinge. I felt like such an idiot. I then went through some basic PT, was given my big rubber band, and a sheet showing what to do when I wasn't there. The knee behaved itself for the rest of the day until late this evening while out on a walk with the Labs. Then it let me know it was still thinking about me.

Under the bridge to home we go

Between the short days and the long tasks with the long commute, I had an opportunity to photograph out through the dirty windshield. The E-P2 was set for ISO 100, and the 20mm wide open at f/l.7. Those setting combined with the dusk gave me some nice long shutter speeds. I don't know why but I like the colors.

Technical

I'm still in the experimental stage with the Panasonic 20mm on the Olympus E-P2. From the little I've taken with this combination in the last 48 hours I do believe I like the color coming out of the camera and lens combination. It is different. No, this is not straight out of the camera. It's raw converted with minimal manipulation in Lightroom 3.5.

I love the way the camera and lens combination feels in my hands, more so than the E-P2 with the Olympus 17mm. Perhaps over the coming days the photographs will be more fitting of this lens. But in the mean time I'm just relaxing and having fun.

Comments

  1. Happy holidays, Bill. I'll have to work, but I'll also try to borrow that Pany from my wife. Tho I'm pretty happy with the kit zoom on my E-PL1, f/1.7 is still another game...

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  2. Merry Christmas! With interest I read your blog. I live in a big city, on the other side of the globe. I travel to work by bus and subway. But on weekends I E-PL1 and Panasonic 20mm, I am very pleased.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Bill. Sorry to hear about your knee! I hope you have a good recovery. Congrats on getting the Panny 20 - it is an awesome little lens and gives a lot of bang for the buck. -hank

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