Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
10-03-2010, 08:56 PM
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This was the ice sculpture at a friends wedding. Shot was taken Saturday Oct 2nd.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
09-16-2010, 07:15 AM
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Amazing that some photographers had a color process back in 1910. They took three images with red, blue and green filters and later combined them in postprocessing. Details and images are here: Russia in color, a century ago - The Big Picture - Boston.com
Never knew that folks had color much before 1930s.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
08-16-2010, 08:58 AM
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Just noticed that three of the several shots that I submitted made it to the gallery. Go to PENTAX Photo Gallery, browse by artist, scroll down to "TEMPEL, PHILIPPE" in the list. Now I'm almost worthy of the Pentax, eh? :-D
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Forum: Site Suggestions and Help
07-05-2010, 06:58 AM
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You can get creative here too. I did some macro (close-up) shots on a Hassy 500C/M once by putting the 80mm normal lens at the end of a 150mm tele in reverse. So the front of the 80 faced the front of the 150. Was one version of a "poor man's macro." Another option is if you have a loupe, then try that on the end of a lens and see what you get.
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Forum: Site Suggestions and Help
06-30-2010, 07:04 AM
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How about "self portrait" for a theme? Forget simple head shots. Get creative and take a photo of yourself doing an activity or wearing clothing that fits your personality.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
06-01-2010, 01:40 PM
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It's really not that hard to upgrade a mac mini. You basically pry it open on two sides with a putty knife (no kidding). An online guide with pictures is here: Installing Mac mini Model A1176 RAM - iFixit
I upgraded my older Core Duo model to 2GB ram and 600GB hard drive (Its a little over 600GB forget exact size). Only things to remember about the older Core Solo and Core Duo models is that they are limited to 2GB memory (firmware limitation). The Core 2 Duo models can go to 4GB. Also you can't fit a 2.5 inch SATA hard drive bigger than 9mm thick (height). Other then that, upgrade away and have a party. :)
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Forum: General Talk
05-07-2010, 12:59 PM
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The BitDefender Rescue disk should fix you up for now. But to be honest, I would also backup all important files and do a rebuild as well. I know its a pain, but it would give you that extra piece of mind afterward. Then install sandboxie and any other stuff you want. :-) I have also tried Kaspersky Rescue disk, but it didn't detect as much stuff as BitDefender. Oh, another good disk might be Avira AntiVir Rescue System: Avira AntiVir Rescue System
but I haven't tried it yet. If it's as good as the regular anti-virus program, then it should be useful. If you download and burn a rescue disk and your PC won't boot from it, then check the boot order in your BIOS settings. I remember I had to do that for my friend as well since the hard drive was before the DVD in his computer's boot order. All PC's are different but I think I hit F12 at startup for the BIOS settings on his Dell. Good luck with the cleanup and let us know how it goes for you.
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Forum: General Talk
05-07-2010, 09:58 AM
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I recently helped a friend with spyware, viruses and trojan sofware. He was running Windows XP. I rebooted his PC and ran BitDefender rescue CD: BitDefender Rescue CD With Auto Update Virus Definition Features
It caught 25 of these problems and cleaned them up. I also installed sandboxie for his web browser: Sandboxie - Sandbox software for application isolation and secure Web browsing
so the viruses and other garbage will go into a sandbox instead of the system. Then he can clean up the sandbox periodically when needed. Some good free anti-virus titles are Avast! and Avira AntiVir. Malwarebytes is ok for spyware cleanup but I'd rather have a sandbox and clean that up instead. Web broswers like Internet Explorer are too permissive and download a bunch of crap without you knowing it. Finally, I would try to use an account without administrator privs. If you need admin, then you can right-click on the program and use the "run-as" option.
If you're adventerous, then you can try a Linux distro like Ubuntu. I think Linux and MacOS X are better at security since they automatically create a user without admin or superuser privs. If you're a computer geek, then others like FreeBSD or PC-BSD are pretty cool alternatives also. I'm currently running FreeBSD on a laptop and it runs faster than Linux and Windows and takes less resources. Only drawback is that it does not have as much packages/ports as most Linux distros have.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-06-2010, 04:45 PM
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I have and use the DA* 16-50. I like the IQ so far though I have nothing similar to compare it to. Only minor complaint is somtimes I see some autofocus issues but I also use it with an older K10D body. One common item I run into is DOF issues. For example, the last shots I took were close up shots of flowers at the NY Botanical Garden. I should have left the camera in aperture priority (Av) but instead used program (P) more. Guess I'm getting too lazy with all this automation. :-) Speaking of DOF, I kind of miss the DOF scale on the top older manual focus lenses. You can easily set hyperfocal for any f-stop on there. The newer lenses are problematic in that the scale is gone. The 16-50 does have a window on the top but no f-stop marks. Other DA lenses (like my 12-24) have nothing at all.
EDIT: To be fair, the 12-24 is probably wide enough to get away withou a DOF scale. The 35mm FA has a good scale on the top.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
03-08-2010, 08:21 AM
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Yeah, you can throw a gel filter in there. But maybe you would want it to be a neutral density gel so it doesn't influence the colors. I'd still opt to fix the f-stop lever and try screwing on a 46mm to 49mm step up ring to the front of the lens. If the step up ring works, then you have the flexibility for 49mm filters and rubber hoods. Here's a page that talks about the filter options: Holga Techniques: Using Filters |
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
03-08-2010, 07:21 AM
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Yes, I have used and like the Holga. Some common mods were to:
- Cut (or dremmel) the film plane mask to go from 6x4.5 to 6x6 cm.
- Spray paint the inside of the camera flat black (reduce light bouncing). Use a piece of tape to cover the hole to the lens before starting.
- Fix the f-stop lever. I think this can be done by gluing a nut (or washer) to the lever with the right size hole.
- Use a piece of black tape over the red window and only lift it to advance the frame.
- Use a rubber band around the body to secure the back (prevent it from opening).
- Use a piece of scotch tape on the inside film plane surface (one on each side). This fixed the film scratches I got when advancing the frame.
One of my favorite film and dev combos for this camera was Ilford Delta 3200 with PMK. This will get you 800 ISO with some nice negatives. So I could shoot in overcast light and shadow without a problem. 320-400 ISO is better for bright or partly cloudy days. I also bought a pinhole holga from this place: holga
They also have other mods including the plastic holga lens on a Pentax body cap. Looks interesting and should not be too difficult to make one yourself. I have some old shots with the holga here: Rockefeller Skating Rink: Photo by Photographer Philippe Tempel - photo.net Guardian of the City: Photo by Photographer Philippe Tempel - photo.net
Have fun with your new camera. ;-) One of my favorite holga photographers is Craig Sterling: Italy | CRAIG STERLING PHOTOGRAPHY
Most of his shots in Venice, Italy with slight vignetting were done with a holga. Amazing what kind if images you can get out of a few plastic parts...
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
03-07-2010, 07:26 PM
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Recent shot I took visiting the MoMA gallery: |
Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
02-18-2010, 02:34 PM
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Have you profiled your scanner with some software and a Kodak Q60 target? I remember using Monaco EZColor a few years ago since it was fairly cheap and could do it. Haven't shopped for profiling software lately so don't know what else is out there. Once you have a color profile created, then you can tweak the settings.
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
02-01-2010, 11:17 AM
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Just submitted my vote. Well done to all of the participants. I hope to get off my gleutus maximus and submit for next month's "portrait in B&W" contest. :-P
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
01-25-2010, 04:02 PM
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Still using the original neck strap that came with the K10D. I used to use an OP/TECH neoprene strap and miss it: Demo Page
will have to pick up one of them again sometime. They are pretty comfy, IMO...
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
01-25-2010, 12:52 PM
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Have heard that Bibble Pro 5 has lens corrections: Introducing Bibble 5
and runs on MacOS X as well as Linux and Windows. I haven't tried it yet but might do a trial on one of these two OSs. Silkypix also has it: SILKYPIX Developer Studio
but they don't seem to have the new version available for MacOS (only version 3.0 and not 4.1) yet.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
01-25-2010, 11:32 AM
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Rust on an old building by the river in Montreal.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
01-21-2010, 08:52 AM
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Ok, it was as I suspected. I have my eye on a Summicron-R 35 f/2 lens and wanted to compare it to my Pentax FA 35 f/2. But manually actuating the aperture seems to be more cumbersome. I could blow $700-$800 into the Summicron and convert it. But it makes less sense when another $200-$300 will buy me a new Pentax 31mm f/1.8 Ltd which can do this and autofocus. The Elmarit-R 35 f/2.8 is a much better value but loses a stop to the FA. The Elmarit or Summicron should have better color and bokeh from what I've read. But I'm not sold on them for general IQ and sharpness.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
01-20-2010, 06:26 PM
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Very nice images with these lenses. Am wondering how the aperture works (after they are converted to K mount via hardware from Leitex). Will it stay at the largest aperture for the viewfinder and meter and then automatically stop down to whats selected? Or is the aperture diaphram also manual in that you have to open up and stop down yourself?
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-20-2010, 06:30 AM
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I also own the FA 35/2 lens and would only trade it in for a FA 31 Ltd. I'd go for a used FA 50/2.8 or the Tamron 90/2.8 if I wanted a macro lens. The used FA is getting to be difficult to find, though.
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Forum: Site Suggestions and Help
01-20-2010, 06:09 AM
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Looks great. Placed an order for the large calendar. Am a little late to the party (recently joined the forum) but managed to get one of the last few beers... :-P
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
01-16-2010, 02:17 PM
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Mmm. I used to shoot with a few MF cameras (Rolleicord, Mamiya 7, Hasselblad 500/CM, Holga) and I also miss the image quality sometimes as well. I once did a rough calculation and found out that it would take about a 14 MP camera to get the resolution I could get with fine grain 6x6 negative film. We now have that resolution in the K7, but I think the CMOS and CCD sensors still can't "see into the shadows" like film can. But they are also getting better with each iteration.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
01-14-2010, 08:56 AM
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Ah, you're talking more studio style lighting for formals. I was thinking about being more portable and holding the flash in your hand. I saw this once on 5th Ave in New York City. A fashion photographer was holding a Hasselblad in one hand and the flash in another. He was moving around and shooting a model leaning against a building. I didn't want to bug him by asking about his technique. However, it looked like a nice quick way of getting off camera flash without the umbrella and light stand setup.
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