First Cherry 2016

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I’ve been closely watching this cherry tree for a past few days.

And at last on yesterday I found a first flower opened on there. 

Good heavens, when I went to the tree next day with my

camera, hundred of the flowers were blooming.

(Still, it would be a week away to see it’s full blooming)

There are hundred of different cherries even in this country.  

So, a kind of Kan-Zakura (Winter Cherry) has been flowering

already, yet still, this is the first typical Japanese Cherry = 

Somei-yoshino’s flower I found.

—– How I can tell this IS the Somei-yoshino was,

(1) The leaves come out only after the flower.

(2) The fertility of the Somei-yoshino was very restrictive =

Somei-Y’ x Somei-Y’ can’t germinate (= with other variety can) 

Therefore, we never see the Seedling under the Somei-Y’ tree.

So that, the propagation of Somei-Y’ could only be done by

grafting = Cloning = in other words, ALL the Somei-yoshino in

the world originated from a single tree found in the Somei Village,

a northern corner of Edo (Tokyo), 200 years ago.  It’s mean, if the

tree was grown off  a seed, it is NOT a Somei-yoshino.  (= So, some

Koreans claimed that “That Cherry grow naturally in our country”

is a proof of their ignorance, how they didn’t know the history

NOR biology. = Same kind of ignorance like they claims that the

Chinese-character was invented in Korea.   😀 )

—– What so ever, I’ve been enjoying the bloom on this tree

for the past 15 years !  (But I’m not necessary happy to see the

flowers in such early timing = it’s not even April yet)

(Photos taken by the Tamron 500 mm Mirror Lens/Canon 5D Mk-3)

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And now, the same Cherry have had the full bloom !

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Peach flower

—— (Photo above: taken by a homemade, so-called Gaudy Lens)

Peach flower is much more appreciated in China than in Japan.

In Chinese myth, the famous Shangrila was written as 桃源郷

which mean The place where the Peach Blooming. = (neither

Cherry nor Banana.)   The reason why Chinese value Peach more

than Cherry is, not only its juicy fruits but the color of flower is

more reddish.

The color Red mean prosperity and the longevity to the Chinese.

In a stark contrast, Cherry Blossom is the symbol of the ephemeral

life, even the death to the Japanese (in the Buddhists context.)  So,

Japanese appreciate its moment of the flower falling like a snow

storm, as well as when it was fully blooming.

——- (Photo above Left : by Canon Fisheye Zoom 8~15mm —

——–Photo Right : Converging Lens from Tokina Wide converter.)

The reason why Chinese likes Red was originated from the vermilion.

Vermilion is the Mercury Oxide = deadly poison = therefore it is a

very effective preservative to the timber. So, the Chinese temple etc

has been painted with Red Vermilion = never rotten for thousand of

years.  So, Red Vermilion is the demonstration of the longevity !

And there was a fancy story of the Vermilion, whether it was a 

fabrication of the novelist or not, there said to be an Elixir of life made

from Vermilion, which was repeatedly oxidized and deoxidized 9 times,

called  九還丹 in China.  (If you found it in the Net, you may try ! )

—— (Photo above : Converging Lens from Tokina)

To the Japanese, the appreciation of Peach flower was in its

association with the girl’s festival (桃の節句) on 3rd of March

other than that not much special feeling in the Japanese mind.

So that, other than in the fruits orchard in a country side,

we don’t see as many Peach trees like Cherry in town .

—— (Photo above : by converging Lens from Tokina

Wide Converter mounted on a Bellows = Photo right

= As the lens was mounted on a bellows, it can focus

from ∞ to 1/3 close-up)

Front element of the Diverging Lens has been used somewhere

else, and the left over converging element was used here.  😀

(You may amazed, how photography can be done in such a casual manner.)

[∞]

OMG – Magnolia flowers ?!

London has been having no real winter = no ice, no frost not mention

a snow.    And having the flowering Magnolia.  

OMG, this is utterly crazy.

Of course, there could be “Special garden variety” of  Winter Magnolia

of which I’m utterly ignorant though, this one may not be the case.

Still, this tree had pretty early flowers last year as well.

I do like to break the convention — but this case is not funny.

I like to act brainless though, I have no fun making a fun out of

handicapped person.  Especially if it was created by the human error

such as an industrial poisoning.

I hope this magnolia has normal gene though, = if it was the case,

the climate alone was the cause ? — did it got such wrong ?

It’s just a beginning of January.

( —– in here, top photo was taken by the Zeiss 18mm and the

rest were taken by the homemade lens.)

This photo above was an additional comparison, taken

by the specially modified Canon FD 50mm F1.8 while its

focus was shifted during the exposure. = Since the image

of this lens has little aberration and halation (only having

superimposed out-of-focus bokeh) the contrast was

much higher = more glare) = different kind of fuzziness !

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Winter Cherry 2015

Someone might say,”Same again how boring”

though, it’s not only an accustomed tradition here

but this tree is more than a friend to me.

She is an indicator of Life.

Having had a rather unusual life style = flowering in  

the winter and the last one tree left among the three,

— to see her flowering again in this year, really

gave me a sigh of relief.

By the way, they are the same flower though, right photo was taken

with a built-in flash of the Nikon D810, and I found it is rather useful.

(Though, flashlight was diffused by a white paper.)

So far, the weather in London is not cold at all.  Still it is winter.

The photos here were taken by either Zeiss 18mm F3.5 for Nikon or

Homemade single glass lens/so-called Gaudy Lens on Nikon D810.

(Strangely, the Non-CPU lens on D810 was functioning well here —

I haven’t fully tested whether D800 and D810 got different OS/setting.

The setting was for Non-CPU/Zeiss 18mm Lens = the Lens, brighter

than F5.6 may be working but may not be with Pinhole unless AI ring

was set to the proper position.)

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Pinhole Machine in the Field

It’s not a Pinball Machine.  And a photo above is a Japanese maple ! 

As I explained in the Previous post, it is a combined / selectable Pinhole.

Single Pinhole, Multiple Pinholes and a Concentric-Double-Density Pinhole

were all in one panel, with or without a Wide-angle Front Lens.

Those were taken by the Concentric-DD pinhole.

They too, by the DD pinhole with the typical radiating halation.

And those images were taken by the Multiple (4) Pinholes.

If you carefully check the photo, you will find the 4 repeated images.

And DD pinhole image again. (Some years ago I made similar image !)

In the same time same subject but by the Multiple Pinholes.

Taken by a single pinhole though, with a very slow shutter speed =

camera was shaken, bird has moved = hence utterly blurry image.  🙂

Still, they were the very painterly images which I wanted.

By the DD Pinhole.

Last moment of sun hit the Single Pinhole and created

fantastic diffraction pattern.

Single Pinhole with half a second shutter speed = camera shake.   😀

And this image —– 1.6 second exposure.

(I would rather say, not too bad for a hand-held shot !)

I think, the Lens (?) worked well for the purpose to produce

impressionists like / painterly image !   🙂

(You must have seen the most unusable photos here though,

if you like to have so-called good photo, use Phone-camera.)

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Focus-Shift Flower image

Somebody in the USA contacted me to use one of my old photo which was

taken by a technique of Focus Shift, hence the image has big off-focus

bokeh superimposed on it.  In fact I’ve published such photo many times

like this or this. (though, the gear used or the lens may not be the same)

And even there was such drastic approach.   🙂     But this time, focus ring

was moved manually, and in order to have a slower shutter speed, shooting

took place in the evening, under rather dim light.

And to make off-focus, shift to near or far, or the setting of F-aperture etc,

above all, how far the subject, will make the picture looks quite different.

(still, there is no fixed manner = it’s just case by case.   🙂  )

Funny things of Focus Shift is, first moment, it was focused to the main

subject, then move the focus, generally till completely out of focus though,

why not focused here and there.  = Two subjects will have each clear focus

(and bit of bokeh)  🙂

Camera used here was the Nikon D810 — having had 37Mp image-censor,

there are ample of space to crop the image.

A radio DJ mentioned Xmas —– Oh no, soon it will be the November

—– still, flower patch has few flowers left.    Thanks Goodness.

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Karmic Encounter or just a Coincidence ?

From Japan,  group of tourists are visiting northern India / Ladakh.

At the introduction meeting of one group, in a sheer coincidence,

two of the members found  that they’ve got a common connection.   

Both of them happen to be my old friend. 

The guy was a younger member of our Alpine Club and the lady used to

work in the Uni’s Herbalium = a part of the  Science Dept’ where I was

taking botanical photos and assisting their expeditions and field works.

So that, when I had my wedding party in the mountain hut, they were

invited and indeed, both of them were there — long time ago !   🙂

—————— (Some photographs of Ladakh from my friend)

In practice, their encounter wouldn’t have any  real implications to the

two and to myself —– still, it reminded me that I spent more time to deal

with Botanics in the Hervarium, than facing the Rock while I was in my Uni’.

= This fact seems crucial for me to stock-take my Life.

= It’s mean, I haven’t been in Ladakh, Himalaya, Patagonia etc etc, but what

I did for the Ogasawara Expedition left me more legacies, exactly like how

the life in the mountain shelter structured me, far more than the life in the

Alpine Club. (— sorry, I’ve gone too personal though, without having those

underline causes,  Yoshizen couldn’t be existed as I am now. )

It explained well, Yoshizen was not a man sitting on the rock but kneeling

down and watching the flowers.  — and I like this stance.

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It signified my approach to the Zen Buddhism.    Unlike a kind of guru who rely on

the maze of mambo-jumbo (so-called spiritualism), but me to approach the Buddhism

from the factual observation with scientific, neurophysiological aspect was correct.

As the result, to see the Mushin as a fatigue of one’s mind and the No-self as

the jump-process or no-tagging of the Emotion.  Those prosaic definition had no

glorious Mahayana like ornamentation though, have you ever read the words of

Lord Buddha with a mythical embellishment in the original Agama Sutra ?

Lord Buddha was a rational scientist, hence had no delusion or illusion.

So, the original teachings of Buddhism didn’t have any mambo-jumbo.

(In fact, there was an urgent needs to explain that there wouldn’t be any danger to

reborn to an animal or lower cast like as newly emerging “Hindu” preaches,

because everything exists in relation (Karma) to the others, when the body dies,

the soul dies too = nothing remain to reincarnates.    This was what

Lord Buddha taught then, 2500 years ago.  Anything else was a mix-up.)

___/\___

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Bizarre Lens on Macro shot

It’s the same lens, Pentax AF Zoom 35~70 F2.8 — with that heavy proxer.

So, the magnification ratio was about 0.5 (at 35mm)~1 (at 70mm).

As you may see, I’m not after the scientific details but the optical softness.

Still, when the subject was on the same plain (within the depth of field)

the lens can capture quite a details.   (All the photos here = F2.8)

(Note, in this photo, left bottom, an egg of the Green lacewing.)

Macro photography is the constant supply of the visual fantasy for me.   🙂

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Bizarre Lens – Pentax AF Zoom 35~70 F2.8

Well, the Lens = Pentax AF Zoom 35~70mm F2.8 itself was nothing strange

or I should rather say, Optically superb Lens. — But, the fate of this lens

was rather bizarre.  Originally the Lens was made as a Triangulation AF lens, 

so that the AF motor unit and the battery box were attached to the lens barrel.

It was the early 80s —– and soon, such AF system became obsolete.  

Still, Pentax designed this lens with their full force = Now looks rather modest

35~70 F2.8 Zoom then was an expensive fancy lens carrying £800 (?) price.

And the Zeiss vario-sonnar 35~70 F2.8 for Contax was much more than £1000.

On the market, the Minolta’s new AF camera has appeared then = When I saw

this lens in throwaway price £80 (I think) in the shop  (The quality of this lens

has been well reported.) I bought it and (you may not believe) modified !

( the AF unit was removed and the hole was covered by an aluminium panel) 

After I changed my 35mm camera from Nikon to Contax, the lens I bought  

first hand were 25mm, 85mm and I could use Tamron 90mm Macro and

500mm Mirror as well.  So, I modified this Pentax K mount to Contax mount.  

The Frangeback of Pentax K and Contax are both 55.5 mm but the Pentax

Bayonet is larger, therefore it wouldn’t go into the Contax camera. 

So, I removed the Pentax bayonet and welded Contax bayonet on it. (Photo right)

(Because of the position of a lever, the lens was mounted 90 degree off center.)

This was a test shot of Pentax AF Zoom at 70mm, F2.8 — 1.2 m

And this was a comparison, Canon FE Zoom 24~70 at 70mm, on F2.8 — 1.2 m

And the Pentax AF Zoom at 35mm, on F2.8 — 100m

The Canon EF Zoom 24~70, at 35mm, on F2.8 — 100m

As a lens for general use, this lens is pretty usable even on Canon 5D Mk-III. 

(and this is rather familiar tree.   🙂  )

And familiar landmark in the park.

All those photos were taken at F2.8 (because no auto controle).

—– still, very much usable.  🙂

And this must be a

familiar kind of photo

to the regular readers.

In my view, this is  

a kind of old german 

charactered lens.

(comparable to Zeiss

Planer Lens)

Pentax AF Zoom 35~70 F2.8

at 70mm / F2.8 / 1.2 m

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Tanbo Art (Rice field Art) in Japan

————————————————— (Photo from Jiji news)

I’ve been seeing those news every year on this season.  This is a Tanbo-art,

exclusively in Japanese rice-field. (of course, not everywhere of their field)  

—– it was a picture drawn by the different colored rice crop.  And in here,

a famous medieval samurai Keiji Maeda (famous in his eccentric behaviour, 

called Kabuki-mono = origin of the name Kabuki) was depicted in Yonezawa. 

(You may better Google “rice field  art  japan” or watch this youtube.)

Amazing isn’t it ? !!!

( It is completely different from an on-the-spot, one hour prank = Crop-circle. — To do

this, four or five different colored rice crop has been kept many years and the seeds

were sown to exact position — and wait and see it’s grow ! = Typical Japanese Mind )

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