I have created a new website with my own domain at photoshumi.com so if you look here regularly, please update your bookmarks. I will not be updating this blog anymore. The reason being is that it's a little annoying having a blog and a portfolio at different locations and I the new site is much more intuitive and a little more aesthetically pleasing.

Thanks.

I've been in Osaka for the past few days traveling with and visiting friends. One of my main goals was to take a few street photographs to overcome my fear/embarrassment of shooting in the street. The second mission was to finally track down Osaka's camera shops, especially the second hand ones.

At one of the shops (Yaotomi Camera), I bought a decent conditioned Super Takumar 105mm f2.8 for a very good price. Optically, it's very good with a few dust spots but no fungus or scratches. The body of the lens is slightly worn but no heavy scratches or dents and well worth it for ¥5,100 ($46.00 USD). I'm pretty excited to have this lens as I've seen some great photos taken with it and it also fills the gap in my Takumar collection between the 55mm and the 135mm. Now I only really need the $85mm.


At another shop (kitamura), I found some second hand 49mm filters all in excellent condition for my Takumar lenses and they were all under ¥800 ($7.30 USD). In the below image, the first filter is an Asahi Pentax YG filter which I'm guessing is for B&W film photography. I bought it anyway because it was pretty old and in great condition with original case, on a DSLR it will just cast a yellow / green on the image, so I'll probably never use it. The second filter is a Kenko Circular PL which are very cool to use, a must have for the outdoors. I had a circular PL for my Pentax FA 28-105 and used it often and was happy to find one cheap for my Takumar lenses.


In the next photo, the first filter is a Kenko MC Protector which I'll leave on the Super Takumar 35mm 3.5 and the second filter is a Kenko MC Skylight 1B which balances colour outdoors.


I will post more information soon on camera shopping in Osaka with directions, maps and other information. I'll also post some photos taken with the Super Takumar 105mm 2.8.

After reading the many cool DIY reader projects at diyphotography.net I saw a cool idea for a cheap and easy DIY snoot for my Vivitar 285HV. So since I have nothing but time on my hands lately, I decided to make one although mine looks different and is much bulkier. I basically used 5mm foam board from Japan's infamous ¥100 stores ($1 USD), cut out the shape and taped it together. Realising it was way too bulky to be transportable, I decided to add a DIY grid spot that fits inside the snoot with relative ease. I made the grid spot out of corrugated plastic craft stuff, cut it to size, glued it together and then taped it up.

So yeah, it looks a little ridiculous, fair enough but it seems to do the job.

With snoot.

With snoot + grid spot

So there you have my 2 in 1 DIY snoot and grid spot for my Vivitar 285HV, for home use it's fine and I'm looking forward in testing it out more thoroughly, especially for moody portraits. When and if I refine this model I want to take a more aesthetic & practical angle, kinda like on this blog. In the near future I'll make a speed strap and a bounce card / diffuser which should be relatively easy and also the DIY soft box.

Where's the best place to show off your top work, the online photographic portfolio? The place where you weed out the shitty photos, group pools, comments and wanky rants by the photographer? The place where you see only the best photos from that photographer and basic information? Well, there are a few options out there and I'm going to list a few just for you, paid and free.

One option is to get your own site/domain/hosting plan. For either a professional or budding enthusiast making a few dollars from their photographic skills, I think this would be the best option. Although this opton is the most editable it is more time consuming and you may want to have some basic html and web design skills but there's a lot of help on the net. I think a good setup would be to get the server space, make a domain name, download wordpress.org's free software or pixelpost.org's software, create a portfolio with some free photoblog themes and a blog all on the same site. Use the blog to bullshit about shoots, ideas, hardware, etc and the portfolio to show your not only just talk, plus you'll probably have a flickr account too for networking. This all will cost you about $150 - $200 per year, not bad.

The free way is just as effective but not as compact, it's a little more spread out, just like here at Photo Shumi. I'm running this blog from blogger.com, my everyday photos at are at flickr and my portfolio is at fotologue. So that's what I want to tell you about, a few cool websites that offer free hosting of your photos, have clean, uncluttered interfaces and are easy to view and navigate your photos.

Personally, I recommend the Japanese run fotologue (don't worry, it's in English too). You get 20mb upload per month, a beautiful flash based dashboard and gallery and very fast uploading / viewing times. It is community based with comments, tagging and groups but it's not as full on as flickr where there's a group for every single topic known to humanity, at fotologue you can be fairly inconspicuous and use the gallery for showing off your work. And if you do happen to get into the community spirit, it's not clustered with shit photos and is quite inspiring to check out the other users. Look at my fotologue portfolio here.

Another free website is Aminus 3 where you can post a photo a day, check out this portfolio by fellow gaijin Mike Cash. Again, it's simple in design and easy for viewers to navigate which is the most important thing when prospective clients may be wanting to check out your work. Could you imagine giving out your card and having someone trawl through your flickr gallery, not good. So that's why I recommend using something that is a little more pleasing to the eye and gives the viewer a chance to see your best work without interference.

UPDATE : 27th 8th 2008

I just remembered another cool site to show your portfolio as well as have a blog, check out Uber.

I was in my local camera shop yesterday, Kitamura Camera where they have a cheap bin with lens caps, straps, used filters, etc and sometimes I come across some decent stuff. So yesterday, I was looking for some 49mm protector filters for my Takumar lenses and happened to find a Kenko MC Portmate A filter, with box and case for ¥500 ($4.50 USD). I'm not sure if it's used but the filter's box is definitely old but the filter is immaculate.

I couldn't find any English information on the web whatsoever, but quite a few in Japanese, so maybe the filter wasn't sold outside Japan. But basically it's a softening filter for portraits. Luckily, the instruction manual had both English and Japanese instructions so I scanned the English one for your viewing pleasure. It states that the Portmate A filter is for 85mm to 135mm lenses, so my Super Takumar 55mm (82.5mm with 1.5x crop factor) should be fine.

As I posted earlier, I'm awaiting the Vivitar 285HV Flash unit, hopefully it gets here tomorrow (Mon 18th). Even though the the flash will work directly with the Pentax K10D out of the box, the supplied cord allows for the flash to only be mounted on the camera which in my view, limits it's use.

So what I've done on my limited budget is buy a Cactus V2s trigger and receiver set from Gadget Infinity which cost $32.95 including postage and when buying through their ebay store, you get a nifty little flash stand for free. I'm looking forward to playing with all my new toys I bought over the past few weeks (Super Takumar 35mm f/3.5, Vivitar 285HV and the Cactus VS2).

The idea of off camera flash to me is a little mind boggling (I'm a Visual Art grad), where radio transmitters, extension cords, PC sync cords all get in the way of getting the job done. But I watched a few YouTube movie tutorials by Photographer Chris Warkocki (codiac2600), also a Pentax Forums member where he talks about the K10D, Cactus V2s triggers and shooting in nightclubs or bars. Watch Part 1 and Part 2 which gives you a good indication how easy and effective off camera flash photography is. Also, check out these videos (1 - 4) with a review of the Cactus VS2.

I've never posted info on on any new and fancy software or hardware but I feel that if I don't tell you about this you, your life and your online viewing experience will be somewhat empty. So, if your a firefox, Safari or IE user and love browsing photos online, download the free PicLens plugin from Cooliris and your viewing experience will change for ever, it actually makes you feel cool, even when your not.

I've been using PicLens for a few weeks now and love it. This plugin is absolutely essential, especially when viewing large quantaties of photos at flickr and perfect for viewing group pools. Download the latest version of PicLens here for your browser.

I went shooting last night at the Fukuyama Matsuri (summer festival) to take photos of all the Japanese dancers in the street and got some pretty horrible results using just the K10D and with Pentax M 50mm 1.7. Even though I got some interesting shots, not many were in focus as I was shooting with such a large aperture (f/1.7) because of the low light or with smaller aperture (f/8) with a high ISO (digital noise), so basically I needed a flash!

Slightly pissed off, I started researching flashes and came across many references and referrals to the Vivitar 285HV, a cheaper alternative to other more expensive brands such as Pentax, Sigma, Metz and Sunpak. I decided to order one from ebay at John's Camera Store for $89.00 USD which seemed pretty damn reasonable to me as I just can't justify spending more on a flash. It should get here in a few days and I'll post some pics, thoughts, opinions and troubles in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, here are two reviews on the Vivitar 285HV at Strobist and PopPhoto.

Finally sold the FA 28-105 f/3.2 over at the Pentax Forums Marketplace for just under what I asked, overall very happy as I can now spend some money on more Takumar lenses. I'm actually going to miss this lens as it's very versatile and capable, hopefully it's new owner will enjoy using it as much as I did.

I decided while the money was coming through PayPal, I'd buy a Super Takumar 35mm f/3.5 from a fellow Pentax Forums member. Here are some images of the lens I'm buying. Looks like it's in very good condition and can't wait to start shooting with it.

My Candid Mantis photo was featured in a JPG Magazine post by Adam Hurly. Thanks.

No, not my wife, not yet anyway :) I'm selling my Pentax FA 28 - 105 f/3.2 lens here at Pentax Forums. For everyday use, this lens is fantastic, I really loved using this lens and the results (for the price) were impressive.

The reason I'm selling the lens is that I want to build up my prime lens collection, mostly I want the Super Takumar 85 f/1.9 and the SMC Takumar 105 f/2.8 and a few others too or go the Pentax ltd route or get the Pentax FA 43. Here's some of the good times had with this lens.

I went to two second hand stores where I live in Fukuyama with a gut feeling I was going to find some lenses. One store, which is right below my apartment had a Super Takumar 135mm f/3.5 with hood and caps at a great price for 3,800 yen (about $35.00 USD). Unfortunately I already have that lens so I didn't make the purchase, if only it was the f/2.8. Next place is a little bigger and had quite a few lenses but only about three in K mount and one M42 which is the lens I bought. I also saw a Pentax K Series prime lens, I think it was the SMC 300mm f/4 going for 14,000 yen ($130.00 USD) which (if the boss lets me) I might pick up.

I can't seem to find any info about this lens or brand, but it's an M42 mount Sun Auto Tele-Zoom 85 - 210mm f/4.8-22 (any aperture for any focal length) which I paid 2,100 yen ($19.50 USD) with front and rear caps and a lens hood. It has the very convenient Manual/Auto switch famous with the Takumar lenses which enables the use of Av mode. The lens seems to be in working order as I took a few test shots in the store but it is missing a small screw on the zoom ring which causes it to very slowly rotate if moved quickly. Once I got back home and cleaned it up, I did realize there was a little hazing or early signs of fungus, but I don't really mind as I doubt I will be using this lens on a regular basis as it's pretty heavy, weighing 800 grams and nearly 2kg mounted on the K10D as it's all metal. The focusing ring is very smooth, is are the aperture blades so for about $20, it was a pretty good deal. Here are some photos of the lens taken with the K10D with the 55mm Super Takumar taken at f/5.6. I'll post some test shots within the week.

Just received an email saying that Photo Shumi is the Blog Of The Day on Fuel My Blog...cool.

I forgot that a few weeks ago the Earth Touch website asked to use my Wallaby photo on their Photo A Day Blog which I posted on their Flickr Group Pool. Check it out here.

Sunday was sports day at the school that I work at in Japan and my job was camera man. I decided to challenge myself and bring my Pentax K10D instead of using their point and shoot which would have resulted in simple but successful photos. With the K10D and three lenses, the task was much more difficult than I anticipated but overall, the shots came out pretty well. I did have issues with the K10D and the setup which resulted in some out of focus and overexposed photos. I shot everything in RAW because I wasn't 100% confident in my ability to take perfect exposures as I was under a little pressure as I was the only person of staff to be taking photos of the event. If I screwed up and couldn't deliver, they would have to rely on spectator sideline snaps.

First of all, I had three lenses with me, all AF which were the DA 18-55, FA 28-105 and the FA 70-200. Neither of these lenses are the fastest at the best of times with AF and it's something I didn't actually think about. Initially, I decided to keep back from the action and shoot with the 70-200 but there were so many parents and family members in the way, so I took advantage of my "Camera Man" status and got in the thick of the action.

The problem was that the lenses or the K10D just couldn't handle multiple shots in a short burst and AF was a major issue. In hindsight, I should have shot in AFC (continuous mode) where the camera would then track the moving object, I'm not sure how well it would have worked with my budget lenses but I should have done my homework.

Unfortunately I cannot post any sample photos due the the privacy law.

Gotta love Japanese customer service...I ordered the tripod, remote and trigger last Sunday night and I received the tripod yesterday (2 days) and the remote/trigger today (3 days).

Her's the items, stolen images from Amazon (At least I credited them!)










I was thinking in which ways can this new setup advance my photography and these major points;

- Sharper photos.

- Steady night shots

- Controlled perspective

- Self portraits

- Bulb photography

I've been putting a few yen away each month without the wife knowing and decided to buy a few things to help me take my photography skills to the next level. Her's some items I've been thinking of buying;

1) Flash - Sigma 530 DG Super (24,000 yen)

2) Tripod - Slik Pro 330 DX (8,000 yen on special)

3) Lens - Probably something 2nd hand and wide angle

I decided to skip the lens, I have enough for now and LBA (Lens Buying Addiction) is controlled and monitored by a professional (my wife). A flash would be great and I really do want one but I decided that can wait as I still want to practice more with working in low light conditions and flash photography would obviously distract from that. So I decided on buying the Slik Pro 330 DX and with it I also bought the Pentax Remote F and the Pentax Cable Switch all equalling about 13,000 yen ($130.00 AUD).

Hopefully the tripod is what I'm looking for; light, durable with a good price and from what I've read, Slik offers that with most of their products. I'll write up a more detailed review of the Slik Pro 330 DX and the remote and shutter combo. Hopefully it will all be delivered within the week.

Everyday, at least once if not more if I'm feeling really saucy, I check a hand full of photo based websites for inspiration, news, networking and commenting. So I thought I'd share some of my favorite links and a few words about them.

Digital Photography School - A great, informative website for beginners to enthusiasts. Some of the content can be somewhat basic but overall it has great topics, projects and resources from it's readers. They have great weekly assignments (which I never participate in) though for inspiration and ideas, it's great to check out the submitted work plus their forum is pretty good too.

Flickr - As a member, I go here fairly often to check my contacts new photos, submit images, make comments, add new friends and see if anyone was kind enough to leave one of my photos a message. Flickr isn't the prettiest of photo galleries but the networking and quality of photos is outstanding, you just have to filter through the shit to get there.

JPG Magazine - The reason I like this site so much is that nearly all of the content in the mag and the site is all user based submissions. From the photos, stories, networking and inspiring monthly themes, this site is checked out a few times a day.

Photo Answers - I find UK photo magazines to be the most informative and useful compared to over bloated US mags and malnourished Australian mags and Practical Photography magazine is one of the best enthusiast ones out there. The Photo Answers website is the online version of the mag with a very great array of tips, video reviews and overall top quality information. This is one of my fav photography sites to check out and I buy their magazine whenever I'm back home.

DIY Photography - This site is cool in the fact that they are doing their own thing, coming up with great alternative ideas for readers to try. I personally haven't tried any of their backyard Einstein projects but if I was more into flash photography or DIY electronics, maybe I would. Nevertheless, it's still a good read and a site I check every 3 or 4 days.

Pentax Forums - As a Pentax user, this forum has been nothing but a huge help to me. The people are friendly, unless your rude to them where they will then ever so nicely crucify you :) They also have a great Pentax lens database with user reviews, a user gallery and monthly competitions.

Other sites that I check out;

Strobist
DSLR Blog
PBase
Photo.net
DPReview

JPG Magazine have a new theme for Issue 17 titled Creatures and I have submitted this photo titled "The Candid Mantis". I think it matches the theme well as it is a little different. Have a click and a vote if you feel it fits.