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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
02-17-2017, 05:57 PM
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You know what? I just thought of something else that might interest you and your family. Do you like to star gaze? If so, and you are in the Banff/Jasper area around 23 July, then drive up to the Ice Fields or Bow Summit and take a look at the night sky. These are dark skies and the night sky is quite impressive. I couldn't believe it when I first saw it. Take a tripod and the DA 35/2.4 and you should get very nice shots of the Milky Way over the Ice Fields. The downside is you would be doing this well after midnight.
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
02-17-2017, 04:01 PM
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Hello, Thomas. I personally like the 35/2.4. I was recently in Switzerland and it was the only lens that I used. I do have a 55-300 and I can certainly meet you at the airport and lend the lens to you.
I've lived in Alberta all of my life and I haven't seen much wildlife in all of my travels through the Parks haha. I saw a couple of wolves around Jasper and the odd black bear on the Banff-Jasper highway, but that's it (I'm not counting elk and deer).
I've seen more wildlife outside of the National Parks - mainly on Hwy 16 between Jasper and Prince George.
I saw one grizzly bear - while mountain biking in Kananaskis Country and I wasn't really concerned about taking a picture at the time.
Speaking of K-Country, it is off Hwy 1 towards Banff and offers most of the same scenery and virtually zero tourists, so maybe add it as a consideration.
I also recommend heading northeast from Calgary for a day trip and visit the Badlands. There is some awesome scenery all along the Red Deer River valley.
Unfortunately, you will discover (like I did in Switzerland) that you won't have enough time and you will have to visit us again!
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Forum: Lens Clubs
11-13-2016, 11:41 AM
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A few shots along the Calgary River Walk, Sept 2016.
K-S1
ISO 100
f8-11
15s or there-abouts
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Forum: Pentax K-S1 & K-S2
05-29-2016, 09:04 AM
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Interesting that you mention that as I was wondering if it's a metering thing. My 50/1.4 is OK, but the 55/1.8 seems to require more trial and error to get a decent exposure. Perhaps it's operator error but the K200D I have is quite accurate I find with the Taks. Pus, I prefer the rendering of the K200D+Taks over K-S1 and Taks.
That's OK, though, I have the DA 35 for the K-S1 and I almost use it exclusively now on the K-S1.
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Forum: Pentax K-S1 & K-S2
04-03-2016, 03:43 PM
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Ucluelet, Vancouver Island, Nov 2015
Pentax K-S1
SMC Takumar 50/1.4
I've noticed that the Tak 50 was more accurate with the "green button" metering. However, the metering was always off with the 28/3.5 and the 55/1.8. With those two, it was more trial and error. I don't know what the deal is. I never had issues with the K200D.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
04-03-2016, 03:33 PM
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Long Beach, Vancouver Island
Pentax K-S1
Super Tak 55/1.8
I used Raw Photo Processor 64 for the B&W conversion.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
04-02-2016, 01:28 PM
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I took these shots on the Wild Pacific Trail, Ucluelet, BC, Nov 2015.
Camera: KS-1
Lens: SMC Tak 50
I used a small LED flashlight to get some light on the subjects.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
03-16-2016, 03:47 PM
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There isn't much of note in Arkanes, Iceland, unless you like to have a look at a fish processing plant. There are a couple of lighthouses, though.
This is the decommissioned lighthouse:
This is the new lighthouse. The acoustics are good enough that small concerts are held inside.
I thought the Icelandic Horse was a rare sight (ie, wild) but my wife desperately wanted to see one. I had no idea where to even begin to look. No problem, every farmer has a drove of horses. Interestingly, if a horse is ever exported, it cannot re-enter Iceland. Other breeds of horses are also not allowed to enter Iceland, so the Icelandic Horse is very pure. They are also quite friendly.
A lava field in the Snaefelsness Peninsula. For my money, this peninsula is a must see if you visit Iceland. It is a short drive from Reykjavik, but very few tourists make it this way as they prefer to stay south with the waterfalls.
Reykjavik Noir. I likely was at least ISO3200 and wide open (alas, I didn't feel like schlepping a tripod).
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Forum: Photographic Technique
03-16-2016, 03:10 PM
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I was looking at this rail mount for the hot shoe:
https://www.photosolve.com/main/product/xtendasight/index.html
Then go over to Amazon and search for a red dot sight to mount on the rail.
So, US$ 27.00 + whatever sight you want to use should be well under the Olympus gadget.
My intent is to use this combo for astrophotography.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
03-15-2016, 08:08 AM
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You're welcome and thank you! February light in Iceland has a warm glow for a good chunk of the day and that certainly helps with the colours.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
03-13-2016, 07:04 PM
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Not normally associated with astrophotography, but I find the Tak 50/1.4 to be more than capable.
K-S1
ISO 1600
10 second exposures. No stacking...just one shot.
Orion with the Orion Nebula.
Hyades (vee-shape) center left and Pleiades upper right.
Aurora
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Forum: Lens Clubs
03-13-2016, 06:49 PM
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Forum: Lens Clubs
03-13-2016, 06:19 PM
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Hello everyone. I have only had the K-S1 since last November and the DA35 I recently purchased prior to my trip to Iceland. The DA35 was the only lens I used and I have to say that I quite enjoyed it. The K-S1/DA35 is an excellent travel combo, in my opinion. Here are a few shots of a day trip to South Iceland.
The fishing village of Vik.
The famous basalt columns at Vik. Tragically, a tourist was swept away a day before on the other side of the cliff. He turned his back to the water and a rogue wave came. That was that. The rescue guys responded quite fast but the gentleman had drowned.
The black sand beach at Vik is rated one of the world's best. It is a fascinating place to visit for sure.
The fishing village of Stokkseyri. It, too, has black sand beaches.
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Forum: Pentax K-S1 & K-S2
03-12-2016, 03:02 PM
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Here are some shots from my recent trip to Rekyjavik, Iceland. I used Raw Photo Processor 64 for the B&W conversion.
K-S1
DA 35/2.4
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
03-12-2016, 12:49 PM
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Pentax 645, 75mm
Film: Ilford FP4
My two French Bulldogs, Fergus and Penelope, in a moment of calm.
My little Pug, Emma, who sadly died just five months after this photo was taken.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
03-04-2016, 01:07 PM
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
03-04-2016, 10:29 AM
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My wife and I just returned from Iceland; we were there for six days. We thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to visit again, but in the summer. Here is what we did:
Day 1: We arrived at Keflavik at 0600, but it was a good 3.5 hours before we made it to the hotel. We used the Reykjavik Excursions (RE) Flybus and it was totally disorganized. If you're renting a car right at the airport, you will avoid that hassle. Anyway, we couldn't do the early check-in thing without paying a hefty 50 Euro fee, so we stored our luggage and went on a walking tour of Reykjavik. After the tour-hour tour, we did our own thing, which included strolling the main shopping streets.
Day 2: More sight-seeing around Reykjavik, including the harbour front. Our holiday package included a visit to the Fontana geothermal spa followed by a northern lights excursion. RE was the tour operator. They were so-so. The spa was relaxing and we were able to see the aurora. It was a clear night with a great dark sky, so there was certainly more to see than the aurora. Sadly, RE didn't really equip the tour with a guide that could provide any solid advice on photography, including observing the many fine stellar objects that were advisable. Many asked why I was taking pics of Orion, etc, and I ended up giving tutorials to many. Believe it or not, people were shooting the aurora with flash-enabled smart phones. Anyway, it was fun passing on my limited astrophotography knowledge.
Day 3: we rented a car and travelled the Golden Circle in a counter-clockwise direction. We saw the waterfalls, but the hordes of tourists really lessen the impact of them. There was a pretty good snowstorm during for a good portion of the trip and that meant we didn't really see much other than Gulfoss.
Day 4: Snaefellsness. Now, I heartily recommend heading to this area. We went via Arkanes and Borganes. It was a beautiful day and our aim was one of the fjords on the north coast of the peninsula as we read it was a favorite area for Orcas and other sea mammals. Unfortunately, the tide was out, so I didn't see anything.
Day 5: Vik/south coast. This was another fantastic drive. Vik is interesting with its black sand beach. The two major waterfalls on the way are magnets for tour buses. We stopped and walked around at Sjellandsfoss but just waved at Skogafoss. If you are there in the summer, your options for avoiding the tourists are better as you can hike to several vantage points upstream. Tip: stop in the fishing village of Stokkseyri (south of Selfoss) and eat at Fjorubordid. Their specialty is "lobster" (langostines, actually) and they prepare a fantastic meal.
For our little excursions, I would rank them like so:
1. Snaefellsness
2. South Iceland/Vik
3. Golden Circle
When we visit again, we will rent a car right at the airport and avoid Reykjavik all together.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
02-07-2010, 10:56 AM
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Rainbow Vista. Super-Takumar 150.
The second picture is of the Silicon Domes area. SMC Tak 50/1.4.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
02-07-2010, 10:52 AM
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Took a break from the craps tables last November and went out to the Valley of Fire, about an hour NE of Las Vegas. We didn't allow nearly enough time to see this park. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Vegas.
All shots taken with the SMC Tak 50/1.4. Graduated ND filters were used.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
02-07-2010, 10:25 AM
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A shot of one of my Porsches. Unfortunately, all of my Porsches are 1/43 scale. This is a 956 Group C racer from The Team Joest livery. This car, driven by Bob Wolleck won the 1983 Norisring race.
SMC Takumar 50/1.4. F8 @160s with two Nikon SB-24 speedlights. Sorry, I didn't take any notes. A lot of trail and error going on. The SBs were on about 1/4 power. The SB to the model left had a coffee filter as a diffuser.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
10-22-2009, 04:31 PM
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Auto-tak 55/1.8
Banff and Jasper National Parks get all the glory (and tourists), but Waterton is the nicer national park. While nice, it is also prone to some wild weather, like this snowstorm at the beginning of October.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-23-2009, 03:52 PM
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I bought a set from a company called Vemar. They are M42 mount and work well for me. They are metal construction.
I also have a set for the P/K mount. They work, but they just seem el cheapo.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
08-25-2009, 07:00 PM
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After a hideous spring of wind and cold weather, summer is finally starting to hit its stride , allowing for our backyard wildflowers to bloom. The bees have been quite busy doing what they do to the daisies. One thing is for certain, they are not very cooperative when it comes time to pose for the camera.
These two shots were taken with the Auto-Tak 55/1.8 (which seems to be my favorite lens these days) with 50mm of extension tubes. No tripod.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
08-25-2009, 06:15 PM
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My wife is into the tattoo scene. I follow along to listen to the bands, check out the hot rods and choppers. No hot rods this year, but Mad Jap Kustoms had some bikes on display. Here's his link for info purposes.
Mad Jap Kustoms | Bikes
All shots taken with the Auto-Takumar 55/1.8. No flash. No tripod. I set the ISO at 800 and hoped for the best. Usually wide open and certainly no less than 2.8.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-25-2009, 05:19 PM
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Beautiful shots, Zeno. I love Croatia and I hope to get back there soon. I worked there Jul 95-Jan 96. Otocac and Knin, primarily. I love the Dalmatian coast.
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