Color of Flash-light
As now, photography is open to anybody and bast majority of the camera user has no
interest to the technical aspects surrounding the photography, while expecting the
manufacturer provide everything what they needs perfect.
Hence, they don’t even care whether it is DSLR or Phone-camera.
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So, everybody believing flash-light is the flash-light and all same. Though, it is not true
—– some are more blue. Even a professional studio photographer may not noticed but
just believing “As long as they buy reputed studio flash, it is the industrial standard”.
In certain extent, it is true. The quality of the flash has been really improved. (and
became very cheap.) 😉
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The photo above, they are the flash-tube, most left came from Bowens. (are they still exists ?)
Second is Balcar’s —– (mind you this tube alone costed £200 !) Third is for ring flash-light.
(This is the Ring-flash I made for the photos which was published in the Zoom Magazine.
= Ring Flash for Fish-eye Lens. —– Since, the subject was over-shadowed by the camera itself,
it was necessary to illuminate ! Still, the lens has 180 degree of view, flash has to be exactly
in the same plain of the lens-front. = If the flash was before the lens, it will be in the picture.
If it was behind the lens, the shadow of the lens will appear in the picture. 😀 )
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Though, this flash-tube was very blue (about 6500 K) I needed to use a Kodak Color
Compensation Filter inside of flash. — Most of the flash produces 6000 K Color-temperature.
Though, the standard of the Printing Industry is 5500 K, so that photo above, Bowens tube was
gold color tinted to warm-up the color a bit. This slight difference makes the skin-tone better.
= So, you may try to tinker the flash-light, such as stick a cello-tape on the flash face and put a
red line of maker-ink (never draw an ink direct) —– it would make
the faces in a party looks more drunk. 😀
Gauzed Image or in a Reflection — My Answer to Elena’s Paintings
When I saw the paintings in a fantastically talented artist Elena Caravera’s blog, of which
a girl’s portrait was overlaid by gauze like white, I found there is somewhat similar psyche
exists in the mind of the painter = in order to give a psychological depth, intentionally cover
the painting and make the image fuzzier.
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Strangely you may think, I’ve been creating “Not sharp” photos intentionally over 40 years.
Since I started my photography taking the photos of Nature, and the close-up photography had
become my part-time job when I was in my Uni’, to make clear sharp image became a norm
and a routine, then I started to go further departing from cosy home of normal photography.
In our generation, some photographers gone to the rough-grain image such as Moriyama
or the subject the society despised such as Araki, etc. but I was rather enchanted by the
ghost of the image, which we can’t see, or hidden behind of fuzzy or double images.
Since then, I tried Soft-focus lens, Improvised, modified lens, Lens from an old folding camera on
a handmade camera etc. to see fuzzy image or the image on a reflective surface —– see through
a distorted glass material etc. —– I got thousand of this kind of photos.
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Photography is a COPY of the subject. = The more realistic and the closer to the reality of the
subject, it become mere substitute of the real thing. It’s better to see the real thing if possible.
But when its reality was lost, its image started to have its own mind. Whether it is in fact my
own mind or the curse to the image, it start to assert its own voice = the photo became
independent of the subject. —– or, that’s what I’m thinking. 😉
Though, I don’t know, what Elena is thinking. 😀
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Hand-held Photo for 1 second
This photo was taken in a church in Schwetzingen, Germany when I visited and listened
hundred of Pipe Organ in Europe.
As far as I remember, this photo must be the best usable Hand-held photo (which got an
evidence), in my entire life. —– how can I say this ? = The film was Kodachrome ISO 25.
The lighting condition like this = if it was ISO 400, 1/30 or 1/15, F2.8. —– just count on
your fingers, it became 1/2 ~ 1 second for ISO 25 Film. But the lens was Pentax 17 mm F4.
It was in deed 1 second F4. Please look into the mirror above the organ key-board. =
The image in the mirror was me holding camera = no tripod.
Still you can read (well more or less) the music score.
Not too bad isn’t it for Hand-held for one second ?
—– (Knack to hold the camera is, 1) Close armpit and put elbow solidly on the chest.
2) Don’t push button with pointing finger alone but do it as if you are squeezing all the
finger inward. 3) Relax, never been tensioned. Just hold breath and release the shutter.)
(Because of an Organist who is facing the key-board, hence couldn’t see the progress of a
mass service behind of him, it is necessary to have a mirror there to see the timing.)
—– Well, it was a long time ago, when I had a muscle. 😀
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Google Search
It seems that from the eyes of Google, I may fallen into a category of the least useful
data in their business. Despite the fact that the owner of WordPress (is Google)
putting quite big companies AD into my blog and making money, still my own “Profile”
and ID are useless such as my Mail address, user name on Youtube, not mention this
very Yoshizen couldn’t be congregated to one ID.
To define the ID can make the Person (with all the associated Information, even oversaw
history of search record, the contents of Email) as a clear target of AD = convincing
profile to target an particular AD to a potential buyer of their product.
Not only my ID but also the theme or contents of this blog is too wide-spread = hard to
define the main subject, not just peaceful Buddhism, not necessary the Art, or simply a
Photography —– and why the strange Cooking here ? ? ?
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Until a year ago, to find my post by Google Search was very easy, just type search-term
such as [Tree of the Life], [Bodhi-tree] etc. would lead to my post on the first page of
Google list, if not on the top, reflecting the number of hits of which people has made.
(It was automatically done by their Search-engine algorithm.)
Then Google has changed it, and [Tree of the Life] [Bodhi-tree] were disappeared and more
commercial items such as selling books or an AD of a Tour visiting India got the priority.
It seems, [Cooking Daikon Zen] is still coming up on top of Google-search though,
the other one such as [Cooking aduki-bean Oshiruko] which used to came on top too
had almost completely disappeared while showing thousands of other items which got
just a single word [aduki] or [oshiruko] even contain just [Cooking]. Otherwise, only
searching by [Cooking aduki-bean Oshiruko Yoshizen blog] will show my post.
Read a screen shot above “ No results found for Cooking Oshiruko Yoshizen Blog” looks
very funny isn’t it = their automatic search algorithm couldn’t see the title of my post.
— Really ? (What sort of manipulation behind here ?) 😀
—– Is this because of they thought I’m not a profitable customer (who isn’t very cooperative
for their business term.) ? Regardless, a quality of the information of which my post got.
(Please read it = How do you think — and try to test the Google-search by yourself =
you may see, next target could be you.)
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Funny fact was, when I found that the Google Image was showing the miner picture of
[St.Lucia] laying on the sand (?) instead of the main figure which was receiving lightning,
I mocked them “Haven’t they got the eyes to see the Art ?” and posted the photo on Google+
(as I suspected that the people who didn’t join G+ may be getting a raw-deal )
—– then the post [St.Lucia] started to came-up on the top page of 13,700,000 items on their list.
—– Why funny wire figure came above much more important picture of the religious paintings
of the old masters’ in the museum.
This signified the fact that the Google listing was not operating neutrally by the
automatic algorithm like what they says, but by the people who got a certain intention.
Google might be aiming to become the force in the “Big brother’s System” = The Ruler
though, it is a direct confrontation with the Dharma / Law of the Universe or just
obvious common sense.
Who do they think they are ? Are they thinking, they are the auditor of the world ?
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PS : Yet more funny story was, after I’ve put this post, my friend who tested this, found
that my post [ Cooking Oshiruko] came back to the top page again. 😀 —- Who is watching ?
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The company who cross the line to become too greedy seemed to get a punishment of the
Dharma. Such as a company even I, a small man on the street disliked because of their
over-stepping business practice, get their own cause boomerang-back.
10 years ago I really hated Microsoft. —– Then, they tumbled down, being accused of their
monopolizing business practice. And the Apple who I really hated, saw the same fate.
( remember what happened to Steve Jobs.) It seems this is the turn of the Google —–
I’m very very interested in to see what would happen to them. 😉
(It may not necessary come from the front door straight to their business tactics such as
from the rival businesses, but it could come even from the back.)
(PS: Funny coincidence —– I just found this article in the Wall Street Journal =
Yahoo tops the net traffic over Google) = When I think, everybody think the same too !
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In principle, the Dharma should be the all the existences which is in the invisible “Void”
without having Self or its own mind.
It is like a huge machine operating in rational interaction, —– though, in its invisible
unknowable part of the Dharma still seems to have a will to determine our fate.
Though, this “Will” kind is not whimsical or impartial, but simply tells wrong is wrong,
right is right —– to the larger and longer term extent and to the balance of whole Universe.
Because we human-being is too small to know whole extent of the mechanism of the
Universe, we have to leave it as unknowable still, simply it is “Yet we know the whole”.
We are discovering more and more, still we never found anything irrational =
everything down to the sub-atomic particles to our mind mechanism still keeping its
rational cause and the effect linkage. = nothing bore-out from nothing miraculously.
So, simply, when we (even a company) did something wrong, it creates a distortion in
a balance of the Dharma ===> causing repercussion which we called Punishment.
This mechanism is the System Principal of the Cause and the Effect,
the Linkage mechanism which was called Karma and they are the very Teaching of
Lord Buddha.
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Home-made Light-stand (2) — Copper Clad Cable Spiral Lamp
This Spiral cable Lamp was the earliest I made in England. While stay in London, I used a
Film Labo’ where many Japanese photographer were taking their film to be processed.
Photographer is the observer of the world and the human life. And the people who is
developing their films are yet another kind of the observer. —– By watching the subjects
in my film, the owner of the Labo’ seemed to have noticed who I am, and asked me
“Do you know electronics ?” “Yah, a bit” “Do you know about this machine ? Can you repair ?”
—– It was a hefty spot welder. Hefty because of it got really hefty transformer inside, still
its structure is rather simple. “OK, I’ll check it with my tool tomorrow”. = Next day, I found
the welder’s brake down was caused by a micro-switch in the timer controller and I replaced it.
= Here, working again. The owner was very impressed, not only a photographer carrying a
test equipment but actually able to repair the machine. (He knew, knowing and able to do is
not the same thing.) “OK, in exchange, you develop those 10 films free” “Oh, sure”
I like a kind of relationship which doesn’t involve a money = I help you, so you help me.
And I started to use their small room in their studio as my office and in exchange, if
anything repair kind of needs happened, I’ll help them. Almost like an in-hose engineer. 🙂
(That’s how I got an experience to deal with 2500 V, 5000 WS studio type flash etc )
But to carry out some repair, in a awkward corner of the big studio space, or under the film
processing line, I needed to have a work-lamp. I made this Spiral Lamp of which all the
materials were piled up in a corner of the studio where used be a huge vegetable storage
in a corner of “used to be the Covent Garden Flower and Vegetable Market”.
(So, I know the Before and After of the Covent Garden Market ! 🙂 )
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Copper Clad Cable is not common Japan where the main voltage is 100 V. So, I first seen it in
this country. The cable was covered by a copper tube hence it is quite solid and fire resistant,
still having certain flexibility or able to bend. Most of work lamp was wire caged to protect
glass light bulb = so, I got an idea to use this cable itself to make protective cage around the bulb
—– then wall mount switch-box was fixed as its base. (Socket was fixed to the end of the cable
using Epoxy glue). —– this is yet another minimalist’s approach though, all what we need are
there and perfectly functioning. It may looks odd and a bit awkward to change a bulb though,
it worked perfect for my purpose. Is there anything wrong with it ?
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PS : A quite few people, even the electrician who came to my room to re-wiring and the readers,
questioned me, how I could make the Spiral so neat ? = Cable (Piro) was first close wound around
a gutter-pipe about 8 cm, then it was pulled and expanded. Then both end was bent to the
wanted shape. (Of course, the both end, the copper tube was peeled off and the conductors =
two cable were covered with proper insulator sleeves and made proper electric connection.)
Though, I wouldn’t encourage the reader to do this kind of work, unless the person got enough
skill like a qualified electrician. To play with main power is a very dangerous business. It kills.
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Home-made Light-stand (1)
This is one of my home-made Light-stand, second simplest one, which I found in a box
I’ve stashed it away 20 years (?) ago. (the most simplest one was using a bent single pipe.)
Light housing was made out of 7 mm pipe of which the top was rounded by tapping and bent.
Photo Left : Originally it was using very small tungsten bulb for an indicator though, those
bulb doesn’t last long, not mention a problem of heat-up.
So, in this occasion, I changed it to a wite LED (Photo Center) . In this kind of design, the matter
is the “Adjustable Pipe Clamp” = here they were made using shallow Aluminium C-channel,
bent to U-shape. = One screw can loose and tighten everything at once. (Photo Right)
Thanks to LED, it can light up pretty long time from three AA batteries hidden under the base.
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Don’t ask “What is for ?” = You may not ask a painter “Why you sketch this land scape ?”
To see an aluminium pipe and think how to use and to make them into a certain shape and
appropriate structure is a game of creativity. —– simply it is a fun. 🙂
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Zen in Action (3) — Latent Thinking
At moment, I’m in chaos of shifting the mountain of boxes again. Some of the regular readers
may remember, I said the same before, though it was for fitting new window but this time it
is for electric re-wiring. It’s mean, I have to shift those to the window-side to vacate the
wall-side for the electrician to access all the power-points, switches etc. (I’m not happy at all.
= so-called Electric safety standard has been changed and they say all the system has to be
kept-up, blah blah = keep industry busy to make money, but I’m dubious about
why the contract has gone to this company.)
So that, fortunately or unfortunately, I had to dig-up the boxes berried to the bottom which
I haven’t seen since when I moved to here.
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In common-sense, people only has what is essential to the own immediate life, the essential
for the daily life. —– ideally a Buddhist remained in their bare minimum though it’s the matter
of how the person define who he is = a Buddhist bikku (literally a beggar who forsaken all his
possession for a sake of seeking the truth) may needed to have one cloth to cover his body and
one bowl to receive food (then to drink, and take a water to wash himself etc.)
—– in this context when I found that the followers of
Lord Buddha had umbrella, I was very surprised (let alone the umbrella had been already
invented then ! —– this sort of analysis would lead to see the timing when Agama Sutras was
written, or its authenticity.)
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In fine day, still carry an umbrella for if it starts a rain, or carry a bowl in case if anybody
offer a food are all in the speculation (may happen but not on that moment) = in other words,
it’s only in the mind. I wonder what Lord Buddha instructed to this matter to his followers ?
So, the teaching of “Live in the Moment” include the situation “Could happen next moment” too.
So, I carry a mountain of material to make something which could happen in any moment. 😀
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Don’t cling to your thought but leave the matter to the Dharma (occurrence of the Karma).
This “thought” meant be a kind of thinking we are doing in lingual form. —– as a matter of fact,
as Neuroscientists found that 90% of our thinking has been done subconsciously without convert
it to the lingual form. Even when we are in Mushin and totally occupied by one action, our Brain
is still in full working state unless we choose to have meditative state.
This “subconscious thinking” is no other than what we call [intuition], [hunch], and often giving
an [insight], or [inspiration] and those are the very “Latent Thinkings”.
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In comparison, what we learned in lingual form such as somebody’s words or what we learned
from the books will stay as the lingual memories.
We can say “I understood” is in fact, lexical understanding of an abstract notion of the word and
its meanings but not what it is in practice.
But what we experienced and learned in real life always carries the tag of emotion yet this
emotion is very difficult to convert and express in the words, because the tag in the emotion is
a part of the said “Latent Thinkings”. In most of the case, lingual memory stay like a distant
objects and not necessary relate to the emotion hence, it is not necessary takes a part
in the “Latent Thinkings”.
The words “Be careful, it’ll bite you” stay as the words until after you were actually bitten =
Then, it will be imprinted into your subconscious with a pain, and “Be careful” become part of
your “Latent Thinking”.
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This is the very reason why actual practice or experience is so important to our life, and what
Lord Buddha said “Don’t believe what others said but think yourself”
(better still through experiences).
—— (One of my Kinetic Sculpture “Cupidon / Archer” which was made mostly discarded material
—— I’ve picked-up, such as aluminium angles etc. Except an Air-pomp (yellow one) I bought.
—— The motor came from a Cooling-fan ) (Moving image is in youtube —> Click right column)
—– through experiences since my childhood, I knew, such as an aluminium angle is so useful
to make a structure, or such as a discarded printer contain very useful motor etc. = I collected
and stashed them in my room = hence made mountains of junks. So, when like this unexpected
situation occurs, I have to work hard to shift the boxes.
—– bad still, it’s an unusually hot summer.
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