Takumar club

dude163 · 12-18-2010, 06:52 PM

Tada, all fixed!

Mike Cash · 12-18-2010, 11:48 PM

Hoping to throw a little more variety and versatility into my flash photos (I've been doing practically everything through an umbrella, as that was all I had), I sat down last night and built myself a black straw grid snoot to mount on one of my flash units. It has the effect of preventing the light from spreading out, effectively turning it into a sort of spotlight. Basically it is a plain old snoot with the end jammed full of black plastic drinking straws cut to length. 10cm yields a very tight pattern and I'll probably make another one either 3cm or 5cm.

Pentax K20D
S-M-C Takumar 35/3.5

stash · 12-19-2010, 03:48 AM

Originally posted by Mike Cash

Hoping to throw a little more variety and versatility into my flash photos (I've been doing practically everything through an umbrella, as that was all I had), I sat down last night and built myself a black straw grid snoot to mount on one of my flash units. It has the effect of preventing the light from spreading out, effectively turning it into a sort of spotlight. Basically it is a plain old snoot with the end jammed full of black plastic drinking straws cut to length. 10cm yields a very tight pattern and I'll probably make another one either 3cm or 5cm.

Pentax K20D
S-M-C Takumar 35/3.5

great Mike, maybe a shot of the /snoot/??

dude163 · 12-19-2010, 06:53 AM

I was just going to ask the same

estudleon · 12-19-2010, 09:42 AM

Originally posted by Mike Cash

imgwide tags, por favor.

Pentax K20D
S-M-C Takumar 105/2.8

What nice pic!! What nice lens!!! What nice........girl!!!!

Mike Cash · 12-19-2010, 10:32 AM

Originally posted by stash

great Mike, maybe a shot of the /snoot/??

There's a shot of it over in the Accessories section. It's just some polystyrene folded into a box open on each end and held together with glue and tape. Jam black soda straws in one end until they stop falling out, jam the other end onto the flash and then aim it like it's a rifle. That's how tight the spot is.

I'll break my usual custom of one photo per post because I want to show a couple of examples of how that tight spot can be used in different ways.

In this first example it is used as you might expect it to be, as a spotlight to isolate the subject (two inch tall figurines) from the surroundings. To get this sort of effect with the umbrella I would have to be almost touching the subject with the umbrella, effectively impossible. With the snoot the light was about five feet away:

Pentax K20D
Auto-Takumar 55/2

In the second example I closed down to my shooting aperture, metered with the green button, and then adjusted the shutter speed down two stops so the snoot would work more as a fill light to highlight the main subject yet still allow the background (which is contextually important in this shot) to make an appearance:

Pentax K20D
Auto-Takumar 55/2

Since I mentioned that the boards are contextually important, I'll cut-n-paste the caption I included on Flickr:

"These two stuffed animals were among toys left at Kiryu's Senryuin temple to comfort the souls of "mizuko" (水子), who are children either aborted or miscarried. Each of the boards in the back (and there were a great many of them) represents one such child."

By the way, the photo of the tombstone was done in the same way, using the snooted flash as a fill light so that it is clear which tombstone is the subject but still allowing for some surrounding contextual elements to appear yet without upstaging the star.

Ira · 12-19-2010, 10:38 AM

Originally posted by Mike Cash

imgwide tags, por favor.

Pentax K20D
S-M-C Takumar 105/2.8
[/center]

Now you're talking.

**Porga** · 12-19-2010, 10:43 AM

Originally posted by Ira

Now you're talking.

Yes, he is!

stash · 12-19-2010, 10:58 AM

Thanks Mike for your explanation. Further questions would be how do you trigger the flash? how do you decide on the power of the flash? and which flash do you use?

both with 85mm

**Porga** · 12-19-2010, 11:19 AM

Originally posted by Mike Cash

Now that is the kind of photo that makes my heart swell with vicarious pride to be a fellow diehard Takumar shooter.

Thank you Mike, I'm glad you like it.
I was stubborn enough to not take zoom lens and flash at the wedding, although I was asked to take camera and shoot photos.

DougLee · 12-19-2010, 12:10 PM

This shot was badly underexposed. I always have to adjust exposure +2ev in aperture mode for this lens. I was going to delete it, but decied to play around with it in Lightroom first. Glad I did. It has a Rembrandt quality to it that I like.

S-M-C Takumar 135 f2.5

v5planet · 12-19-2010, 12:56 PM

Originally posted by DougLee

This shot was badly underexposed. I always have to adjust exposure +2ev in aperture mode for this lens. I was going to delete it, but decied to play around with it in Lightroom first. Glad I did. It has a Rembrandt quality to it that I like.

S-M-C Takumar 135 f2.5

I'm glad you kept it too!

Banjo · 12-19-2010, 06:26 PM

A great result.

Progress often arises from what were originally "mistakes".

Jewelltrail · 12-19-2010, 06:41 PM

Originally posted by Mike Cash

imgwide tags, por favor.

Pentax K20D
S-M-C Takumar 105/2.8

Mike, had this gal just played a professional Roller Derby game or something?? Some powerful looking legs there.

**jatrax** · 12-19-2010, 08:41 PM

Mt Hood with a fresh coat of snow
S-M-C Takumar 85mm f/1.8

12-19-2010, 10:32 AM	#6366
Mike Cash Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,950	Originally posted by stash great Mike, maybe a shot of the /snoot/?? There's a shot of it over in the Accessories section. It's just some polystyrene folded into a box open on each end and held together with glue and tape. Jam black soda straws in one end until they stop falling out, jam the other end onto the flash and then aim it like it's a rifle. That's how tight the spot is. I'll break my usual custom of one photo per post because I want to show a couple of examples of how that tight spot can be used in different ways. In this first example it is used as you might expect it to be, as a spotlight to isolate the subject (two inch tall figurines) from the surroundings. To get this sort of effect with the umbrella I would have to be almost touching the subject with the umbrella, effectively impossible. With the snoot the light was about five feet away: Pentax K20D Auto-Takumar 55/2 In the second example I closed down to my shooting aperture, metered with the green button, and then adjusted the shutter speed down two stops so the snoot would work more as a fill light to highlight the main subject yet still allow the background (which is contextually important in this shot) to make an appearance: Pentax K20D Auto-Takumar 55/2 Since I mentioned that the boards are contextually important, I'll cut-n-paste the caption I included on Flickr: "These two stuffed animals were among toys left at Kiryu's Senryuin temple to comfort the souls of "mizuko" (水子), who are children either aborted or miscarried. Each of the boards in the back (and there were a great many of them) represents one such child." By the way, the photo of the tombstone was done in the same way, using the snooted flash as a fill light so that it is clear which tombstone is the subject but still allowing for some surrounding contextual elements to appear yet without upstaging the star. Last edited by Mike Cash; 12-19-2010 at 10:38 AM.

12-19-2010, 08:41 PM	#6375
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	Mt Hood with a fresh coat of snow S-M-C Takumar 85mm f/1.8 Last edited by jatrax; 12-23-2010 at 01:33 PM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
For Sale - Sold: Takumar: Super Takumar 135mm f3.5 includes case, hood and caps	Peter Zack	Sold Items	7	05-17-2010 07:12 PM
Adorama is dangerous! And so is the Takumar Club!	NaClH2O	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	23	01-24-2010 09:54 AM
For Sale - Sold: Hard Cases for Takumar 28mm/3.5 and Takumar 135mm/2.5	gabriel_bc	Sold Items	8	01-11-2010 10:17 AM
For Sale - Sold: FS: Pentax-F 28/2.8; Takumar 400/5.6; Takumar 500/4.5 - pics	thePiRaTE!!	Sold Items	5	03-06-2008 09:47 AM

12-18-2010, 06:52 PM	#6361
dude163 Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 824	Tada, all fixed!

12-18-2010, 11:48 PM	#6362
Mike Cash Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,950	Hoping to throw a little more variety and versatility into my flash photos (I've been doing practically everything through an umbrella, as that was all I had), I sat down last night and built myself a black straw grid snoot to mount on one of my flash units. It has the effect of preventing the light from spreading out, effectively turning it into a sort of spotlight. Basically it is a plain old snoot with the end jammed full of black plastic drinking straws cut to length. 10cm yields a very tight pattern and I'll probably make another one either 3cm or 5cm. Pentax K20D S-M-C Takumar 35/3.5

12-19-2010, 03:48 AM	#6363
stash Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Ljutomer Photos: Gallery Posts: 290	Originally posted by Mike Cash Hoping to throw a little more variety and versatility into my flash photos (I've been doing practically everything through an umbrella, as that was all I had), I sat down last night and built myself a black straw grid snoot to mount on one of my flash units. It has the effect of preventing the light from spreading out, effectively turning it into a sort of spotlight. Basically it is a plain old snoot with the end jammed full of black plastic drinking straws cut to length. 10cm yields a very tight pattern and I'll probably make another one either 3cm or 5cm. Pentax K20D S-M-C Takumar 35/3.5 great Mike, maybe a shot of the /snoot/??

12-19-2010, 06:53 AM	#6364
dude163 Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 824	I was just going to ask the same

12-19-2010, 09:42 AM	#6365
estudleon Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 228	Originally posted by Mike Cash imgwide tags, por favor. Pentax K20D S-M-C Takumar 105/2.8 What nice pic!! What nice lens!!! What nice........girl!!!!

12-19-2010, 10:38 AM	#6367
Ira Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Coral Springs, FL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,216	Originally posted by Mike Cash imgwide tags, por favor. Pentax K20D S-M-C Takumar 105/2.8 [/center] Now you're talking.

12-19-2010, 10:43 AM	#6368
Porga Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Photos: Albums Posts: 476	Originally posted by Ira Now you're talking. Yes, he is!

12-19-2010, 10:58 AM	#6369
stash Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Ljutomer Photos: Gallery Posts: 290	Thanks Mike for your explanation. Further questions would be how do you trigger the flash? how do you decide on the power of the flash? and which flash do you use? both with 85mm

12-19-2010, 11:19 AM	#6370
Porga Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Photos: Albums Posts: 476	Originally posted by Mike Cash Now *that* is the kind of photo that makes my heart swell with vicarious pride to be a fellow diehard Takumar shooter. Thank you Mike, I'm glad you like it. I was stubborn enough to not take zoom lens and flash at the wedding, although I was asked to take camera and shoot photos.

12-19-2010, 12:10 PM	#6371
DougLee Inactive Account Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Bar Harbor, Maine Posts: 110	This shot was badly underexposed. I always have to adjust exposure +2ev in aperture mode for this lens. I was going to delete it, but decied to play around with it in Lightroom first. Glad I did. It has a Rembrandt quality to it that I like. S-M-C Takumar 135 f2.5

12-19-2010, 12:56 PM	#6372
v5planet Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Seattle Photos: Albums Posts: 1,915	Originally posted by DougLee This shot was badly underexposed. I always have to adjust exposure +2ev in aperture mode for this lens. I was going to delete it, but decied to play around with it in Lightroom first. Glad I did. It has a Rembrandt quality to it that I like. S-M-C Takumar 135 f2.5 I'm glad you kept it too!

12-19-2010, 06:26 PM	#6373
Banjo Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 207	A great result. Progress often arises from what were originally "mistakes".

12-19-2010, 06:41 PM	#6374
Jewelltrail Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Rhode Island Photos: Albums Posts: 4,180	Originally posted by Mike Cash imgwide tags, por favor. Pentax K20D S-M-C Takumar 105/2.8 Mike, had this gal just played a professional Roller Derby game or something?? Some powerful looking legs there.