Architecture, Pentax DA 18-55 AL II, Pentax K200D, Project 52

Project 52 – #1 – It Begins

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Southbank Peace Pagoda

Originally uploaded by jezza323

Here is the first shot for my 2010 Project 52 which I have decided to use the theme of “Brisbane Landmarks”. It is a Nepalese Peace Pagoda located at Southbank in Brisbane, QLD Australia. It was built for Expo ’88 and petitioned successfully to remain on the old Expo site (which is now Southbank).

This photo is a HDR, combined from 11 shots. All shots were taken at f16.0 and ISO 100, and shutter speeds were – 1/30, 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30 secs.

Processing as follows :-

  • Shot in Pentax RAW (PEF)
  • Imported into Lightroom 2.5
  • Shots exported to 16-bit TIFF
  • Photomatix generated HDR from 11 16-bit TIFFs
  • Photmatix Tone Mapped using Tone Compressor
  • Saved as 16-bit TIFF
  • Imported new file back to Lightroom 2.5
  • Cropped in Lightroom 2
  • Edited in Lightroom  as shown below (settings not shown were not edited)
Gear

My Photography Gear

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This is a full list of all my photography gear, I will try my best to keep it up to date as I buy and sell various things

Camera Body

  • Pentax K5-II
  • Pentax K200D
  • Canon Powershot A590 IS (running CHDK software) – LEFT BEHIND
  • Canon Powershot ELPH 300HS (my wife’s camera)
  • Pentax Q

Pentax Lenses

  • Pentax SMC DA 18-55mm AL II f3.5-5.6 - SOLD
  • Pentax SMC A 50mm f1.7 – SOLD
  • Pentax SMC M 50mm f1.7 (has fungus) – BINNED
  • Pentax SMC M 28mm f2.8 – SOLD
  • Pentax SMC FA 100-300mm f4.7-5.8 – GONE
  • Pentax F 35-70mm f3.5-4.5 - SOLD, BOUGHT NEW COPY
  • Pentax Q 01 Prime 8.5mm f1.9 (47mm equivalent)
  • Pentax Q 02 Zoom 5-15mm f2.8-4.5 (27.5-83.0mm equivalent) - SOLD
  • Pentax Q 03 Fisheye 3.2mm f5.6 (17.5mm equivalent)

Russian Lenses

  • Jupiter 9 85mm f2.0 M42
  • Tair 11-A 135mm f2.8 M42
  • Mir 1 37mm f2.8 M42 – SOLD
  • Helios 44-2 58mm f2.0 M42 – SOLD
  • Tair 3-Phs 300mm f4.5 M42

Others

  • Sigma 30mm f1.4
  • Sigma 10-20mm f4.0-5.6
  • Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 II APO DG EX MACRO (w HSM)
  • Sigma 150-500mm f5.0-6.3 APO DG OS (w HSM)
  • Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 - SOLD
  • Hanimar 135mm f2.8 M42 - SOLD
  • Soligor 135mm f3.5 M42 - SOLD
  • Vivitar 135mm f3.5 M42 - SOLD
  • Pentacon 30mm f3.5 M42- SOLD
  • Vivitar 35mm f3.5 M42 (loose rear elements, its my paper weight)- BINNED

Lens Accessories

  • Lens cleaning brush
  • Lens Cleaning tissues
  • Lens cleaning cloths (lots of these) – 3 packs are available from DealExtreme
  • Giottos Rocket Blower Medium
  • 67mm -> 77mm filter step up ring (allows 77mm filter on a 67mm threaded lens)
  • Kenko SHQ 1.5x Teleconverter, works with SDM/HSM lenses
  • Quantaray 2x AF Teleconverter
  • Vivitar Auto Teleconverter 2x-22 (allows wide open focusing but has no contacts and no autofocus) – SOLD
  • Vivitar Auto Extension Tubes AT-22 (allows wide open focusing but has no contacts and no autofocus)- LEFT BEHIND
  • 49mm Hoya 3 position rubber hood- BINNED
  • 58mm black metal hood – bought from ebay (for FA 100-300)- LEFT BEHIND

Lens Filters

  • 52mm Kenko MC CPL
  • 52mm Hoya R72 Infrared
  • 52mm ND400 as mentioned here
  • 62mm Kenko MC UV
  • 67mm Kenko PRO1 Digital Protector
  • 67mm Kenko PRO1 Digital CPL
  • 67mm Hoya ND400 (9 s top ND filter)
  • 77mm IR720
  • 77mm Kenko MC CPL
  • 49mm Cokin CPL- LEFT BEHIND
  • 49mm UV x3 (came with various lenses)- LEFT BEHIND
  • 49mm Blue- LEFT BEHIND
  • 49mm Hoya Star Six- LEFT BEHIND
  • 49mm Hoya Centre Spot (blurs out the edges, leaving only the centre of the image clear)- LEFT BEHIND
  • 52mm Hoya NDX400 (9 stop ND filter) – SOLD
  • 52mm IR720 as mentioned here- BINNED
  • 62mm Kenko MC CPL – SOLD

Cokin P Filters and Accessories

  • Chinese copy 3 slot Cokin P holder
  • Chinese copy 1 slot Cokin P holder (wide angle)
  • 67mm adapter
  • 77mm adapter
  • Graduated ND8 Filter
  • ND 3.0 (10 stop) Filter

Flashes and Accessories

  • Sunpak Auto 200 flash (part of Dad’s gear, unsafe for DSLR hot shoe mounting)- LEFT BEHIND
  • Optical Trigger- LEFT BEHIND
  • Hand made diffuser using cardboard, alfoil and plain white paper- LEFT BEHIND

Other Accessories

  • Cable Release Remote – bought from DealExtreme
  • IR Push Button Remote – bought from DealExtreme
  • 3 axis hotshoe mounted bubble level – bought from DealExtreme
  • Pentax D-BG3 battery grip for K200D
Tripod
  • Slik 500 Pro DX w Head- SOLD
  • Manfrotto ART-190 aluminium tripod with Benro KB-2 Ballhead
Landscapes, Pentax DA 18-55 AL II, Pentax K200D

Cedar Creek Long Exposure

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Cedar Creek 3 Falls
Originally uploaded by jezza323

Here is an older shot I took. This is of Cedar Creek just outside of Samford not far from Brisbane. No processing details from this one as it is from quite a while ago. Although I can promise that the PP was minimal, just some white balance tuning, tone curve and maybe a slight exposure adjustment.

This was taken quite early in the morning, the sun was still hidden behind the trees. I combined this with a circular polarising filter, and a Cokin P sized Tian Ya ND8 filter on my K200D with kit lens at 18mm and my trusty tripod.

The exposure was 8 seconds at f11.0 (where I find this lens to be the sharpest).

Post your water long exposure shots in the comments section!

Pentax K200D

Summer Storm vs Shutter Speed

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We just had a lunchtime summer storm roll through Brisbane, so while it was raining I took some shots of a tree near my house with the rain coming down on it. I thought it would be interesting to see the difference in the image of the rain with some different shutter speeds.

I setup my Pentax K200D on my tripod, mounted the Tair-11a 135mm f2.8 lens to get in close to some of the rain, and to keep the background blurred I set the aperture to f2.8. I set the camera to Aperture Priority mode (Av) to let it meter itself. The ISO was set to 400. This was the achieve a nice short shutter speed, and the resulting exposure was 1/640 sec and is shown below.

The following exposure I set the ISO to 100, and added a TianYa ND8 Cokin P sized filter in front of the lens (just held it by hand). This was to achieve a much longer exposure, and we end up with a 1/30 sec shutter speed and is shown below.

Take note of the difference in the rain drops. The first shot freezes the drops in mid air, while in the 2nd shot you get a long streak of falling water droplets. I personally prefer the first image, it conveys a sense of action to me that the 2nd image does not.

Processing on the first image was as follows :-

  • Shot in Pentax RAW (PEF)
  • Import into Lightroom 2.5
  • Processed as shown below (settings not show have not been altered)
  • Export to JPEG for Web
Project 52

Happy New Year & Project 52 Launch

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As we approach the end of 2009 let me wish you all a wonderful and prosperous 2010. At the same time I would like to announce that I will be starting a project 52 (1 photo per week) for 2010. I will post all shots, all processing info and all locations here on my blog. So back to the celebrations, Happy New Year!

Project 52

Gear

More Russians

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Some more russian lenses I have thought of since my previous post on the subject which are quite well regarded. Also wanted to mention the fact that I have finally ordered a Jupiter-9 85mm f2.0 M42 mount lens. It may take a few weeks to arrive from Russia itself though. Anyway, back to the lenses. This list should get you started on a collection of great fun Russians

  • Zenitar 16mm f2.8 fisheye (still made new in all mounts)
  • Mir-20 20mm f3.5 (quite wide on a film or full frame SLR)
  • Mir-24 35mm f2.0
  • Mir-1 37mm f2.8 (but the later Mir 1-B is reported to be a bit soft)
  • Volna-9 50mm f2.8 Macro around 1:2
  • Industar 50-2 50mm f3.5 pancake (VERY small)
  • Industar 61 LZ 50mm f2.8 also Macro around 1:2
  • Helios 44 series 58mm f2.0 (some discussion about which is best HERE)
  • Jupiter-9 85mm f2.0
  • Helios 40 series 85mm f1.5
  • Tair-11a 135mm f2.8
  • Jupiter 37 135mm f3.5
  • Jupiter-21 200mm f4.0
  • Tair-3 300mm f4.5
Brenizer Panorama, Pentax K200D, Tair-11a

A Backlit Brenizer Angel

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A Backlit Brenizer Angel
Originally uploaded by jezza323

Another Brenizer Panorama from the Toowong Cemetary taken yesterday. This one is again with the Tair-11a on K200D. Its 58 images stitched with Autopano Giga 2 and edited (cropped, curves, colours, exposure brush) in Lightroom 2.5.

Processing :-

  • Shot in Manual Mode, ISO 200, f2.8, 1/320 sec shutter – Pentax RAW (PEF), custom white balance.
  • Imported into Lightroom 2.5
  • All shots in pano exported to subfolder “Pano-5″ as 16 bit TIFFs
  • Stitched using Autopano Giga 2
  • Saved-as 16 bit TIFF
  • Imported result back into Lightroom 2.5 library
  • Edited in Lightroom as show below (click pics for more detail). I did use a preset for most settings. Also cropped but not shown.
Exposure Brush to show more detail in the Angel
Develop settings
Brenizer Panorama, Pentax K200D

Flowering about your Resting Place

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Another Brenizer shot I took today in the Toowong Cemetary in Brisbane. This one was also taken with the Tair-11a 135mm f2.8.

  • 42 shots taken with K200D, manual mode, ISO 100, f2.8, 1/640 sec, custom white balance, shot in JPEG (to save space)
  • Import into Lightroom 2.5
  • Stitched with Autopano Giga 2
  • Save as 16 bit TIFF
  • Import result into Lightroom 2.5
  • Edit as shown below
Lightroom Edits (click for larger)

A Blog of my Photographic Journeys, Equipment, Techniques and Images.