The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

Basil and I have been having that old photographer's conversation: What lens to buy next?

I was feeling like I had the complete set of lenses I needed . . . for the kind of photographs I take and for how I display them . . . until, that is, the new Sigma 35mm f1.4 came out!  I do a lot of night street shooting in Bangkok and around Southeast Asia, and my trusty Sigma 50mm f1.4 EX DG HSM had become my favorite (reviewed elsewhere on this site), but I found that, on a full frame Canon 5D mark II, it was sometimes too narrow in confined alleyways and dark night markets.  So . . . . I traded in my excellent Sigma 50mm f1.4 for the just released Sigma 35mm f1.4 DG HSM lens . . .  and boy, am I happy!  Very nice.

There was nothing wrong with the 50mm Sigma . . . . it almost never left my 5D . . . it is a fantastic lens . . . but I already like the 35mm better for this kind of street shooting.  It's Bangkok, so there is ALWAYS something to shoot, like this egg truck.

Very sharp indeed.  A 35mm is about as wide as you can have on your camera without distortions appearing.

Detail in dark/shaded areas is amazing.

I like walls.  Walls show their histories on their faces.  A 35mm lens in an alley is perfect for capturing this kind of thing without the barrel distortion of something wider.

Wall history.

A Bangkok alley in great detail and clarity.

A Bangkok alley straight from the camera (RAW), converted to a JPEG, reduced in size and posted without any PhotoShop inputs.

The Sigma 35mm f1.4 is not a macro lens, but you can close focus with good results.

Orchids are always candidates for close shooting.

White lobby orchids, Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok.

A wonderful, large, old, carved, lacquered elephant greets you at the Shangri-La Hotel.

The red Shangri-La elephant served as a good object to experiment on for depth of  field studies.

Very nice low light performance.  I couldn't be happier.

This is why you have an f1.4 lens: hand held shooting in a dark parking lot.  The detail in this photo at full resolution is incredible.