Photo Shumi

Friday, 22 August 2008

Pinhead

Super Takumar 55 mm 1.8 : f/2.8 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/180

Testing out the Vivitar 285HV flash on the Pentax k10D, this photo had some ambient light and the Vivitar was bounced from the ceiling. I boosted the brightness contrast a little but nothing too dramatic. To speak the truth, I don't really know what I'm doing with the Vivitar but it's pretty easy to get some decent shots out of it. The colour codes; yellow, red, blue and purple start from lowest to highest power and I take a few test shots with the desired aperture and adjust from there. When using an open shutter, I use either yellow or red and for apertures 4 to 8 I use either blue or purple, pretty simple. I guess in time I'll learn how to use the exposure dial more effectively or be able to judge the scene I'm shooting anf control the light from there.

I also recieved the Cactus V2s remote trigger / receiver today and tested a few shots with the Vivitar 285HV and Pentax K10D on Mr.Pinhead. Out of about 30 test shots, the flash fired 100% of the time, although the flash was no more than 40cm from the camera. The reason I say this is that I've read that the Cactus V2s can be somewhat unpredictable and shoot approx 8 out of 10 times as they are a little on the cheap side, depending on the distance.

Here's one shot where I used a lamp to cast the elongated shadow and the off camera flash which was bounced off the ceiling as a fill light. The lamp casts terrible yellow light which I kind of fixed in post but still, the colours are pretty shitty.

Super Takumar 55 mm 1.8 : f/5.6 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/180

This is the same image as above with a little post tweaking to really give it that creepy, horror touch, just how Pinhead likes it!

Thursday, 21 August 2008

Online Photographic Portfolio

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.

Super Takumar 35mm f/3.5 - Lens Test

After having this lens for a few days, I haven't had the chance to take a lot of photos with it but a few things I noticed is one, it's really small (more so than the SMC Takumar 28mm f/3.5) and two, it's very sharp, even wide open (f/3.5). Here's some size comparison shots to my other Takumar lenses.

In order of appearance : Super Takumar 135 3.5, Super Takumar 55mm 1.8, SMC Takumar 28mm 3.5 and Super Takumar 35mm 3.5

To make this a complete picket fence happy family, I'll need to adopt the 35mm 2, 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.9 and the 105mm 2.8.

Super Takumar 35mm 3.5

I did mention she was sharp right? Check out the 100% crop below (unedited).

Nice threads huh?

Wednesday, 20 August 2008

The Selves

Super Takumar 35 mm 3.5 : f/5.6 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/180 sec (bounced off the ceiling)

(view large)

First real setup self portrait shot, others didn't really work out too well, especially when using a manual lens. I was also testing out my newly acquired Super Takumar 35mm f/3.f lens which I bought over at Pentax Forums Marketplace. Sorry about the model subject, I didn't really feel like taking photos of mundane things around the appartment and I was the only willing subject around :)

Photos were taken with the Slik Pro 330 DX, Pentax wireless remote, Pentax K10D, Super Takumar 35mm 3.5 and Vivitar 285HV.

Kenko Portmate A filter

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.

Tuesday, 19 August 2008

Vivitar 285HV - First Impressions and Test Shots

So...The Vivitar 285HV came today and of course, like a little girl when she gets her first boyfriend, I squealed in delight as my wife shook her head. First impression...BIG! Man this thing is huge, it actually dwarfs the K10D as if it were a little point and shoot, check this out.

So, after the initial shock of it's gargantuan size, I, unlike other barbarian men, actually read the manual. Then, after not understanding a thing, attached it to the K10D and started firing away until I kind of figured out what was going on. Then, I went back to the manual, did a little cross referencing and before I knew it, it was producing acceptable photos. Photos below were shot in RAW and are 100% unedited, click images to enlarge.

Super Takumar 35 mm 3.5 : f/8 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/180 sec (bounced off the ceiling)

Super Takumar 55 mm 1.8 : f/2.8 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/180 sec (bounced at 60°)

Super Takumar 55 mm 1.8 : f/2.8 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/180 sec (bounced off the ceiling)

Above image at 100% - Just showing off the Super Takumar 55mm sharpness (check out that dust!)

So after an hour or so of playing about the Vivitar 285HV I came to the conclusion that I'm going to thoroughly enjoy taking my photography to a hopeful next level. And next week, when the Cactus V2s triggers come, it will be even more fun! I'll have a more thorough review/test in a few weeks.

Sunday, 17 August 2008

Cactus V2s Wireless flash Trigger

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.

Pic Lens - The Future

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.

Friday, 15 August 2008

Fukuyama Matsuri #4

Pentax M 50 mm 1.7 : f/1.7 (?) : ISO - 560 : Shutter - 1/180

A beautiful woman should always be in focus and luckily, this one is. The reason I cropped the photo square was due to the distracting elements in the background which took away from the young lady and her graceful movements. This is one of the few photos of the night that were actually well exposed and in focus.

On another note, I also found the Pentax M 50mm 1.7 a little difficult to focus while 1: under pressure as my mother-in-law wanted to see every photo I took on the LCD, 2: lack of light and 3: The M 50mm lens focusing ring is smaller than the Super Takumar 55mm 1.8.

Fukuyama Matsuri #6

Pentax M 50 mm 1.7 : f/4 (?) : ISO - 400 : Shutter - .7 sec

This is one of the images that even though interesting, I had trouble with taking in focus photos of the issues I mention in the last post. It's a little more artistic and which makes it hard to see what it is (Japanese men dancing at a Matsuri). The sense of movement, tone and use of available light along with some post processing makes this one of the better shots of the evening.

Thursday, 14 August 2008

Vivitar 285HV

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.

Wednesday, 13 August 2008

Pentax FA 28-105 f/3.2 SOLD - Super Takumar 35mm f/3.5 BOUGHT!

Finally sold the FA 28-105 f/3.2 over at the 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.

Where I Used To Be

Super Takumar 55 mm 1.8 : f/1.8 : ISO - 280 : Shutter - 1/10

I think this photo has an interesting, dark and moody feel to it especially due to the lighting, glass and tone. I'd like to take some more photos behind this frosted glass as I think it produces some really interesting shapes and shadows.

Monday, 11 August 2008

Sun Auto Tele-Zoom 85 - 210mm f/4.8 - Test Shots

Took some test photos today at the Fukuyama Port area with the Sun Auto Tele-Zoom 85 - 210mm f/4.8 lens I recently bought . All the photos below are from the camera with no image adjustments, all shot in RAW.

I wasn't expecting much from this lens quality wise so the results were expected, although some shots turned out ok, especially if I were to tweak them in post like I do to all of my photos. Contrast is pretty decent, although sharpness was lacking in all the photos, especially when blown up. Contrasty shots come curtasy of high colour fringing (chromatic aberation), especially seen in the bird photo at 100% crop.

I didn't get a chance to test the bokeh quality (only seen in the fence photo) or play with the different appertures as it was 35 C° with 60% humidity, so I just wanted to go home and sit in the A/C.

So will I be using this lens? Probably not that often or never as it's just not practical, the image quality isn't there and I'm not much of a large tele shooter. So then you may ask, as my wife already has, why the fuck did you buy it? Well, it was 2,100 yen and I like to spend money on things I won't use.

Here's some shots - All taken with the Pentax K10D. Click for a larger image.

f stop - f/4.8 : focal length - 85mm : ISO - 400 : Shutter Speed - 1/3000

100% crop - slight blurring

f stop - f/4.8 : focal length - 210mm : ISO - 400 : Shutter Speed - 1/500

f stop - f/8 : focal length - 85mm : ISO - 400 : Shutter Speed - 1/4000

f stop - f/8 : focal length - 210mm : ISO - 200 : Shutter Speed - 1/90

f stop - f/4.8 : focal length - 85mm : ISO - 200 : Shutter Speed - 1/180

f stop - f/8 : focal length - 85mm : ISO - 400 : Shutter Speed - 1/750

100% crop - Chromatic Aberration

Saturday, 9 August 2008

Sundown & A Fire In The Sky

Super Takumar 55 mm 1.8 : f/1.8 : ISO - 100 : Shutter - 1/500

This was shot at the same time as my last post, except that it was taken with the Super Takumar 55mm 1.8 with an open aperture and low ISO, so it was a quick shot in low light, so therefore not a lot of detail was captured in the clouds. When I converted the photo to mono, the low and interesting cloud formation really popped out, giving it a ghostly, splashing wave like feel.