Paint the Morning Sky

Screen shot of the same photo

This is a screen shot of the next photo using Double Density Pinhole on A7R camera.

Zeiss 18mm F3.5 on Nikon D810

This is the original straight shot on Nikon D810. (cropped image)

Zeiss 18mm F3.5 on Nikon D810

This was the straight shot on Nikon D810 by Zeiss 18mm lens as a comparison.

Fun camera Lens (27mm? / F13) on A7R

The same sky by the Fun camera Lens (though not on the same moment = I was doing those shots next by next).

Wide DD-Pinhole

A shot by the DD-Pinhole — in fact, this was the last one of those photos on the morning.

Wide X4 Pinhole

Shot by the X4 Pinholes with wide adapter attached.

X4 Pinholes image again. (without wide adapter)

Yet another X4 Pinholes image.

Just a casual click on the kitchen window — only for a fun.   😀  —– but I like this !

How about those ?  — Left was X4, Right was Mono Pinhole.

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Magnolia Kobus ver (?) — on x5 Lenses(?)

Kobus (Japanese name Kobushi mean fist) originated northern Japan, but this pink variety might be made in here.  (I hope it was done by the simple crossbreeding, not by the heavy manipulation of chromosome or gene, unlike the blue roses and green chrysanthemum kind. === We are over-stepping too far.)

(Those above three photos were done by the Sony E 30mm lens)

Maglens

Maglens

DD-Pinhole A

DD Pinhole A

DD Pinhole B

Not all the Double-density Pinhole is the same — far from it, very different each other and very difficult to control.  This one may suit for more mixed color, large patterned subjects. (not this one.   😀 ) — It seems, Sony A7 changes process if the size of hole changes (when the amount of image data changes) = strangely, the larger hole makes sharper image ! — May be a conflict with their Noise reduction process (small detail might be wiped out presumed as the noises, hence this plasticky image ! —– Sony or Minolta try to sell the image what they thought Ideal.  From the same DD Pinhole, the images made by Nikon and Canon were different. )

x3 Pinhole

x3 Pinhole

x3 Pinhole

Often the multi pinhole together with shake by the window creates good fun.

DD-A

DD-A

Local people must think, what a hell that guy doing over and over again.   😀

(Or they might be thinking that on the spring, all the idiot comes out. = As today is the Spring Equinox.)

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Sweet image (2) — aren’t they rather Goth ?

The photos here were taken by the DD-Pinhole with a LED ring-light.   Pinhole mean, there is no grass optics which may block the light of shorter wave length (Blue to UV) and the LED used were very cool day-light type (recycled from a discarded cheap work light — there is a high quality LED which got exact 5500°K but with the cost)  = resulting to produce very blueish photos. (I should have set the camera’s White balance to somewhat 8000°K in advance)

You may say, they are not pretty sweet kind but more likely a Goth taste !   

I agree, but, is there anything wrong ?         Ha ha ha.   😀

Nevertheless, I like this approach / technique.   Anyway, the photography chose the subject.   If it doesn’t, it mean, it IS a kind of general photography, not worth bothering to. —– if you say, there are numerous impressive photos in the field of general photography —– Are they ? If you look it again, you will realize, it is impressive because the subject WAS impressive = not the photo.  Photo was just a good copy of such subject.  Nothing else. = you can send a robot to do a copy.  = It is not a photography but a listing up, curation of the subjects.   There is an occasion, as if the subject was almost placed there to be photographed.   Photography is a very heavy activity in the life.

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Sweet images

Well, they were yet another template like photos — fuzzy cherry flowers, this time created by the homemade Mag-Lens.  

Don’t worry it wouldn’t cause any infringement of the copyright law.    😀

It supposed to make fragile flowers even more soft though, strangely, it made flowers looks somewhat like a ceramic craft.  —– ?      Are my eyes got something wrong ?

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Flower flower = x3 Lenses

Suddenly many flowers started to open. (The above seems to be a Plum flowers) — So, I’m capturing them with a lots of lenses (?) — above, by Sony E 3.5 30mm Macro.

This is rather early though, Somei-yoshino Cherry by Sony lens.

And this year again, the early Magnolia by Sony lens.

The same flower by homemade Mag-lens.

Yet another shot by the Double-density Pinhole.

The same flower by the same DD-Pinhole but with LED lighting.

Cherry flowers by Sony Macro lens = straight shot.

Then by the Mag-lens.

A bit too messy though, by the DD-Pinhole.  (Being as a Pinhole which is pan-focus, messy back grownd become very prominent.)

So, how about with added LED Ring-light. (Hoping the back mess going into the dark)

By the Mag-lens.  (Only the far back grownd showing funny coma aberration.)

By the DD-Pinhole.

DD-Pinhole with LED Ring-light.    Good evening Sir.

And they are the Lenses(?) and the camera — Sony A7R with E 3.5 30mm Macro, DD-Pinhole and  a homemade Mag-lens (A lens originally from a magnifier, mounted into a lens barrel from other compact camera = equivalent of 40mm F2.4)

Well, this is an extra addition = Yama-zakura (see its brownish leaves come out with the flowers) taken by the Fun camera lens.

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Sony E Macro 30 mm F3.5

It was a funny shopping.  I found this lens in a local junk shop without the camera. (The camera might have gone with a standard kit Zoom. — I didn’t ask.)    Situation was odd and the price was even more odd. = so, I bought it without knowing about this lens. (Even for the same Sony E-mount, the lens could be for cropped image size = may not cover full format. — Funnily enough, when I checked the test shot image on my PC, the lens data said “35 mm camera equivalent of 45 mm” ! = Its mean, the lens was designed for a small format still, it can cover full frame.)  30 mm lens for full frame is rather wide-angle.  And a 1:1 (x1) macro mean, the closest distance will be too close to the lens front = as I found it in deed.  

Sony put a deceptive decoration to cover-up the very small lens (only 14mm size)

While appreciate the use of 90 mm Tamron Macro or 100 mm Canon EF Macro (instead of Nikon 55 mm Macro), I’m not keen to use this lens for x1 macro shot as the lens front will touch the subject, in the same time, it will cover the subject under the shadow. = (Have to use an awkward side light.) 

Nevertheless, the optical quality of the lens wasn’t too bad.   But on practice, with the Sony A7 camera, I wouldn’t give a word of appreciation.  The focus was very quiet though, it was not stable = always hunting forward, backward, forward again kind.   And even worse, it was not easy to use in manual focus.   The finder displays funny focused position indicator though, each time, it goes back to the far position.   What a nightmare.  And the manual focusing ring is not very responsive (rather slow and remote = it seems, the motor is driving the focus even with manual use, and worse still, the controlling soft try to interfere too much (Sony might say “Offering the assistance” — such as, while try to focus manually, the finder image changes to magnified image = suddenly, and erratically !   = Think, when we shoot a busy insect on the flower, in the next moment, insect may have moved, and the hand changed the position. = I’m sure, the person who developed this system never had a field test. = only tested the camera on the optical bench. 

Nevertheless, it worked well for the general subject.  (At moment this is only an autofocus lens on my Sony A7 camera  I wouldn’t complain, considering the money I have paid.)  😀

The lens got quite smooth character, showing very little aberration = good sharpness even when F was fully open, still, with soft, out of focus bokeh.  —– But, what so ever the excuse, couldn’t they design anything better ?    Forget a fish-tin like slippery guise,  give it more functional better grip.

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Metalica of Steel wire

He said to be a hard-core original member of the heavy metal Metalica. 

Though, long time he had been confined in a box in my place.  As a hard iron man, without having a high voltage power he couldn’t play a single note nor even just shake his body.  (The story behind was, that a part of stock taking, I need to document and Video my kinetic works.  But a trouble was, that I couldn’t find the electronic controller of this man.) —  As seen on the photo, he was a man on the stage standing alone = just an empty wire work. — So, how he could play music let alone move his body, as there is no mechanism or trick was seen on the stage.   Well, that IS the ingenious part of producing him. = He play a music with the resonance. = Tune himself to the vive and excite himself.  (The base, stage vibrates almost invisible mode.  Then his wobbly body resonate and amplify the movement, so start to shake, following the resonating frequency.   Acoustically or mechanically, his body is very complexed = depend on the resonating frequency, he vibrates different way — and his heavy instrument got rather large inertia and makes own vibration.)  The reason why I haven’t done this video making was that I wanted to compile it with metal music — how to synchronize the beat and the body movement etc etc, not mention the trouble with music copyright. 

Anyhow, today, I’m going to see my friend video maker Funki Porcini, who got amazing creativity and video editing skill ! = We are going to produce Matalica on wire MV.   (Wish me luck.)    😀

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Baby baby

Yesterday I went to see my friends and their three months old babies.  Those babies are the cousins each other and born only a day apart.  (This photo = Pinhole)

When I saw them, I noticed that one of them had very hard birth from the shape of his head.   Dady explained me, it was a 40 hours battle.

The baby having the face amazingly resembles to his parent = that’s because of their Gene, yet still the babies having big head despite the mother’s passage he had to came through hadn’t been evolved accordingly, was because the our (or ancestor’s) choice. = We human changed from herbivore to omnivore started to scavenge animal carcass, borne marrow etc. resulting our brain grow bigger. (omnivore needs to process much  more information too = needs more brain power.  —– And to compensate a such painful trouble of giving a birth, a pleasure the woman can get from the sex is far more = otherwise the woman would say “Oh no, never again” and the human race had been extinct long ago. )  

Funny tendency of our attitude is, that we accept the physical appearance of the baby such as the face, and do know that the lines on the palm is fixed on the birth, still wouldn’t accept that the basic character (such as expressed on the line on the palm, the tendency in the emotion, a type of the brain, or Ego etc) =  accordingly a kind of the life that the person will have, IS also fixed.  (People doesn’t like to be fixed or been told by the others, and hope to have a hope = expect good luck, and the effort would change the fate = be optimistic.)  It’s not a matter of Gene, but the Karma which was specifically given to the person.   Otherwise why the person was made to be exist as this person.  = It IS the same person since he was born.

(Those photos were by modified Olympus Pen-F 38mm F1.8 on Sony A7R)

( by PEN-F 38mm lens)

(by the Fun camera lens on A7R)

(Fun camera lens again)

So, they were the camera and the lenses I used here = Olympus Pen-F 38mm on Sony A7R, Fun camera lens, Pinhole (equivalent of 21mm lens view and about F125) and the lens from a Toy camera.  ( The point is, I could carry all of them in my pocket.  Why do I need to go back to a heavy DSLR. )

This Pinhole photo showing about 90 degree view and heavy vignettes (corner fall off) — ISO was 25600.    Think, if this photo was ordinary sharp image, would it be useful for you ? — I don’t think so, since we are not seeing the world in its detail, anyway.

Yet another baby photo by a Pinhole (ISO 25600) on a DLR train — the girl wanted to touch the camera. 

You see, a Pinhole was usable even for general snap shot.   😀   (Of course, such as the ISO 25600 — in full color ! — was never possible without having a processing power of the digital technology. —– So, I’m not insisting the pure analog in its own sake.  I just want to have the image I want, not the image what the manufacturer recommends. = What they recommend was the style of the mass market of which they make and sell in millions. )

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Very Funny !

Very very funny indeed.  I’m living in England long enough to know the English expressions, the meaning and its hidden venom. (learned with a pain and a disgust)  And I actuary told or faced with this words  “Very funny” = in fact, when people said this, the real meaning was “What a hell of this = I wish, I spit you if I could”   (When the man in charge with the matter faced to a strong inquiry or complaint, in order to sway the trouble, he use this word. = didn’t respond straight therefore the trouble was not exists still at least responded therefore in its appearance, didn’t ignore the matter — still no answer or admission was given. = World is still peaceful as before (to him or his company) !

   Though, in this case, the situation was much funnier than any cynical meanings.   Please refer to the original story. = when I try to contact a Tripod manufacturer Manfrotto, about their crumbling disintegrating aluminium parts,  I needed to fill their complaint form with my full personal data.  And to the space, I put the photos which showed cracked, crumbling aluminium die-cast. —– It seemed the photos were just gone before I pressed a button to transmit the complaint text.   And today I received a thanks from Google Map for me to up-load the photo(S). = How funny ! ? ? ?

—– the photo was intended to prove what was the real situation to the man in Manfrotto who gave me a rather empty response which indicates that they haven’t seen the photo hence doesn’t aware how it was serious.  = So, instead, I put the photos of crumbling die-cast into my blog post (otherwise there was no way else to show the photo to them)  —– The funniest part of this story was, that why a part of the Manfrotto complaint form was addressed to the Google Map.   And one of the most inteligent organization, who got the most sophisticated image recognition program yet able to distinguish the block of aluminium to town-scape / landscape even to a block of building.  

So, the Google Map IS proudly showing the aluminium die-cast with Manfrotto address to the  world.  Very very funny. = (to Mr Google and Mt Manfrotto)

—– I wonder, on their Map, what is this photo going to do ?     Ha ha ha  😀

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Ball and Socket

— (from top-left down = Bilora, Unknown German, Bilora copy.  Second top = Velbon, Velbon. Third = Slick. Fourth = Manfrotto with fixed quick camera  mount, Cheap Manfrotto. Big white Bilora. Gitzo and the second largest ball size in the world then = Cullmann (Germany) with Manfrotto quick camera mount )

While looking for something, I noticed one of the box is very heavy.  And it turned out to be full of Ball-and-Socket Tripod-heads packed in.  For general use, I’m using two Gitzo tripod, one with a Ball-and-Socket head and the other with ordinary 3 axis adjustable head.  On top of those, I’ve been using small tripods, ball-socket to many improvised use in the dairy life.

When we connect something, bar, arm, even camera or light to the base or tripod kind, a Ball and Socket is the most useful (if not the best) system.  They can be easily adjusted of position, angle and able to fix it with a turn of one lever.  Very good for a busy photographer though, such advantage is exactly the big disadvantage in the same time. = painstakingly found, adjusted position could suddenly collapse with one miss move of the fixing lever.  And when it collapses, it dramatically collapses all XYZ direction.  Try to counter this trouble, Cullmann Ball-Socket Head using very heavy grease to prevent the sudden move of the ball though, as the ball was somewhat stuck to the socket, it is very heavy to move.  (And even worse, this heavy grease preventing the solid clamp of the ball, even when the fixing lever was tightened, ball would move slowly by its own = and after a while, the position = lens direction would have been changed by the gravity ! — with such trouble, soon it disappeared from the market, so, my one is a historical collection.   😀 ) 

And in the box, there are quite a few “Ball-Socket” kind of items.  Left is a Level Adjuster from Manfrotto  #138. 

Probably the most incredible and disturbing item in my all collection is this Manfrotto #138 = level adjusting head.   As you can see on the photos, its ball is cracked and started disintegrating.   Non of the other head etc showing the same deterioration, it must be unique to this item = the material must be hopelessly inferior or mixed with wrong additives.   To my complaint, Manfrotto said that they got the confidence in the quality of their products, and didn’t even interested in to see the photos let alone item itself = indicating it may not be new to them = don’t need even inspect, let alone investigate.  (As you can see the deterioration occurred only the ball side nothing on the socket = indicates it was not caused by the external factor such as the way how it was used or kept (heat, humidity kind) but solely in the quarity of the ball itself. = material or manufacturing process was responsible.)   Still they says that anyway its out of warranty and the product #158 has been discontinued. = No hope ! — So, this is who Manfrotto is = we may need to prepare that their product could suddenly clack and breakdown, while crushing the expensive camera on it.  Oh dear.

And the second = Action Head from the Slick — with a grip of the lever the ball will be released to move — though, it was a torture to the hand ! (This one was designed more than 45 years ago.) The third must be a kit tripod for a small camera though, I haven’t found the camera fit to this.  And the right one was in fact a base of an old wooden tripod = level adjusting base — 100 years old ? — I thought it would be useful in somewhere, one day.  😀

When I need to shoot on table top with flash light etc, I’m using a Support stand which can hold the subject, accessory etc or a light reflector etc.   Those system is having many different kind of grip, clamp, holder etc and having many articulated flexible joint to adjust the position.

For such purpose, the Ball-Socket is what we need.  But there is not such small Ball-Socket in the market.   If not there, why not make one myself.  It is only a matter of cramping a ball.  And such material could be found everywhere. (From a fixture of a furniture to a broken top of a Hasselbrad Focusing Lever. (Photo middle)   Or make a cramp using a large screw nat. (Photo right)

If we look around, the useful material we can improvise, is everywhere.   A small display base could be a small camera base. (Photo left)   And you might recognize this = looks familiar wasn’t it ? (Photo middle and right) = it was a flexible base of a radio antena. = now converted to hold something on front of a lens  on close-up shot or hold a light reflector on a side of the lens.    (Once before, I did hung a flower dipped with honey to attract the flying bee come to the front of the lens. = it’s worked !   😀 )

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