Oxford Street (and Selfridge) Xmas shot

Those photos were taken by the lenses, homemade Mag Lens or Halina wide Lens though, few of them were by the Gaudy Lens on the Tilting Bellows with Sony A7R.

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Thinking process

Sorry, it’s about that bellows again.  — behind the apparent shape and its function, that Sony Tilt attachment has many hidden structures and the stories, such as the bottom of A7R camera, additional plate was screwed. Because the device’s constant adjustment = rotation, the plate protect the camera bottom scratched.  And the hard alumium plate has anodized hard surface, which would prevent the two aluminium parts stack together.

You may not able to guess how the bag bellows was made and attached to the mount of both side.  Imagine, if the leather bag was made separately, how you can attach it to the mount (Body side was a camera body cap and the lens side was the back of the front panel with Canon EF mount attached.)  = In order to have the precise position of the mount, a length of black leather was first glued to each mount ring.  Then the leather was folded to the position and stitched together to make a closed bag.  (Because the tilt movement is only one side, the bag was made wedged shape.)

When we make (design) something, there are two different approach.     One is to imagine the final piece in the brain first. And cut the material in each size and shape then assemble altogether.   And the other is, bring the major material to the place and find the size and shape etc on the spot while giving many considerations.  So that the making process is step by step.

(Sound somewhat out of context, you may think though)  The Buddhist’s approach is the later.  Lord Buddha loathe to rely on the imagination, hence he didn’t teach notions, even not rely on the words.  Because  he taught the Karma = everything exists and moves following the Karma.   The sign or agent of the Karma are on front of us and they are keep changing moment to moment.  Perceive all those Karma and intuitively follow them will be the least troublesome life we can have. (Intuitive mean, without having “thinking” self = Selfless = be in the Void = with Dharma)    This is the reason why we have to deal with the things on front of us.  If not on there, its mean, it exists in the thinking or imagination.   So, to make a thing on the spot, while finding the precise dimension and the requirement is the right approach to do.   (It’s not against the nuclear scientists designing particle collider — we may not able to see the particles or tela gauss magnetic force by our eyes still, they are there. = Scientists intuitively count its effect in.) —– In this world, there is no ideal remedy or solution (which was a product of imagination or fantasy) but only practical measure applied on the spot, moment to moment. (You might have seen or remember that all the so-called  “ology / ism” has been bankrupted leaving immeasurable destruction behind ! )

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Sony Tilt

This is a photo taken by a homemade tilting device for my Sony A7R with Canon EFS zoom, while giving 20° tilt to the lens. 

I wouldn’t proclaim this photo was anything typical or special, still it might be pretty unique to this device.  Since the lens has been heavily tilted, focused area was only in the center and the both end was out of focus.  —– you may say “So what” I would say “Nothing, it was just a character of this device” that all. (Since broken EFS lens has no F-aperture control = it was fully open — still Zoom from about 24mm to 55mm and the manual focus was perfectly usable = not too bad for the lens of £5 from a junk box of a camera shop.

So the device or tilting attachment (which I’ve shown you the work piece on the previous post) was now usable state (though, I’m going to add a semi-automatic iris control for Nikon lens).  The lens mount was Canon EF even though Canon lens has no iris control, but its mount IS to attach Nikon, Pentax, Contax etc mount adapter.  With this device, up to 30° tilt is possible though, how useful is the another matter. Still, when opportunity was there, why not try.  It’s a fun.  😀

(The effect of extreme lens tilt IS, —> think IF one side was extended 15mm more, it’s mean for 15mm wide-angle  lens, it IS an extension for a life-size close-up, while keeping other end of picture still focused to infinity.)

In fact, I planed to make a tilting DSLR device using Canon 5D Mk-II, so that I bought one more Mk-II body to be hacksawed. (and 5D original body for research / test disassemble = so, I end-up to have x4  5D body — then, as I got Sony A7 body able to use it without hacksaw work ===> so, here is Sony Tilt !    🙂

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How silly !

Nik-DD

While checking my own post (I need = notorious trouble of mis-speling), I realized “Wait a moment, why did I need to make a screen shot of Aster flower, while having such fuzzy pinhole — How silly”

Whether you believe or not, I’ve completely forgotten the existence of Double Density Pinhole.  I should insist, this was not a demented memory but the Zen No-mind.   🙂   —– Zen only deals with the things on front = if not on front, it is not exists, since the mind is not clinging the No-existent things.

Anyway, to find the “Pinhole Machine” for Sony A7  and  For Nikon (+ adapter), and had the shot of Aster with ISO 25600 setting.  (More artefact noise would appear with longer exposure = dark evening)

The left photo was a Double density Pinhole. — Nikon type Pinhole machine has Multiple Pinhole as well. (Photo right)

They are the compalison = Pinhole machine for Sony A7 —– As the pinhole is much closer to the sensor, the images are much wider and the color on the edge is sifted to magenta. (Left is DD, and the right was mono-pinhole though, not much present fuzzy effect.

Nik-DD

Pinhole sounds simple and easy to make though, — because it IS such small, very difficult to controle = very difficult to replicate the same effect.

Nik-DD

So, I have to be contented to have this fuzziness on Autumn Color.  🙂

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Exploding Cinema or Firework

Last night was a so called Bonfire night and may be to coincide with it, a cinema session “Exploding Cinema” was held in south London.

I popped out carring A7R camera with a homemade “Mag lens” attached on it.   But as I saw the fireworks over a park,  soon I realized that I put a wrong lens. 

Mag lens makes the largest halation among my homemade lens = bright spot like firework become just a big blob.  Still, that’s what I got then, — never mind, it won’t kill me in any way.

Exploding Cinema has been running by the volunteers, film enthusiasts for the past 25 years.  (And I know the current figurehead, Matt for 20 odd years.  When I met him, he was a visual media technician and I was an almost a dancer in residents of the Fridge Club in Brixton.)  Exploding Cinema is showing all the films submitted without selecting, and running totally independent. (so that, the waiting list said to be more than one year to be shown there)

So, the films shown there were from short comical Anime to professionally made quite serious one. (A film produced by Chris R’s “Drone Strike” was a heavy staff good enough for the big screen.)

And MMM    🙂

When I popped out, the fireworks exploded over my head, —– I found, the lens character of big blob is quite pretty in deed.  Ha ha ha,   😀

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Stitch Work (2) Disco Pants !

Among my creation hence the possessions, the most bizarre item  

must be my Disco Pants. — It was a BR rail worker’s hi-vis uniform.  

But, because its size was too big for me, I’ve cut the length and used

that cut-off to make the back pockets. = So, the pants was customized 

to a flashy Disco Pants with x5 blue LEDs running light on the thigh

and slow on-off pink and red LEDs on the back pocket. 

To make the pocket, I designed it like a stuffed relief of a nude torso. 

In fact, such design was an excuse to put the LEDs.   As the figure 

was made upside down, it was a puzzle to comprehend what it was.

= all for the fun on the club night. (If it was ordinary geometric

pattern kind, it would be too boring = nothing fun and the others

wouldn’t notice it at all.)

On that time I was an almost the fixture of the club called Fridge in

Brixton. — Good (or bad ?) grown-up in a club, it’s better to have a

fun, and gone to be crazy.  (Anyway, it sound everything crazy =

I was the top dancer there, receiving free entry and the free drinks

— still, never drink alcohol, not mention any drug.  Never mix with

cloud still keep talking with all the staffs, manager, owner. = So that

the cloud mistook me a special security kind or even a real owner /

financier behind.  😀 )

To make the pockets, the material was the cut-off of the leg’s end

and the thread was the thread which I de-threaded from the cut-off.

(This story, use old thread horrified the professional machinists !) 

Because, it’s there and the easiest to use — though it needed to pull

out from the cloth. —– So, the supply of the thread was limited. 

On the end, I had to save the thread = no return stitch. = You can 

see from the photo above.   😀 

Without draw the line on the cloth, stitching was made direct on the

cloth while deciding the shape. = I think, the result wasn’t too bad.

(but I wouldn’t say the stitch work was anything near to perfect).

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You might say,  what an effort, and a waste of the time, just for fun ? ! 

But, I would only answer, why not.   And I’d ask back, spending the 

same length of time, what can you do something  worthwhile and fun,

on yesterday or whole of your life. ?   —– soon you may realize 

that what you been doing was just follow the situation to survive. 

Was that only the life what you can have ?    Open your eyes !

What preventing you to be free was your small pretense to be a

“Respectable decent man” — can you ? —– Really ?

(Though, I wouldn’t guaranty you to get a free entry even if you get crazy. )

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Stitch Work (1)

Coming to the time hard to thread the sawing needle, I became 

aware what I learned from my mother when I was young.

My mother used to make the Kimonos herself.   Often using very

rare expensive silk such as Oshima-tsumugi.  You may feel strange

though, I was sitting and watching her work and when she needed

I thread the needle for her.   Make Kimono is of course done by the

hand stitching. (Even now, all the Japanese Kimono was made by hand

= a kind of tourists souvenir, Happi Kimono may be made by a sawing

machine (in China) but Japanese doesn’t see them are Kimono at all.)

—– Sawing, hand stitching is nothing but an utterly laborious work.

And virtually all the sawing in the Kimono-making is straight line.

Only the exception sometime is the end of Tamoto in Furisode Kimono

(= long sagged down sleeves).   Its mean, no innovative variation or

inventive shortcut kind could ever exist = just keep stitching straight.

= If it was not straight, the fabric distort, so it looks funny and make a

person wearing feel ashamed. So,to a Kimono-maker or needle woman

to become able to do an adequate stitch, it may need to make at least

10 Kimonos for a practice.  (if it was an expensive silk, de-thread and

remake again — very fine needle will not damage the fablic.)

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In the all the traditional crafts or art kind, how the novice to learn is

by way of watching and mimic = to copy what the master does.

Not mention the stitching work, which is push the needle, front to the

back and to the front again ~ ~ ~, mimicking and copy is nothing but

the repeating the same action again and again.

= IS to program the pattern into the brain. = (When the pattern was

imprinted in the brain, the action, include the speech become

automatic = automatic mean “No self”)   When the level of learning =

copying deepen to such automatic level, it’s standard or the quality

reaches to the perfection.   Because the body moves like a precise

machine without the interference of useless thought or emotion.

In this level, there couldn’t be any Ego = no emotion or high-level

thought. — so, you might wonder, what IS the motivation to do it ?

“Motivation ?      What’s the Motivation ?”

— When the task is on front = there wouldn’t be any choice but to DO.

(This situation has been misunderstood as the “Concentration” or

so-called “Mindfulness”. 😀 )

And, is the task really there ? How DO I know when myself is not there =

nor any mind, observing it.   (The people who mistook that the Zen

is a matter of awareness = A way of different thinking, couldn’t

emancipates this trap of thinking therefore couldn’t be escaped from 

this dichotomy = “Observing vs Observed Self” — When the SELF is 

 not there, WHO is observing or aware of it ?) = It’s mean, as long as 

a notion of Zen is there (or you think, you are doing a Zen),

it is not Zen at all.  Zen is being in no-mind = Mushin.

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This is the situation WHAT the Buddhists call VOID.

— Which I’ve learned from the stitching work when my conscious

was absorbed into the moving needle.

= Effectively my mother taught me the most crucial essence of Zen

without saying even a single word of Zen or Buddhism.(Of course,there

was no word of Zen or even a name of Buddhism exists on the time of

Lord Buddha.  He only showed the way to DO and what he told was the

jokes, then took a rest while sitting quiet.  When the teachings were

“Selfless” it couldn’t be taught using the word “Self” as it’s not exists.

So, he only showed the way to DO without SELF.) 

The people who was not there and only heard about had mistaken that

the sitting (and assumed to be thinking) was the matter.

Then all the misconception and the nix-up were bore out from here.

( — Sitting was just having a rest).

So, you were trapped here.   Are you watching the stitches, or

something encircled by the stitches ?

Oh, naughty you, what are you thinking. It’s just a cloth and the

stitches, still it’s better to be a naughty as we can have a laugh.    

Ha ha ha   😀

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Silly Practice = Sun and North Wind

As I needed the cash, I used an ATM of the TSB bank.

— The machine gave me 40 x £5 note for £200 !    How silly who

needs to have 40 x £5 note.  So, I went to the inside and asked a

cashier to change them to the £20 note.  The cashier asked me if

I have an account with them.  I said no.  Then she said, unless I have

an account with them, they wouldn’t chang the note ! — Amazing,

is this a harassment to annoy the people to have an account with TSB ? 

And is there even a single person who want to have an account

in order not to receive lots of £5 note ?    Are they kidding us

hoping that the cold wind would work ? ? ?  😀

Then, I realized that’s why the floor was empty and no needed to 

ques for cashier.

—– while seeing the ATM every 50m on the high street,

who need to use their ATM again.

(Is this a mentality of the English bank or just with TSB ?)

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Tim Lewis exhibition

Last night there was an opening PV of Tim Lewis exhibition at the

Flowers gallery, Cork street, London.

Despite the kinetics is rather odd in the art world, quite a number 

of visitors filled the floor and they were curious to touch and rotate

the gear —– and amazed to see how the things move.  🙂

Some of his creations are pretty small but, some are big. 

Still overall concept is always the same, like grand dad made

a toy for a small boy.  In the digital techno age, his creation

stays stubbornly analog and rather rustic and moves purely

for the sake of move. 

Normally, the things move for the purpose of something

= (nature or economics never waste the energy)

car moves, in order to take the driver or passenger A to B. 

The machines do their works.  Apple had to drop because the

gravity pulled him.  But Tim’s Machine moves only to show

its movement.  That’s all.  They were made just for the art.

= So, the visitors seems not a kind of Geek or Otaku.

The exhibition was addressed by the curator, Ann Elliot who 

saw “His work is beautiful” but only wonder the mechanics. 

(Photo above, from left = James (gallery director) Ann and Tim)

Tim (photo middle) and his kids playing with Dady’s toy !

(I would say, he must be much happier than playing with Pokemon.)   😀

People kept talking and talking — even outside (it was a hot day)  🙂

—– The most of the photos here were taken by the Pinhole, either with or

without Fisheye adapter.

Sharper photo was made by a Hand made Toy lens on Sony A7R camera.

 

Covent Garden (2) (by the Lens)

All the photos in this post were taken by, most of them were by 

the 18mm Zeiss Distagon for Nikon, on D810. But few of them

were by the Homemade Toy Camera Lens on the Sony A7R.

Covent Garden IS the place the most changed its guise in London. 

When I came to London, here was a vegetable market.  Still, for the

planned move of the market, some businesses were started to move.

When the wholesale market kind of business moves, they leave

huge stock space behind. 

Then, the people who needs huge space moved in. = Photo studio kind.

And the related business, such as film processing etc. =

That’s how I came here = to have my E6 film developed.

What a bad taste.  Is this what they call Spiritualism ? ? ?

Simply because of a Film, My fair Lady (Audley Hepburn’s Flower girl !)

the tourists started to come Covent Garden, so, the area has been changed

 to a “Fashionable Tourists Place” —– still, it’s interesting to see why the

area attracted occult / spiritual shop = quite few of them are here.

In 1974 (?) probably the first vegetarian restaurant in central London

“Food for thought” opened here.  (I was taken there by a vegetarian

friend who does the Buddhists Meditation)

(thence, he started to have the troubles on his leg).

—– it was a well-known story, that the all the High Priests 

of Zen end up on wheel chair.

Gautama Buddha left a rank of hard astir monk, thinking that to

torturing the body wouldn’t bring any High Awareness to him.

(But, my friend didn’t convince and said, that the trouble on his leg

was nothing to do with Zen practice, instead, need more effort for

the meditation to save his life.) ! ! !

So, may be those stubborn vegetarianism was the origin of

“Spiritual Covent Garden” (Food for Thought twisted the belief ! )

And a corner of the Covent Garden, Neals Yard became a holy place

for the vegetarian. — By the way, vegetarianism came from Hindu.

Lord Buddha eat anything offered and died for food poisoning of fish.

Buddhism doesn’t have such arrogance, “Killing the plant is OK”.

Killing and eating animals, plants are part of unavoidable Karma.

Round the corner, two pictures above, were in fact, China Town.

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