"Idiosyncratic" signals and signs are a remarkably common sight in this town. These are from opposite sides of the same intersection.


Walk (unless you're colour blind).


Don't walk (but by the time you realise, you're probably dead).

[JackFromAdelaide]

Hey Jens, How did you get that starlike pattern in the second one? By the way, its a good thing you were taking pictures rather than crossing the road with those streetlights! Once again photography saves another life :-)

[Jens Lyn IV]

Oh I was crossing the street alright, lugging my tripod (fully extended) and camera in an awkward grip. And this was the ever-busy Friday night/Saturday morning, when every man and his dog is out binge drinking and every teen with access to a car is out burning rubber...

About the star burst: I think the main reason is the extreme brightness of the light source; without the red colour filter, the signal bulb shines a lot brighter than intended. Also, tonemapping makes subtle detail stand out more. These images are Luminance HDR tonemaps of 6 (1st) and 7 (2nd) exposures combined into one image.

The wide-angle 15 mm and 21 mm Limiteds are famous for their attractive star bursts, but when working on this photo (top post) I discovered that the DA* 300 can also produce very nice stars bursts under the right circumstances. Of course, you have to stop the lens down from its maximum aperture. The blades are rounded, and at F4 they form a perfect circle, diffraction producing a very slight circular haze instead of a star. Once stopped down, the polygonal shape of the aperture opening causes this to thake the shape of a star.