jlemire

Is there a Pentax 35mm SLR model out there that has the following

features:<br>

<br>

Spot metering<br>

DOF preview<br>

Mirror lock-up<br>

Auto-focus<br>

<br>

I am guessing no, but thought I would post anyways.<br>

<br>

If no model has these 4 features, which ones have the spot metering

feature?<br>

Is there a "400 speed Reala"?

 

Which 400 speed film most closely resembles Reala in color, contrast, etc?

I like it too. Nice shot. And a nice job actualizing what you visualized!

 

Just out of curiosity, what equipment/settings did you use?

Thanks for the input so far...

 

BTW I shoot film (ZX-30, P3, and K1000).

 

I wonder if 200mm will still leave me short?

I am thinking about getting a telephoto zoom lens for a trip to the

Galapagos in the fall. My longest lens right now is a Sigma 105 f2.8

macro. THere are many options in the 75mm or 100mm to 300mm range.

The slow ones are pretty cheap (e.g.,Pentax SMCP-FA 100-300mm

f/4.7-5.8 for about $100).

 

Does anyone have experience with this breed of lens? Any

recommendations (brand, range, speed, etc)? Thanks!

Steve -

 

Why no luck with people?

I know they vary in speed (except NPS vs NPC), but what otherwise is

the difference?

 

Would you take one (which one?) to Ecquador and the Galapagos for some

photojournalistic-type travel photography? (i.e., would one of these

be good for harsh equatorial sunlight?)

 

I've used some NPH for some "portrait" work (family vacations and kids

at the playground, etc), but have no experience with the other films.

I use a camera. I use it to take photographs. How about you?

Hi all -

 

I know that there have been many posts on the Galapagos and I have

read many of them, as well as Jackson's "Galapagos: a Natural History"

and Boyce's "Travel Guide". I will be traveling there for about a

week in November (yes, still a ways away, but I can't keep my mind off

it!). I have some thoughts regarding what equipment I will bring and

was hoping to get some feedback/comments from fellow photogs...

 

1) I do not think I will bring my large, heavy tripod - from

everything I've read it will just be a hassle. Instead I may pick up

a monopod or I may just go hand-held (very unorthodox for me!)

 

2) Since I won't be bringing a tripod, I was thinking I would leave my

beloved Velvia at home (gulp!). Also, since I imagine most of my

opportunities to take photos will be under the harsh equatorial sun, I

am thinking that Velvia would not be a good film anyways. I figure I

need something with more dynamic range and not as contrasty - some

sort of print film like Fuji NPH or Kodak NC or UC. I've used these

films for "portrait" work, but never for natural/travel work. What do

you think of this idea?

 

3) My lenses include three primes - 24mm, 50mm, and 105mm (macro).

For less than $200 I can get a 80-300 zoom (f4-f5.6). A good idea?

Should I also invest in a teleconverter?

 

4) I have three Pentax bodies (ZX-30, P3, and K1000). If will take

the ZX-30 plus one more (probably the P3 as it is lighter than the

K1000). Kind of a silly question, but any real reason to take all three?

 

Basically my major concerns are not taking a tripod and shooting under

harsh, contrasty light. Two things which I never (well, almost never)

do, but that I think are inevitable on this trip. I am thinking film

choice is the important factor here (aside from my own modest

abilities/talents). Any and all thoughts and comments on these

subjects are welcomed and will be appreciated.

Nice job adjusting your plan of attack and with dealing with the rest of your family. You have a very nice photo here - good choice of colors and background. A few things I would like different however:

1) I'd like to see more of her face, especially her eyes. This photo seems more about her dress than about her.

2) A tighter crop, making better use of the great light you have coming through the window - as it is your mom looks slightly underexposed next to the very bright patch of the window in the upper right corner. Getting closer on her face and avoiding the bright patch may have been better use of the natural light.

 

Do you have more shots you could share?

SOmething I've done:

 

Set a tripod to your height. Set a hat on top of the tripod. Step back and compose a shot of the tripod with hat - you'll need to visualize your frame filling in more space than the tripod. Note the focus. Mark the ground when you are a distance/position you like. Put the camera on the tripod, double check the focus ring, set the timer. Return to you pre-marked spot. Wait...click. There's your self-portrait.<div></div>

You could also try Kodak Tri-X 400 and push it to 1600. I did this for some ambient light street shots one night and then took photos of my kids with the remainder of the roll the following day. I think the grain looks fine. SOme shots suffer a bit from the greater contrast, but overall I really like the way they look. Here are a couple of links to some of the pics I scanned and posted here at PN:<br>

<br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=486846">http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=486846</a><br>

<br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=497880">http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=497880</a><br>

(just to point out the obvious, the poor/soft focus on these street shots is my fault and not the pushed film's!)<br>

<br>

Good luck and have fun. Let us know what you decide on and how they turn out.

I recently showed some of my work (my "nature" photos) at our local public library - they have free exhibition space and exhibits change monthly. I was all gung-ho for it - made sure everything was matted and framed with top-notch achival materials, printed up flyers announcing my first exhibit (even gave it a title, "A Closer Look...", mounted short blurbs about each photo, had my "artist statement" and contact info, etc, etc. I spent a fair amount of money, thinking I would sell some prints to cover my costs.<br>

<br>

I was amazed at how many people stopped to *look* at the photos - actually taking time to see what the photo was and to read the captions. I didn;t spend much time hanging around the exhibit, but if I extrapolate the numbers of people seeing my work from the short time I spent there it would easily be in the several hundreds. It was cool to see reactions and hear comments and even take down information. I was very pleased to have so many people see my work.<br>

<br>

In the end, I had one *inquiry* about buying a print - and a subsequent follow-up, "I'll let you know when I'm ready to buy" - I haven't heard back again. So, my dreams of selling a few prints went unrealized and I am out some money (though the nicely framed prints now reside on my walls and some will be used as gifts for family and friends), but what a blast to share with so many people.<br>

<br>

I just created a presentation here at PN to showcase the work I showed in "A Closer Look...". Can be found here:<br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/presentation?presentation_id=290579">A Closer Look...</a><br>

<br>

guess that would be a resounding "no"

 

:)

Just wondering if anyone has ever been to Bering Land Bridge Nat'l

Preserve in Alaska. I had never heard of it until reading a New

Yorker article about Global Warming. I've checked out their NPS

website (<a

href="http://www.nps.gov/bela/">http://www.nps.gov/bela/</a>). It

sounds like a pretty intense place.

<br>

<br>

Does anyone have any experience there? What is it like? Any photos

to share?

Christen - <br>

<br>

If you haven't seen it already, check out John Shaw's "Close-Ups in Nature". Here's the link for it at Amazon.com:<br>

<br>

 

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0817440526/jimlemirecom-20?creative=327641&camp=14573&link_code=as1">John Shaw's "Closeups in Nature"</a><br>

<br>

In this book, Shaw explains many different ways to get close-up shots, including the reversed mount method.<br>

<br>

 

After reading this book, I tried taking some reversed mount shots. It is VERY VERY difficult (or at least it was for me), thus I have no example to show you. You need to be very close to the subject, depth of field is ridiculously small (even at the smallest aperatures), and any motion in the subject will kill the shot. Someday I'm sure I will try it again, but for now, I have more luck with my Sigma 105mm macro lens (though I can't get the same magnification as with the reversed mount).<br>

<br>

Good Luck!<br>

all three had to be from the same shoot - I can't imagine three bears hanging out that way for three different photographers on three different days. I suppose all the shots were taken by one photographer and somehow mislabeled on the posters?

my attempted fix<div></div>

A friend of mine has asked me to help him put together a web site for

his business. He's a Hopi Indian and has a gallery that sells Hopi

arts and crafts (katsina dolls, woven baskets, silver jewelry). I

took photos of some of his inventory today, but had problems lighting

his silver jewelry, especially the pieces with inlaid, polished

stones. The glare was terrible of the surfaces. We have a limited

set-up, using only what we can find around the shop - essentially

floor lamps and overhead incandescents. I am using a very simply

digital camera (a Fuji S5100) with an on-the-camera flash (which I

did not use). Any advice on how to best light these subjects or how

to "fix" glare in PS? I have attached two photos - one resized and

cropped, but otherwise unmanipulated and one is my attempted fix.

 

I figure going outside on a cloudy/overcast day would help, but

unfortunately we don't get many of those in Northern Arizona!

 

Please help if you can.<div></div>

wow, thanks all for the kind words.

 

It is hard to explain Mill Ave - it is a clash of so many worlds. It is a major strip next to Arizona State University. It houses tons of restaurants, shops, and bars. It is a huge hang-out spot for all sorts of folks, so there are all sorts of street performers looking to make a few bucks. I have a few more pics I hope to get scanned and posted soonish - one of a kid playing the cello for tips. My most disappointing moment was that I did not get a shot of this rasta guy playing the steel drum - dreds hanging over his face with a lit cigarette hanging from his lips. Oh well.

 

If you're ever in Phoenix I suggest checking it out, especially on a Friday or Saturday night when ASU is in session (then again, why would anyone visit Phoenix in the summer when ASU is out of session and the temperatures, at midnight, are usually in the upper 90s). THere are an endless supply of street characters to aim your camera at.

Hi all -<br>

<br>

I just uploaded a few photos from my first street excursion. I went

out to Mill Ave in Phoenix (near ASU) after dark and shot a roll

(actually only 1/3 a roll) of Tri-X at 1600, no flash. The low light,

combined with newbie jitters led to some pretty soft focus. There are

only 4 photos uploaded, but I would love to know what you think.

Thanks.<br>

<br>

<a

href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=497880">http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=497880</a>

for tides try also:<br>

<br>

<a href="http://www2.primushost.com/~mcmorran/tide/tideform.html">http://www2.primushost.com/~mcmorran/tide/tideform.html</a>

Was just there a couple of days ago. No way to get above the crater without aircraft. Impressive hole in the ground and a nice museum to go with it.

What a terrible event - I hope the lab made gave you some sort of restitution. Any problems with them before? Good luck with whatever you try. Hope this never happens (to anyone) again.

I must say I like the studio model comparison - if we are willing to pay them (lots of) money, why should we not give *something* (some change? a dollar?) to those less fortunate for the same sevice? I'm not suggesting that you give away money every time you take a candid street photo, but I think it is warranted when a shot is "set-up" beforehand.