[pinholecam]

@pinholecam: I've been watching your activity in this thread and I've come to the conclusion that I really need the DA15 Ltd. You've taken great shots with this lens. All I have to do is quit smoking for about 8 months and I shall have it.

Ha..ha..
You know what they say here .... "The DA15ltd controls minds... "
So much so that it made me sell off my Sigma 10-20.

Quiting smoking for the DA15ltd isn't a bad deal at all.

[Tako Kichi]

It's been gloomy/overcast/miserable/rainy/stormy for several days here but this evening the sun finally decided to come out which meant I could go out and play in the 'golden hour' after supper (yes I know I have a WR camera but I gave up getting soaking wet for fun years ago! )

Lens choice was the kit 18-55 WR and I tried shooting in RAW for the first time tonight. I'm still learning my way around the K-30 and it's many options (compared to my old film SLRs) so it was a case of trying different modes/settings to see what I could get.

First up was a shot of a lily which I thought I'd better shoot now as they are going off fast, they don't last long and most were well past their best before date!



The rain and heat/humidity have certainly plumped up the fruits though. The grape vines are loaded and it looks like being a bumper crop this year. The vines are trained over a wire and pipe framework that is roughly 15ft W x 60ft L x 6ft H and this shot was of just a few bunches on one end.



The plum trees have the makings of a good crop this year too. They seemed to die back a few years ago but look healthy enough now.



While I was out there I spotted this guy basking on the trunk of a maple tree in the front yard and it was just too tempting to see how well the 18-55 WR worked as a macro lens. He let me get surprisingly close and I was about on the limit in terms of focus distance. This is a 100% crop just to see what it would look like.



It was a fun way to spend 15 minutes in the evening sun.

[JimJohnson]

I'm still learning my way around the K-30 and it's many options (compared to my old film SLRs)

Me too. For the most part, the exposure tools haven't changed that drastically from my Super Program. The key difference is I have to brew my own "film chemistry". In the film days, you were at the mercy (mostly) of the chemists. When you purchased a roll of film you were buying the light sensitivity, dynamic range, and tonal properties as a package. You chose brand A - type X or brand B - type Y based on how your images looked, and that was that.

With advanced digital cameras you also get to be your own "chemist" .... other than light sensitivity (ISO), if you want to shoot jpeg, you tweak the "chemistry" in the camera. If you shoot RAW, you do it after the fact on your PC. As for me? I shoot RAW+. If the shot is an "image" I do RAW development on the PC as I find it easier. If the shot is just a "record", a grab the jpeg pretty much as is other than perhaps cropping or re-sizing.

[Jon]

Made this photo for my wife to show her I'd do it all over again.
K30 with Rokinon 35/1.4, white muslin lit with two softbox hot lights, and a silver umbrella with strobe on subject and gold reflector low on opposite side.

[BigJPR]

Made this photo for my wife to show her I'd do it all over again.
K30 with Rokinon 35/1.4, white muslin lit with two softbox hot lights, and a silver umbrella with strobe on subject and gold reflector low on opposite side.

Love the sharpness of your eyes in this shot, was it a self portrait or you had help? Can you type a little bit more if it was a self portrait in terms of making sure the focus is Sooooooo Sharp?!?

[tuggie76]

I had some time alone this morning so I played with the flowers in our garden, this is a Lilly that grows wild here, taken with K30, Pentax 100mm macro and FG540 flash.

Tuggie76

[Jon]

Love the sharpness of your eyes in this shot, was it a self portrait or you had help? Can you type a little bit more if it was a self portrait in terms of making sure the focus is Sooooooo Sharp?!?

Thank You! and yes it was a self portrait. I used an analog (a step ladder put in the place where I was going to kneel) so I had a focal plane to work with. I should also mention the lens (rokinon 35/1.4) is manual focuse only. It also allowed me to get the exposure close. My strobe/flash is a m4/3 version, so I rely on full manual flash setting via a radio trigger, so it helps to have something in the composition to select a shutter speed and and flash strength. Once I had it close, I then removed the analog, set the shutter to remote +3 seconds (a very very helpful feature so I could then put the IR remote down and position myself prior to firing) and then would check positioning and exposure after the first couple till I got close. Lastly I got in position and took a series of three shots with the remote delay, and I would adjust my self slightly forward after each shot to assure one of them would have my eyes on the focal plane. Finally I did slight post in lightroom. One of my favorite moves is the adjustment brush on the eyes to increase sharpness. It really helps on my baby photos. However, getting the eyes in focus is definitely an essential precursor.

Here is the color version for an earlier example of the raw file, pre-crop.



I am interested in creative and more importantly cost-effective small studio solutions. I do wish the white backdrop were more over exposed, clipped out. That is one reason I enjoy black backdrops because I find them more consistent since I do not have super powerful lights. Hope this helps. Thanks again.

---

Last edited by Jon; 07-13-2013 at 08:32 PM.

[Rickster]

Had to go up on top of "M Hill" to check out county radio emergency generator. Got this grab shot. Used Hoya 8-layer polarizer. I did a 3 shot pano too. I'll see if I can upload that one. 1/250" F/5.6 - Pentax DA 18-55mm @ 20mm

Here's the Pano ...

[ramseybuckeye]

I had some time alone this morning so I played with the flowers in our garden, this is a Lilly that grows wild here, taken with K30, Pentax 100mm macro and FG540 flash.
Tuggie76

Well done

Thank You! and yes it was a self portrait. I used an analog (a step ladder put in the place where I was going to kneel) so I had a focal plane to work with. I should also mention the lens (rokinon 35/1.4) is manual focuse only. It also allowed me to get the exposure close. My strobe/flash is a m4/3 version, so I rely on full manual flash setting via a radio trigger, so it helps to have something in the composition to select a shutter speed and and flash strength. Once I had it close, I then removed the analog, set the shutter to remote +3 seconds (a very very helpful feature so I could then put the IR remote down and position myself prior to firing) and then would check positioning and exposure after the first couple till I got close. Lastly I got in position and took a series of three shots with the remote delay, and I would adjust my self slightly forward after each shot to assure one of them would have my eyes on the focal plane. Finally I did slight post in lightroom. One of my favorite moves is the adjustment brush on the eyes to increase sharpness. It really helps on my baby photos. However, getting the eyes in focus is definitely an essential precursor.
I am interested in creative and more importantly cost-effective small studio solutions. I do wish the white backdrop were more over exposed, clipped out. That is one reason I enjoy black backdrops because I find them more consistent since I do not have super powerful lights. Hope this helps. Thanks again.

Great photo and thanks for sharing the tips. I love the remote/3 second setting for tripod use, I use it a lot.

Had to go up on top of "M Hill" to check out county radio emergency generator. Got this grab shot. Used Hoya 8-layer polarizer. I did a 3 shot pano too. I'll see if I can upload that one. 1/250" F/5.6 - Pentax DA 18-55mm @ 20mm

Here's the Pano ...

Good job, good view, nothing like elevation, well done on the exposure with that filter.

[ramseybuckeye]

Last night I went out to a railroad crossing waiting for the sunset, it didn't happen how I wanted so I decided to see if I could use the moon in some pics. That really didn't work out all that well because I had to go wide angle in the locations I chose, but that's OK, it was agorgeous night.




This one was done with the in-camera night HDR:

[EarlVonTapia]

Went camping this past weekend. Absolutely crystal clear skies.

It gave me a great opportunity to test out the K30 with my newest lens, the Sigma 10-20.

I really had to crank the settings on it, but in the end it performed admirably.

[pinholecam]

A detour from the usual stuff I shoot.
Taken with a K30+Vivitar 55/2.8 macro


Kangaroo Burger with foie gras

[Doctor X]

[jimH]

Nice cat portrait Doctor X!

[Doctor X]

Nice cat portrait Doctor X!

Thanks! She's a beautiful Norvegian forest cat, but sleepy most of the time. This was one of the two moments in almost half an hour she had her eyes open.