tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57525663051389806272023-03-20T00:16:00.407-07:00A Year in PhotosDavid Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.comBlogger449125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-13777070439855222192022-09-25T10:00:00.000-07:002022-09-25T10:00:57.817-07:00Canon F-1N Review and Sample Photos<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i9.ytimg.com/vi/zW-06SVsXNk/default.jpg?sqp=CMyuhuUF&rs=AOn4CLAmYNpA_0jm-UHa41oPnf5dGfRx0A" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://youtu.be/y8nR252pVhE?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4">We are not the artifice we present to the world. The version of ourselves that we place on display is, for most of us, not truly reflective of who we are when we are alone. That who we are when alone, that is the person we are most close to actually being. Whether we like being alone or not, that speaks volumes about how well we have nurtured who we are and how well we like who we are. In silence we hear our actual self, the insecurities, fear, concerns, and worries, or the hopes, expectations, plans, and ideally our creative visions. What we hear in our times with silence speaks to who we actually are, stripped of the face we display for others. In that silence of our time away from others we hear, if we choose to listen, the voice within us that tries to quietly guide us to who we can be. That quiet voice needs quiet to be heard, it needs stimulation to grow. Given time to develop, that voice can become louder, loud enough even to be the voice that we hear come from ourselves when we share spaces and time with others.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4"><br /></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4">https://photos.smugmug.com/12-29-19-Canon-F-1N/i-QRGzvQJ/0/64ed0e01/X4/12-29-19%20F-1N%20Portra%20160%20%2810%29-X4.jpg</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4"><br /></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4">Silence, and our embrace of it, are prerequisite to our creative drive. Embracing the quietude of a small space, maybe our living rooms, or a large space, maybe at the shore of a still pond, trains us to listen for that creative voice inside. For me, that silent space is solitude in nature, a complete aloneness where silence is not mute but filled with the calls of crickets and frogs, the woodwind-like background of gentle wind caressing tree branches, creaks like a string instrument from those swaying trees, the soft timpani of wind on a quiet lake and the slide and tap like wire brushes on a snare drum when small, wind-driven waves reach shore. Silence is not just being alone with the electric hum of our nervous system. Silence can, and should be, a place where the fullness of solitude reaches through us and shapes us into something new. Silence can help us become more human, become the person we can be, something that exceeds the sum of our parts and experiences.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4"><br /></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4">https://photos.smugmug.com/12-29-19-Canon-F-1N/i-FFjntw9/0/584b20f5/X3/12-29-19%20F-1N%20Portra%20400%20%2830%29-X3.jpg</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4"><br /></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4">When does a camera become a camera? Is it when the last screw is put into it at the factory? When the first owner takes it in his or her hands and excitedly starts to learn how to use it? Does it not become a camera until it takes its first photo? When it gets its first scratch? Maybe not until the first time someone calls it “my camera.” Does it become a camera at some other time, some moment when the nature of it defies basic definition, allows the object to expand beyond its object-ness, into something more than the sum of the parts, more the function of the design.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4"><br /></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4">https://photos.smugmug.com/12-29-19-Canon-F-1N/i-zhbwnrp/0/3182c448/X3/12-29-19%20F-1N%20Portra%20160%20%2820%29-X3.jpg</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4"><br /></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4">There are cameras for which their use is special. There’s a certain click with them, a unique and undefinable attribute, a soul, that makes using them an experience that transcends rote or routine photography. The F-1N is not one of those cameras. It does not drink home-made kombucha and discuss mysticism. It is a Lexus, not an Alpha Romeo; an efficient corporation, not a quirky non-profit; and a river, not an ephemeral stream. The F-1N is all-business, factual, blunt, and when these cameras work correctly they are reliable, take very good pictures, and do exactly what is needed without getting in the photographer’s way. And as I’ve said in many reviews, that’s what a camera should do and that means that the F-1N ticks all the important boxes for me about what makes a good camera. To that end, this camera became a camera when the final drawing was signed, the final specification approved, the final prototype modified the final time, before the first of the production units ever arrived as parts from multiple suppliers to be compiled into a single piece designed to serve a single function.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4"><br /></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4">https://photos.smugmug.com/12-26-19-Canon-F-1N/i-v7mXjCp/0/df8e9726/X3/12-26-19%20F-1N%2050D%20%2811%29-X3.jpg</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4"><br /></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4">The engineers and designers who develop cameras, in my mind, create the best product they can based on their understanding of photographers’ needs, or the way in which their marketing department plans to sell the gear. I tend to think that they design something to be the best it can be and then send it out into the world to make its mark. I think that all creativity works in the same way. This includes the creative time and energy we put into ourselves, the time we spend embracing the fullness of silence when we can find it, and the resulting deepness that brings out from within us.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4"><br /></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4">https://photos.smugmug.com/4-25-20-Canon-F-1N/i-KNvPcQv/0/5bf856c1/X3/4-22-20%20Canon%20F-1N%20400H%20%289%29-X3.jpg</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4"><br /></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4">What is the nature of creating and creativity? As a creator, as someone who labors to improve his writing and photography, as someone who spent seven years learning to craft the written word, I like to think I have a special insight into this subject. The nature of creativity is repetition and practice infused with mistakes and corrections. Creativity is a spark, sure, an idea that stems at a point in our brains unreachable through even the most concentrated thought, audible only when we learn to listen for it. But that spark is nothing without work, time, and diligence. That creative moment, that point at which an idea commences, dies quickly without support. Creativity unfed by time, effort, and work is like a person unfed and in time that creativity will weaken and die.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4"><br /></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4">https://photos.smugmug.com/12-26-19-Canon-F-1N/i-tG88m6B/0/77d0eecc/X4/12-26-19%20F-1N%2050D%20%2823%29-X4.jpg</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4"><br /></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4">You’ve likely heard the cliché ‘the creative process.’ And it’s a cliché because it is true, because creativity is never a destination, never a goal that can be achieved. Forever it will be a process that will lead you wherever you’d like to go with it, for good or ill. The tools of creation are not enough. Creation is an act that uses tools. Shelves full of cameras that collect dust will never advance a creative effort without use. Find a reliable camera. Find a few good lenses. Find a place in which you can embrace a bountiful silence. Find in yourself the voice you can release, the voice that has something to say. It is there waiting to be heard, waiting to be fed, waiting to guide you, and waiting for that moment when you hear it, lift your camera to your eyes, and create something of value.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4"><br /></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><font face="georgia" size="4">https://photos.smugmug.com/12-26-19-Canon-F-1N/i-KTr49cm/0/02d67d31/X3/12-26-19%20F-1N%20400H%20%2825%29-X3.jpg</font></p><div style="text-indent: 48px;"><br /></div>David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-53372406419263877742019-04-03T08:00:00.000-07:002019-04-03T08:00:01.611-07:00Ondu 6x6 Mk II Review and Photos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i9.ytimg.com/vi/zW-06SVsXNk/default.jpg?sqp=CMyuhuUF&rs=AOn4CLAmYNpA_0jm-UHa41oPnf5dGfRx0A" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zW-06SVsXNk?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ondu 6X6 MK II Review</b></span></div>
<br />
What is a camera, in its most basic, most fundamental level? When a camera works, when we use it, the camera-ness of it, I argue, is fundamentally different than the camera-ness it exudes when we talk about it or look at it. When we talk about or look at cameras, they should look and be like cameras, which is to say recognizable as the tool and – in a perfect world – aesthetically pleasing in and of themselves. As an object of conversation or aesthetic appreciation, the camera should garner attention and get in the way of our thoughts and conversations. When a camera does that, it succeeds as an object.<br />
<br />
When we use a camera, however, the purpose and camera-ness is, and must be, different in nature. When we use a camera it should melt, or erode. The camera-ness of a camera in use should be to become an extension of ourselves, to be forgotten as we use it. A camera in use should feel non-existent, immaterial, perhaps it should even feel like it does not exist. When a camera does that, it succeeds as a tool.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-29-18-Ondu-6X6/i-nR6hK6T/0/6f673c3d/X2/Ondu%20Ektar%20(3)-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-29-18-Ondu-6X6/i-nR6hK6T/0/6f673c3d/X2/Ondu%20Ektar%20(3)-X2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ondu 6X6 Mk II | Benton Hot Springs Bungalo | Kodak Ektar</span></b></div>
<br />
The Ondu is certainly a striking camera to look at. The curved lines, contrasting wood tones, simple and functional design. These aspects make it much more of a conversation piece than any other camera I’ve used. The Ondu gets as many questions and conversations from strangers as my Anniversary Graphic and Pentax 6X7. The Ondu stands out and succeeds as an object to be discussed.<br />
<br />
But when I use it, perhaps because of its Spartan simplicity, the camera melts away and all that exists are photographer, scene, and composition. During an image sighting and exposure, the Ondu evaporates into vapor, leaves the scene, and allows the photographer to exist in a vacuum with the subject. The Ondu stands out as a success as a tool to be used.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-31-18-Ondu-6X6/i-cPBmDr9/0/1f7a19b7/X2/Ondu%206X6%20Velvia%20(3)-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-31-18-Ondu-6X6/i-cPBmDr9/0/1f7a19b7/X2/Ondu%206X6%20Velvia%20(3)-X2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ondu 6X6 Mk II | Vail, Colorado | Fuji Velvia 50</span></b></div>
<br />
We load film into cameras. The important parts of that film are kept in perfect darkness until the briefest flash imprints an image into their emulsions. Humans, by our DNA, fear the dark. We fear the unknown. We want to know what will happen and what has happened. Digital cameras make that easy. We take a photo and in a seconds we can see the result. We keep our film in the dark, the very place we fear. The history of photography is one of bringing ourselves into the light, to make the images we capture more predictable and to never have to fear the results.<br />
<br />
Pinhole photography strips us of that safety. Pinhole cameras thrust us into the dark alongside our film. We don’t know if the images will turn out. There’s no digital preview, no viewfinder, no reflex mirror to show us what we’ve take or what we will take. We can place, align, and then hope that we have both the scene and the exposure correct. We are in the dark about the results our film will deliver until we see the developed negatives. Pinhole photographers embrace the fear of failure, the lack of knowledge about our imagery’s success or lack thereof.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/2-7-18-Ondu/i-hN6455M/0/36e17b9c/X2/Ondu%20CN200%20(2)-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/2-7-18-Ondu/i-hN6455M/0/36e17b9c/X2/Ondu%20CN200%20(2)-X2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ondu 6X6 Mk II | Valley Oak | Rollei Digibase Color Negative 200</span></b></div>
<br />
Pinhole work embraces a soft, anti-technical aesthetic. That doesn’t mean that pinhole photographers are sloppy or imprecise; in fact, we have to be more careful and more precise than any photographer using an automatic camera. We accept and embrace soft aesthetic as a reward to a precision image capture process.<br />
<br />
Ondu has an aim: simple use and beautiful design that connect photographers to the roots of our photographic history with a camera that will outlive us. That’s exactly what each generation of their progressively better cameras deliver: A way for photographers to walk in the artistic footsteps of all the lensless photographers to come before us. A way for photographers to embrace the dark, embrace the fear, and when we get our results, see that there was nothing to fear in the first place.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-30-18-Ondu-6X6/i-tMQDNFp/0/59f340ea/X2/10-30-18%20Ondu%206X6%20PanF%20R%2B80%20(5)-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-30-18-Ondu-6X6/i-tMQDNFp/0/59f340ea/X2/10-30-18%20Ondu%206X6%20PanF%20R%2B80%20(5)-X2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ondu 6X6 Mk II | Joshua Tree National Park | Ilford PanF+ 50</span></b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-32380280513883892212018-08-06T08:30:00.000-07:002018-08-06T08:30:00.917-07:00Bronica S2A Review and Photos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i9.ytimg.com/vi/KvhObrYPJSA/default.jpg?sqp=CKjzkdsF&rs=AOn4CLCTfsv7aulKKEzWeFy-aJkCqBMMIw" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KvhObrYPJSA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Many beautiful things have difficult births or origins
beset with strife. Ireland’s great artistic blossoming occurred after famine.
America’s great technological growth followed on the heels of multiple wars.
Throughout the history of mainland Europe, the greatest periods of artistic and
scientific advancement followed strife or natural disasters. Because, for
humanity, challenge is a necessary catalyst for creation. And, excepting the
1964 Ford Mustang, creations of true beauty take time, revision, hours, and
great and prolonged thought.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Form, shape, and feel are classic words used
throughout the last half century to describe cameras and their use. A modern,
and I argue better word, is interface. Interface grabs all the older concepts
and bundles them into a nice, tidy package. For the last half century, camera
reviewers have gotten a lot right about describing how to use a camera. What
they consistently fail to do, even what the nice little bundle of concepts in the
word interface fails to do, is move beyond a description of the way that a
photographer uses a camera to discuss the way that a photographer connects with
their camera.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/4-16-18-S2A/i-RcjPkFc/0/694e3da0/X2/S2A%20CN200%20(7)-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="800" height="315" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/4-16-18-S2A/i-RcjPkFc/0/694e3da0/X2/S2A%20CN200%20(7)-X2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="height: 0px;">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rose | Bronica S2a | Nikon Nikkor 25cm f/4 | Rollei Digibase Color Negative 200</span></b><br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">No one word better conveys all the myriad
aspects of that concept than connection. A connection is an easy concept to
understand. A connection, sure, is plugging a lamp into a wall. But it’s more. We
feel a connection when we look across the bar at someone and our eye contact
lasts a little longer than might be expected. We make a connection with a firm
handshake and a greeting. We build, strengthen, and maintain our connections
when we invest our time, thoughts, and emotions. Connections, true and honest
and real connections, the kind that last years or decades, have difficult
origins beset with happenstance, conflict, and challenges. A true connection is
a thing of great beauty and value, whether it is with a person, a wild animal,
or a camera.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On January 17, 1952, Zenzaburo Yoshino began
the design of a lifelong dream, construction of an amazing and innovative
camera. Seven years later, in 1959, the first Bronica met the world. Seven
years. Long enough to go through college and graduate school. Almost twice as
long as the average time that people today stay at an employer. Entire stock
market cycles can occur in seven years. A child can progress from birth to the
completion of second grade in seven years. Think about your life over the last
seven years, where you were seven years ago, who you were seven years ago, and
ask what in your life is recognizable today from then. Through that lens, a
seven-year design cycle on a vision, a dream, an unproven product from a
company that had previously made nothing more complicated than a cigarette
lighter, becomes a rare and beautiful venture, likely beset with challenges,
strife, and hardship. Nothing like that could happen in the camera world today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/5-12-18-S2A/i-L7RbwCz/0/c558c1b1/X2/CineStill%20800T%20S2A%20(21)-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="800" height="315" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/5-12-18-S2A/i-L7RbwCz/0/c558c1b1/X2/CineStill%20800T%20S2A%20(21)-X2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Creek | Bronica S2a | Nikon Nikkor 25cm f/4 | CineStill 800T</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">From that seven years of design and
engineering, Bronica created one of the most beautifully designed cameras ever
put into mass production. From where I sit, I am unaware of a more attractive
6X6 camera. The Bronica, like many of the gorgeous mid-to-late fifties designs
from Japan, channeled both the classical elements of traditional Japanese
design while embracing the best parts of contemporary Western design.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In one of my favorite personal essays,
Junichiro Tanizaki’s “In Praise of Shadows,” Tanizaki writes “There are those
who hold that to quibble over matters of taste in the basic necessities of life
is an extravagance, that as long as a house keeps out the cold and as long as
food keeps off starvation, it matters little what they look like.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/5-4-18-S2A/i-PrXgRx2/0/23364928/X2/S2A%20Velvia%2050%20(7)-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/5-4-18-S2A/i-PrXgRx2/0/23364928/X2/S2A%20Velvia%2050%20(7)-X2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Insects in Light | Bronica S2a | Zenzanon 80mm f/2.4 | Fuji Velvia 50</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I say let us be extravagant. Let us quibble
over matters of taste in camera design. The Bronica S and C cameras have clean,
flowing lines that simultaneously channel and improve on both art deco and
mid-century modern aesthetics. Those design aesthetics are filtered through the
eye of one of the last generations who could have heard stories from people who
lived before Japan opened itself to the West. I would argue that in the same way
that nostalgia influences the designs of modern cars, camera, buildings, and
clothes, a nostalgia for a simpler time in Japan, for a more traditional
Japanese design aesthetic, had to influence the Bronica’s design.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Bronica arose from mid-century Japan, a
time when Japan was coming of its own on the international stage and
transitioning from the classic Japan of modern folklore to the Japan that we
would recognize today. Against that backdrop, while other Japanese camera makers
were busy cloning German cameras, Zenzaburo Yoshino was designing his own.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/6-12-18-S2A/i-HMKvZXz/0/59b963dc/X2/Delta%203200%20L110%20S2A%20(8)-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/6-12-18-S2A/i-HMKvZXz/0/59b963dc/X2/Delta%203200%20L110%20S2A%20(8)-X2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Soft Focus Grasses after Fire | Bronica S2a | Zenzanon 80mm f/2.4 | Ilford Delta 3200</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tanizaki later in the same paragraph I’ve
already read from, goes on to ask of the Japanese people, “Suppose for instance
that we had developed our own physics and chemistry: would not the techniques
and industries based on them have taken a different form…” I say, suppose, for
instance, that a camera aficionado took it upon himself to design a camera from
scratch using design and engineering principles clearly Japanese in origin.
Would not that camera take a different form, with sensibilities that tastefully
and thoughtfully incorporate components in places and with clean lines that
facilitate use and hide the vulgarity of obviousness that thoughtless design
embraces? Would not that much more Japanese design have looked outwardly
elegant and simple, yet be and operated in a manner second nature to the
photographer?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The S2A’s user interface is refined to simplify
and streamline every operation. The lens mount and mirror are engineered to
make the camera as small as possible for the film format. The engineering goes
to great lengths to keep the camera body thin and to allow the camera to nest
well in almost anyone’s hands.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/5-12-18-S2A/i-pQGBmdm/0/95de98cf/X2/S2A%20Delta%203200%20(6)-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/5-12-18-S2A/i-pQGBmdm/0/95de98cf/X2/S2A%20Delta%203200%20(6)-X2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Three Reeds | Bronica S2a | Nikkor 105mm f/3.5 Leaf Shutter | Ilford Delta 3200</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Beautiful design divides people. Beautiful
design creates camps of those who love and those who hate, often with little
middle ground. There are large swathes of people who hate the S2A, write it off
as derivative of Hasselblad and with a dimmer focusing screen. And there are
those photographers who have picked up an S2A, felt a connection, and realized
that a camera is more than a light-proof box with some round glass slapped on
the front. I’ll paraphrase one of my friends, a devout Hasselblad man, from a
few months ago. “If I had come across the Bronica at the same time as the
Hasselblad instead of just now, I would be a Bronica user.” And the reason for
that is simple: with Bronica, the camera’s connection with the photographer is
primary and dictates the camera’s construction. With other similar systems, the
camera’s engineering and placement of gears and cams dictates the camera’s
construction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The S2A was designed to allow as many potential
uses for as many people as possible, to gift the photographer with the ability
to create beyond the typical bounds of camera design. Truly, the Bronica S2A is
not the sum of thoughtfulness, features, and design that defined its origin.
No, the S2A is made more substantial, more complete, by the creativity and
ingenuity which a connection with this camera inspires and encourages in the
photographer.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/5-4-18-S2A/i-t8TDdc6/0/fc495496/X2/S2A%20Velvia%2050%20(6)-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/5-4-18-S2A/i-t8TDdc6/0/fc495496/X2/S2A%20Velvia%2050%20(6)-X2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">House on Hill | Bronica S2a | Nikon Nikkor 25cm f/4 | Fuji Velvia 50</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-76229925396688853362018-07-16T20:53:00.000-07:002018-07-16T20:53:45.789-07:00Pentax K-1 Review and Photos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MwJBHUqcY7A/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MwJBHUqcY7A?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/6-25-17-K-1/i-CWHML5b/0/fce6ba06/X2/Flower%20(29)%20B-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/6-25-17-K-1/i-CWHML5b/0/fce6ba06/X2/Flower%20(29)%20B-X2.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Purple Flower | Pentax K-1 | Pentax D-FA 100mmf/2.8 Macro</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pentax fans waited 15 years to finally see a full-frame
Pentax DSLR. With every new flagship announcement starting with the K-7,
Pentaxian got their hopes up that maybe this would finally be their full-frame
camera. And each time the new flagship specs leaked, it turned out to be another,
albeit impressive, APS-C body. Hoya provided scant and coy details about any
full frame plans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ricoh, when they
bought the Pentax brand, assured Pentaxians that full frame had a future, but
that it had to be the right future. And then Pentaxians would see another APS-C
body, wring their hands, spit out swears at Hoya or Ricoh, and rush to Pentax
Forums to write diatribes about leaving the Pentax brand for Nikon. When the
K-1 arrived, Pentaxians, like cave dwellers exiting into the sun for the first
time, saw it, blinked, and realized their full frame camera had found the right
future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the year that I’ve had the K-1, it has become my digital
workhorse. I’ve used it for indoor sports shoots, beach trips, a LOT of
tabletop studio work, pet photos, astrophotography, portraits, and other work.
In the last year, I’ve put only 20,000 photos on the camera, far less than
expected, and that’s largely due to the substantial amount of film I’m shooting
for the All About Film series on this channel. However, every time I use the
K-1 it’s a joy and any time I take a film camera with me I look at the K-1’s
case and ask if I really want to shoot film that day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-3-17-K-1/i-n7TrWqj/0/00dc24ed/L/Coins-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-3-17-K-1/i-n7TrWqj/0/00dc24ed/L/Coins-L.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Martini Money Shot | Pentax K-1 | Pentax D-FA 100mmf/2.8 Macro</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have not used a better digital camera than the K-1. I will
not go so far as to say that I have never used a better camera than the K-1,
though. Even with a year of using the K-1, the jury is still out on whether I
think this is the best camera I’ve ever used. It’s great, but the greatness is
offset by some limitations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The K-1 has some amazing capabilities. The pictures in this
slide show should tell you something about the camera. The sensor is stunningly
sharp. The colors are vivid, luminous, rich, and bright. And at 36 megapixels,
the images carry a sublime level of detail and, at their native, in-camera 300 dpi
resolution, print poster-sized images from an uncropped original with no quality
loss. The K-1, at 300 dpi, can make prints that rival, or often best, the 645 medium-format
film cameras that were the staple of professional photographers for decades.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/8-12-17-K-1/i-Qfw4zsM/0/4bd41c28/X2/Bunk%20House-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="634" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/8-12-17-K-1/i-Qfw4zsM/0/4bd41c28/X2/Bunk%20House-X2.jpg" width="253" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Milky Way over the Bunk House | Pentax K-1 | Pentax FA Limited 31mm f/1.8</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What these photos won’t tell you is that the raw files have
more exposure compensation correction latitude than Photoshop CS6 can provide. These
photos won’t tell you that the images from the K-1 habitually need less work in
post than comparable images from every camera I’ve used before this one, and a
lot of that has to do with how well the sensor works and how well the software
in the camera pairs with the light meter. For almost all imagery needs, this
camera is a magnificent creation and will far outpace the needs of almost
anyone who picks it up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The flip-out screen is interface and engineering genius. The
photographer should be behind the camera and the screen can be seen from behind
it very well, at any angle the photographer could possibly need to use. No it
doesn’t flip forward. But if a flip-out screen that allows you to take selfies
with your DSLR is a requirement, it might be worth asking if maybe a smartphone
is a better option. Spoiler alert: It is. Photographers stand behind their cameras.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/5-28-18-K-1/i-qZJXLGW/0/64e2f48d/L/DHK16818-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/5-28-18-K-1/i-qZJXLGW/0/64e2f48d/L/DHK16818-L.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Western Fence Lizard and Fly | Pentax K-1 | Pentax D-FA 100mmf/2.8 Macro</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For photographers looking at the K-1, I’ve found that it is
very well suited for studio, tabletop, product, food, macro, portrait,
architecture, astrophotography, and landscape work. It would also work well for
reproducing or creating archival digital files of artwork and important
documents, especially in pixel-shift mode. And if you want to use a pixel-shift
image for forensic analyses of documents, artwork, or even injuries, the K-1’s
150-megabyte pixel-shifted raw files contain so much data that the output will
be surprising when backed with good image analysis skills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The build quality is amazing and the K-1 can take some
decent bangs and bumps without issue. But for the build strength, it’s light
enough that it won’t break your back hiking with it, but I say this as someone
who routinely hikes with all-mechanical medium- and large-format cameras, so my
perspective on what’s heavy for hiking may be skewed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/5-20-18-K-1/i-3kPb8P8/0/02d2a9cd/X2/DHK16640-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/5-20-18-K-1/i-3kPb8P8/0/02d2a9cd/X2/DHK16640-X2.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tobie | Pentax K-1 | Pentax FA Limited 77mm f/1.8</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The K-1 is not a perfect camera and I have some frustrations.
The camera’s frame rates are way too slow for sports and action work. The video
output is HD, not the 4K it should be, and the HD is a bit lackluster in the
highlight detail. The AF is the best Pentax has ever released, but that’s like
winning a third-tier baking contest at the county fair – sure, it’s the best
one there, but no one cares.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But chief among my frustrations, and this frustration is
very challenging for me because rectifying it would mean sacrificing one of my
favorite aspects of the camera, is the 36-megapixel sensor. I love the photos
from this sensor, but my computer is seven years old and editing photos from
the K-1 taxes it. If you buy a K-1 and plan to edit pixel-shifted, or even
normal, raw files, anticipate a computer upgrade if you haven’t done so
recently. That doesn’t mean buy a new computer, but you may need to help your
existing computer out a bit. To help my computer keep up with the K-1, I maxed
out my RAM, upgraded my photo editing hard drive to a faster model with a
larger cache so that I could store the K-1’s images and allow Photoshop the
space is needs for scratch disk space, and put an additional cooling fan in the
case specifically for the RAM. The files have so much data that until I added
the new fan, my RAM and processor were overheating and crashing the computer if
I edited too many K-1 photos. And all of that means, too, that the computer
needs more air and now traps a lot more dust, so it needs more frequent
cleaning. These are some of the real-world consequences to getting a camera
with a ludicrous number of megapixels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/3-17-18-K-1/i-dPGbwc5/0/77ea7f14/L/Dancer%20(2)-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="800" height="214" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/3-17-18-K-1/i-dPGbwc5/0/77ea7f14/L/Dancer%20(2)-L.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dancer in Smoke | Pentax K-1 | Pentax D-FA 100mmf/2.8 Macro</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So if you have an old computer, plan to budget for some
replacement or upgrade parts in addition to this camera when you set your money
aside. If you shoot photos in any meaningful quantity, or do any high-end
editing, your old computer will run out of storage space and the performance
will suffer quickly under the weight of the K-1’s files.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And speaking of slow computers, the K-1’s on-board computer
is underpowered, like the camera needs a tugboat but it got a strong dude in a
canoe. The camera’s drive mode speeds, relative ease with which the K-1
underruns its buffer, especially when shooting in raw, and the time needed to
clear the buffer when it fills all reflect this underpowered processing
capacity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/1-27-18-K-1/i-Kz6FM3x/0/e83a6762/L/Flyball%20(14)-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/1-27-18-K-1/i-Kz6FM3x/0/e83a6762/L/Flyball%20(14)-L.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flyball Dog | Pentax K-1 | Pentax FA Limited 77mm f/1.8</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And Ricoh could have solved both of these problems – the
significant computing power needed to edit K-1 photos and the lackluster
on-board computer performance – with one simple move: fewer megapixels. Even a
12- or 16-megapixel full frame sensor is more than most people need. A smaller
sensor would have alleviated the processing strain for owners’ computers. A
smaller sensor would have allowed the camera’s buffer to last far longer. It
would have been like keeping the strong dude in the canoe but asking him to
pull a small sailboat instead of an ore ship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I said most people. And for the K-1, the target market,
high-end landscape, architecture, product, and portrait photographers, all
those megapixels are needed. So for the primary audience for which this camera
was designed, it does exactly what they need, and the both the image data size,
supporting computing power, and relatively low-power on-board computer are
non-issues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/2-13-18-K-1/i-sV4gZQP/0/8fe99d42/X2/1-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/2-13-18-K-1/i-sV4gZQP/0/8fe99d42/X2/1-X2.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rollei Vario Chrome | Pentax K-1 | Pentax D-FA 100mmf/2.8 Macro</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All photography has compromise. All photography has
trade-offs. This is the nature of our hobby or profession. The K-1 asks that
photographers make some compromises. For most photographers, they are
inconsequential or insignificant and the K-1 will be far more camera than most
anyone could ever fully use. For some professionals, such as sports
photographers, the compromises mean that this camera is not well suited to
their demands. If you’re a photographer looking at a K-1, you are far enough
along in your hobby or profession to understand your shooting style, and to
know from what I’ve said here if the K-1 is a good fit for you. If you don’t
know your shooting style well, the K-1 will be unforgiving. But if you do, and
if your subjects and style mesh well with the K-1, you will find that this is
an amazing tool and a ready companion for advancing your creative vision.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/8-11-17-K-1/i-pn7HMRJ/0/cf96b6ad/XL/Car%201-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="800" height="305" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/8-11-17-K-1/i-pn7HMRJ/0/cf96b6ad/XL/Car%201-XL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;">Milky Way over the Old Chevrolet | Pentax K-1 | Pentax FA Limited 31mm f/1.8</b></div>
<br /></div>
David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-62492949846749916192018-04-26T19:19:00.000-07:002018-04-26T19:19:32.796-07:00Minolta Maxxum 5 (Dynax 5, Alpha Sweet II) Review and Photos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Minolta Maxxum 5 (Dynax 5, Alpha Sweet II) Review and Photos</h2>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4gnxMVClgFw" width="480"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjIRdXwn5rU/WuKGk7IGVTI/AAAAAAACRlI/71MOWLMd78o37Vwzr1BRbLvFgr9LYfHHwCLcBGAs/s1600/Velvia%25252050%252520%252836%2529-L%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="799" height="212" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjIRdXwn5rU/WuKGk7IGVTI/AAAAAAACRlI/71MOWLMd78o37Vwzr1BRbLvFgr9LYfHHwCLcBGAs/s320/Velvia%25252050%252520%252836%2529-L%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Minolta Alpha Sweet II | Minolta A 28mm f/2.8 | Fuji Velvia 50</b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Painter Robert Henri said “Human faces are incentive to
great adventure. The picture is the trace of the adventure.” Trace, in this
sense, means “a mark, object, or other indication of the existence or passing
of something.” The picture, I argue, is the trace of any adventure. The Maxxum
5 is a great companion for that adventure.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-075Q4CiusD8/WuKGy8TqcRI/AAAAAAACRlM/0DyasF_9ZrAsFuhJST5moUx68hpZez1xACLcBGAs/s1600/Vario%252520Chrome%252520%252824%2529-L%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="799" height="212" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-075Q4CiusD8/WuKGy8TqcRI/AAAAAAACRlM/0DyasF_9ZrAsFuhJST5moUx68hpZez1xACLcBGAs/s320/Vario%252520Chrome%252520%252824%2529-L%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Minolta Alpha Sweet II | Minolta A 50mm f/1.4 | Rollei Vario Chrome</b></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is the Five the best thing to come out of the 1990s at all?
Well, not quite, but whether you call it the Five or the Alpha Sweet II; this
is the best 90’s entry-to-mid-level camera. Period. End of story. The Five so
far out paces the comparable cameras, and some of the better cameras, from the
other makers of the time that it’s staggering to me these aren’t widely seen as
one of the modern classics. There are some basic features in this camera that
other makers’ lacked, like a metal mounting flange, automatic switching to
high-speed flash sync with shutter speeds faster than 1/125<sup>th</sup> (with
three specific Minolta flashes), amazing compactness, lightness beyond belief (it
weighs only 335 grams), and structural strength that makes the user ask if it
can possibly be a plastic 90’s camera. Oh, and I forgot to mention the easy
one-handed operation. I’ve never used a camera with the same level of features
that this has that can be operated, almost all of the time, with just the right
hand.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Five does have some weaknesses, like the semi-frequent
failure in the penta mirror’s silver that causes the reflective system to turn
yellow and blue, greatly diminishing the viewfinder quality. But find one with
good mirrors, which is most of them, and there’s no noticeable brightness
difference in the viewfinder between the Five and cameras with a pentaprism.
I’ll let that sink in a moment. Most penta mirror systems are around one stop,
some more, dimmer than a pentaprism system. Not the Five.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XLNGOgsxTew/WuKHAsE4lFI/AAAAAAACRlY/GtSvSWeGQM8CobKbSHTBw6dmRKEYadbmgCLcBGAs/s1600/11-X2%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="636" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XLNGOgsxTew/WuKHAsE4lFI/AAAAAAACRlY/GtSvSWeGQM8CobKbSHTBw6dmRKEYadbmgCLcBGAs/s320/11-X2%255B1%255D.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Minolta Alpha Sweet II | Minolta A 50mm f/1.4 | Fuji Superia 200</b></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other big weakness is how long the batteries last.
Depending on whether you use autofocus and flash, the batteries will last
between nine and 45 rolls. The lower end of that assumes autofocus with
power-zoom lenses and heavy on-camera flash use. The latter end of that assumes
an autofocus prime lens with zero on-camera flash uses. Switch to a
manual-focus lens and you can expect more than 45 rolls. Regardless, those are
not good numbers. Imagine a modern DSLR maker releasing a camera that could
take between 214 and 1,600 photos on a single charge. No one would buy that
camera. With my Five, on three occasions, including one hike I was really
excited about in Colorado Springs, the batteries died unexpectedly. In the
Colorado Springs instance, I had put fresh batteries in the day before. Even
when off, these cameras drain batteries because they have an onboard quartz
clock, most of them do anyway, and that drains the batteries 24/7. So this
camera is as power hungry as a third-world despot.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you’re a righty, the Five is pretty close to perfect. You
can operate all the major functions with just your right hand, including the
film back release. And holding it with one hand is easy. I can’t think of a
lighter 35mm camera, possibly the Five’s lower-spec siblings the 3 and 4, but
the difference is negligible. And for the light weight and penta mirror system
does the five feel like a flimsy, chintzy, plastic-body camera? No. That’s left
for comparable Pentax, Nikon, and Canon bodies. The Five feels every bit as
solid as the Seven. And, if I’m honest, to me, the Five feels better made than
the Seven because the camera’s weight is more easily managed by the materials
that comprise it. I can find exactly no faults with the Five’s ergonomics and,
in fact, I like holding the five more than my beloved Nine in some ways because
it’s light enough not to make my hands tired.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kf9Pn7zw6P4/WuKHX8hJl5I/AAAAAAACRlo/7CUcpGQaXUAnYlGjjrdk66MmiXLO033PgCLcBGAs/s1600/CineStill%252520800T%252520%252816%2529-L%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="799" height="212" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kf9Pn7zw6P4/WuKHX8hJl5I/AAAAAAACRlo/7CUcpGQaXUAnYlGjjrdk66MmiXLO033PgCLcBGAs/s320/CineStill%252520800T%252520%252816%2529-L%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Minolta Alpha Sweet II | Minolta A 28mm f/2.8 | ConeStill 800T</b></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Five is an interesting camera in that, far more than
other 90s cameras, the Five came in three trim levels. Oh yes. That’s not a
widely known fact. And, to be fair, all were marketed as the Five and insofar
as I can tell, the trim level variations had to do solely with manufacture date
and destination market.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s take my Five for instance. It’s actually an Alpha
Sweet II and it’s black. These were only available in black under the Japanese
Alpha badge, and only in Japan. And the Japanese-market bodies, black or
silver, were the best. Depending on when your Five was made, it may or may not
have had a built-in date function. All the Alphas had the date function. But
that’s not why the Alphas are better. They also have a switch to select
panorama or standard framing. The panorama mode is a 16X7 ratio – that’s a
wider ratio than the standard 16X9 for widescreen televisions, and would
letterbox on your computer monitor. But that’s not what makes the Alpha better
and, again if I’m honest, I think that panorama mode on 35mm cameras was a huge
gimmick and silly.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4BR4lmWTNbI/WuKHqUAqT8I/AAAAAAACRlw/-jWbVygonJAWGcXfKY9bTBzwjBMtycYlgCLcBGAs/s1600/LR%252520MA5%252520%25283%2529-L%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="800" height="212" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4BR4lmWTNbI/WuKHqUAqT8I/AAAAAAACRlw/-jWbVygonJAWGcXfKY9bTBzwjBMtycYlgCLcBGAs/s320/LR%252520MA5%252520%25283%2529-L%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Minolta Alpha Sweet II | Minolta A 50mm f/1.4 | Eastman Kodak 5222 Double-X</b></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But check this out: Here is why the Alpha is better than the
Maxxum and Dynax versions. The Alpha Sweet II has a flip-up plastic light leak
cover for the mirror where the Maxxum and Dynax Five bodies have nothing, not
even a foam strip. That flip-up bit provides better light sealing around the
focusing screen but it is added mechanical complexity. And the baffle does make
a difference during long exposures and exposures in full sun. So if you’re a
serious Minolta fan looking for a Five, go for the Alpha Sweet II instead. It’s
worth the added time to find one and the added shipping cost to import it from
Japan just to have this light baffle.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Enough specs. How is this thing to use? It’s a joy. It’s a
bit clinical, which is to say it’s more like a Nissan than an Alfa Romeo. It lacks
the “heart and soul” that photographers will sometimes say a camera needs. But
here’s a secret, “heart and soul” is code for tetchy or poorly designed. The Five
is like a close friend who is socially awkward, you know you can rely on them
but they probably won’t interact well with strange circumstances. In this case,
strange circumstances is my code for batteries that aren’t right off the damn
production line.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aWCrhoawHaI/WuKH710v-rI/AAAAAAACRl4/Ij-97YF9CUcu_IY7oqRKnj7odUdCX5rdACLcBGAs/s1600/Velvia%25252050%252520%252819%2529-L%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="799" height="212" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aWCrhoawHaI/WuKH710v-rI/AAAAAAACRl4/Ij-97YF9CUcu_IY7oqRKnj7odUdCX5rdACLcBGAs/s320/Velvia%25252050%252520%252819%2529-L%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Minolta ALpha Sweet II | Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 | Fuji Velvia 50</b></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Five is fun and light and it’s easy to forget it’s
around your neck if you have a small lens, like the 50mm f/1.7, on it. With a
fast 50 prime, the Five is fantastic shooting experience. It’s just an
all-around enjoyable camera that, as long as you have good batteries, won’t let
you down. And also, the Five is a great way to get access to Sony Alpha lenses.
In addition to a large array of great Minolta lenses, these will take the
modern Sony Alpha lenses. It’s very hard to beat that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What it boils down to is that if you want an enjoyable
camera that’s reliable, really well laid out, and easy to use, you can do a lot
worse than the Five. For the prices these sell for, it would be very hard to do
any better.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yTmPU5tSork/WuKIO2Iw_XI/AAAAAAACRmA/11iMMbs-iXkBj2QDG0uI5vPm6s53wEObwCLcBGAs/s1600/Vario%252520Chrome%252520%252819%2529-L%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="799" height="212" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yTmPU5tSork/WuKIO2Iw_XI/AAAAAAACRmA/11iMMbs-iXkBj2QDG0uI5vPm6s53wEObwCLcBGAs/s320/Vario%252520Chrome%252520%252819%2529-L%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Minolta ALpha Sweet II | Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 | Rollei Vario Chrome</b></div>
</div>
</div>
David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-89847023189761181722018-04-26T19:04:00.002-07:002018-04-26T19:06:53.525-07:00Nikon FE2 Review and Sample Photos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Nikon FE2 Review and Sample Photos</h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PF4Vhgz5ONk" width="480"></iframe>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VHsnuV38toE/WuKCaVb7ZrI/AAAAAAACRkY/6uWJXaPddN4wWyr144mnogyUCDv-XZBdACLcBGAs/s1600/CineStill%252520800T%252520%252815%2529-L%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="800" height="212" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VHsnuV38toE/WuKCaVb7ZrI/AAAAAAACRkY/6uWJXaPddN4wWyr144mnogyUCDv-XZBdACLcBGAs/s320/CineStill%252520800T%252520%252815%2529-L%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Nikon FE2 | Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 | CineStill 800T</b></div>
<br />
The FE2 is a legend. How does one even talk about a legend?
In stories around fires? With songs? Talking about a legend, about a camera
like the FE2, presents no easy task, even for someone who has written reviews
for dozens of cameras. The FE2 transcends words and is an experiential thing. A
proper FE2 review would tell you that it is something special, like a 70s
charger with a 6.1 liter hemi, that it feels good in the hands like a leather
steering wheel under driving gloves, that the interface strikes a near-perfect
balance between the control selection and placement like a precision-milled
gated shifter plate. The FE2 is a precision machine made for the most demanding
users.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a way, this will be a proper FE2 review. The FE2 is
something special, enjoyable, and fantastic. But I also simply am indifferent
to it. There are cameras that I look at or think about and I say “I really
enjoy using that camera. I cannot wait to use it again.” I’ve had an FE2 for
almost three years and used it a couple of dozen times. There’s nothing wrong
with it, yet after that first time, I never really got excited about going back
to it.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s0wcGPaMtdM/WuKC5FA3zhI/AAAAAAACRkg/wBfjGFcD7lUkdcQAn0scI_wFNShXJx1jgCLcBGAs/s1600/6%255B2%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="1000" height="207" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s0wcGPaMtdM/WuKC5FA3zhI/AAAAAAACRkg/wBfjGFcD7lUkdcQAn0scI_wFNShXJx1jgCLcBGAs/s320/6%255B2%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Nikon FE2 | Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 | Fuji Superia 200</b></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For those of you who love this camera, I can’t find any
fault in it. It’s either the best or the second-best Nikon manual focus camera.
It lacks a few of the professional bells and whistles found in the F3, but it
has a faster shutter speed and simpler interface. It lacks the purely
mechanical shutter of the FM2, but it has a match-needle meter readout that’s
immune to the dead LEDs that the FM2 sometimes experiences. In everything
photographic, there exist tradeoffs. A given shutter speed may require an
aperture that’s too narrow or too deep, a film may have suitable speed but lack
sufficiently fine grain. Photography is a hobby or profession of compromises, and
the FE2 makes very few and the compromises it makes are largely unimportant.
What that means is that the FE2 is a fantastic mix of elegant interface design
and capabilities that will leave few, or no, users wanting for more.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And I don’t want more from this camera. I have no good reason
why this camera doesn’t excite me, except that maybe, just maybe, this camera
is too perfect, too well designed. It has exactly everything I want and expect
in a camera and nothing that I don’t need. And the setup, interface, and use of
the FE2 check all the boxes on what I want in an ideal camera. The FE2 is my
ideal camera; no other camera ever made is a more perfect match for how I would
describe the perfect camera. And when I look at it I feel absolutely nothing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--IwFq1SCwe0/WuKDYYiOpqI/AAAAAAACRkw/mnaJS7tpNbEu0MNRFoO9pFA7Q4ywk2DrgCLcBGAs/s1600/44-X2%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="636" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--IwFq1SCwe0/WuKDYYiOpqI/AAAAAAACRkw/mnaJS7tpNbEu0MNRFoO9pFA7Q4ywk2DrgCLcBGAs/s320/44-X2%255B1%255D.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Nikon FE2 | Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 | Kodak Ektar 100</b></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The FE2 evolved from the earlier FE, one of Nikon’s
best-known advanced-user cameras. In its progression from the FE, the FE2 shed
the unreliable electronics and metering issues that have become increasingly
common in FE bodies. The FE2 is largely devoid of electronic issues. The FE2
has very few of its own issues, bar one, and it’s big. FE2 bodies tend to
destroy shutter leaves with enough use. No FE2 that I’ve seen has ever had a
problem except with the shutter. And on that point, 75% of the FE2 bodies I’ve
handled have needed to have their shutters replaced. With time and use, the
leaves jump their guides, jam, and damage the shutter mechanism or get creased
or have their edged dented in the process. But look, who among us could do
better to design a shutter that moves tissue-thin titanium leafs about one inch
in 3.3 milliseconds. What I say next won’t sound that impressive, but that travel
speed means that to cover a full inch in in 3.3 milliseconds the leafs have to
travel at least 17.2 miles per hour, assuming a steady speed for the whole
frame travel. While that speed sounds slow, getting a thin sheet of metal to
move that fast tens of thousands of times without buckling or creasing is
pretty darn impressive from an engineering perspective.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s nothing at all wrong with the FE2. There’s enough
right about it to fill a book. I don’t know a single Nikon fan who doesn’t
truly love their FE2. It’s a fabulous first camera. It’s a fabulous last
camera. It’s a fabulous only camera. It’s a fabulous camera. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bzz8vPYS8q0/WuKE8Kbd7fI/AAAAAAACRk8/PGa59u-Vq1YPL2e2XmBRhCQdW0uN1MNogCLcBGAs/s1600/UF%252520RD%252520at%25252032%252520%252812%252520B%2529-L%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="800" height="212" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bzz8vPYS8q0/WuKE8Kbd7fI/AAAAAAACRk8/PGa59u-Vq1YPL2e2XmBRhCQdW0uN1MNogCLcBGAs/s320/UF%252520RD%252520at%25252032%252520%252812%252520B%2529-L%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Nikon FE2 | Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 | Ultrafine Red Dragon</b></div>
<br />
Detailed How-to videos:<br />
<br />
Link to Video 1:<br />
https://youtu.be/pbp1lD0D4Z8<br />
<br />
Link to Video 2:<br />
https://youtu.be/bdihtbxL9LY</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-23608799176751440732017-11-24T17:44:00.000-08:002017-11-24T17:44:12.607-08:00Nikon FM2 Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q5EdViNF80M/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q5EdViNF80M?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nikon FM2 Review and Sample Photos</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-14-17-FM2/i-Ds5tXfV/0/6239f732/L/78-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="799" height="212" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-14-17-FM2/i-Ds5tXfV/0/6239f732/L/78-L.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nikon FM2, Nikon Nikkor-PG 55mm f/1.2, Rollei Vario Chrome</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Imagine with me. Mountain wind, moving up through pine forests in a valley thousands of feet below, channeled by a rocky “V”, smelling strongly of that clean smell that only pine trees make. The wind carries the cold of coming winter, the bite of tonight’s coming flurries, and the sting of dried pine needles carried up from the valley by the millions. A dog shakes his head and his chain collar sounds like tap shoes dancing to frantic and uncoordinated music. And there are friends, brothers, there, too, the wind too loud for you to speak.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Images are stories. Photographs tell us about a scene, a place, a thing or an emotion, and most of all they tell us about the photographer and what the photographer values most.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/8-12-17-FM2/i-XmHHBdS/0/9cae1f49/L/25-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="799" height="212" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/8-12-17-FM2/i-XmHHBdS/0/9cae1f49/L/25-L.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Nikon FM2, Nikon Nikkor 35mm f/2, CineStill 800T</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I picked up a road warrior FM2, beat and brassed from tables, drops, and doors. And without hesitation, without issue, it worked for dozens of rolls of film over two years in exceptional cold, heat, humidity, snow, morning dew or frost, dust, at two miles elevation and below sea level, sometimes much of that in the same day. Without question, comment, or hesitation it worked reliably and every time it needed to. It sat in luggage and camera bags, was slid under my car seat, bombed with dog drool, knocked against solid granite, and suffered all manner of insults and neglect that would leave most cameras in pieces.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The FM2 is one of those cameras that people go to when they know their gear will take abuse, but still need to work on demand. And yeah, that’s one of the things this camera does – take hits like a masochistic MMA fighter and keep going in for more.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But beyond this camera’ ruggedness, it has a simple, classic interface, the kind that makes it easy to hold it up to your eye, look at a scene, find in it a story and the things you value, and record it to share with others. This camera put the photographer and the subject as close as laces and shoes because it does not interfere, does not get in the middle. The simple, efficient design results in a user experience where the camera itself melts away, becomes nothing more than a red plus, zero, or minus and a quick blackout in the creative process.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-14-17-FM2/i-GTQN2LW/0/ba7980ef/L/Flat%20Irons%20(12)-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="799" height="212" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-14-17-FM2/i-GTQN2LW/0/ba7980ef/L/Flat%20Irons%20(12)-L.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Nikon FM2, Nikon Nikkor-PG 55mm f/1.2, Rollei Color Negative 200</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So let me give you five words to describe the FM2. Obsequious. Simple. Unobtrusive. Intuitive. Reliable. That’s a strong list. Nowhere in a description on the FM2 would words like intimidating, difficult, fragile, obnoxious, or complex reside. The FM2 is a photographer’s camera. And what I mean by that is everything I’ve said already – it’s reliable and does not interfere.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-14-17-FM2/i-jZddDPG/0/3a43b295/X2/Flat%20Irons%20(4)-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="531" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-14-17-FM2/i-jZddDPG/0/3a43b295/X2/Flat%20Irons%20(4)-X2.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nikon FM2, Nikon Nikkor-PG 55mm f/1.2, Rollei Color Negative 200</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Cambridge English Dictionary defines Genius, in part, saying that it is “great and rare natural ability or skill.” And I would argue that’s a part of it. I like to think of genius as the ability to successfully and with good outcomes connect disparate concepts or thoughts in a creative manner, especially in a previously unconsidered way that is natural and logical once the connection exists. Can a camera be a genius? No, of course not. They’re metal and plastic, batteries and glass. There’s no brain and no thought. Can a camera’s design be genius? Can a camera’s design have a great and rare natural ability to connect a photographer and subject in a way that had previously been unconsidered but that becomes natural and logical once experienced? Yes. Decidedly yes. So does that mean that the FM2’s design is genius?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-17-17-FM2/i-WfcfPSD/0/549186bd/X2/Oakland%20(8)-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="550" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-17-17-FM2/i-WfcfPSD/0/549186bd/X2/Oakland%20(8)-X2.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nikon FM2, Nikon Nikkor-PG 55mm f/1.2, Rollei Vario Chrome</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Imagine with me. A family gathering, warmly lit in the glow of old, tungsten-filament bulbs. Roast turkey hot from the oven, warm and dark brown under tin foil. A kitchen full of sideline cooks, nodding at the steamy, herbed smell of the turkey, chopped bread and celery inside it, giblet gravy slowly bubbling on a back burner, a champagne cork popping in another room. And there, camera, film, a moment, light and color, smell and steam, champagne, reflex and action. So you tell me. Is the FM2’s design genius? I think we would answer that question the same way.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/8-12-17-FM2/i-qZWrwrT/0/9f12140a/X2/42-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="531" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/8-12-17-FM2/i-qZWrwrT/0/9f12140a/X2/42-X2.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Nikon FM2, Nikon Nikkor 35mm f/2, CineStill 800T</b></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-14-17-FM2/i-6Fp8GmW/0/c00fb332/L/Flat%20Irons%20(53)-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="799" height="212" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/10-14-17-FM2/i-6Fp8GmW/0/c00fb332/L/Flat%20Irons%20(53)-L.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nikon FM2, Nikon Nikkor 35mm f/2, Kodak Ektar 100</b></div>
</div>
David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-65604183022144739352014-03-06T23:59:00.000-08:002014-03-06T23:59:00.134-08:00Negatives in a Trash Can<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In December I found a stack of negatives in a trash can. There was a half roll that was the exact-same-boring-shot of a wall. Then a half roll that was mostly ruined by poor developing. And then some other shots. Maybe they belonged in the trash, but here they are.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8Lx_Awz_ric/UsEaMt-4o4I/AAAAAAAA_4s/1OzS7QR_vdE/s1000/3.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a half roll of this shot. A. Half. Roll.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-zWAW5AKNkss/UsEaXR_-JDI/AAAAAAAA_8A/NhyuZVuJtTU/s720/6.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is about five stops overexposed.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ReL050Z8JxY/UsEaXxyFMdI/AAAAAAAA_8I/mt7MAF2DmQU/s1000/8.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These two are indicative of the ruined roll -- the negative wasn't loaded in the spiral correctly.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-VexR1pTgI3c/UsEaJ0t1HWI/AAAAAAAA_3s/Gr8BMDRT-4Q/s720/18.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E2WjQz4a2fM/UsEaLkj8SlI/AAAAAAAA_4I/1_rRiNwwWXw/s720/23.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sign is in focus. They must not have been speeding.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TLSAnec7SoI/UsEaPuCM3oI/AAAAAAAA_5o/x-nfXjzyhmo/s1000/31.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-m9Y1H6EWUjo/UsEaQwUtNNI/AAAAAAAA_58/gzxuHw7Q8l4/s1000/36.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-w3WWUkiO-ow/UsEaU-qC1UI/AAAAAAAA_7I/DOA9lIRck5A/s1000/42.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-2803174334099259252014-03-04T23:59:00.000-08:002014-03-04T23:59:00.081-08:00Ocean Wildlife<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two days ago I shared a number of cemetery photos. Well, I also had the opportunity to take a number of nature photos the same day. Here are some of them. Tomorrow we'll finish off the Point Arena blog entries with some foggy hike photos I took the day before these.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-x2PJr6VWEEQ/UucejdZpCSI/AAAAAAABBQY/RnOtuYs0_kY/s1000/31.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The night of the 4th my girlfriend saw this heron hanging out by the lighthouse. The morning of the 5th it was still there, so I grabbed my 400mm lens. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wSMkTbxB55k/UucelUK48QI/AAAAAAABBRM/9xgj2NGqM3w/s1000/35.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a simply stunning bird and, unfortunately, I missed all the shots of it grabbing fish.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-mV3JJWyJS28/UucekURMwuI/AAAAAAABBQ0/y_pMuzEm2Kw/s1000/33.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were also harbor seals. And they noticed me and many looked up at me the first time I pointed the camera at them.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-rDcKUx-MEmY/UucemkRvrqI/AAAAAAABBRc/Ab7VPeFrQgQ/s1000/40.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was stunned and thrilled. Seals, in the wild. This was fantastic and amazing and such a rare thing, right?</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-gNlT5roEd6U/Uucen67e02I/AAAAAAABBR4/1r9ODJ_neKE/s1000/42.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nope. Totally the most common seal around. And they hang out on these rocks all the time. People go there to photograph seals.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6yK7kZORMYg/Uucev5_sIpI/AAAAAAABBVc/aSjTbYnECCI/s1000/65.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That afternoon my girlfriend and I hiked down to bowling ball beach. The bowling ball concretions were all underwater, but the tide had delivered a dead seal to the beach. Three turkey vultures feasted on it when I approached, but two had flown off before I was close enough to take good photos. The third hung around and didn't fly off until I was about thirty feet away.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TuEx6kcTI2c/Uuceq79w_AI/AAAAAAABBTI/6hHQ8_j-ry8/s912/52.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When he did, he flew low and I managed a few shots in flight. I had an old manual focus Vivitar 135mm lens on my K3 so I didn't expect much of my tracking. But the bird flew in a fairly straight and predictable trajectory, so I managed a few good shots.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-KSkwX4gGKKA/UucetKe1zLI/AAAAAAABBUQ/lXTzWVwdzFU/s800/59.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having a camera that takes more than eight shots per second helped a lot.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2GnXvwgdh6o/Uucezt2luBI/AAAAAAABBWI/r5jV84Dlf30/s1000/76.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eventually it landed on a cliff overhead with three other turkey vultures. The seal had no head, which one of the local shop owners told me was very bad news for surfers.</span>David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-21869157782340660332014-03-03T23:59:00.000-08:002014-03-03T23:59:00.110-08:00Top Ten Tuesday -- Ten PHONEtography Apps<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes, I think, people assume that because I use DSLRs and film cameras that I'm necessarily against phonetography. That's no true at all, though I see phonetography as more for fun than for serious and creative photography. But, in an effort to change my views on that, I started researching good and creative phonetography apps on my Galaxy SIII. Here are ten phonetography apps I like.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10- Aviary</span><br />
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aviary.android.feather"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aviary.android.feather</span></a><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photo-editor-by-aviary/id527445936?mt=8"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photo-editor-by-aviary/id527445936?mt=8</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aviary is a fun app and my favorite of the photography apps. It allows some editing (enhancements) to correct lighting and colors. These features are, in my mind, well laid out and pretty good for a phonetography app.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aviary also features stock filters (effects), image frames (frames), and stamps (stickers). Note that some of the frames and stickers kits cost a couple bucks, so even though the base app is free some of the add-ons add up quickly.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aviary has tons of features and to keep reciting them would make for a long list. In short, this is probably the best phonetography app out there and is definitely worth the free price tag for the basic features.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9- Otaku Camera</span><br />
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.otakumode.otakucamera&hl=en"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.otakumode.otakucamera&hl=en</span></a><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/otaku-camera-mangatize-your/id577019752?mt=8"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/otaku-camera-mangatize-your/id577019752?mt=8</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another free app, this fun app adds manga-type borders to your photos. As an added bonus, the add-on frames, as of this writing, are free. This app is a close second in my mind to Aviary and serves an entirely different market. Were I to remove all my phonetography apps except two, I would keep Otaku as one of them.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8- Cymera</span><br />
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cyworld.camera&hl=en"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cyworld.camera&hl=en</span></a><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cymera-camera-photo-editor/id553807264?mt=8"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cymera-camera-photo-editor/id553807264?mt=8</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This may be the most expansive app I've used. This has a LOT of features and capabilities for improving photos. As an added bonus, the app doesn't, by default, like some, have garish filters as the default. Cymera is a legitimately useful and usable app.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7- Clone Camera</span><br />
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hereyouare.clonecamera&hl=en"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hereyouare.clonecamera&hl=en</span></a><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clone-camera-pro/id557861125?mt=8"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clone-camera-pro/id557861125?mt=8</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clone camera requires that the user take two photos that line up nearly perfectly next to each other. On the plus side, you can put different foreground objects in each. It's a clever idea but a flawed implementation. It seems to work by taking a photo with a small portion of the sensor. Instead, it should take the full photo and then take it again and blend out the things that are the same. If you can master this app, it has a lot of potential for fun.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6- One Man with a Camera</span><br />
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onemanwithcamera&hl=en"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onemanwithcamera&hl=en</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a fun app that lets you select the toy camera you'd like the app to imitate. It then takes a photo with a filter that simulates the camera you selected. And it does it well, having seen actual photos from many of the toy cameras that the app imitates. It's free, but you can remove ads for a buck.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5-Procapture</span><br />
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neaststudios.procapture&hl=en"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neaststudios.procapture&hl=en</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />$3.99 app as of this writing. There's a free version limited to 3.2 megapixels and with reduced capacity. And ads. Nope; an app maker that releases a limited-capacity free version is not interested in having me as a full-version customer. I uninstalled this one.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4- Multi-lens Camera</span><br />
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tinypiece.android.mlc"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tinypiece.android.mlc</span></a><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/multi-lens-camera/id483509194?mt=8"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/multi-lens-camera/id483509194?mt=8</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a nifty action sampler app. It benefits, compared to most action samplers, from having different frame shapes. It's definitely a fun and creative way to get your action sampler phoneography fix. If you're an action sampler fan, this is definitely worth checking out.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3- Smooth Camera</span><br />
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.picoedit.smooth.camera&hl=en"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.picoedit.smooth.camera&hl=en</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This app advertises that it makes people's faces look smoother. In my experience, everything just looked like it went through Photoshop's pallet brush filter. Also, this app inundates you with full-page ads whenever you change screens and has banners on each page. Ads at startup, at close-down, and at EVERY other opportunity possible. I couldn't make it work and the sheer ad volume was highly off putting. I'd suggest skipping this one.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2- Vintage Camera</span><br />
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wombatix.vintcam&hl=en"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wombatix.vintcam&hl=en</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is your standard-outta-the-box take-an-image-and-apply-filters app. It's nothing revolutionary, though I admit I like the interface.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1- Pinhole Camera Calculator</span><br />
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pinhole"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pinhole</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Technically, this doesn't take photos. That said, it's one of the most useful apps for me since I enjoy pinhole photography. If you'd like to make your own pinhole cameras or if you have a kit one and want to use it reliably, this app is a must-have. In addition, the information in it will help you learn more about pinhole photography and analog photography in general. This is a well designed and useful app with a good interface. I will not ever uninstall it.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other important Phoneography apps:</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- Massive Development Chart</span><br />
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.digitaltruth.mdc&hl=en"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Android</span></a><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/massive-dev-chart-timer/id402405770?mt=8"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">iPhone</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- The Photographer's Ephemeris</span><br />
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.crookneckconsulting.tpeandroid&hl=en"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Android</span></a></div>
David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-25181495864453031402014-03-02T23:59:00.000-08:002014-03-02T23:59:00.166-08:00Gravestones<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week I'll wrap up my Point Arena images. The other week I had a sunset time-lapse followed by a cloud trails composite image. Those were, obviously, taken at the same time. The other two photos in the second post were also taken on the same day. Well, all the images from Point Arena that I share this week were also taken that same day. In short, it was a good day for photography.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On a whim, I stopped into a cemetery to take photos. At the exact same moment I stopped in, so did another guy. He had in tow two medium-format digital Hasselblads and lenses. In sum, the gear he had in his car was worth more than my entire camera collection. Stands to reason, he was tooling around in a decked-out Carrera. If I'd known being a professional photographer paid that well, I may have made different choices in college.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, I started with some establishing-type shots to simply get to know the place and get comfortable.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-jYBfs0QyBok/Uucedu1mm0I/AAAAAAABBOM/Ij-hVVj7NbY/s1000/17.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A number of the graves had stone borders or designs. Many also had raised dirt, fresh or not. I liked that. When I die, I want to be buried with bottled water, a flashlight, and a shotgun with lots of ammo. Why? Because when the dead rise from the grave that's zombies. I want to be well hydrated and capable of defending myself.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-FabkEKyFF7o/Uucee39f6kI/AAAAAAABBOo/B2-HXmKpdUM/s800/21.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many of the newer graves had concrete borders. I supposed that's for visitors.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-fRDt6_KfZoo/Uuce6vdqJxI/AAAAAAABBZI/f1qHNAAhFvQ/s720/88%2520BW.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This statue was next to a pastor's grave.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-wrTebQhBnxc/Uuce75adMEI/AAAAAAABBZY/vsu0i2DgfZk/s720/89.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The pastor may have been a golfer.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-mCtaAC6sn4c/Uuce8KIZnuI/AAAAAAABBaA/tRu4NuAZm7U/s720/90%2520B.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another statue in the cemetery. There were a number of statues, all about 18 inches tall or so. Many of them from different eras and clearly with different intents. This was my favorite of them.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TaV4_dct5YU/Uuce9PMILdI/AAAAAAABBZ4/-7NsT62I76M/s1000/91.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many of the graves has silk flowers. But some had come loose in time and littered the cemetery. Also, most of them were severely sun-faded, which actually made me sadder than the graves. It meant that no one had been by in a long time to tend to the graves.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cTQ2w-f5yOw/Uuce9vEBYxI/AAAAAAABBaI/unY5NsuXMlg/s1000/93.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was a particularly sad grave -- a child who died after 57 days.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J36k-O9c5-g/Uuce5gNpyWI/AAAAAAABBYg/_R_vxLWIOTk/s720/85%2520BW.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At one section, a number of children's graves were grouped together. Many had stuffed animals and toys adorning them. The adornments showed a lot of weathering and fading.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z0bMZbNMp28/Uuce3ShKstI/AAAAAAABBXc/DTnFccyDqGY/s1000/82%2520BW%2520B.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I almost didn't take photos of the children's graves as I was debating if it was disrespectful. In the end, I decided to do it because I wouldn't show any respect for the kids' short lives by simply walking past.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-W0dmi-8pY0U/Uuce27jEoDI/AAAAAAABBXY/hCm5udYqyrI/s720/81.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" />
David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-3876456719644440522014-02-27T23:59:00.000-08:002014-02-27T23:59:00.054-08:00Found Photos Friday -- Car Show<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A bit of a nonsequitor from the rest of the lot, these images appeared at the end. All were underexposed by four or so stops, which made the digitization and post-work challenging.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fn-uPR0nz8M/UrKuUhhC2qI/AAAAAAAA_Ik/Q7gpqX22qew/s1000/75.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Sl9MV8tboCk/UrKuNJkQNaI/AAAAAAAA_F0/zOzh1GyPqdk/s1000/55.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2BVaONqXXVA/UrKuRA4OH4I/AAAAAAAA_HU/JmXQYyUerws/s1000/66.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My brother had a Hot Wheels that looked exactly like this. I coveted that Hot Wheels more than anything else, until it one day got a chip on the nose.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-tdYs2-HOTHc/UrKuNl6dkJI/AAAAAAAA_F4/ZW06FOwOdsw/s1000/56.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T0_ez4Hi404/UrKuVuUSXAI/AAAAAAAA_JE/s7ccD8amri8/s1000/79.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-v4Lg8xxI5DU/UrKuT3AaYBI/AAAAAAAA_IU/D49BtiKYw_0/s1000/73.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pooh Bear. Curious choice.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ui6e-tmIJZk/UrKuOZHxRRI/AAAAAAAA_GM/HD81uGSQYI4/s1000/59.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These last five weeks have had some interesting images and an interesting mix. In March we'll have a bunch of found photos that I picked out of a trash can -- the negatives were mostly unusable, so I can see why whomever took them pitched them, but some returned images.</span><br />
<br />David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-76853910985575354502014-02-26T23:59:00.000-08:002014-02-26T23:59:00.498-08:00Rothschild Giraffes. NBD.<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday I shared some antelope, kudu, and zebra photos. The giraffes are definitely the tour's high point for most people. I loved the giraffes, and petting a couple of them, but for me, the Greater Kudu were the high point. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That doesn't change how amazing the giraffes are. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<br />
</span><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZlJFK5nnbcQ/UuWRJrTFsKI/AAAAAAABA8Q/59tQBFSOkyQ/s1000/96.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They're amazingly gentle animals and were just fine pulling sweet potato out of peoples' mouths.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-rlaSFom2YCw/UuWRJjScY0I/AAAAAAABA74/6sYH70jsI20/s1000/97%2520B.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But who knows what they're really thinking.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<br />
</span><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HyYGLVPwG3I/UuWRIPz1b_I/AAAAAAABA7w/wInJL28_4-M/s1000/93.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A second later that giraffe was playing tonsil hockey with my girlfriend.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sMF8YbQ7OKc/UuWQRyzR3ZI/AAAAAAABArc/fnWFWM5sA7U/s1000/105.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other people on our tour. They had as much fun as we did.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-fBueGxuPsss/UuWQTtmG4II/AAAAAAABAr0/S5AiP-yKyyM/s1000/108.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The giraffes had short fur, coarse and stuff. And they moved carefully and gently around us.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-s4OtYVs5QDI/UuWQZnknJZI/AAAAAAABAtw/rqR21oFnEyM/s1000/122.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She learned after the first time that it's better to play coy. Wait.. Why'd she need another kiss? Am I missing something?</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-LvOh_chZDn0/UuWRGPn_mhI/AAAAAAABA6o/xDnPI_TaOUw/s1000/88.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the last stop, the giraffes reach right out over you. We stopped here because, in their pen, they were fairly uninterested in us (except one of them.) Here we had better luck.
<br />
</span><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-AJzbJc4LuB0/UuWQVZq3wRI/AAAAAAABAsU/CseSMcBg95Y/s720/112.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because they could all see we had food.
<br />
</span><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-t-FenbGRxwA/UuWQX-XRXoI/AAAAAAABAs8/mLZEwQArqNU/s720/118.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't understand why anyone would want to hunt such a gentle, beautiful, and critically endangered animal. It it a distinct possibility that in my lifetime these will be extinct in the wild due to the poaching and poor land management. Basically, it boils down to this: humanity is forged in greed and rich hunters pay a lot of money for escorted hunts for endangered animals. Ultimately, the check will come due for our poor management of this planet's resources and, when it does, humanity won't enjoy having to pay.</span>David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-3604447591756546632014-02-25T23:59:00.000-08:002014-02-25T23:59:00.041-08:00Zebra, Sable Antelope, Roan Antelope, and Greater Kudu. NBD.<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the girlfriends' and my weekend in Point Arena, we had reservations for a morning feeding and tour of B.Bryan Preserve. The preserve helps protect two zebra species, one giraffe species, greater kudu, and sable. There may be another that I'm forgetting. So today I'll share photos of everything but the giraffes. Those will be in the next post because they're worth their own entry.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's take a few minutes and appreciate these beautiful animals while we can. Poaching and habitat destruction are doing a good job of eliminating these from our planet quickly.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6KrNMHWvBtU/UuWQwDQynYI/AAAAAAABA0g/aIXGeVQLyvI/s720/45%2520B.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grevy's Zebra</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0ljSP_qxE1k/UuWQ1B59oPI/AAAAAAABA14/aJ1VajAQxM8/s720/50%2520BW%2520B.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-h9uBElZaDes/UuWQ2_ax38I/AAAAAAABA2Q/4RUbOnKPw9g/s800/55.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hartmann's Mountain Zebra</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-oisAKCi8bXk/UuWQ4fX2WqI/AAAAAAABA2o/zU-qTY9T8eM/s1000/58.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Z703taUZGMU/UuWQ7mC10uI/AAAAAAABA3w/yaQSE3I7zBU/s1000/66%2520BW.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Roan Antelope</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Fa1TNRazC7o/UuWRAdgNprI/AAAAAAABA48/FSCU3jJrr8g/s720/73.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Roan Antelope fawn</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-WDFpoPpkljs/UuWRD9BT8bI/AAAAAAABA58/u5zEPiyxQCM/s720/80.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Greater Kudu</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-pGN7jIOukLw/UuWRCgmB4wI/AAAAAAABA5k/wVFz4ucSHI4/s800/78.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-u_Qv3_9R7ks/UuWQ5e5BKAI/AAAAAAABA28/z4UuYfJ39lY/s1000/61.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sable Antelope</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6YLaRR_TA0s/UuWRFSAe0jI/AAAAAAABA6c/0W_VWtwb0_M/s1000/86.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-91360354694060098562014-02-24T23:59:00.000-08:002014-02-24T23:59:00.894-08:00Animation as Still<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few days ago I shared another lighthouse sunset time-lapse image. I'll kick off tonight with a still image compositing the animation's components.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-HH4-Y2Won2M/UucegbPlosI/AAAAAAABBPI/pG-e-QxW75M/s1000/22.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunset Lighthouse Silhouette</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Honestly, this may be my favorite photo from the trip.I think the composition work nicely, though were I to do it again I'd have a little less shadow space on the bottom.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2inmvuZZWe8/UucehcQJBOI/AAAAAAABBPo/_CQyZb4NF-4/s1000/25.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also did star trails facing the other way. The fog led to some breaks in the trails and the wind led to some individual parts that had trail shake, but that's all part of photographing nature.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Z9EJlDES7Yo/UucejXzRK9I/AAAAAAABBQU/tXxRKyZvljA/s1000/24%2520B.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One last one for today, a composite of multiple wave images. I like how this took on a look of smooth water and fog-like-gossamer.</span>David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-21771290134038845662014-02-23T23:59:00.000-08:002014-02-23T23:59:00.158-08:00Photo Credits<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A couple of weeks ago, unexpectedly, a professor at UIUC e-mailed me asking for rights to use some of my photos in a book he's finishing that studies daylighting use in architecture. The compensation: photo credit. I'm down. No question in my mind is this a yes. Unfortunately, none of my images fit the book perfectly.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, I happen to know the building fairly well, having worked at Webcor when they wrapped it and been involved in to the photo process (even though I didn't get to attend the actual shoot.)</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since none of my photos fit the bill, I volunteered to go take some more. I was going to be at Civic Center anyway, I said (that was a fib, though there are some great restaurants down there) and I would just do it while there.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It actually worked out VERY well. After the shoot I walked to my favorite camera store in the city and they had a Pentax 6X7 bellows WITH the double release for $99. My gut reaction was 'how many holes are in the bellows.' But Gassers is known for good stuff, so I looked at it and it's in mint condition, the bellows having been recently replaced. I mean, shoot, for this condition I couldn't buy one on eBay for less than $400, so, yeah, it's mine now and waiting for its firsts tests. One thing I'll be making is a 6X7-to-M42 converter so I can use my M42 lenses as macros for the 6X7. That ought to have some neat effects and produce good results as the M42 lenses are slightly sharper than their 6X7 counterparts (on a lines per millimeter basis.)</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, the trip was hugely productive and here are some of my favorite photos.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-aJg96bbEQEQ/UtxZCsWi7RI/AAAAAAABAjg/ywAWlTSwZGI/s720/0C.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This lady stopped me after the shoot and asked me to take her photo. Whenever anyone talks to me, even people I know, my gut reaction is abject terror. So being stopped by a stranger nearly sent me into cardiac shock. She wanted her photo taken and mailed to her (snail mail.) I figured why not. So I hope she liked the shot when it arrived.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-IfSGmJOWiLY/UtxZKIC070I/AAAAAAABAl0/gaebStJpFZg/s720/8.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is the SF Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) building. It's LEED Platinum and all kinds of great. There are some wind turbines behind the sculpture column but they don't actually catch that much wind (that's the building's dirty secret -- don't tell anyone.) That said, this is still one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in San Francisco, if not the most environmentally friendly. SF should be really grateful such a great building is in our city.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-nB9pEm9utyQ/UtxZKP9vv1I/AAAAAAABAls/hXxqpPedQwc/s720/9%2520B.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I bet those offices get warm in the evening.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-QSXmWpSzsWE/UtxZH36SNaI/AAAAAAABAk0/UorNzzNqZmc/s720/3%2520HK.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love the sun shades on the building. Here's a high-key version I edited in post that I'm fond of.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SoCRBKx4lmc/UtxZEw2LO5I/AAAAAAABAj4/m3UWyJdYbA4/s1000/1%2520B.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Different angle in mid-key.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-xuOkfR1AvBI/UtxZIYn_n6I/AAAAAAABAlE/PUyCgKWwOgo/s1000/4.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" /><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yup, that's where you're at.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-b-DYcTXojh0/UtxZF2sGHBI/AAAAAAABAkY/UB2vlbu0CUI/s1000/14.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" /><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you for reading!</span>David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-75559429708442510732014-02-20T23:59:00.000-08:002014-02-20T23:59:00.217-08:00Found Photos Friday -- Kid's Room<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here area few miscellaneous shots from the album. The second shot is one of the best in the lot.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-tsFwPOFJn7M/UrKuFCnBbYI/AAAAAAAA_DE/zFZpTDWaMr0/s1000/35.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9mY1YjyQyyA/UrKuGOeN1ZI/AAAAAAAA_Dc/kSWqmqJG3k0/s1000/38.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_PbyWw-vUq4/UrKuKQxdl8I/AAAAAAAA_FI/u5Cxge9mdA4/s1000/50.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<br />David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-81506335739074964022014-02-19T23:59:00.000-08:002014-02-19T23:59:00.254-08:00More Time-lapse Imagery<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the K-7 captured the sunset time lapse I shared last week, the K-3 took a time-lapse image of its own.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-saP8-2F4fxs/Us5Yd_RgyJI/AAAAAAABAQQ/z7hJOplnTxU/s300/22%2520A.gif" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wish I had this one to do over again. I'd have left it for about 10 more minutes so it could capture the sunset to darkness. But this is still a very pleasing result. Is there a composite to share of the whole time lapse? Of course. It's just not uploaded to my Picasa space as of this post's authoring. So that's a good excuse to share in in a few days.</span>David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-85188128731480538312014-02-18T23:59:00.000-08:002014-02-18T23:59:00.692-08:00K-3 Night Shift<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two days ago I shared a shot taken by my K-7. While my K-7 took that photo, my K-3 was working on this image.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Zc31KzP6kbU/UszxgSPimpI/AAAAAAABAK0/pcHo9_FFERE/s720/1.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The star trail breaks stem from ocean fog, but I was glad for the fog. The light house's signal caught the fog nicely and the composited image is a pretty goo success.</span>David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-15565339585059028362014-02-17T23:59:00.000-08:002014-02-17T23:59:00.187-08:00Top Ten Tuesday -- Ten Great SLRs<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week's Top Tn Tuesday showcases ten SLR cameras I've used and have great respect or at least strong admiration for. I tried to split the list up equitably and tried to choose at least two from each manufacturer. However, I've only ever used one Minolta -- but it's a great one. Where I've made videos about these cameras, I'll include the videos as an embed.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me say that this is definitely not an all-inclusive list. In fact, may cameras should probably be on here -- the Minolta XK and X700, Pentacon Six, and Mamiya RZ67 all come to mind. However, I've never used any of them and cannot speak fron direct experience to their capabilities. In fact, on this list only one of these camera (the Canon A-1) have I not owned (actually, as of this writing, I still own all of these.) The A-1 was loaned to me for a couple of months and I get to use that absolutely amazing camera during that time.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10- Olympus OM2N</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Olympus' OM series with single-digit numbers represented their pro-grade offering. Though not as expansive a system as some of the cameras further down the list, the OM system had incredible lenses and great ergonomics that make using Olympus OM cameras an absolute joy. Small, compact, and light these are almost-pocket-sized SLRs and work great for street photography or for carrying around for hours. The lightweight aspect is something many of the other cameras on this list do not have going for them.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the OM2N, I think it has the best meter of any OM camera. It certainly has the best long-duration metering and, I am told, is the best Olympus camera for overnight photography.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b>
<b>9- Olympus OMG</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the Olympus that made me love the Olympus system. This is a capable camera though it lacks many of the pro-grade camera's bells and whistles. However, the meter is top-notch and the camera is light enough to be carried readily. As a street photography camera (one of the areas where I think that Olympus has the best system,) this is a great choice.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/LEgiTy8_iPA?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/LEgiTy8_iPA?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/k5-0gfcdHtA?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/k5-0gfcdHtA?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8- Canon F-1</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The quintessential system camera, the Canon F-1 had more stuff in its system than any other camera ever made. In fact, the system was so expansive that it is highly unlikely another camera system will ever be made that matches this system. Literally the Ferrari of cameras in the 1980s, the F-1 was supported by amazing viewfinders, a huge focusing screen selection, multiple film backs, and some top-notch lenses.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/X5GHbJAMtg0?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/X5GHbJAMtg0?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/As2wmXCEfGw?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/As2wmXCEfGw?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b>
<b>7- Canon A-1</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the top camera on my 35mm SLR wish list right now. To put it in perspective, right behind it are the Asahi Pentax, Asahi Pentax K, and Asahiflex cameras. This is, I think, the most capable Canon camera ever made and is every bit as good as the Canon F-1. The A-1 has one major advantage in that its batteries are still made.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/yyNv4fGTJ3I?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/yyNv4fGTJ3I?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/l16SuStsgv4?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/l16SuStsgv4?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/8s6mhUKgmXw?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/8s6mhUKgmXw?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6- Nikon F</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Nikon F was the first full-on professional 35mm system camera. Supported by amazing lenses and an array of viewfinders and film backs, the Nikon F set the bar for professional film systems that the Canon F-1 later raised. The Nikon F started the most successful line of professional SLRs ever developed and remains a solid and classic camera. I had mine repaired at the end of 2013 just to make sure everything was great with it and I'm looking forward to many years of enjoying this fabulous SLR.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5- Nikon F3</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The F3 was not my first Nikon SLR, but it was the first one I loved. The F3 has a simply fantastic meter and my F3 has not once let me down nor failed to deliver a result better than I imagined. The F3 also turned me on to the amazingness of grid-line focusing screens. If you aren't using grid-line screens, there's something you're really missing out on. Right now all of my cameras with interchangeable focusing screens (except my 6X7 and K-3) have the grid line screens. The grid screens are simply that important for solid composition.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b>
</span><br />
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4- Minolta SRT 102</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are built like tanks. Many still work and if you can find a battery for the light meter they're still reliable. These don't have a lot of bells and whistles, but they're tank-like and rugged and have that mechanical toughness that basically every DSLR lacks.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3- KW Reflex Box</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know. You've never heard of this. You're about to do an Internet search. Before you do, there's very little easily found about this 1930's camera. It's an old box camera but it's also an SLR. It has a fixed lens of fairly good quality. It's real strength lies in the 6cm by 9cm negatives. The same image ratio as 35mm images, this results in prints of superb quality through reduced enlargement.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mechanically, this camera is elementary. A simple spring-activated shutter moved the mirror and entire internal housing out of the way to expose the film. This, as you may imagine, results in extremely violent camera shaking, so this camera also requires a steady hand or hefty tripod.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2- Pentax K1000</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Easily the most underrated SLR ever made, the Pentax K1000 has almost every capability of any of the system cameras above, though sometimes it requires a bit more work. The K1000's mechanical reliability (especially on older models) and simple construction make it a classic. The simplicty make it great for learning. This is the SLR that taught me and millions of others how to take a reasonably presentable photograph.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/WatXwV2T8C0?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/WatXwV2T8C0?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/sY6ldy7_Xiw?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/sY6ldy7_Xiw?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/Rc4P2ERMNmA?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/Rc4P2ERMNmA?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1- Pentax 6X7</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Pentax 6X7. Few words adequately describe this camera, but legend and massive come close. The long-time Pentax professional flagship, this camera was a staple of professional photographers and remains a much-coveted film SLR. I'm lucky enough to have this with a host of lenses that let me take almost any photograph I can imagine. And my 6X7 delivers quality and consistent results. If cameras have souls, and if they can feel, then I suspect this camera appreciates being rescued from the bottom of a closet of someone who bought it and used it once in the early 1980s.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a very capable system camera taking 6cm by 7cm negatives. The images enlarge to the same size as a typical print page without cropping (a decided advantage over 6X4.5 and 6X6 cameras.) With interchangeable prisms, focusing screens, and film backs, the 6X7 provided photographers exceptional capabilities. In fact, unlike any of the above camera systems, the Pentax 6X7 also had leaf shutter lenses. These really shine because they allowed flash sync at up to 1/500th of a second (faster than all the other systems above.) The Pentax 6X7's focal plane shutter has a 1/30th of a second flash sync, so the leaf shutter lenses are a valuable part of a 6X7 kit.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/mSWOiJlT9OY?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/mSWOiJlT9OY?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/YlfycnJuvUQ?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/YlfycnJuvUQ?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/WfovtDS4n7Y?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/WfovtDS4n7Y?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So those are my ten great film SLRs. Top Ten Tuesday returns next week with Ten Stunning Macro Photographers.</span><br />
<br />David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-4659389056627713442014-02-16T23:59:00.000-08:002014-02-16T23:59:02.630-08:00Trick Photography<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just for fun today, another shot my K-7 took at Point Arena.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-acybDuPBQJg/UtdjTIoe18I/AAAAAAABAd8/oS3SVzEGy00/s1000/1.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-46248978470709707562014-02-13T23:59:00.000-08:002014-02-13T23:59:01.917-08:00Found Photos Friday -- 1970s American West 3 of 3<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One can only assume this is the photographer's trusty stead! A good choice for getting around the Western U.S. in the 1950s or 1960s.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-2ImhQkajPnk/UrKuHumnilI/AAAAAAAA_EE/JvQqdP8z82I/s1000/42.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-rOxjn1Vftto/UrKt_XywnhI/AAAAAAAA_A0/iNxJ89vxetM/s1000/18.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_eGZXJG5skk/UrKuByz1rpI/AAAAAAAA_B0/DDNyZf4H4xc/s1000/26.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think the photographer liked waterfalls. Good taste, in my book.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-8dIegHpYg6o/UrKuAQlFesI/AAAAAAAA_BM/GAqxccy2H6g/s1000/21.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-fyigpu0tyww/UrKuEDO9t8I/AAAAAAAA_Cs/MRzAA7LYK44/s1000/32.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-FNnr4RvlSDM/UrKuIXj2VLI/AAAAAAAA_EU/uxurNfk3G-o/s1000/45.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OO6EoSeNQVY/UrKuJUZPG-I/AAAAAAAA_Es/0_dNVV1wgvc/s1000/48.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The photographer really knew some great places.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AXOdxFWJPQc/UrKt_W3DI9I/AAAAAAAA_As/b39PgP4FX9g/s1000/19.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<br />David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-64613648033230518052014-02-12T23:59:00.000-08:002014-02-12T23:59:00.077-08:00Stopping Time<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday I shared a few photos the K-7 took just to show off a bit. Well, here's another.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-JF8cu-BGom8/UszgL55w1yI/AAAAAAABAJc/IMgX_OOoh38/s1000/6%2520S.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Thirty Minutes of Sunset.</b> This is the composite image created from the second time-lapse I shared yesterday. Personally, I think this may be the best photo I've ever taken. Sure there's some ghosting in the middle I'd wish could be removed, but that's a characteristic of the lens I used and its alignment to the sun. On the one hand, it's good to see the year start off so well. On the other, it's kind of sad to know that I may spend the rest of 2014 not taking any shots as good as this one.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5_Q8Qlbc1s4/UszblcHKW_I/AAAAAAABAGI/jN_H-SKL3A0/s1000/2%2520BW.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a similar photo to the above only in black and white. The sky is the same but in the first photo I caopied in a different version of the bay to make it perfectly glass-like.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9bBbx76xBoI/UszbmHujrwI/AAAAAAABAGg/FX56dCCfHG0/s1000/4%2520B.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a sepia version of the photo that contributed the bay in the first shot. It's hard to see, but the first shot has a choppier bay.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday I shared a moonset photo and time lapse. Between that shot and these ones, the K-7 had an all-nighter. Here is a star-trails shot it took as ocean fog rolled in.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-HF0rWRUycbo/Uszbnkd6OrI/AAAAAAABAG8/wWd0aM6T6rs/s1000/5.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 500px;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My K-7 has decided not to go quietly into retirement, instead perferring to prove that anything the newer K-3 can do, the K-7 can do better.*</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*Except video.</span>David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-71603453723610749872014-02-11T23:59:00.000-08:002014-02-11T23:59:00.566-08:00K-7 Unretierment<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, yes, my K-7 is officially pseudo-retired. Which explains why it came out of retirement for no reason other than to show up the newer, spiffier K-3.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first weekend in January, I took my girlfriend to Point Arena to stay at the lighthouse. I brought my K-7, K-3, and 6X7 for film support. The shots will trickle in this month because there were a lot of them -- three cameras and three days. And it was a great weekend for my photography. I got to try a bunch of new tricks and took some shots that I'm very pleased with. Today, I'll focus on two shots.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-NmYrWqMarlQ/UsuMwetNaRI/AAAAAAABABo/rctpbFFCQ7M/s360/1.gif" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I haven't really experimented with motion before. So I decided to make some animated gifs. I set the K-7 up to look southwest over the Pacific Ocean. This time-lapse covers 83 photos taken about two minutes apart. There are two little catches where strong winds moved the tripod slightly. Had it not been secured to the fence by its strap and with one tripod leg jammed through the fence rails, the camera may have fallen over. The photo below is a nine-frame composite of the above image meant to capture the whole time lapse in one frame.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img height="424" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9vetcUuS_JQ/UszblO3FLuI/AAAAAAABAGA/yDbgTMBK6GE/s640/1%2520B.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" width="640" />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-rAbehV3cJ14/UszKVM-TlrI/AAAAAAABADc/ARPGrumyuwk/s300/2.gif" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I took this time-lapse image on our second night. This was our second sunset and it was stunning. The image that composites all of these frames will be in tomorrow's entry.</span>David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5752566305138980627.post-10133204201607754512014-02-10T23:59:00.000-08:002014-02-10T23:59:00.666-08:00Top Ten Tuesday -- Great Google+ Photographers to Follow<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm lucky to have, as of this writing, around 1,600 followers on Google+. But I'm more lucky to have 150 photographers in my Photography circle who I follow and who consistently provide stunning work. Here are ten of those photographers whose work I particularly like.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10- Marie Laigneau</b></span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MarieLAIGNEAU/posts"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MarieLAIGNEAU/posts</span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A great opener for this list, Ms. Laigneau has consistently good photos in color or black and white. I find her work compelling human, humane, and compassionate.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>9- Uwe Duwe</b></span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+UweDuwe/posts"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://plus.google.com/u/0/+UweDuwe/posts</span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another consistent and very skilled photographer, I always look forward to the images Mr. Duwe shares.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8- Linda Villers</b></span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LindaVillers/posts"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LindaVillers/posts</span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A companion in the 2013 52 Shares of Gray black and white photography community, Ms. Villers was kind enough to +1 and even comment on a few of my photos. Her works is spectacular with great composition and lovely execution.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7- Enrique Pelaez</b></span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+EnriquePelaez/posts"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://plus.google.com/u/0/+EnriquePelaez/posts</span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Pelaez's photos cover many subjects. Simple and classic composition, a good eye for detail and post-work, and consistently great images are why he's one of my favorite Google+ photographers.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6- Maurice Loy</b></span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MauriceLoy/posts"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MauriceLoy/posts</span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check out his page and you'll see why he makes this list. There's a lot of stunning work in Mr. Loy's portfolio.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5- Crina Prida</b></span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+CrinaPrida/posts"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://plus.google.com/u/0/+CrinaPrida/posts</span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like Ms. Prida's take on subjects. It's fair to say I could never take a photo in the manner she does, and I like that a lot.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4- Elena Kalis</b></span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+ElenaKalis/posts"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://plus.google.com/u/0/+ElenaKalis/posts</span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love underwater photography, and Ms. Kalis is the best underwater photographer on Google+.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3- Holger Drallmeyer</b></span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+HolgerDrallmeyer/posts"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://plus.google.com/u/0/+HolgerDrallmeyer/posts</span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really like how Mr. Drallmeyer photographs mechanical subjects. I also like mechnical subjects, but I don't think I do them as well as he.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2- Alan Shapiro</b></span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+AlanShapiro/posts"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://plus.google.com/u/0/+AlanShapiro/posts</span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My favorite portrait photographer on Google+. Whenever I see his name at the top of a feed item, I'm excited to see what's coming.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1- Jeff Sullivan</b></span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JeffreySullivan/posts"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JeffreySullivan/posts</span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My favorite photographer on Google+.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Google+ has thousands more very talented photographers to check out, but these ten are my personal favorites. Adding them to your circles will give you a lot of great photography every day.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesday will be back next week with Ten Great SLR Cameras and why each one is a classic.</span></div>
David Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335133679613901885noreply@blogger.com0