Banksy?

Banksy?, originally uploaded by Maltphoto.

A recent article in the Berkeley Daily Planet on Sunday by Gar Smith brought this graffiti to my attention. According to the article, it appeared in early June, around the same time Banksy's film "Exit Through the Gift Shop" is playing in Berkeley at the Shattuck Cinema. I'm not sure it's a Banksy work, and I don't know how to decide if it is.

Fortunately, I pass by this parking lot every day on the way to work. I never noticed it before, because it's really set back from the street. I stopped the other day to get a shot, just in case it was done by Banksy. In the meantime, I guess I'll periodically check his website to see if this piece makes an appearance.

Let me know if you think this is his work, or an imposters. I have my own thoughts, but would love to hear others.

Nicolas Alain

Earlier this month, I was fortunate to be able to get back east and visit my nephew for the first time. He's almost 6 months old in these photos. I took the opportunity to rent a Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO HSM
lens from Lensrentals.com. I normally use Borrowlenses.com because of the ability to pick up the lens at a local photography store. Lensrentals.com was a very seamless transaction. They provide a return label, so you just keep the box and packing material that the lens comes in, slap the return label on the box and ship it back at the end of your rental period. I'd definitely use them again.

The Sigma is very similar to the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM, but at about 2/3 of the price. I've been a fan of Sigma lenses since I first bought my Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM. I've been very impressed with the sharpness and quality of the lens, and was hoping to see similar results from the 70-200. Sigma is coming out with an Optical Stabilized (OS) version of this lens soon, which may persuade me to go with the Sigma version over the Canon for my low light needs. As you can see from the photos below, I was very pleased with the results of the Sigma. The second photo was taken with my Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS
. which is a great lens as well, and is on my camera 80-85% of the time.

Crocker Galleria

Crocker Galleria, originally uploaded by Maltphoto.

Location: Downtown San Francisco
Camera: Canon 40D
Lens: Sigma 10-20mm
Focal Length: 10mm
Aperture: f/14
ISO: 200
Exposure: 1/25 Second
Black & White conversion using Nik's Silver Efex Pro in

Kiehl's

Kiehl's, originally uploaded by Maltphoto.

You can see my whole Neon set here. I used Nik Silver Efex Pro for the black and white conversion., Then used OnOne's Photoframe 4.5 for the frame/film styling.

when we were young

when we were young, originally uploaded by Maltphoto.

Found this while walking the dog yesterday. There was a date scratched into the concrete as well. Just thought this was so cute.