Morning Sky – Dec’19
This one was by the Fragmented lens on Nikon Z. (Camera itself set the ISO to 12800 (not me) = So, the noise was too high — still, as an image, it wasn’t too bad. Unlike a soft smooth image, the roughened up texture showed quite strong impact. I like it.
This image was too murky though, that was what this homemade lens was made for.
Only a decent lens in this post = Zeiss Distagon —– costed me a bit. 😀
Small part of disposable camera lens makes not too bad image !
This Pentax lens itself IS a pretty good decent lens, even if it was for 110 size camera but mounted on a full size mirrorless Nikon Z.
We can take picture in any excuse. Nothing hinder us to be creative.
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Night sky
Time to time, we see extremely red night sky or red moon. Yet still, we may not necessary take picture of it, or to know why the sky was so red.
When it’s red, it’s red all night till morning.
This photo was taken by the “Fragmented Lens” with the colour balance setting for Shade. (long exposure showed more noise)
The same camera but the lens was changed to 110 Pentax 24mm lens.
When the camera’s colour balance was set to Auto, the image became like this = was this because the red shift was nutralised by the camera’s image processor, OR red was not there in the first place but created in the camera ? (To compensate “Shade” = 7000K Colour balance, the image would be pushed to warmer orangery colour, hence red sky !)
And this photo showed that the red colour was in fact the refrected light on the clowd. Unless the light from the ground was refrected back, we can’t see it, in other words the sky was not burning but the grounds.
Then, how about tonight full (?) moon in the sky ?
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1/4 lens !
After two attempt of two 1/2 double lens, it would go to even 1/4, naturally. (Anyway, it was only a matter of hacksaw and a glue work. And it was what an Otaku lives for. 😀 )
The plastic lens was mounted to the Sony A7R camera (yet the lens can be attached to the Nikon Z as well.)
So, this homemade lens will produce the image even worse than those W-lens A or B ! 😀 —– can you guess how happy I am. Ha Ha Ha 😀
In case, if anyone wanted to see more natural image for a comparison, those are the images from the ordinary (?) 110 Pentax 24mm lens on the Nikon Z.
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Ensign Viewfinder Camera ?
This photo was taken through the viewfinder of the 1940s Ensign camera.
Ensign camera was produced by the English Houghtons Ltd. And this streamlined Ful-Vue was made around 1946, using 120 film for 6×6 format.
I got this camera from the London Camera Exchange’s odds and ends box however as it came together with other shopping, I don’t know how much the price of this one though —– as it was non working dirty junk, price could not be more than few pound. SO, I spent next few days to clean and repair. (now the camera was cleaned and in good working condition !)
Camera itself was designed in the streamlined style and having large “aerial image viewfinder” (so that, it was named “Ful-Vue”) —– While checking this aerial image, I realised that I can take picture through this viewfinder. = = = So, I fixed a thin Nikon Z mount adaptor on Ensign’s viewfinder.
Unlike aerial image itself, the image through viewfinder lens could give only 1 feet (30 cm) focus. —– still, for close-up photo, its soft image was pretty interesting.
Though the viewfinder lens doesn’t have any great quality. Its got quite a heavy chromatic aberration. (still, for a fuzzy photo fan, those red and blue fringes were the mere accompanying decoration)
A difficulty of shooting with this camera was, to shoot a front subject while looking down, while following the subject which moves opposite direction. (because, they are the mirror image —– yet, strangely, while viewfinder’s aerial image is not reversed, why the photograph through the same lens got to be reversed or upside down ? ? ? 😀
May be I should have proper shooting test of this camera through its main lens, which is about 95 mm focal length with 12 mm diameter (its mean, the lens is about F8) —– but, no F-aperture, or Focus control ! = even worse, I don’t know how fast is its “Instant” shutter speed. (Shutter has Instant and Time ( = B) setting though, there is no tripod screw — How to use this B setting ? ? ? = 1940s people must have very solid steady hand) 😀
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Archery Contest — Zen ? ? ?
There is an annual Archery Contest in a Japanese Buddhists Temple = Sanjyu-sangen-do, Kyoto. (If you are interested in its details, please google > Toshi-ya, Sanjyu-sangen-do ) (the Viz here is the Female Archer’s day’)
What I want to talk about here is not about its history or meaning, but the way how Japanese Archery / Kyu-do was done.
From the Viz here, you must be realised that the Japanese Kyu-do mount the Arrow outside of the Bow, and not aiming the Arrow while watching its direction from the back. Unlike a western archery, cross-bow, or a riful gun there is no “sight” to aim the target. The eyes, the head of archer is the other side. So, you might be wondering how the archer could aim the Arrow to the target ?
Training is to train the body function, its power and the coordination to higher level. —– In the case of Karate, (say, hit an opponent by a fist) the movement and the control is rather simple as it is the matter of the hand’s movement. Though, if it involve a weapon, the coordination has to become a bit more complicated as the movement became indirect. — still, like cutting a lemon, the body (hand) need to keep the knife steady and make its movement constant, while involving rather small number of the muscles, while having the straight feedback of the each movement through the eyes. (On this “cutting lemon” arrangement, even a direction of the knife blade could be changed while the blade is in the middle of lemon.)
Though, the Japanese Kyu-do’s control is incredibly indirect. Certainly the Archer is seeing the target and stand towards the target though, we can not see any further details of the control, how minute adjustment of the angle was transelated into the arm’s muscle or body position etc.
In this field, a book [ZEN in the ART of ARCHERY] by Eugen Herrigel has almost historical significance. (—– though, as the Kyu-do has no mechanical system of the “Control”, neither Zen use the verbal communication to explain how, the book wouldn’t give you any answer how the arrow could hit the tail of the first arrow. But only hinting something spiritual made the arrow to fly.)
In Zen term, it is the state of the Ichijo = Body and the Mind, the Bow and the Arrow, the target, and even the air all became one by abandoning all those. In Buddhists term, it was absorbed by Dharma. = By abandoning all the aim or thought to hit, obtaining the natural control of the Dharma = this paradox IS the core of the Zen Buddhism.
In This extent, the Book by Eugen Herrigel was a very rare and important guide book to learn the Zen. To learn the Zen, an innocent, naive man could not able to learn anything by sitting. Because there wouldn’t be any explanation of Zen let alone what the sitting for. Yet still, that book explain, how to negate the own Ego by exactry follow and copy the way to do the Kyu-do. And the way to abondan even the intention to hit = to become the Void oneself. (The book was written by the outsider = not by Zen monk, hence the trade secret has been exposed ! ) So, the reader could able to learn the mechanism of the Zen.
However, if it was looked at more demystified angle, the control of the Kyu-do might be somewhat similar to the Skiing. Control of the ski board couldn’t be done by just the legs but needs to have all the coordination of the whole body, on top of the snow condition and the topography, even the weather. Then the certain aim or a mind goes to the ski, yet still, we are not skiing while thinking how to ski. There may not be a kind of “The Mind of Ski” —– it could be empty. But, without having any thinking of control, if the aim was goes left, the ski goes left. There may not be any mythical control behind still, in the certain level of advanced skill, whole control of ski or Kyu-do could be done in the almost God’s hand level. —– This advancement could be achieved also under the Zen approach, still, make it thankful to the mythical Dharma or just a physical advancement would be a matter of one’s belief.
—– So, it was the same situation, when I was making aluminium sculpture “Buddha 2009” I needed to find the aluminium pipes for the material, then I found a lots of discarded pipes from a construction site = its always like this happen on me. (What I’m doing synchronise with Dharma —– or they help me) .
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November Moon
Somewhere in the Net, somebody was saying that around the November full moon, a big earthquake might occur in somewhere.
May be Might not be.
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Fall or fallen
They are rather lazy shooting. Sorry. 😀
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Aster aster
In anywhere, the Aster seems to be a flower of the Autumn. There said to be many variety of Aster though (one of them said to reach 2 m tall) to my eyes all the Aster looks identical.
And Aster is one of the most humble flower, almost come down to a weed. = almost, yet she was not common enough to be a weed.
So, the same question, why I see the same flower on the same spot every year —– why I don’t see a bit different variety ?
In Japan, this flower was always seen to be a synonym of the pure innocent girl. (now, it must be a rare, or even endangered species = so, the flower receiving even more isolated romantic dream — of a boy)
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October Moon
It was this early morning —– very very early 4:00 morning, I found a moon. Strangely you might say, this was the first time I saw a moon in this phese = because, to see the moon in this phese, it has to be very early morning.
Yet still ? ? ? —– I wonder why ? Why I haven’t seen it before ?
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Healthy eating – Paradox
I don’t have any ism other than a habit in my character which is a kind of cleanness = loath to touch anything filthy or dubious = originated from Japanese Shinto. I wash my hair just with a water = use a shampoo may be less than once in a month. I hate to expose my skin to dubious chemical more than a dust in my room.
But I eat something a vegetable in the Brassicaceae family is a matter of my taste = not a kind of healthy concern or any ism. And eating frozen sprouts instead of flesh broccoli or daikon etc, was, I’m just lazy. (You may disappointed to see me not so keen = = = Here is a wise rule, this is the problem of the mind = “If you are too serious, you tend to fail / if your mind was stuck, you loose the ability” —–> Make eating it to almost a unconscious habit which origin was forgotten = = = It IS the same, “If you are too serious / wary too much of your health = you became ill. — This paradox is common with Zen Buddhism !)
I was eating boiled sprouts with salad cream with the same laziness. Once I bought a “light” type salad cream then noticed that such product was something unnaturally plasticky and realised that to make a similar textured, tasted product without using original ingredients, there must be a lots of dubious chemicals and the ingredients were used for a factory production.
Basically, the western food life is dreadful. Eating looks healthy whole grain bread but with animal originated fat (butter) — even worse with trance fatty acid “Margarine” etc etc. —– So, I don’t buy processed food. (Don’t ask me Miso, Suger etc were not processed food ?)
Instead to use salad cream I’m making Miso based Paste = Miso, Chinese Chilli bean Sauce, pinch of Sugar and a bit of Vinegar —–> mix together. (I hope those products were produced in traditional way without using dubious chemicals) (Am I asking too much or ignorant ?)
The paste I made here was also good for other cooking such as Oka-kurage, boiled Daikon etc. —– may be I should make a lot and keep it in a jar for a quick serve to each breakfast = may be safe to keep for a week or two.
Before we start to talk about Eco, Health issue etc, we better look around and think deep. = In order to make a 16 years old Swedish girl who said that she dosen’t want to pollute the air by jet flight, to appear the UN, while 4 times more jet journeys were needed for her staff and her father to travel !
While this girl accusing Japan etc for their coal burning power station, making an exception of China who is the scond largest poluter by their coal burning, saying that they ARE the developping country. (Are they = who said so ? ) We need to see the truth behind the hypocritical farce. And see who is behind her campaign.
That’s what we call deceptive performance, in another word, fraud. 😀
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