Photografica-Karenisque

Among the WordPress photo-bloggers, Karen of Draw and Shoot is a photographer

I’m following more than 3 years as she is the Photographer who can capture

the air beyond the image can tell. 

So, I want to learn from her a lot though, art is not a kind of faculty we can copy

but we have to born with, still, some of her technique such as intentionally blurr

the image or make it out of focus, could be  somewhat superficially mimicked.

—– anyhow, those are the first attempt to learn.  🙂

(Shaking thousand times, there could be a moment to discover a secret.  🙂 )

Of cause, even making identical image doesn’t mean able to create the same art.

(anyway, I don’t have the same woods or the river, not mention the same snow ! )

—– buying the same camera, in order to take same good photo like a famous

photographer — is a well repeated joke.    And using the same technique doesn’t

make same photo is “strangely” true !

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Many years ago, I set-up the lighting and a model to teach portrait photo to the

students of  St. Martin’s.

While shooting, I found a tick on the model’s expression, so, I asked a student

“Hey give me the camera, let me click” and took a photo using her camera.  

I did twice of this during a session.  — When the film was developed and a contact

print was made, the other graphic student of  St. Martin pointed out those two

photos which I took, saying that they are looks different. (but not know why.)

The same lighting, the same model sitting on the same chair.  Camera and the

lens was the same and on the same film, still the differences were clearly visible.

= If the photographer couldn’t make such difference, better go to another 

profession.   And the art student who couldn’t distinguish the difference

among the shots, better change the school.  

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Azalea and Rhododendron

Even among the same family of  Ericaceae,  Azalea and Rhododendron is

very close.  Often their flowers are indistinguishable. (I don’t care.  🙂 )

A bit fragile branched tree is Azalea and having stiffer branches, thick leaves is

Rhododendron —– in general.

In fact, in the mountain, both Azalea and Rhododendron are quite common.

—– well,  Azalea in the grassy meadow and Rhododendron grows much higher,

even rocky ridged area of the mountain.

Even in the wild, both of them got variety of colors though, in most of

the case, one area got the same kind and the same colored flower.

So, in Japan, we climbers are proudly boasting,  has seen the special

variety of the Rhododendron in the particular mountain.

It seems, the Rhododendron has an alkaloid (poison or medicinal constituency)

 which rise a blood pressure, hence some are believing it has an Aphrodisiac effect.

In the mountain Shelter,  I observed a group of the people experimenting it and

showed the effects = feel hot and itchy on the skin and having a feeling that their

 earlobe are swollen.  (but not their part of the anatomy —– how shame)  😀  😀 

So, when I read a description in the book  “Third eyes” —— Tibetan family eat

honey pickled Rhododendron flowers. = I was very suspicious about the

authenticity of the book = then, later I discovered that the author was in fact

an English Milkman.  Whole book was just a fiction.

So, don’t make a Rhododendron Salad.

They are pretty as they looks !  (nothing more,  nothing less)

(Whole picture were taken by  Canon Fish-eye Zoom 8~15 mm F4

—– it’s a pretty useful lens ! )

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Pippin’s Art

As I described in the other post,  South London Deptford is a peculiar town.

And an artist Steven Pippin must be the most well known (to the certain

people) peculiar resident there.   On the Deptford High Street,  his studio

or work-shop having a sign as an Optician.   (I haven’t ask him why though,

I guess, may be because he is dealing with “Optical things”  🙂 )

So, in his “shop front” there are numerous “Kind of Camera” or “Used to be a

Camera” which are heavily modified or some might say “almost destroyed.” 

Whether his art lies in the resulting images created by those cameras or the

Camera itself is the Sculpture —– or the action to make those Cameras are

the conceptual art ? —– is a question but I couldn’t find an answer yet.

Like a typical artist, he seemed to care little and just doing what he want to do.

(Right = Pippin.  Center = Julian,  and James —– we three were from the

Wireless Workshop in Greenwich)

Often, his creation was more of the destruction — such as to make a camera

explode or shot with a gun.

But his recent project  [ Ω = 1 ]  is a kind of autonomous  machine to keep a

pencil standing upright. = It’s a X-Y optical feed-back system, and he want to put

this machine installed on top of the tall tower. —– (on the end, he seemed to 

persuade the people of the [Sky-tree (634 m tall)] in Tokyo to install this on top.)

(I guess, this optical feed-back system would  work only on the solid ground.  

If the machine itself, with optical detector altogether moves (not just wobbling

pencil), its movement may go beyond the feed-back range, as the Sky-tree’s top  

sways more than 5 meters, wen hit by an earthquake or strong wind ! )

—– incidentally, the link for the anti-shake structure of the Sky-tree Tower 

[Shin-bashira] and  [Mitsubishi Counter-weight system].

By the way, the reason why Sky-tree was 634 m tall was because it’s in Tokyo where

used to be called the county of Musashi. (to pronounce  6=Mu, 3= San, 4=Shi) 😀

Photo Left = Carl Zeiss’ folding camera “Zeiss Ikonta” was burnt to produce

the image of the  “End of the Camera”.   In his “Aladdin’s cave” it’s hard to

guess what there and what for or what would it become to.    🙂

He got fully equipped work shop and all those tools are pretty familiar to me.

Though, to the local folks, the world see through his window must be

the remotest world, let alone to understand the significance of the

[Half-cut Camera] !

So, whether his studio is transparent or invisible to the people or not,

a gap on the street itself shows the mysterious zone in the human mind.

Ω[]

Mono Hole – DD Pinhole Comparison

Another day, I demonstrated the effects of the Pinhole to a sceptic in a Park.

So, the Photo above is the reference shot by a Fish-eye lens.

Photo above are the images made by [Wide-angle Mono Pinhole] (Left)

and the Pinhole alone (= Wide-angle lens was removed) (Right)

And here, the Photos were made by [Concentric Double-density Pinhole]

with Wide-angle lens attached (Left) and without (Right)

A Fish-eye image of  “Pink Forget-me-not” (I think) — note,

even Fish-eye lens has limited depth of field.

Left was [Wide-angle Mono (single) Pinhole] (Orange cast was caused

by a light-leak.)  Right was [Wide-angle DD-Pinhole]

Left = Wide-angle Mono-Pinhole.  Right = Pinhole alone and close to the flowers.

(Remember, Pinhole has no focus —– even no view-finder image = too dark.  

Therefore all those photos were the blind-shots)

Left = Wide-angle DD-Pinhole.  

Right = Pinhole alone and close to the flowers. (The line in the left side

was caused by an internal reflection.)

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At least, my friend was convinced that the effect was not by a digital

manipulation though still sceptic about the significance of the image.  

That’s a matter of the taste Sir.  😀

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View from Roof-top

Me and my friends went up to a roof-top of a building in Greenwich.  

One of the friend brought up 800 mm mirror lens on Canon and me with the

same D-D Pinhole, the other with a compact camera and we took some pictures. 

Though we didn’t stay long as it was a bit windy and  chilly.  Still, I could see a kind

of potential with Wide-angle Pinhole for the land-scape photography = weather

permitted, with something great lighting such as a sky burning sunset.  

(Something like the paintings of Turner !  🙂 )

I borrowed 800 mm lens and clicked few pictures.  

In the Photo left is the top of the Canary Wharf (1.8 mile / 2.8 km),  and in 

the Right photo, the Victorian Tower of the House of Parliament and the

Westminster Abbey (5 miles / 8 km away).

And this is the top of so-called O2 / Millennium Dome (1.8 mile / 2.8 km away). 

Photo left,  the mast of the Cutty Sark and the Church tower.

The clock face in the right photo was a part enlargement.  

(Not too bad quality for a £150 second-hand lens.)

 

 

Impressionists Flower Photo — like oil paintings/DD Pinhole Images

These are the Photos of  [Wide-angle Double-density Pinhole]  😀

Just a pretty pretty sweet pictures.  Nothing else. (Don’t ask too much.)

Now a day, sharp pan-focused images are everywhere,  especially “Phone-Camera”

become even more popular. (The smaller the camera, image become more

Pan-Focused)  —– Though, our eyes are not Pan-Focus = Brain only sees where and

what the person wants to see and feel irritated to see Pan-Focus image —-> Thence,

Google issued a program for Android called [Google Camera (Google Play)] which

makes an image “Selectively Focused”.

I can make a photo, well Pan-Focused if I need but other than that I’m not much

fond of sharp image = rather like an ambiguous image, double image etc.  🙂

So, I’ve spent many years to seek and try all sorts of “Soft Focus” techniques. = This

Double-Density Pinhole with additional Concave Lens, which made it Wide-angle,

is the best so far.  Not all-rounder yet it produces pretty jokey image.  I like it.   😀

 I don’t think even a Botanist wants to see the details of common garden flower.  

What we need is just a coloful flowery air !

It seems what I need to add here is, a distant back ground

and the blue sky over it and the Victorian Ladies with umbrella ! 

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Carnival in Greenwich (3) — Impressionists Pinhole Photo

I expected that the bold color and the shape of Masquerade and the Carnival costume

would suite for the Pinhole photo though, in real life, it was not as colorful or bold.

This photo is a reference, how it looks like through normal lens !

Double density Pinhole creates big hallo around brighter subject,  

though, this softness seems to be a bit too much to be the Impressionist’s.  😀

(In this post, the results of  two days shot = wet cloudy and fine / bright day

were mixed, hence, it might give confusing looks.)

Wide-angle Double-density Pinhole was mounted on Canon 5D Mk-III.

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Carnival in Greenwich (2)

Well, I went to Greenwich twice.  The first day was rather wet and poor light.  

The photos I put in the previous post were , in fact taken next day

when it was bright weather.

It seems he does know the expression on the fingers —- at least.  🙂

Then gathered audiences were put on the long march to the venue.  

It looked like an impressive cattle run which scared the local kids.

When the party reached to the destination, they could sip a drink or two,

while entertained by some comical acts. 

And a theatrical performance of the intrigue in Venice.

Then, to the next scene, the audiences were again taken to yet another location.

Venetian story has to be told on the canal.  😀

—– then moved to yet another location (though, I don’t know any further)

(It was getting too dark for photo.)

Ciao !

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Carnival ? in Greenwich — 500mm Lens Portrait

For a Theatrical Art Event in Deptford, the audience was asked to come to the

gathering point at Cutty-Sark ship Greenwich, while wearing a mask.

So, at 6:30 evening, Thames side of Greenwich suddenly see the

Venetian Carnival like atmosphere. 

Performer, their staffs audiences all alike under the mask.

Those photos were taken by Tamron SP 500mm F8 Lens on Canon 5D Mk-II.

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Quasi-Portrait — another Population

Dummy or Figure what ever called,

they are there —– are they ?

Same as a children’s toy or even a pet animal,

how do you take count or to recognize them ?

Do they exists like a person or are they

just a piece of material ?

As some one suggested, aren’t they active in

the middle of night without us knowing ?

M m m m m ?

Why they are there in that shape ?

Who asked them there or created as they are ?

So, —– are they just a product of our delusion ? —– or even our desire ? ? ?

But are they or aren’t they ?

Or the commercialism expecting them to get our attention ?

Or we are having a delusion over them to act for our desire ?

Or we are having a misunderstanding  “Once I had a time with him (or her)” ?

Is that a dream we want ?  = a proof of  “I was” —– a memory taken to where ?

To the heaven ? —– Do you believe is there such things exists ?

How bizarre isn’t it !    Is this a nature of us, human mind ? ? ?

——-

(Those photos were taken by Leiz Elmarit-R 35mm F2.8 on Canon 5D Mk-III

—– This lens creates phenomenally crisp image ! )

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