tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73772285634021828732024-02-08T11:26:42.680+09:00Photo ShumiA photographic journey of learning, creating and experimenting with different mediums of photography and other art forms.Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comBlogger123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-77579582183459265262008-09-09T11:35:00.003+09:002008-09-09T11:40:12.792+09:00NEW SITE - PHOTOSHUMI.COMI have created a new website with my own domain at <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.photoshumi.com/">photoshumi.com</a></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>so if you look here regularly, please update your bookmarks. I will not be updating this blog anymore. The reason being is that it's a little annoying having a blog and a portfolio at different locations and I the new site is much more intuitive and a little more aesthetically pleasing.<br /><br />Thanks.Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-10134980411015269582008-09-04T19:55:00.002+09:002008-09-04T20:00:03.842+09:00The Lonely Unicycle<div style="padding: 3px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2826948631/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3190/2826948631_6f6164598c.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /><br /><br /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">Super Takumar 105 mm 2.8 : f/2.8 : ISO - 400 : Shutter - 1/350 sec</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://flickr.com/photos/figmental/2780780948/"><br /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2826948631/" title="photo sharing"><br /></a><div style="text-align: left;">I was just walking up a flight of stairs and noticed this very cute and lonely child's unicycle. The photo is out of focus but I feel it adds to the loneliness of the subject as if it's been forgotten.<br /></div></div>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-59090174256593738312008-09-02T13:27:00.017+09:002008-09-02T17:58:06.889+09:00Day 2 : Part 2 - Osaka<p style="padding: 3px; text-align: center;"><a title="photo sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2816379151/"><img style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3262/2816379151_394d3797be.jpg" /></a><br />A crossing for people and people crossing each other.<br /></p><div style="padding: 3px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2817229606/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3104/2817229606_7462187f52.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br />Stranded, she once felt alone.<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2816379497/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3012/2816379497_4868e679a9.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a></div>The storm, she come and floods areas where I am not.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="padding: 3px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2817229906/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3005/2817229906_07d93c8ebe.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br />The same crossing but one for mechanical serpents.<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2816379859/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/2816379859_3865cce941.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br />A meal and mirror and we can smile.<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2817230192/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3053/2817230192_5d92792b7a.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a></div>A friend in this place.<br /></div><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2816380113/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3152/2816380113_8cf9b2264d.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br />Under ground but not too deep.<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2816380251/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3005/2816380251_a27600205a.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /><br /></a>We jump to touch the ceiling or the surface.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2816380251/" title="photo sharing"><br /></a></div><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2816380551/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3047/2816380551_7faaf4fd04.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /><br /></a>Sky Building shows me where I am and want to be.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2816380551/" title="photo sharing"><br /></a></div><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2816380845/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3225/2816380845_30af0ed1d9.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /><br /></a>The city and the skyline come to meet me, high above the rats below.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2816380845/" title="photo sharing"><br /></a></div><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2817231378/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3294/2817231378_2d3eac10d7.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br />Together we howl at the stars.<br /></div><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2817231616/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3077/2817231616_cf069da8c1.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a></div>Deep down to an oblivion, we search for ourselves.<br /></div></div><div style="padding: 3px; text-align: center;"></div>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-53415843303193319012008-09-01T18:29:00.016+09:002008-09-02T17:57:53.363+09:00Day 2 : Part 1 - Nara<div style="padding: 3px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2817227760/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3200/2817227760_70843e190e.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br />Who will today bring?<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2816377599/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3073/2816377599_3eb4f6d21c.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /><br /></a>A temple which houses her.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2816377599/" title="photo sharing"><br /></a></div><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2816377743/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3032/2816377743_2bca6fe546.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a></div>Purification Ritual<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2817228270/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3088/2817228270_55793052c9.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br />A door, splintering grain.<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2817228378/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3053/2817228378_68d99682d5.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br />Buddha, never hiding.<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2816378169/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3214/2816378169_291423c045.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /><br /></a>Buddha, a flame for so many<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2816378169/" title="photo sharing"><br /></a></div><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2817228646/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3132/2817228646_061871ce7d.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br />A stone garment that sways.<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2817228828/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3268/2817228828_945d2a8e44.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a></div>Guard this place, your soul depends on it.<br /></div><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2817228952/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3222/2817228952_3c47f51763.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br />Games for good luck.<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2817229062/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3253/2817229062_8d69be44bd.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a></div>I say goodby to this place and reflect on what I've seen.<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2816378971/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3215/2816378971_26177634f1.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a></div>A monk, a wish, a man, the heat.<br /></div></div></div></div>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-50264755739209480742008-09-01T14:45:00.008+09:002008-09-01T16:10:07.970+09:00Book Review : The Photographer's Eye - Michael Freeman<p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwmlezMN11kF8jHi1g8cnPYuQPZCtFAHkkhMQ7YPiaOcFYaAKHrnr3oPYOWx12rjMy4qiWy-yPKr6Uo0dI5r368or1OiJXDwqc_Blro95146pQQLxERl20LVJ6axtICsAXmUKfW9gCAE/s1600-h/cover.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240946621486278482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwmlezMN11kF8jHi1g8cnPYuQPZCtFAHkkhMQ7YPiaOcFYaAKHrnr3oPYOWx12rjMy4qiWy-yPKr6Uo0dI5r368or1OiJXDwqc_Blro95146pQQLxERl20LVJ6axtICsAXmUKfW9gCAE/s320/cover.jpg" border="0" /></a></p> Since getting into photography I haven't actually read any books, getting most of my info online. As my skills increase, my craving for more specialized aspects of photography grow also. The reason I got a book in the first place was for something to read on the plane from Australia to Japan as I wasn't in the mood for fiction, even though I had the new Koontz novel tucked away in my backpack. As a visual arts student, I learnt more about concept and less about composition, colour and technique and just for the record, my experience at a modern art university was pretty shallow. The professors/lecturers were pretentious arseholes who had more concept and idea than practical skill and therefore have nothing to teach me as an artist as <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">any artistic medium </span>needs both concept and execution skill.<br /><br />This <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">leads</span> me to a book that really balances out a few things for me as a "trained" artist, Michael <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Freeeman's</span> <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0240809343/002-7828068-2198460?SubscriptionId=02ZH6J1W0649DTNS6002">The Photographer's Eye.</a></em> This book covers aspects of photography not usually written about and if they are, I doubt they'd be as specific and readable as this, although I hear <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Learning-See-Creatively-Composition-Photography/dp/0817441816/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220251997&sr=8-2"><em>Learning To See Creatively</em> </a>by Bryan Peterson is also a great and informative read. The Photographer's Eye covers different aspects of composition and how framing, design, shapes, light, colour, intent and process are all connected and can be utilized to produce better photos that convey meaning and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">relevance</span> to the photographer and more importantly, the viewer.<br /><br />This is not a book about your camera, it's not a how-to book, it's not a dummies guide to taking photos. What it is is a book to explain to you the art and design of image making and how people read them. Michael Freeman writes and conveys his ideas easily, even if your new to composition. The cool thing for me is that it's helped me think about my intent before pressing the shutter, I feel better as a photographer when I don't delete half the photos I took as they don't aesthetically work. This book also isn't a one off read and will be a great reference guide. I can't wait to read it again in a few months as I let the information slowly digest, in the meantime, I'll be reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Master-Lighting-Guide-Portrait-Photographers/dp/1584281251/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220252311&sr=1-1">Master Lighting Guide for Portrait Photographers</a> by Christopher Grey. It looks a little full on but I'll jump in and see what it offers as I want to get more into lighting and portraiture work.Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-91302579719165222022008-08-31T12:57:00.006+09:002008-09-02T13:41:56.447+09:00Super Takumar 105mm 2.8 & some filtersI've been in Osaka for the past few days traveling with and visiting friends. One of my main goals was to take a few street photographs to overcome my fear/embarrassment of shooting in the street. The second mission was to finally track down Osaka's camera shops, especially the second hand ones.<br /><br />At one of the shops (Yaotomi Camera), I bought a decent conditioned Super Takumar 105mm f2.8 for a very good price. Optically, it's very good with a few dust spots but no fungus or scratches. The body of the lens is slightly worn but no heavy scratches or dents and well worth it for ¥5,100 ($46.00 USD). I'm pretty excited to have this lens as I've seen some great photos taken with it and it also fills the gap in my Takumar collection between the 55mm and the 135mm. Now I only really need the $85mm.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9s71iqbplW2QVtXQ-qVND0nc2E5dM4hcqA6SGZ1e98pJ9NunZmatpajVr8n3HTsQSoqinMtCEF6zI7bhwli6LVXFlX0rTAEKLb_rQDUYuPmBC846JJojCsZccGqel3taHu5iJpK4zREE/s1600-h/_IGP3743.jpg"><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240526385417171666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9s71iqbplW2QVtXQ-qVND0nc2E5dM4hcqA6SGZ1e98pJ9NunZmatpajVr8n3HTsQSoqinMtCEF6zI7bhwli6LVXFlX0rTAEKLb_rQDUYuPmBC846JJojCsZccGqel3taHu5iJpK4zREE/s400/_IGP3743.jpg" border="0" /><br /></a>At another shop (kitamura), I found some second hand 49mm filters all in excellent condition for my Takumar lenses and they were all under ¥800 ($7.30 USD). In the below image, the first filter is an Asahi Pentax YG filter which I'm guessing is for B&W film photography. I bought it anyway because it was pretty old and in great condition with original case, on a DSLR it will just cast a yellow / green on the image, so I'll probably never use it. The second filter is a Kenko Circular PL which are very cool to use, a must have for the outdoors. I had a circular PL for my Pentax FA 28-105 and used it often and was happy to find one cheap for my Takumar lenses.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9s71iqbplW2QVtXQ-qVND0nc2E5dM4hcqA6SGZ1e98pJ9NunZmatpajVr8n3HTsQSoqinMtCEF6zI7bhwli6LVXFlX0rTAEKLb_rQDUYuPmBC846JJojCsZccGqel3taHu5iJpK4zREE/s1600-h/_IGP3743.jpg"><br /><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7WIVYi1jEfpkWz0ivU3FJzlduZ382ruhsXa1uIQzXOJdnpZM7twAyfQw6RiTo6OowR7flDpLkTySRjQHTRjD0SN65F05QJUhKPHvskRVGBd0tCEN88qbPzvStQyYLTWu7NGPJgO6wYQs/s1600-h/_IGP3734-2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240526379639344146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7WIVYi1jEfpkWz0ivU3FJzlduZ382ruhsXa1uIQzXOJdnpZM7twAyfQw6RiTo6OowR7flDpLkTySRjQHTRjD0SN65F05QJUhKPHvskRVGBd0tCEN88qbPzvStQyYLTWu7NGPJgO6wYQs/s400/_IGP3734-2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />In the next photo, the first filter is a Kenko MC Protector which I'll leave on the Super Takumar 35mm 3.5 and the second filter is a Kenko MC Skylight 1B which balances colour outdoors.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ruOMpXUzmROozyg3lLbF5r09XxQ0_tBRz9RWNdVO3LpA9-WhRAG9xEsj5AQ1kInrMrP7W94pQpDbGyTryDkgNv_CbRSA_9Te7fRUixatAer4nHDHsynD6rXi_WaMW4CV7jYdCTRmIaA/s1600-h/_IGP3736.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240526383891976002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ruOMpXUzmROozyg3lLbF5r09XxQ0_tBRz9RWNdVO3LpA9-WhRAG9xEsj5AQ1kInrMrP7W94pQpDbGyTryDkgNv_CbRSA_9Te7fRUixatAer4nHDHsynD6rXi_WaMW4CV7jYdCTRmIaA/s400/_IGP3736.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />I will post more information soon on camera shopping in Osaka with directions, maps and other information. I'll also post some photos taken with the Super Takumar 105mm 2.8.Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-76530770108338932572008-08-31T11:25:00.015+09:002008-09-02T17:58:44.638+09:00Day 1 - The Freeway to Osaka<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2811950487/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3182/2811950487_b9869c048c.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br /></div><div style="padding: 3px; text-align: center;"><br />A truck crashes on the highway, spilling oil. Rescue Crew arrive.<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2811907755/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3067/2811907755_784c006a9d.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a></div><br />Contemplating the work ahead.<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2811907515/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3049/2811907515_2f4d1971d4.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a></div><br />People, curious and frustrated<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2812756420/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3202/2812756420_754fa1e42f.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The media, reporting to the masses from above.<br /></div><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2811907073/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3288/2811907073_e517973e72.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The landscape as boredom sets in.<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2811906857/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3060/2811906857_77e1f40632.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Sleeping, waiting.<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2812755882/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3049/2812755882_3975dee36f.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Back in the land of the moving, the city awaits us.<br /></div><br /></div><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2811906437/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3215/2811906437_5edd09899e.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Performers, he's playing just for me.<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2812755340/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/2812755340_880a7745b0.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Yoko, playing with light at the end of a long day.<br /><br /><div style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2812755194/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3187/2812755194_315200aeeb.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a></div><br /></div>Enough playing, it's time to sleep.<br /></div></div></div>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-70864700222513031812008-08-28T08:55:00.002+09:002008-08-28T09:05:16.138+09:00Sayurichan<div style="padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2804523210/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3139/2804523210_07037b6e0a.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 85%;">Super Takumar 55 mm 1.8 : f/2.8 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/180</span><br /></div><br />My friends recently had their first born and I offered my humble photographic skills to take some photos of baby Sayuri, mum and dad. This was also a great opportunity to test out the Vivitar 285HV, on and off camera. This photo used some nice ambient light coming through the window and I bounced the flash with the diffuser to light baby Sayuri's cute little face.<br /><br />Techie shit aside, I really like this photo as it captures wonderfully what a new parent must feel. Here, new dad emits love, warmth and protection.<br /></div>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-73524026430606567782008-08-27T16:17:00.006+09:002008-08-27T16:21:56.320+09:00From the Haze<div style="padding: 3px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2795778258/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3133/2795778258_d94a6d7720.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /><br /><br /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Super Takumar 55 mm 1.8 : f/1.8 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/500<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Just showing off the beautiful bokeh created by the Super Takumar 55mm 1.8, though the subject is nothing to drool over, it's easy to get lost in the creamy background.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></div></div></div>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-25291294644104613942008-08-25T14:19:00.012+09:002008-08-25T15:16:28.657+09:002 in 1 DIY Snoot & Grid SpotAfter reading the many cool DIY reader projects at <a href="http://www.diyphotography.net/">diyphotography.net</a> I saw a cool idea for a cheap and easy <a href="http://www.diyphotography.net/diy-homemade-speedlite-snoot">DIY snoot</a> for my Vivitar 285HV. So since I have nothing but time on my hands lately, I decided to make one although mine looks different and is much bulkier. I basically used 5mm foam board from Japan's infamous ¥100 stores ($1 USD), cut out the shape and taped it together. Realising it was way too bulky to be transportable, I decided to add a <a href="http://www.diyphotography.net/studio_lighting_homemade_gridspot">DIY grid spot</a> that fits inside the snoot with relative ease. I made the grid spot out of corrugated plastic craft stuff, cut it to size, glued it together and then taped it up.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWA3rMgw2tfim1NThpBaIBnP6_hR-2HIyCT6OTkcxsQJdAiMIZ_4pkZPxkc09MGQMNXdXM00td8RANoKnUTldH_q-a7KYJboTcTPzCDDsO34eHKcQVG1GaSQn-_Y7CQHuoFc0D6Ruzt8/s1600-h/_IGP3272.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWA3rMgw2tfim1NThpBaIBnP6_hR-2HIyCT6OTkcxsQJdAiMIZ_4pkZPxkc09MGQMNXdXM00td8RANoKnUTldH_q-a7KYJboTcTPzCDDsO34eHKcQVG1GaSQn-_Y7CQHuoFc0D6Ruzt8/s320/_IGP3272.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238325011954080626" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9NO_gbEs0uWpUwrjd1AOHbJW1L2tdga6qufwKG9UKwueWg24Us-X3mESGgcslqTQHJ_u56D0eW3vBnDDiRDAuWzb8GYUVXyhyphenhyphenQHAtVqiE6DIzCtT-ZwYf0Dl3eBbKzhtbP691iSUilY/s1600-h/_IGP3273.jpg"> <img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9NO_gbEs0uWpUwrjd1AOHbJW1L2tdga6qufwKG9UKwueWg24Us-X3mESGgcslqTQHJ_u56D0eW3vBnDDiRDAuWzb8GYUVXyhyphenhyphenQHAtVqiE6DIzCtT-ZwYf0Dl3eBbKzhtbP691iSUilY/s320/_IGP3273.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238325019374937186" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM-OzHGCNfkP9eGbGGuwEZyC3z-vSjzh2q_rBYsrAXzyfvXwN0ByAvnzA9FzhAsN6wUTLg6emZtqUtnXVldpellxznV8QNWFuejCHHM3dbkBv1pvuF1CykRmOLTIPnomB5_O6Uw9hmg58/s1600-h/IMG_1406.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM-OzHGCNfkP9eGbGGuwEZyC3z-vSjzh2q_rBYsrAXzyfvXwN0ByAvnzA9FzhAsN6wUTLg6emZtqUtnXVldpellxznV8QNWFuejCHHM3dbkBv1pvuF1CykRmOLTIPnomB5_O6Uw9hmg58/s320/IMG_1406.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238325368759208978" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbA76CWzw7iVVILJAb7N0EDoqWZZaeofjdTTju1_j4US0_GmFQn-lofowaPAi0k36BwV4ue7GP-KqrU1NEtBg39-DRIAlp-SjePVPncEfVmYf6bdKzTj5zBil33ngN3stG9jpUiVw-Aaw/s1600-h/IMG_1407.JPG"> <img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbA76CWzw7iVVILJAb7N0EDoqWZZaeofjdTTju1_j4US0_GmFQn-lofowaPAi0k36BwV4ue7GP-KqrU1NEtBg39-DRIAlp-SjePVPncEfVmYf6bdKzTj5zBil33ngN3stG9jpUiVw-Aaw/s320/IMG_1407.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238325376470351570" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">So yeah, it looks a little ridiculous, fair enough but it seems to do the job.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7b-3D236DSB5vm6L8nX7TJr1oL7Pbg_iol95z0dwXyzQIyjHmf3UzOEqpa3nH7jQQxrmO5evWFK15lxR4LzuOff5Nu8YpbvsgZad1CsNnbMCmPrliyZlDKbWzIT6NnaVZCzSfUWds9o/s1600-h/_IGP3258.jpg"> <img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7b-3D236DSB5vm6L8nX7TJr1oL7Pbg_iol95z0dwXyzQIyjHmf3UzOEqpa3nH7jQQxrmO5evWFK15lxR4LzuOff5Nu8YpbvsgZad1CsNnbMCmPrliyZlDKbWzIT6NnaVZCzSfUWds9o/s320/_IGP3258.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238326634638044498" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPhPIdaW0xqcmI8xNunB0Fy2hJ0GR1m729gpdQvu4vWYxOyoOTMYMR5Fbx85Kjr8yrVzs1fzE6b0Q_1LoQvHAGtIVgJ5rfMoDQmLz2ISzB1DslBdieR6R1T4TqviVCpirfxdeV3xpdag/s1600-h/_IGP3257.jpg"> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Rlo6vfES5i9F77lyQo9z4vnWTDUEVPyQ3iMFFj0te5tzqh8hnT1R1dr3VPP9qnmVHybCZFNrui1ffwvffFrH7KsWMGBRtApRN-eY2tXu25W5vwlnIUSK8fPlBIc2gKvnlt0OL7dR6Sg/s1600-h/_IGP3289.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Rlo6vfES5i9F77lyQo9z4vnWTDUEVPyQ3iMFFj0te5tzqh8hnT1R1dr3VPP9qnmVHybCZFNrui1ffwvffFrH7KsWMGBRtApRN-eY2tXu25W5vwlnIUSK8fPlBIc2gKvnlt0OL7dR6Sg/s320/_IGP3289.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238329974938103346" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPhPIdaW0xqcmI8xNunB0Fy2hJ0GR1m729gpdQvu4vWYxOyoOTMYMR5Fbx85Kjr8yrVzs1fzE6b0Q_1LoQvHAGtIVgJ5rfMoDQmLz2ISzB1DslBdieR6R1T4TqviVCpirfxdeV3xpdag/s1600-h/_IGP3257.jpg"><br /></a>With snoot.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFgjOk8HaNPoBl6O4wNMZOS9LlQe7Fhp1G6TbJ2FPwy0J00fR6nG-ScOCAcgcsIkK7_q1g6rCRO8YBNDiFF8Ju39oz-3cEPFYCLjRnz_I5hvlxVLP-bJoT7C1bAERcqvjgtxt9RuufnQ/s1600-h/_IGP3256.jpg"> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8aaqQ7Vy79EfGWV1N9NYZTxwzCVOS3rjnovfEpmegVFq6HWVR4Y553uYCLWfZbIjYGuFv9hg3j1hcW1HeNuJGYYZ4KkDszwSW4VY2rLD2PvFIzKuO7H2xQueRdsZmjNpCiZYxof53Ew/s1600-h/_IGP3286.jpg"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPhPIdaW0xqcmI8xNunB0Fy2hJ0GR1m729gpdQvu4vWYxOyoOTMYMR5Fbx85Kjr8yrVzs1fzE6b0Q_1LoQvHAGtIVgJ5rfMoDQmLz2ISzB1DslBdieR6R1T4TqviVCpirfxdeV3xpdag/s1600-h/_IGP3257.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPhPIdaW0xqcmI8xNunB0Fy2hJ0GR1m729gpdQvu4vWYxOyoOTMYMR5Fbx85Kjr8yrVzs1fzE6b0Q_1LoQvHAGtIVgJ5rfMoDQmLz2ISzB1DslBdieR6R1T4TqviVCpirfxdeV3xpdag/s320/_IGP3257.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238326634762837570" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8aaqQ7Vy79EfGWV1N9NYZTxwzCVOS3rjnovfEpmegVFq6HWVR4Y553uYCLWfZbIjYGuFv9hg3j1hcW1HeNuJGYYZ4KkDszwSW4VY2rLD2PvFIzKuO7H2xQueRdsZmjNpCiZYxof53Ew/s1600-h/_IGP3286.jpg"> <img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8aaqQ7Vy79EfGWV1N9NYZTxwzCVOS3rjnovfEpmegVFq6HWVR4Y553uYCLWfZbIjYGuFv9hg3j1hcW1HeNuJGYYZ4KkDszwSW4VY2rLD2PvFIzKuO7H2xQueRdsZmjNpCiZYxof53Ew/s320/_IGP3286.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238329303755720706" border="0" /></a><br />With snoot + grid spot<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">So there you have my 2 in 1 DIY snoot and grid spot for my Vivitar 285HV, for home use it's fine and I'm looking forward in testing it out more thoroughly, especially for moody portraits. When and if I refine this model I want to take a more aesthetic & practical angle, kinda like on this <a href="http://lightchasersphotography.com/blog/who-says-diy-gear-looks-cheap/">blog</a>. In the near future I'll make a <a href="http://www.diyphotography.net/the-diy-speed-strap-accessories-and-samples">speed strap</a> and a <a href="http://dslrblog.com/how-to-make-a-diy-flash-bounce-diffuser/">bounce card / diffuser</a> which should be relatively easy and also the <a href="http://www.fredmiranda.com/A18/">DIY soft box</a>.<br /></div></div></div></div>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-64992419639165722672008-08-25T10:21:00.003+09:002008-08-25T10:44:14.749+09:00My Beauty Queen<div style="padding: 3px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2792897885/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3195/2792897885_0cf47ebb77.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /><br /><br /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Lensbaby 2.0 : f/2.8 : ISO - 400 : Shutter - 1/45</span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2792897885/" title="photo sharing"><br /><br /></a><div style="text-align: left;">Over at PentaxForums there are threads on different lens clubs, eg; <a href="http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/31601-takumar-club.html">Takumar Club</a> and the <a href="http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/31430-soviet-lenses-club.html">Soviet lenses Club</a> and recently there's a new <a href="http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/35103-lens-baby-club.html">Lensbaby Club</a>. After looking through the thread and adding my thoughts and images I realised how little I actually use my <a href="http://lensbaby.com/">Lensbaby</a>. This image isn't actually new but it's an ode to my Lensbaby and a pledge that I'll use it more often.<br /></div></div>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-12224465442213844102008-08-23T13:22:00.012+09:002008-08-23T14:14:39.236+09:00Chef's Hat - A Diffuser For The Vivitar 285HVThe free gift diffuser which came with the Vivitar 285HV was a pain in the arse to setup so I was looking at some diffusers to buy online but they were all about $30 and didn't want to piss the wife off too much as I think my little photography related spending spree is officially over!<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br />So while stalking another local camera shop in Fukuyama I found a pretty cool diffuser that comes in M and L sizes which basically just sits over the flash head quite snuggly and happens to look just like a chef's hat! Surprisingly, this product is made by <a href="http://www.kenko-tokina.co.jp/e/index.html">Kenko</a> and re-branded as Harbor and costs <strong style="font-weight: normal;">¥</strong>840 ($7.60 USD) for the L size and a few dollars less for the M, very cheap.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnqZzzYUJdnz4rmagOEJv2qL4MOKdWfq5W9A1iXBu9x6muItPCbTxDYCtUJd9ciDCNaD3_RbYRgXQfCBxvzKB2fBTg1k-g5ke-mUeW9IxidMuuXwy5gUbP5S6nQiqhWFLa_Xw1leezMNE/s1600-h/diffuser1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnqZzzYUJdnz4rmagOEJv2qL4MOKdWfq5W9A1iXBu9x6muItPCbTxDYCtUJd9ciDCNaD3_RbYRgXQfCBxvzKB2fBTg1k-g5ke-mUeW9IxidMuuXwy5gUbP5S6nQiqhWFLa_Xw1leezMNE/s320/diffuser1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237563779501381698" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZFOUsEkho_oDD0CMRcr2CTpWPZ34NWnkfULvCM6WtiC1-HFEwBUgsvOQpy-gwnZjL32kyXUvJKAtPPLxHxHE6VyJnmxeoUzKdBzLxUWJeJIMm9gkGCyNRSI6e5oeNtLSC-9SPt7c4MD8/s1600-h/diffuser2.jpg"> <img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZFOUsEkho_oDD0CMRcr2CTpWPZ34NWnkfULvCM6WtiC1-HFEwBUgsvOQpy-gwnZjL32kyXUvJKAtPPLxHxHE6VyJnmxeoUzKdBzLxUWJeJIMm9gkGCyNRSI6e5oeNtLSC-9SPt7c4MD8/s320/diffuser2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237563780739421474" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />Here are some examples of Batman posing just for me.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmV2w6ZDNx4M7cuk_wWcN2VEshtfgTpnoU4a3k-dWzusGy26ZqOnVW7ZiDtliiPoXOT5oZMYKSgoaJX96Z7UIH49BzwdkcIu5veU6SSyxukfhmADer5D_w1ikTv6aZMErIavvj-8FoiUU/s1600-h/_IGP3112.jpg"> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJRFTFfSmGUlC85-cgw4DDDfmXBC_qiHmUNAEjDh84Bb7URwMZ30wb2O7HFO15v__7ghb48NGpwkQWDcKWiUi_sbBI-mcMVa2UauSPI7VqLtI00_BvgMZ0oaIKQD84lwRkdIkLTT-Vfs/s1600-h/_IGP3111.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJRFTFfSmGUlC85-cgw4DDDfmXBC_qiHmUNAEjDh84Bb7URwMZ30wb2O7HFO15v__7ghb48NGpwkQWDcKWiUi_sbBI-mcMVa2UauSPI7VqLtI00_BvgMZ0oaIKQD84lwRkdIkLTT-Vfs/s320/_IGP3111.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237575699021794994" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAJWMJtUg92FAG8XnSt4W83c_4Kfg2cgINqjunVb3IiVchoz0LBzPn5IeQ34ZPla0A3PaE1P0CUFEAWh-4QL2X40EQ1ZM615rhVigf8u0u8wpLavL8nCEfSp-374Waxo4i7_Yvmozq0m4/s1600-h/_IGP3112.jpg"> <img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAJWMJtUg92FAG8XnSt4W83c_4Kfg2cgINqjunVb3IiVchoz0LBzPn5IeQ34ZPla0A3PaE1P0CUFEAWh-4QL2X40EQ1ZM615rhVigf8u0u8wpLavL8nCEfSp-374Waxo4i7_Yvmozq0m4/s320/_IGP3112.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237575090302649986" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1tty85bTydPbrW4mm2V7A4VteqQW_1bZ9TUZDukj9SnE_ppfyBCN8dKY1hs85_BlD_-OFsvM4erGQ37i0CLYafIb_00_Hxi06FpQF5vE7gW5XRSSCTTGSDCtI4qq5cq29Km4SAuO2gA/s1600-h/_IGP3114.jpg"> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5lSvxrhiNBaEWYy4rDcLux_QBeoV7lYWzjuxLv-AIwqvJUlq44jZbJgf31qv3jbfy7eq8Wg6tkhfePLDOb_Au7KLMTNZS1tcOn7rXaOHENivcVgVFf-Y6FzeSlWFZyfrCh9ON3_SAsLE/s1600-h/_IGP3113.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5lSvxrhiNBaEWYy4rDcLux_QBeoV7lYWzjuxLv-AIwqvJUlq44jZbJgf31qv3jbfy7eq8Wg6tkhfePLDOb_Au7KLMTNZS1tcOn7rXaOHENivcVgVFf-Y6FzeSlWFZyfrCh9ON3_SAsLE/s320/_IGP3113.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237575972420538338" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1tty85bTydPbrW4mm2V7A4VteqQW_1bZ9TUZDukj9SnE_ppfyBCN8dKY1hs85_BlD_-OFsvM4erGQ37i0CLYafIb_00_Hxi06FpQF5vE7gW5XRSSCTTGSDCtI4qq5cq29Km4SAuO2gA/s1600-h/_IGP3114.jpg"> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbW41ixFwIWlLiDkPsV_-f_0Iiw4eU4BkX4fAKPq5iDIx2FU3GV1Rw0ROYw3M5ILvV9SHmAosX1S-7FPhUJ7UnN4LJDII5FU9xn_ephV49j4CzL1xMw24OrewcjG-tm5p6FwZgqhFeG_U/s1600-h/_IGP3114.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbW41ixFwIWlLiDkPsV_-f_0Iiw4eU4BkX4fAKPq5iDIx2FU3GV1Rw0ROYw3M5ILvV9SHmAosX1S-7FPhUJ7UnN4LJDII5FU9xn_ephV49j4CzL1xMw24OrewcjG-tm5p6FwZgqhFeG_U/s320/_IGP3114.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237576402551615346" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">This a pretty quick and nasty example but with some experimentation and of diffuser and or bounce I will be able to produce some well lit photos.<br /></div></div><span style="font-size:85%;"></span>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-47900199057783369162008-08-22T22:10:00.008+09:002008-08-22T22:58:42.696+09:00Pinhead<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2786978980/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3217/2786978980_efeedfcb54.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br /></div><div style="padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Super Takumar 55 mm 1.8 : f/2.8 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/180</span></div><br />Testing out the Vivitar 285HV flash on the Pentax k10D, this photo had some ambient light and the Vivitar was bounced from the ceiling. I boosted the brightness contrast a little but nothing too dramatic. To speak the truth, I don't really know what I'm doing with the Vivitar but it's pretty easy to get some decent shots out of it. The colour codes; yellow, red, blue and purple start from lowest to highest power and I take a few test shots with the desired aperture and adjust from there. When using an open shutter, I use either yellow or red and for apertures 4 to 8 I use either blue or purple, pretty simple. I guess in time I'll learn how to use the exposure dial more effectively or be able to judge the scene I'm shooting anf control the light from there.<br /><br />I also recieved the <a href="http://photoshumi.blogspot.com/2008/08/cactus-v2s-wireless-flash-trigger.html">Cactus V2s</a> remote trigger / receiver today and tested a few shots with the Vivitar 285HV and Pentax K10D on Mr.Pinhead. Out of about 30 test shots, the flash fired 100% of the time, although the flash was no more than 40cm from the camera. The reason I say this is that I've read that the Cactus V2s can be somewhat unpredictable and shoot approx 8 out of 10 times as they are a little on the cheap side, depending on the distance.<br /><br />Here's one shot where I used a lamp to cast the elongated shadow and the off camera flash which was bounced off the ceiling as a fill light. The lamp casts terrible yellow light which I kind of fixed in post but still, the colours are pretty shitty.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggiDAhCiKiEvW_ujgCyPg4UK0WCn_kSeFU3KHFuCJwmdCszFLV6uNi1i36JXaBlzGBJHkjvtpaJOLi_VHMS0VlPvXUW70bip8zEL7poXoOvk7ALPhiGgGVJG7A0PziovR0A9hSMCAdKHo/s1600-h/_IGP3074.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggiDAhCiKiEvW_ujgCyPg4UK0WCn_kSeFU3KHFuCJwmdCszFLV6uNi1i36JXaBlzGBJHkjvtpaJOLi_VHMS0VlPvXUW70bip8zEL7poXoOvk7ALPhiGgGVJG7A0PziovR0A9hSMCAdKHo/s400/_IGP3074.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237335068391588626" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Super Takumar 55 mm 1.8 : f/5.6 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/180<br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOCF4yCoD9ON7CXPDd_Jy4jRGoXJML_m5mQ84yMujoVT_GcnuF6xNX5f70b4RAVHNyelaORmKko-w4t_aveiGIKiTInT5dVb7BdphgAnhkmTq0eymaG1M3hIJoqq-iNLscbKRdMXeM1z8/s1600-h/_IGP3074-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOCF4yCoD9ON7CXPDd_Jy4jRGoXJML_m5mQ84yMujoVT_GcnuF6xNX5f70b4RAVHNyelaORmKko-w4t_aveiGIKiTInT5dVb7BdphgAnhkmTq0eymaG1M3hIJoqq-iNLscbKRdMXeM1z8/s400/_IGP3074-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237337751493942946" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">This is the same image as above with a little post tweaking to really give it that creepy, horror touch, just how Pinhead likes it!</span><br /></div></div></div>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-46911313860183962742008-08-21T15:32:00.014+09:002008-08-27T09:42:31.447+09:00Online Photographic PortfolioWhere's the best place to show off your top work, the online photographic portfolio? The place where you weed out the shitty photos, group pools, comments and wanky rants by the photographer? The place where you see only the best photos from that photographer and basic information? Well, there are a few options out there and I'm going to list a few just for you, paid and free.<br /><br />One option is to get your own site/domain/hosting plan. For either a professional or budding enthusiast making a few dollars from their photographic skills, I think this would be the best option. Although this opton is the most editable it is more time consuming and you may want to have some basic html and web design skills but there's a lot of help on the net. I think a good setup would be to get the server space, make a domain name, download <a href="http://wordpress.org/">wordpress.org</a>'s free software or <a href="http://www.pixelpost.org/">pixelpost.org</a>'s software, create a portfolio with some free photoblog themes and a blog all on the same site. Use the blog to bullshit about shoots, ideas, hardware, etc and the portfolio to show your not only just talk, plus you'll probably have a flickr account too for networking. This all will cost you about $150 - $200 per year, not bad.<br /><br />The free way is just as effective but not as compact, it's a little more spread out, just like here at Photo Shumi. I'm running this blog from blogger.com, my everyday photos at are at flickr and my portfolio is at <a href="http://fotologue.jp/">fotologue</a>. So that's what I want to tell you about, a few cool websites that offer free hosting of your photos, have clean, uncluttered interfaces and are easy to view and navigate your photos.<br /><br />Personally, I recommend the Japanese run <a href="http://fotologue.jp/">fotologue</a> (don't worry, it's in English too). You get 20mb upload per month, a beautiful flash based dashboard and gallery and very fast uploading / viewing times. It is community based with comments, tagging and groups but it's not as full on as flickr where there's a group for every single topic known to humanity, at fotologue you can be fairly inconspicuous and use the gallery for showing off your work. And if you do happen to get into the community spirit, it's not clustered with shit photos and is quite inspiring to check out the other users. Look at my fotologue portfolio <a href="http://fotologue.jp/dandiaz/">here</a>.<br /><br />Another free website is <a href="http://www.aminus3.com/">Aminus 3</a> where you can post a photo a day, check out this portfolio by fellow gaijin <a href="http://mikecash.aminus3.com/">Mike Cash</a>. Again, it's simple in design and easy for viewers to navigate which is the most important thing when prospective clients may be wanting to check out your work. Could you imagine giving out your card and having someone trawl through your flickr gallery, not good. So that's why I recommend using something that is a little more pleasing to the eye and gives the viewer a chance to see your best work without interference.<br /><br />UPDATE : 27th 8th 2008<br /><br />I just remembered another cool site to show your portfolio as well as have a blog, check out <a href="http://www.uber.com">Uber</a>.Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-22360983246692803452008-08-21T12:48:00.008+09:002008-08-21T13:07:40.343+09:00Super Takumar 35mm f/3.5 - Lens TestAfter having this lens for a few days, I haven't had the chance to take a lot of photos with it but a few things I noticed is one, it's really small (more so than the SMC Takumar 28mm f/3.5) and two, it's very sharp, even wide open (f/3.5). Here's some size comparison shots to my other Takumar lenses.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9xjUSgYRPk1Pej_kyvqWu8FC3MwDJF6c7QRoT-xlxiZUv0CkPhLzepDLmBtXijFKyG5MJSanPCQFybtjps_J5kisvOsU7Sw6J7YWvf61mL_H0I1DD8TqwWS3hDw_saGgj2zoj123TBfQ/s1600-h/_IGP2913.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9xjUSgYRPk1Pej_kyvqWu8FC3MwDJF6c7QRoT-xlxiZUv0CkPhLzepDLmBtXijFKyG5MJSanPCQFybtjps_J5kisvOsU7Sw6J7YWvf61mL_H0I1DD8TqwWS3hDw_saGgj2zoj123TBfQ/s400/_IGP2913.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236813114293919314" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">In order of appearance : Super Takumar 135 3.5, Super Takumar 55mm 1.8, SMC Takumar 28mm 3.5 and Super Takumar 35mm 3.5</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">To make this a complete picket fence happy family, I'll need to adopt the 35mm 2, 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.9 and the 105mm 2.8.<br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyTmZKjZc5j2TxcoPyiBHzN1SpGBSfl5Mm0czTsNYCaZM6N4obadsSTE1p5nd-QIWshCX-2pyPvl0ln_Sml21rXQmBanJCFH4CliMGLpw4CDVapS-009GCUpNvhNGESWoTpLu1SJr_c8/s1600-h/_IGP2916.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyTmZKjZc5j2TxcoPyiBHzN1SpGBSfl5Mm0czTsNYCaZM6N4obadsSTE1p5nd-QIWshCX-2pyPvl0ln_Sml21rXQmBanJCFH4CliMGLpw4CDVapS-009GCUpNvhNGESWoTpLu1SJr_c8/s400/_IGP2916.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236813120553164482" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Super Takumar 35mm 3.5<br /><br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjukWTceTNAmCp_lIGSvXzklVraLF-btUNI7wgIlYlA_hCMNE9AKW37iW_hB-h0C3ap3sul7MQzahmVNzg349A0BAOYNJjTncN8833neHd_xDPeb2Zj11C9TO003E5d1_qeTkmlkO9eEsE/s1600-h/_IGP2918.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjukWTceTNAmCp_lIGSvXzklVraLF-btUNI7wgIlYlA_hCMNE9AKW37iW_hB-h0C3ap3sul7MQzahmVNzg349A0BAOYNJjTncN8833neHd_xDPeb2Zj11C9TO003E5d1_qeTkmlkO9eEsE/s400/_IGP2918.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236813125737677666" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Super Takumar 35mm 3.5<br /><br /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitidJiK0NgIgEjCeE8vZTGMuT16uIQBjzNGjE1zz2aF9N4pK0cDLO-N-9p1x9bTOQ3zaiB7UbjhUeUp9_AOrIqh7l2CfKujI7XZRdr4v-O_v7bZycDIZwzsF-dRkbPu4Bn4w1BSyDvx_A/s1600-h/_IGP2784.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitidJiK0NgIgEjCeE8vZTGMuT16uIQBjzNGjE1zz2aF9N4pK0cDLO-N-9p1x9bTOQ3zaiB7UbjhUeUp9_AOrIqh7l2CfKujI7XZRdr4v-O_v7bZycDIZwzsF-dRkbPu4Bn4w1BSyDvx_A/s400/_IGP2784.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236813129777452530" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">I did mention she was sharp right? Check out the 100% crop below (unedited).</span><br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5l6hqLH8GWR7dSmEx7TAJK4H1vGXgs23VBYD7LzA1OUYq5x8r4rNtz3ca9Y1x7-chsIm8hxCBoVtnMgPcnCIu70B__P8R36PrJzvbR0ODoCqpyWwkGGw9tx3HVcnW6Hk9UhyphenhyphenJAugsWZQ/s1600-h/35mmtak1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5l6hqLH8GWR7dSmEx7TAJK4H1vGXgs23VBYD7LzA1OUYq5x8r4rNtz3ca9Y1x7-chsIm8hxCBoVtnMgPcnCIu70B__P8R36PrJzvbR0ODoCqpyWwkGGw9tx3HVcnW6Hk9UhyphenhyphenJAugsWZQ/s400/35mmtak1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236814007348580738" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Nice threads huh?</span><br /></div>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-87045398533231055552008-08-20T15:35:00.002+09:002008-08-20T15:56:21.641+09:00The Selves<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://flickr.com/photos/figmental/2780780948/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3139/2780780948_61e975190b_b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">Super Takumar 35 mm 3.5 : f/5.6 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/180 sec (bounced off the ceiling)</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://flickr.com/photos/figmental/2780780948/"><br /><br /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">(<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3139/2780780948_61e975190b_b.jpg">view large</a>)</span><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://flickr.com/photos/figmental/2779923365/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3159/2779923365_56d6c8dfb8_b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">Super Takumar 35 mm 3.5 : f/5.6 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/180 sec (bounced off the ceiling)</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://flickr.com/photos/figmental/2780780948/"><br /><br /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">(<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3159/2779923365_56d6c8dfb8_b.jpg">view large</a>)<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://flickr.com/photos/figmental/2780780274/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3081/2780780274_1af3efbd57_b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">Super Takumar 35 mm 3.5 : f/5.6 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/180 sec (bounced off the ceiling)</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://flickr.com/photos/figmental/2780780948/"><br /><br /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">(<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3081/2780780274_1af3efbd57_b.jpg">view large</a>)</span><br /><br /></div><br />First real setup self portrait shot, others didn't really work out too well, especially when using a manual lens. I was also testing out my newly acquired Super Takumar 35mm f/3.f lens which I bought over at Pentax Forums Marketplace. Sorry about the model subject, I didn't really feel like taking photos of mundane things around the appartment and I was the only willing subject around :)<br /><br />Photos were taken with the Slik Pro 330 DX, Pentax wireless remote, Pentax K10D, Super Takumar 35mm 3.5 and Vivitar 285HV.Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-68544458267590110462008-08-20T08:46:00.009+09:002008-08-20T15:58:35.257+09:00Kenko Portmate A filterI was in my local camera shop yesterday, Kitamura Camera where they have a cheap bin with lens caps, straps, used filters, etc and sometimes I come across some decent stuff. So yesterday, I was looking for some 49mm protector filters for my Takumar lenses and happened to find a Kenko MC Portmate A filter, with box and case for <span style="font-size:100%;">¥</span>500 ($4.50 USD). I'm not sure if it's used but the filter's box is definitely old but the filter is immaculate.<br /><br />I couldn't find any English information on the web whatsoever, but quite a few in Japanese, so maybe the filter wasn't sold outside Japan. But basically it's a softening filter for portraits. Luckily, the instruction manual had both English and Japanese instructions so I scanned the English one for your viewing pleasure. It states that the Portmate A filter is for 85mm to 135mm lenses, so my Super Takumar 55mm (82.5mm with 1.5x crop factor) should be fine.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhonH8bbJdu2pYw0cWxFyEg1w8uHZMomihn5Wooqjrl0g7OLuhcz2JiMboefkG7_kGWJ-5xEFl5M52zEla1-wwS2pTdLnZBEzc-cEBZsKNUo3IHv_kcw8KGKsqmtCIebKfcWGflhQVnOOc/s1600-h/kenko.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhonH8bbJdu2pYw0cWxFyEg1w8uHZMomihn5Wooqjrl0g7OLuhcz2JiMboefkG7_kGWJ-5xEFl5M52zEla1-wwS2pTdLnZBEzc-cEBZsKNUo3IHv_kcw8KGKsqmtCIebKfcWGflhQVnOOc/s400/kenko.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236382506249644658" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-44871460091494919952008-08-19T17:09:00.015+09:002008-08-19T20:56:34.851+09:00Vivitar 285HV - First Impressions and Test ShotsSo...The Vivitar 285HV came today and of course, like a little girl when she gets her first boyfriend, I squealed in delight as my wife shook her head. First impression...<span style="font-weight: bold;">BIG!</span> Man this thing is huge, it actually dwarfs the K10D as if it were a little point and shoot, check this out.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1iuymyLQFLjehuaUvpQSIGdFtCHpoZ5bCA1m_edFb8m0fbjSHBLht6mIiBpEOwhXQ_MSP0I1czLn2ndJRilAQaCeuATRA3PU-746SASQ_p2-ndd6HS_AMTtYnGd2muNhx9cLi7qxDjI/s1600-h/IMG_1401.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1iuymyLQFLjehuaUvpQSIGdFtCHpoZ5bCA1m_edFb8m0fbjSHBLht6mIiBpEOwhXQ_MSP0I1czLn2ndJRilAQaCeuATRA3PU-746SASQ_p2-ndd6HS_AMTtYnGd2muNhx9cLi7qxDjI/s200/IMG_1401.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236190309725947874" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zAstJU0GqVvPzquZiSko8pEfz289XhlqaTi2n-kmA7LNVcVfqPgGJZXLEIFJoZHzkt2Bxu7erlyMsGrAhnvrCOUUSzl2Sry_59KLHfuXvoILRoPKiDqNolMcOAQRpmejP1iCJeSUMrI/s1600-h/IMG_1402.JPG"> <img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zAstJU0GqVvPzquZiSko8pEfz289XhlqaTi2n-kmA7LNVcVfqPgGJZXLEIFJoZHzkt2Bxu7erlyMsGrAhnvrCOUUSzl2Sry_59KLHfuXvoILRoPKiDqNolMcOAQRpmejP1iCJeSUMrI/s200/IMG_1402.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236190313790727858" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>So, after the initial shock of it's gargantuan size, I, unlike other barbarian men, actually read the manual. Then, after not understanding a thing, attached it to the K10D and started firing away until I kind of figured out what was going on. Then, I went back to the manual, did a little cross referencing and before I knew it, it was producing acceptable photos. Photos below were shot in RAW and are 100% unedited, click images to enlarge.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstWtulQN8cQme8cvoZID6Oew2hh1nf4_iTw_RnCj1CejyilZ_h5VlllvGbAANKoXRGjLoxYMKSzr6JxM2pKJGKCweI-QwQvcmrXn_lxbHLpuA4rIX-XvjL5A-vo3_d4kDZAlFG0RMJ48/s1600-h/_IGP2782.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstWtulQN8cQme8cvoZID6Oew2hh1nf4_iTw_RnCj1CejyilZ_h5VlllvGbAANKoXRGjLoxYMKSzr6JxM2pKJGKCweI-QwQvcmrXn_lxbHLpuA4rIX-XvjL5A-vo3_d4kDZAlFG0RMJ48/s400/_IGP2782.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236141761585482194" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Super Takumar 35 mm 3.5 : f/8 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/180 sec (bounced off the ceiling)<br /><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstWtulQN8cQme8cvoZID6Oew2hh1nf4_iTw_RnCj1CejyilZ_h5VlllvGbAANKoXRGjLoxYMKSzr6JxM2pKJGKCweI-QwQvcmrXn_lxbHLpuA4rIX-XvjL5A-vo3_d4kDZAlFG0RMJ48/s1600-h/_IGP2782.jpg"><br /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitW4LqJGUDMLX4Cz53dE9m6PSXpyDU23-E8YRvE4JIEg5JtOvZVpeFxQVUw9CBExG37PyuQ0DShIRDPQpo-mv8jfujI365F8O2tpbqoibJrOUzwCoWuDwuaZZ-ijfOvOjR5cKAzXF1DMU/s1600-h/_IGP2806.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitW4LqJGUDMLX4Cz53dE9m6PSXpyDU23-E8YRvE4JIEg5JtOvZVpeFxQVUw9CBExG37PyuQ0DShIRDPQpo-mv8jfujI365F8O2tpbqoibJrOUzwCoWuDwuaZZ-ijfOvOjR5cKAzXF1DMU/s400/_IGP2806.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236141764608716994" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Super Takumar 55 mm 1.8 : f/2.8 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/180 sec (bounced at 60</span>°<span style="font-size:85%;">)</span><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2Qp0oNOdqtGX6An22DR-tBDl5GpmsTw60bzlh1yMazN0I4jsy4lkFUu-uxhGaR01CDBxqfQWaiN8fMFE2u4_5nJea8q5gTCPLIrSbhvvIfY86XdQPQjm9JYW_u0h84EJYNKqFhMnJ90/s1600-h/_IGP2801.jpg"><br /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2Qp0oNOdqtGX6An22DR-tBDl5GpmsTw60bzlh1yMazN0I4jsy4lkFUu-uxhGaR01CDBxqfQWaiN8fMFE2u4_5nJea8q5gTCPLIrSbhvvIfY86XdQPQjm9JYW_u0h84EJYNKqFhMnJ90/s1600-h/_IGP2801.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2Qp0oNOdqtGX6An22DR-tBDl5GpmsTw60bzlh1yMazN0I4jsy4lkFUu-uxhGaR01CDBxqfQWaiN8fMFE2u4_5nJea8q5gTCPLIrSbhvvIfY86XdQPQjm9JYW_u0h84EJYNKqFhMnJ90/s400/_IGP2801.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236143853329382370" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Super Takumar 55 mm 1.8 : f/2.8 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/180 sec (bounced off the ceiling</span><span style="font-size:85%;">)</span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-hf32_28EkRcrDp1aghqTjG2VDrxz6SiGIpd1km-G6wnASdHk3J1t36b3YwfD9S1TN_Ql60KTbQXVL_Zz-NFLUBTXabDaMdIhU4VxaFFwcImB-ys9nDqZl-C3iir6BWu-mAjQVxfOSME/s1600-h/55mmtak.jpg"><br /><br /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-hf32_28EkRcrDp1aghqTjG2VDrxz6SiGIpd1km-G6wnASdHk3J1t36b3YwfD9S1TN_Ql60KTbQXVL_Zz-NFLUBTXabDaMdIhU4VxaFFwcImB-ys9nDqZl-C3iir6BWu-mAjQVxfOSME/s1600-h/55mmtak.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-hf32_28EkRcrDp1aghqTjG2VDrxz6SiGIpd1km-G6wnASdHk3J1t36b3YwfD9S1TN_Ql60KTbQXVL_Zz-NFLUBTXabDaMdIhU4VxaFFwcImB-ys9nDqZl-C3iir6BWu-mAjQVxfOSME/s400/55mmtak.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236141755110184370" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Above image at 100% - Just showing off the Super Takumar 55mm sharpness (check out that dust!)</span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">So after an hour or so of playing about the Vivitar 285HV</span> I came to the conclusion that I'm going to thoroughly enjoy taking my photography to a hopeful next level. And next week, when the Cactus V2s triggers come, it will be even more fun! I'll have a more thorough review/test in a few weeks.Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-91941663952042066092008-08-17T12:41:00.007+09:002008-09-01T19:46:03.271+09:00Cactus V2s Wireless flash TriggerAs I posted earlier, I'm awaiting the Vivitar 285HV Flash unit, hopefully it gets here tomorrow (Mon 18th). Even though the the flash will work directly with the Pentax K10D out of the box, the supplied cord allows for the flash to only be mounted on the camera which in my view, limits it's use.<br /><br />So what I've done on my limited budget is buy a <a href="http://www.gadgetinfinity.com/product.php?productid=16766&cat=274&page=1">Cactus V2s trigger and receiver</a> set from <a href="http://www.gadgetinfinity.com/home.php">Gadget Infinity</a> which cost $32.95 including postage and when buying through their <a href="http://stores.ebay.com/Gadget-Infinity_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZQ2d33QQftidZ2QQtZkm">ebay store</a>, you get a nifty little flash stand for free. I'm looking forward to playing with all my new toys I bought over the past few weeks (Super Takumar 35mm f/3.5, Vivitar 285HV and the Cactus VS2).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.angelfire.com/ex/intelogue/dicmf_3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.angelfire.com/ex/intelogue/dicmf_3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The idea of off camera flash to me is a little mind boggling (I'm a Visual Art grad), where radio transmitters, extension cords, PC sync cords all get in the way of getting the job done. But I watched a few YouTube movie tutorials by Photographer <span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.photo2dot0.com/">Chris Warkocki</a> </span><a href="http://jp.youtube.com/user/codiac2600" onmousedown="urchinTracker('/Events/VideoWatch/ChannelNameLink');" class="fn n contributor">(codiac2600</a>), also a Pentax Forums member where he talks about the K10D, Cactus V2s triggers and shooting in nightclubs or bars. Watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NEmufNi70w">Part 1</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5WEwsVvku8">Part 2</a> which gives you a good indication how easy and effective off camera flash photography is. Also, check out these <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5hTyVLYNZg">videos</a> (1 - 4) with a review of the Cactus VS2.Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-52268640547512075072008-08-17T12:15:00.003+09:002008-08-17T12:37:03.678+09:00Pic Lens - The FutureI've never posted info on on any new and fancy software or hardware but I feel that if I don't tell you about this you, your life and your online viewing experience will be somewhat empty. So, if your a firefox, Safari or IE user and love browsing photos online, download the free PicLens plugin from <a href="http://www.cooliris.com/">Cooliris</a> and your viewing experience will change for ever, it actually makes you feel cool, even when your not.<br /><br />I've been using PicLens for a few weeks now and love it. This plugin is absolutely essential, especially when viewing large quantaties of photos at flickr and perfect for viewing group pools. Download the latest version of PicLens <a href="http://www.cooliris.com/">here</a> for your browser.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAtNjG5P8dcHmBzC2cRZBhtNNGKqeM0NSC9UxCrpAA_lygS_sf9h5bwM3IntkDClEFGjA6ZzGBynLeRGEO2mrML2HGTAc-btLWFS9syCo883p2Pn2RzxIOHdlP2RbqO3zlTArqAcm1zjM/s1600-h/piclens1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAtNjG5P8dcHmBzC2cRZBhtNNGKqeM0NSC9UxCrpAA_lygS_sf9h5bwM3IntkDClEFGjA6ZzGBynLeRGEO2mrML2HGTAc-btLWFS9syCo883p2Pn2RzxIOHdlP2RbqO3zlTArqAcm1zjM/s400/piclens1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235324618149252482" border="0" /><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXPVfjrALhL_8GK_2RZ7x5Y7zvMq3ZU8Ozm1gOzwTNQ-rfpj-eOQGIfK5keUjtCM46U0pRFAWzQCqMMRBZyTCYdZCdxaKNWqENl2PYEVCFLicCLVnJqqI9NucdTac_cCcd9IRHOjoVMcU/s1600-h/piclens2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXPVfjrALhL_8GK_2RZ7x5Y7zvMq3ZU8Ozm1gOzwTNQ-rfpj-eOQGIfK5keUjtCM46U0pRFAWzQCqMMRBZyTCYdZCdxaKNWqENl2PYEVCFLicCLVnJqqI9NucdTac_cCcd9IRHOjoVMcU/s400/piclens2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235324620396132978" border="0" /><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDuOYWSY4VUbOV7QibYRrcHg8F9dXnPVWeJnSro6cv-pQ1ZB7lFKRyvxvQ0qISRqyhnIeVxOFZCLraKfLOUemvv4ttqIdqlXdYJ2RolqM-BoQyEPVXIO-SfI34a492q63w1otZ1wpOPY/s1600-h/piclens3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDuOYWSY4VUbOV7QibYRrcHg8F9dXnPVWeJnSro6cv-pQ1ZB7lFKRyvxvQ0qISRqyhnIeVxOFZCLraKfLOUemvv4ttqIdqlXdYJ2RolqM-BoQyEPVXIO-SfI34a492q63w1otZ1wpOPY/s400/piclens3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235324627558329890" border="0" /></a>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-60430472943452198812008-08-15T15:37:00.005+09:002008-08-19T17:58:08.830+09:00Fukuyama Matsuri #4<div style="padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2764755406/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3034/2764755406_cde493b453.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">Pentax M 50 mm 1.7 : f/1.7 (?) : ISO - 560 : Shutter - 1/180</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A beautiful woman should always be in focus and luckily, this one is. The reason I cropped the photo square was due to the distracting elements in the background which took away from the young lady and her graceful movements. This is one of the few photos of the night that were actually well exposed and in focus.<br /><br />On another note, I also found the Pentax M 50mm 1.7 a little difficult to focus while 1: under pressure as my mother-in-law wanted to see every photo I took on the LCD, 2: lack of light and 3: The M 50mm lens focusing ring is smaller than the Super Takumar 55mm 1.8.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></span></div></div></div>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-91382110703322442472008-08-15T15:08:00.007+09:002008-08-19T17:57:02.434+09:00Fukuyama Matsuri #6<div style="padding: 3px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2764754826/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3194/2764754826_08d66e8fdd.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%;">Pentax M 50 mm 1.7 : f/4 (?) : ISO - 400 : Shutter - .7 sec</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This is one of the images that even though interesting, I had trouble with taking </span>in<span style="font-size:100%;"> focus photos of the issues I mention in the last post. It's a little more artistic and which makes it hard to see what it is (Japanese men dancing at a Matsuri). The sense of movement, tone and use of available light along with some post processing makes this one of the better shots of the evening.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></div></div>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-33108462879884581542008-08-14T17:06:00.008+09:002008-08-14T17:39:35.416+09:00Vivitar 285HVI went shooting last night at the Fukuyama <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_festivals">Matsuri</a> (summer festival) to take photos of all the Japanese dancers in the street and got some pretty horrible results using just the K10D and with <a href="http://photoshumi.blogspot.com/search/label/Pentax%20M%2050mm%201.7">Pentax M 50mm 1.7</a>. Even though I got some interesting shots, not many were in focus as I was shooting with such a large aperture (f/1.7) because of the low light or with smaller aperture (f/8) with a high ISO (digital noise), so basically I needed a flash!<br /><br />Slightly pissed off, I started researching flashes and came across many references and referrals to the Vivitar 285HV, a cheaper alternative to other more expensive brands such as Pentax, Sigma, Metz and Sunpak. I decided to order one from ebay at <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=310073835535">John's Camera Store</a> for $89.00 USD which seemed pretty damn reasonable to me as I just can't justify spending more on a flash. It should get here in a few days and I'll post some pics, thoughts, opinions and troubles in the coming weeks.<br /><br />In the meantime, here are two reviews on the Vivitar 285HV at <a href="http://strobist.blogspot.com/2007/02/return-of-classic.html">Strobist</a> and <a href="http://www.popphoto.com/lighting/3983/vivitar-285hv-review.html">PopPhoto</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPYA1-28Z5L3JnEC8Ii2fYT-oOhc-cUIKTlgLjf0MPg99IrXhGygjV2g6wfiGZ8DHrZ6gCbm58_AjkHDpFo-lgw1XmyhiegAkXPxDW_lqGmkgFkRgFm8GCjdI_oMFL6gMfAt5bpCiveAU/s1600-h/viv.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPYA1-28Z5L3JnEC8Ii2fYT-oOhc-cUIKTlgLjf0MPg99IrXhGygjV2g6wfiGZ8DHrZ6gCbm58_AjkHDpFo-lgw1XmyhiegAkXPxDW_lqGmkgFkRgFm8GCjdI_oMFL6gMfAt5bpCiveAU/s400/viv.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234281881267193122" border="0" /></a>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-91908828718950569292008-08-13T14:38:00.006+09:002008-08-13T15:32:00.458+09:00Pentax FA 28-105 f/3.2 SOLD - Super Takumar 35mm f/3.5 BOUGHT!Finally sold the FA 28-105 f/3.2 over at the <a href="http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/photographers-marketplace/">Pentax Forums Marketplace</a> for just under what I asked, overall very happy as I can now spend some money on more Takumar lenses. I'm actually going to miss this lens as it's very versatile and capable, hopefully it's new owner will enjoy using it as much as I did.<br /><br />I decided while the money was coming through PayPal, I'd buy a Super Takumar 35mm f/3.5 from a fellow <a href="http://www.pentaxforums.com/">Pentax Forums</a> member. Here are some images of the lens I'm buying. Looks like it's in very good condition and can't wait to start shooting with it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3190/2758403749_c4701ef9d8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3190/2758403749_c4701ef9d8.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3121/2759244504_cce24faf0e.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3121/2759244504_cce24faf0e.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377228563402182873.post-89004060762139365092008-08-13T08:25:00.003+09:002008-08-13T13:42:53.081+09:00Where I Used To Be<div style="padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/figmental/2756829130/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3012/2756829130_c716ab01d0.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Super Takumar 55 mm 1.8 : f/1.8 : ISO - 280 : Shutter - 1/10</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I think this photo has an interesting, dark and moody feel to it especially due to the lighting, glass and tone. I'd like to take some more photos behind this frosted glass as I think it produces some really interesting shapes and shadows.<br /></div></div></div>Danny Diazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471477242812540977noreply@blogger.com