Inside — Jippos Circus !

Next day I went to the Circus again with more appropriate  24~70mm f2.8 lens.  🙂

Circus is a typical Circus with the staffs what we expect to see.

Though, I admit, I missed some important shot while changing the camera setting

such as for a slow shutter speed to make blurred image by change to low ISO setting.

( I should have preprogrammed Custom setting for one-click operation. ) 

Things has gone too fast. = Ideally, it need to see the performance twice and need to

prepare in anticipation. (So, photos here is a kind of easy snapshot. = Sheer excuse.  🙂 )

Before this, those black boys preformed a kind of Street Dance using Hopping Rope,

hence a sheer athleticism in exact synchronized body movement = it was a

jaw-dropping performance.  = (so that, I forgot to take picture.)  😀  😀

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CIRCUS but not inside

As autumn approaches, the air is getting clear and having bright sun, I grubbed my camera

and went to a park —–  what I found was a big Circus marquee  and loads of heavy tracks.

In certain extent, they are big sculptures = I like those shapes and contours.

No fancy animals, no lion or elephant but just horses but they got cute mini pony.

What I found there was a lots of fancy people who came from all over the world, include Japan.

And I realized, Circus is not just a venue to give an entertainment but it is a mobile village of

self sufficient industry which contains power generator,  engineering workshop to mobile

laundrette. —– yet strangely, they don’t have staff canteen or nursery,  school for kids.

Cooking and eating seemed to be done by each family or performer’s group = so, it is somewhere

between cult commune and small village = seems very interesting community.

Photos taken by Canon 5D MkIII / Pentax 15mm f3.5 / Canon 100mm Macro f2.8

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James’ Birthday Party

My friend James had a big Birthday Party.   So, those are the snap shot of the Day.

Many guest arrived with a present and a card, and their proud cooking as well.

(I brought the materials and cooked Miso soup in there. —– and brought that

Fun Clock  🙂 )  Therefore, James had to carry out the task to open the heavily

wrapped present with joy and  the surprises.  Especially somebody brought hefty

Astro Telescope as a present, serious construction work had taken place,  with

excitements and the puzzle of  kids and the grown-ups alike  😀

Mountain of the food has been prepared by his wife and his sister and more dishes,

casseroles were brought in by the friends.  Soon, they were over flow out of the table

and on top of them, yet another BBQ was prepared in the garden. 

———- ( Kids staff  🙂 )

———- ( and here, Baby staff  😀  )

When, night fall = good number of the fire-work were shot.  

Looks pretty impressive  🙂

Then James was asked to give a speech  😀 

—— and a big chorus of ” Happy Birthday to James”  😀  😀

As the Moon rose, people had to queue  to see it in the Telescope.  I wonder now on,

is James going to watch the stars on top roof of the former Greenwich Town hall 😀

(where we are using its rooms for Wireless Network weekly meeting). 

M Party went on to pretty late night.

M The friends kept talking and drinking.

M —– I don’t know till when  🙂

M (I had to excuse to catch a bus before midnight)

M

M

M What I found in his house was this painting,

M —– said to be the Old-masters painting !

M M m m m ? !  —– Really ?

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Scarlet Pinpernel / Pinhole Macro Photo

Scarlet Pinpernel,  commonly known as Red Chickweed was said to be common weed though,

I’ve seen only handful times in this country, and nowhere else. 

In the first encounter, I’ve almost got a shock = plant looks like its white cousin but with

beautiful vermilion red flowers.  = ” This must be the famous Scarlet Pinpernel, here this is it”.

Though, this is the very strange elusive plant.  (or elusive to my eyes ? ). 

They grow always unexpected unlikely place. = never grown in  typical glass land but somewhat

in its edge or margin of left-over land.  And most unusual character is they never appear in the

same place next year. = hence,  years later, I just encounter in somewhere else, unexpectedly. 

It’s defy all of my rational observations. = They have seeds = very tiny round seeds with no

hair which can be only dropped to the same ground, which mean never able to travel far ——

how come, in such condition why not to germinate in the same soil, same place again.  = and

who carried the seeds to the new place  ?   —– Ant ?

And even more strange character is,  in my experience, their seeds never germinates when

I put them to a pot next year.  And even if I got a plant from a ground and planted it to a pot,

they just die. —- Some one said, that I shouldn’t give too much water = I knew, but in nature

the soil they grow could be very soggy with a heavy rain = why the water I’ve gave, soon after

transplant could kill them ?

—– So, my guess is,  in old days, this peculiar elusive character of the plant was well

known to the people hence, it was chosen to be  the nickname of the Hero in the

Baroness Orczy’s novels  [ Scarlet Pinpernel] =  ” They seek him here.  They seek him

there. —– My own elusive Pinpernel “

As a comparison, this photo was taken by Micro Nikkor 50 mm F3.5 with extension

tube and a Reverse-ring, at F3.5.  Magnification was x5.

And the top two photos was taken by the Double-density Pinhole with extension tube =

equivalent of 90 mm lens / ISO 1600 with flash-light.  Canon 5D  Mk-III.

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Fun Clock for James

One of my friend James Stevens is going to have his 50^th Birthday party in this week.

James is the organizer of the OWN (Open Wireless Network) and having a workshop,

advising the people for their use of computer, network connection etc.

What remarkable about him is, this [etc] part.

He does everything about electronics = from lighting to PA, audio system to how to

organize and set-up the event. Hence, he knows everybody in the field and knows

“Who got which equipment, in where etc” = therefore, able to hire (or let the others

to hire) thence able to organize fully equipped film event, art event, about anything.

He is everywhere, in fact he is the Don.

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This remarkable character came from his fundamental open minded attitude to see

anybody and help anybody who came to him.   So that naturally he learned everything

and acquainted right people in every field.  He himself isn’t an authority of everything

but a man to know the authority who can help him = therefore he doesn’t need to be

an authority nor boss still he can solve all the issue as others follow him.

In my eyes, he is a Good Buddhist at work = helping others and make things happen !

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—– anyhow, as he said he is going to have a birthday party, I prepared a present

for him. = I made a fun clock.

(I never sold my work but just give them to the people for such occasion).

( I don’t think I need to explain about this = this is what it looks and function as it is,

that all though, if I may boast, its looks silver wire is in deed Staring silver ! )

Happy Birthday James.

___/\___

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Double Density Pinhole Photo (2)

As I promised before this is the sample photos of  “a bit sharper Double-Density-Pinhole

Images”, and those photos were taken by the Canon 5D Mk 3  and Nikon D810 camera.

Both of left images were taken by Tamuron 90 mm Macro Lens with F-setting 2.5 (fully open)  2000th second.  ISO 100.

Top two were by Canon 5D Mk3 and the Pinhole image was taken ISO 1600 and AV setting  (0.8 sec with +1 1/3).

Bottom two were by Nikon D810  and the Pinhole image was taken ISO 6400 setting.(Non-CPU-Lens setting  = Camera says F45.  1/2.5 second ).

—– By the way, I haven’t found why the Canon’s image (Top two) having Magenta and Green cast.  Both Cameras were set to AWB (Auto White Balance) though, as cloud moves, lighting condition was not exactly the same, therefore don’t make a conclusion about the color contribution of each camera on those photos.

Above those 6 photos were taken by D810,  ISO 6400,  F-setting was F45 or F64, Shutter time was  1 second ~ 1/4 second.  (with lots of Re-try  😀 )

On this time, Outer Pinhole was 1.2 mm and a smaller pinhole was made in the center of Metal-coted film, and the  panel was mounted on Nikon Revers-Ring  (hence, it enables to use it in different focal length, with or without extension ring. 

And with [Nikon —> Canon Mount Adapter] the same can be used on Canon as well)  🙂

As Pinhole panel was fixed on a revers-ring,  it enable ( just 🙂 )to use ordinary Lens-hood (Lens-hood is essential) = two photos above are the sample when hood was dropped and direct sun light hit the pinhole, though some might like a photo with strong halation  😀

By the way, I cover the Camera etc, with lots of stickers to conceal Camera name, Model name etc —– to make it looks cheap,  and my friend who actually possess D810 adopted the same attitude = It would discourage a mugger  😀

After dealt with a lots of Pinhole pictures —– ordinary photo looks rather fresh.

It looks not too bad too.     Ha ha ha  😀 

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What Photography to do with Buddhism

Someone asked me “ Why Photography in a Zen blog ?”

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The understanding of Zen is so wildly varied, let alone the understanding of the Buddhism.

It spreads from vague spiritualism to an endless peculiar practice.

A reason is that it lays in the person’s subconsciousness. Hence, the person oneself couldn’t

see it clearly, let alone the others, even the teacher.

Since, it was not clearly written down like as a Dogma, and to memorize it doesn’t mean

understood the Buddhism. (Though, some sect says, they got 100 of the rules written down

and follow them is the completion of the Buddhism.)

[]

My discovery of the Zen came from a peculiar practice = Disco Dancing  😀

With a peculiar mental tendencies habituated in my subconscious, I realized, this is

what people called the Zen —– Like a Pathological diagnosis, I found the symptoms all

matches to the description of the Zen of the past masters =

hence I understood, what I’m living is the Zen.

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So that, in Zen, the matter is a mental state or so-called mind-set, while the one is DOING

something. = Doing it unconsciously with the mind-set of what

Lord Buddha stated = IS the Buddhism. = Hence, able to receive all the benefit to live with

the Dharma. —– Here, it is crucial to be unconscious (=in Mushin). 

We can do a thing without thinking but not able to do thinking without thinking  😀

Try to do Mushin or talking it consciously is just a pretense or mimicry  😀

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Photography is a secondly art (it doesn’t mean second class art 🙂 ) = unlike an abstract

drawing or sculpture, unless the subject is there, its photograph couldn’t be created.

In other words, photography has to follow the existence and its moment.

That moment is the only moment. Photography is to capture and deals with this MOMENT.

As Lord Buddha stated, “Nothing stays the same and they change moment to moment”.

= Photography has to face this situation straight.

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Why and how you encounter its situation or subject was not necessary what you expected or

designed.  = To encounter it was what the Karma has worked.   You may think that

the idea to come to the garden to take picture was what you conceived and planed by yourself

alone though, without Karma has had pulled a string, you didn’t get the idea in the first place.

Whether you are aware or not this is how the system works.

And this system = the mechanism of the Dharma is what

Lord Buddha elucidated. = This is the Buddhism which is applicable even to a non-Buddhist.

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And we have to follow the subject = we didn’t create it, hence this is a secondly art =

we have to accept a humble position to be a secondly creator. Therefore, we have to see

the world with humble open eyes but at most diligent way, down to the minute details.

Once we start to see the subjects, what we are seeing is the environment or most likely

the nature. —– In fact, we are seeing the Dharma.

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When we try to capture and focus the subject, are we thinking what to eat for lunch ? =

Not only the lens, we are focusing what we need to do without any thinking but with full

attention to the subject on front of the camera whole heartedly.

This is the moment of Mushin and the Mindfulness.

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Then “Got it” = but what we got ? —– Even though we might think “I’ve got iconic image”

it is a mere reflection of the subject in the memory card, which could just disappear with a

glitch in a computer. —– And in most of the case, it wouldn’t do anything with the person’s

finance = it is nothing but a selfless, greed less act = expect no reward, still needs to put

so much effort for taking.

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—– Isn’t this Zen Buddhism ? —– If not,  What else   🙂

___/\___

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Double-Density Pinhole Photography

Ideally, soft-focus image should have solid focused core and the soft flair around it.

The more the photographer is decent grown-up person, even soft image is rather subtle.  Though, I’m not very well grown up decent kind = tend to take it to the extreme   😀  (Hence, if I cook for myself, the taste is pretty strong = if it got to be spicy hot = it would be extremely HOT = Otherwise, what is the point to cook hot food  😀 )

Therefore, my soft-focused image goes to even more extreme = and in this  experiment, I gave a larger pinhole halo to small pinhole image = Concentric Double pinhole photo image  🙂   My approach to the Life is ” Why not ?”  😀

How you can put small hole inside of another hole  ? ? ?  = 😀

This is a Philosophical Problem = Hole is where VOID is = unlike gap, hole was represented by its circular edge, and this edge define the area of the Void = its inside is already Void, hence, there is nothing to form yet another hole  😀 

In photographic term, Pinhole can act like a lens, provided when the correct exposure was given though, when two hole exists in the same place, how to give long enough exposure (shatter time) for smaller hole while giving shorter time for larger hole ?  = 😀

—– My solution was, to cover larger hole with ND filter to reduce the incoming light.

(There is a gray filter called Neutral Density Filter to reduce the light, though together with Kodak CC (Color Compensating) filter they became hard to obtain item now.) 

—– Instead to use ND filter, I found an Aluminum coted plastic film of tea packaging. —– Not good enough for normal photography yet, enough for fuzzy pinhole photography  😀

[]To measure the Density, I placed this metallic film on front of the lens = the exposure reading was dropped from 1/1000th to 1/15 = 6 stops drop on shutter speed. 

Hence, the size of pinholes should have also 6 stops difference in F-aperture logarithmic scale.

(such as 2mm, 1.4mm, 1mm, 0.7mm, 0.5mm, 0.35mm. 0.25mm = larger pinhole, 2 mm and small one should be 0.25 mm)  —> The metallic film was stacked behind of 2 mm pinhole and a 0.25 mm hole was pierced in the center.  —– (From the result, I think, the lager hole should be 1.5 mm and smaller hole 0.18 mm = images would be a bit more sharper  😀 )

Still, the experiment which costed virtually nothing = results are not too bad  😀

———————————

PS :  Few people who has failed to do this kind of pinhole photo asked me why —– I’m using equivalent lens (this time 100mm lens) for set-up and framing, then the View-finder was covered up with black-tape.  Stray light from View-finder makes wrong reading of exposure.

Most importantly, I’m using extremely capable Canon 5D (Mk 2 and Mk3).  

Pinhole photography may not be done with another camera. 

For instance, a pinhole shot done in 5D Mk3, with ISO 3200 and AV setting, 6 seconds —– the same pinhole mounted on Nikon D810 with the same ISO 3200 setting and 6 seconds couldn’t make picture, as it looks more than 3 stops under exposure.   Even with 30 sec’, 60 sec’, 120 sec’, further with ISO setting Hi2 (equiv’  25600) didn’t make ANY difference. 

Nikon couldn’t work with non-CPU incompatible lenses.

—– I wonder if anybody has ever done Astro-photography with Nikon D810, I would like to know how it was done ?

—————————————-

PPS :  I found the way to to take Pinhole Photo by Nikon D810.

(1)  Go to the Menu / Non-CPU Lens / and set Max F-Aperture to F22.

(2)  Push Meter Coupling Lever (for Aperture Ring) anti-clock-wise, till F-aperture indicator on the Control Panel shows F45.

(3)  With ISO setting, 3200 or so and [A] (Aperture priority) = camera would give more or less correct exposure.

(*)  To adjust the exposure, even if you use the Exposure Time given by [A], say 2 second for Manual setting and select 1 second or 4 second —— exposure couldn’t be correct unless you push Meter Coupling Lever to F45 position.  (Because, the brightness of the image was not determined by the size of pinhole and the shutter-time, but by the gain of signal amplification in the image process )

 —- In fact, you can control Exposure Level by this Lever (by pushing it to F32 or F64 etc) = it is very awkward —-> Solution would be, tie a string to the Lever and fix it to the position of F45, and the Exposure adjustment should be made by changing ISO setting to another value.

London 2012 Festival at Southbank

Way back from the center and crossing the Waterloo Bridge, I saw huge Baobab like tree !

And a lots of cloud around the Southbank  where Festival Hall, Hayward gallery etc are

situated = It was a festival or a kind of  massive gathering  🙂 —– it seems there are some

performances but most of the people with family or friends are just hanging out there. 🙂

It was a Friday early evening.  So, just have a drink and chat together.

Some set-up for the kids to play = in fact, sandy beach is a familiar set up in the Southbank.

But this time the sand got red and blue too = supposed to be the national color of the flag. 

The festival is a side-show of the Olympic.

So that, there is a Fair Ground and some ride as well. 

When thousands of the people comes, there always the street performers. 

A magician Diobo (photo, center above) showed incredible magic which I was utterly

bemused.  = As it is an open space = there couldn’t be any set-up.  And he was bare-hand =

no sleeve to hide any trick —– still he could move a cigarette and rift it up from the

ground (no invisible string or strong air movement) or make a mouse disappear and

reappear from inside of an egg etc etc = may be usual staff though, what impressed me

was, as I said, its impossibility.  How he could do that ?

Magic Circle must be the last secret Brotherhood.  Iron rule of secrecy and the devotion

to the perfection.  

Among many performers, a Yogi like performer (photo, above right) were sitting without

any movement.  One was perched on top of a stick = looks fascinating though, this is not a

magic = they were just sitting on an iron frame which was hidden in there loose cloths.

And there was the anti-capitalists campaigners as well.

Those wild meadow like flower bed must be created in few days on a shallow soil brought

onto the concrete, and when the event was finished, they will be just thrown into a skip =

a symbol of superficiality of this kind of Green pretense.

Then, I took a bus to go back to my place. 

(Those photos above were taken from inside of the bus)

—– all the photos were taken by Zeiss Planer 85mm F1.4 lens on Canon 5D MkIII = its mean, everything

were manual = hence, due to my eyesight some are not very well focused.  😦

(I didn’t expect to shoot the photos.  Only the 85mm lens was there which I have had brought to show

to my friend  😀 )

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N’s Sports Party at Abbey

Newly wed N is a web designer and keen cyclist, traveler and doing Kinetic-sculpture as well. (hence we met many years ago on an art event).   In fact, he had Stag-do in the south coast, doing canoeing etc with his old baddies weeks ago as well.

So, when I arrived to the Abbey, I was greeted by his fancy dancing.    😀

As I was warned, this party was not a kind of eat, drink and catch-up chattering but quite physical.     😀

I don’t know the name of this game, still, there is an almost identical game in Japan but played only by the kids.

Sports party though, it’s still a family occasion, N’s mum and dad and of cause his wife and her sister D were all there enjoying the company.

This game (photo above) said to be called “Sheep stack in the mud ” = may be Japanese equivalent of Oni-gokko”  🙂

On such sporting occasion, photographer shouldn’t be just an observer = gone to more pro-active. (or a bit naughty ? ! = to inflate size D to FF) — no, not me, lens did  😀

Then egg on the spoon race. Though, some confusion of the rules —– spoon on a hand or on the mouth ?

And the Prize giving ceremony = of Gold, Silver or Copper.    😀 

In the same time, yet another activity which was a bit more intellectual research and the interview was carried out by D as she was a student of London Uni’

Yet more Spoon race.  😀

And more common ball game. 

So, the party went on till sunset.  It was a fantastic day and a nice quiet evening.

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