Classical glass.

 

A little macro action.

I have an adapter that allows me to use old manual-focus Minolta lenses on my micro four thirds cameras.

I made this particular lockdown garden shot – one of three Bulbine’s we have in pots on the back patio – using my Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8 and a Minolta MD Rokkor X 50mm ƒ/1.4 lens that I’ve had for years.

I shot it square, there’s no cropping, but I did run it through the Urban Acid action, adding a few personal tweaks.

A twilight shot, the camera was pointed into the sun-less early evening sky, I shut it down a bit to get more of the flower and buds in focus – plus a smaller aperture allowed me to move the camera in closer. No flash, all natural light.

Titled “Yellow Bulbine,” I like this shot bunches.

Oh, and sorry about the really poor Mason Williams reference. Sometimes I just can’t help mysef.

The Blue Set.

Check your settings.

I make mistakes. Some big, some little. Consequences vary, but I always learn from them.

Take for instance these half-dozen shots made back in early 2011. I used my Panny GF1 and a c-mount lens, the SLR Magic Toy Lens 26mm f/1.4, to make a few pictures around the neighborhood.

Love that swirly bokeh. But the blue was a bit of a surprise.

Neighbor

Blue bench

Red berries

Lock

Hoop

Pitted hood

Anyway, as I noted in comments made about the portrait on Flickr “…the blue cast is from my not remembering to switch back to AWB before I headed out for a walk around the block. The Tungsten setting casts blue in daylight. But I think it works in the handful of pictures I posted this afternoon. A lesson, of sorts.” The unusual portrait got a good number of views, a coupla’ faves, and a handful of comments.

I seem to recall noticing what I’d done about 6 pictures into my stroll and changing back to AWB. Oh, well. Interesting results.

The lesson? Check your settings.

 

Offbeat.

Fun and funky lenses.

It must be my love of toy cameras that compels me to experiment with offbeat lenses on my mirrorless cameras.

I have a good collection of weird add-ons, from Lensbabies to C-mount CCTV lenses and I recently added an Olympus M.Zuiko 9mm ƒ/8.0 Fisheye Body Cap Lens to use on my m43 boxes. It was a little more than I wanted to spend, but reviews and sample images I found were convincing.

Pictured above are are four from my stash of curious and weird lenses… Olympus 9mm ƒ/8 Fisheye Body Cap, Thingyfy Pinhole Pro S, Pentax 25mm ƒ/1.4 CCTV, Lensbaby Composer Pro/Sweet 35.

A pair of Jacks.

Macro Jacks, that is.

Diggin’ ’round in the archive. These are from May 2013.

A pair of shots, one made with the Olympus E-PL3, an extension tube, and the Lensbaby Composer Pro + Sweet 35, the other made with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 and the Wanderlust Pinwide.

Cool that I wrote about how I made the Pinwide shot on Flickr. “I found it while I was out back watering the roses. It was corroded and covered in dirt. I cleaned it up a bit with water from the hose and let it dry.”

It was corroded and covered in dirt.

“I took the picture later in the day. The sun was on its way down allowing a sliver of light to peek under our old and slightly uneven garage door. I got the shot by laying on the garage floor with the Pinwide less than an inch away from the jack.”

I love the shadow and contrast, not to mention that gorgeous blurry bokeh at the top and swirl at the bottom of the EPL-3 shot. Pretty cool.

Diggin’ ’round in the dirt has its rewards. Same with the archives!

 

Rusty shutters #21.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8.

September 2017.

The GX8 was the first M43 body I’d added to my collection since the GX1, nearly four years earlier.

I’m not much of an early adopter, so it took me a while to decide on this particular body. But I’m glad I did. I’m a fan of having the viewfinder on the left side of the camera, and the flip-up feature is just perfect for my style of photography. I added the larger eye-cup.

I’m not big on touch-screens, so I don’t usually have the swivel LED display showing, and I carry the camera in my bag that way just for protection.

All the dials and knobs are well placed and easy to use, and the grip is quite comfortable in my right hand. The size is perfect.

The Olympus 12-40 ƒ/2.8 PRO lens is what’s usually attached. Great chunk of glass.

The auto focus is super-fast.

I’ll be using this set-up for a pretty long while.

Resolution: 20.3 megapixels
Max image size – 5184 x 3888
Display: Fixed 3in LCD @ 1,040,000 pixels
Viewfinder: Articulated, electronic, 2,360,000 pixels
ISO: Auto, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800, 25600
Shutter Speeds: 60 sec – 1/8000 sec
Metering: Multi-segment, center-weighted, spot
Dimensions WHD: 5.2in x 3.1in x 2.5in
Weight: 17.2 oz
Power: Lithium-ion rechargeable battery
Memory card: SD/SDHC/SDXC

Golden flames

Winter Rose

A+S L+A

Imperial

Grey beard

Rusty shutters #8.

Olympus E-PL3.

October 2011.

This camera holds a lot of awesome memories.

The E-PL3 was a gift. Or rather a reward, I suppose.

When I worked at Santa Clara University I was chosen as what amounts to the 2011 “Employee of the Year” for our division. I didn’t see it coming and being chosen totally blew me away. Something I’ll always remember and cherish.

There was also a cash bonus that came along with the award. Nice.

Torri and me planned a trip to Italy, happening later that same year, and I wanted to bring along a new digital camera.

The bonus from the award paid for the E-PL3. It got plenty of use on the trip.

I chose the E-PL3 over the Olympus PEN E-P3 because of the sleek, more modern appearance – they’re essentially the same camera.

I added the Franiac grip and the versatile VF-2 viewfinder, but one of my favorite features is the flip-up rear display. So handy.

The Olympus 17mm ƒ/2.8 gets the most use, but I have a healthy collection of M43 lenses and have used the Lensbaby Composer Pro/Sweet 35 combo and the 25mm ƒ/1.4 Pentax CCTV lens on this camera.

The Olympus menu system isn’t my fave, but I manage to get around without too much trouble.

This is definitely one of my fave shooters that still gets a lot of use.

Resolution: 12.3 megapixels
Max image size – 4032 x 3024
Display: 3in LCD @ 153,000 pixels
ISO: 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800
Shutter Speeds: 60 sec – 1/4000 sec
Metering: Multi-segment, center-weighted, spot
Dimensions WHD: 4.3in x 2.5in x 1.5in
Weight: 9.35 oz
Power: Lithium-ion rechargeable battery
Memory card: SD/SDHC/SDXC

 

Guitar

Knockout

Tine

Number one rose

Venus form

Game changer.

Good things come in small packages.

This camera was a game changer for me. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1. A super-nifty little Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera with the legendary 20mm ƒ1.7 lens. So many nice images came from this little gem.

I learned of this camera through a blog post by Craig Mod titled “GF1 Fieldtest – 16 Days in the Himalayas.” His detailed review, high praise, and gorgeous photos with the GF1 were all hard to ignore.

The first time I held one and fiddled with it was December 2009 while attending a photo meet-up in Santa Clara, at the coffee shop across from Loyola Hall on El Camino Real.

One of the folks at the meet-up brought along his recently acquired GF1 and was kind enough to let me hold it and play with it a bit.

The minute I pressed the shutter release I was sold.

The minute I pressed the shutter release I was sold. It made a solid two-part click-thunk combo – you knew you’d just made a picture.

I’d gone from Pentax DSLRs to small point-and-shoot cameras in years prior to the GF1. Samsung NV11, Canon S3IS, Ricoh GRD2, Leica D-LUX 4. All awesome cameras, but the GF1 was so cool. Small, 12 megapixels, used interchangeable Panasonic and Olympus lenses, quick auto-focus, a 3″ display, and an external viewfinder could be added.

By Christmas 2009 I had one of my own, along with the 20mm ƒ1.7 and the EVF.

Some of my fave portraits were made with this little guy and I shot a lot of cool cars and beautiful flowers with it, too.

Daffodil

Merc

Belinda

Rube

iPhone

Peppers

Pink Rose

Rough

Tine

Nineteen

Yellow Lily

Hoody

Mercury

Hood-up

Flames

57 hoody