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Rumors of War


Rumors of War
by Kehinde Wiley examining equestrian portraiture in the canon of Western art history[1] culminating in a bronze monumental equestrian statue by the artist of an African-American young man (with dreadlocks in a ponytail, jeans ripped at the knees and Nike high-top sneakers), created in response to the statue of Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart in Richmond, Virginia in particular and similar statues of high-ranking Confederate Army officers, some of which still stand in the United States despite persistent calls for their removal.[2] Since the installation of Rumors of War in Richmond, all of the statues of the military leaders of the Confederacy have been removed from Monument Avenue where they had been since the first decade of the 20th century.
From Wikipedia

Photographed on 27 December 2025 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

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Minolta AF 200mm F/2.8 G APO HS

This lens is great. It is rated 4.98 out of 5.00 for sharpness by Dyxum (4.96 overall). It has a macro limiter and a built in retractible lens hood. The focus is fast and accurate. It is an a-mount lens that I use directly on my SLT-A77V and with an LA-EA4 adapter on my e-mount cameras A7R2 and A7R3a.

Here are some professional reviews:
Phillip Reeve
Dyxum
Imaging Resource

…and here are some sample images.
Photoposts; Click on an image to see a full-screen image and image details

Mosaic: Click on any image to enlarge it and to start a slide show.

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Sony 24-240mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens

 

This is a very handy multipurpose zoom lens that provides good image quality and is relatively inexpensive. Great for travel if your gear capacity is limited.

Dyxum gives this lens a sharpness rating of only 4.29 and a user rating of only 4.40 (out of 5.00). My own experience has been better.

From Brian Smith’s Ultimate Lens Guide

Sony-FE-24-240-F3-5-6-3-OSS-lens


Full-frame E-Mount telephoto zoom lens with the versatility to stretch from true wide-angle to super telephoto perspectives. Its advanced optical design includes 5 aspherical elements and 1 ED glass element for reduced chromatic and spherical aberrations in a compact design. Optical SteadyShot image stabilization facilitates sharper imaging in low light situations and when shooting at long telephoto lengths.

Professional reviews:

Dustin Abbott

Camera Labs

Ken Rockwell

Here are some sample images of my own.

Little Egret in Pegomas

 

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Sony FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS Zeiss Vario-Tessar T*

I have always felt this lens is a bit under-rated. Its attributes — constant aperture, OSS, and useful range — belie its relatively low ratings (Dyxum 4.53 overall; 4.43 sharpness). I got some pretty good results with this lens on my A7R cameras.

Here is a description from Brian Smith’s Ultimate Guide:
Compact wide-angle to short telephoto zoom with constant f/4 aperture lens that remains fixed in length while zooming. Features one extra-low dispersion element and five aspherical elements to combat aberrations as well as a Zeiss T* anti-reflective coating to keep flare and ghosting to a minimum.

Professional reviews:

Dyxum

Philippe Reeve

Sample images:

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My Tamron Lenses

 

One prime and four zooms. I love ’em all:

Tamron 35mm f/2.8 Di III OSD
Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD
Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD
Tamron 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD

All but the long zoom have a constant max aperture of 2.8. All are sharp — Dyxum rates them 4.72, 4.53, 4.90, 4.83 and 4.75 respectively for sharpness. And the 35mm and 70-180mm lense earn the top 5.0 rating overall. I could pack these 5 lenses in my camera bag, along with my Sony A7Riii and go anywhere needing no other lenses, save maybe a wider wide than the 35. Perhaps supplement with my Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM? Right. That should do it.