Dwainasaurus

Direction Change

2011-01-26T08:48:00.000-08:00

A few of my many photo gear images have been posted to www.camera-archive.com. Motivated by the many times that I've not been able to find images of the more obscure camera gear, I decided to post from the catalog of eBay sold item images I have collected.

MinoHD Testing At The Park

2010-08-19T13:18:00.001-07:00

After Stars at Tugboat Annie's

2010-06-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

After Monday evening racing the BISF group usually meets at Tugboat Annie's for a burger, beer, and conversation. The evening was near perfect and I snapped quite a few shots on the sail back to the marina. While waiting for my meal I noticed this fine view, pushed my camera up against the glass, and let my camera soak it in.

Looking North up Budd Inlet from Tugboat Annie's with my latest disposable, a 2.1 Megapixel Olympus C-700 Ultra Zoom.

Value

2010-05-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

Value is relative. Today's blog may be of relatively little value. I present it, if no other reason, to entertain myself.

As a photographer I like to include images with my blog posts. Sometimes the verbage is created as an excuse to show off an image. But no image is included in today's blog to help demonstrate the value that images can add. My other blog is centered on Star boat racing. I'd like the reader to take a brief overview of my latest Star blog entry and then please return to this monolog.

The image of my pal Andy sailing the Star doesn't fit the text of the blog. Andy didn't steer during the races. The image was taken while sailing towards the racing area. It could have been of a stranger sailing on the other side of the country. But it creates value to the article by, from the top, anchoring the readers mind on a racing sailboat.

My photo geek personality finds incredible irony in the gear that we used to make images that evening. A free Sony Mavica FD75 that writes 640x480 pixel (.3 MB) images to a floppy disk! I'm not exaggerating when I report that its image quality is the poorest of any digital camera I have ever used. But those incredibly poor images and the camera that helped create them are adding value to the front page of my sailing blog. That service has kept the Mavica FD75 out of the landfill. At least until a better 'valueless' camera comes along.

The Star Newbie

2010-05-05T21:50:00.000-07:00

Sailboat racing season is upon us. Current projects include helping a friend re-rig his San Juan 21, selling our family's Venture 25, and various Laser and Thistle races. But the biggest news on this front is my entry into Star boat racing.

The Budd Inlet Star Fleet in Olympia Washington has about twenty active boats and one of the largest local fleets in the country. I have chartered a Star and will be racing it on Monday nights from now until early September. More details on my RaceOneDesign blog.

Budget Tele Rig

2010-04-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

Just over one year ago I met a wildlife photographer at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. I was following and documenting a 3rd grade field trip. He was carrying some serious photo gear. The kind of gear hobbyists usually only see in the Canon advertisements. Later, when I viewed some of his images via the web, I could see he had the skills to use the serious gear. This meeting stirred an interest in doing some wildlife photography, but on my terms.

Because the Camerology website puts me in contact with lots of camera gear (but not serious photo gear money) I have easy access to ~~cheap~~ unloved gear. Just by keeping my eyes open I was able to procure most of the following gear at giveway (or less) prices.

Soligor Auto-Zoom 1:4.5 75-260mm M42 - Built like a tank. This lens is heavy, all metal, and cantankerous. The 260mm long end is equivalent to about 400mm in 35mm terms. And 400mm equivalent is considered the minimum in bird/wildlife photography. The weight of the lens aids in holding the rig steady. But having to control the zoom, focus, and aperture rings, which are spaced well apart, was challenging.

M42 to EOS Focus Confirmation Chipped Adapter - This item was the single most expensive component. And the smallest. The non chipped version of this adapter would be fine if your DSLR has been fitted with a proper manual focus style focus screen with split prism focus aid.

Canon EOS 10D - These bodies are quite cheap on todays used market. Mine was even cheaper due to a lens communication Err 99 issue.

Canon BG-ED3 Battery Grip - This item wasn't necessary. But it helped stabilize the the 10D with additional weight. And it was included with my manual focus 10D. It is also nice for those 10D owners who have original batteries that only hold a half charge.

Of course having all this stuff doesn't guarantee anything. Photography is more about skill than gear. And I'm no wild life photog. I held the rig steady enough some of the time. Returning to the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge helped as they animals are pretty accustomed to seeing visitors. Don't expect any National Geographic covers to come out of my portfolio too soon. But I found one to share.

A patient Blue Heron at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge waits while a fumbling photog discovers wildlife photography.

Chambers Bay Ten Legged Monster

2010-03-21T21:09:00.000-07:00

The concrete structure in the following images is about 40 feet high and 100 feet long. The land it lives on has been reclaimed from a sand and gravel quarry and is now a (mostly) public park. When I chose to shoot this structure the goal was not to convey its size but instead to create an 'artsy' image.

(Images from a Hanimex 35mm and Soligor 75-260mm 1:4.5 m42 on my manualized Canon 10D.)

These two images represent both the image I was hoping to create and also an image that presented itself for capture. It is up to the reader to decide which is which.

Simple Strobist Style Speed Strap

2010-03-17T08:50:00.001-07:00

I've been a fan of Strobist Speed Straps since I first read about them. I made a few of them and they seem to work at least as well as the sticky back velcro they replaced. (FWIW I've had good luck with WD-40, applied sparingly to a rag, to clean off the inevitable adhesive residue.)

The original style Speed Straps worked well but than I discovered an even cheaper and quicker 'no assembly required' solution that I'd like to share.

Sigma EF-500 DG Super for EOS sporting its simple speed strap.

First, instead of a bicycle inner tube, the friction enhancer is a couple wide rubber bands placed around the head of the flash. I prefer the blue ones that come from the supermarket and hold the stalks of broccoli together. (David Hobby probably doesn't eat broccoli but he's the master of light, I'm just a student.) Next up is the key to this super simple strap. Double sided velcro. Hooks on one side and loops on the other. The velcro is tightly wrapped over the rubber bands, overlapped at least a few inches, and cut to length.

While my simple strap may not be professional grade it has been more than adequate for the light enhancers I typically hang off my flashes.

Word, Wired or Weird? Wyrd!

2010-03-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

After owning my Warmoth manufactured Stratocaster style guitar for a while I opted for a neck upgrade. While I never experienced a Warmoth neck failure, I did prefer to move away from the double expanding truss rod and the compound radius.

Best Guitar Parts, the makers of the Wyrd line of solid body electric guitar parts, was contacted and a Wyrd paddle head guitar neck was ordered. I was able to choose from a long list of options but the icing on the cake was the variety of neck back shapes and sizes. I opted for just a bit thicker than standard.

My distaste for glossy finishes helped finalize the decision to upgrade to a rosewood on rosewood neck. Other than a really light coating of lemon oil no finish has been or will be applied to the neck.

Outside the custom headstock shape work no special assembly was required. The neck to neck pocket fit was perfect. The neck responded well to the truss rod adjustments. Having excercised my option to spec a slightly thicker neck means this axe now fits me. And the guitar plays just a bit better than when it wore it's previous neck.

Summary: Rock solid.

Thank You Vern

2010-02-26T14:00:00.000-08:00

Not all readers of this blog may be aware that I also write for a camera gear review website. Camerology's niche is reviewing gear that is usually ignored by the more common review sites. On a recent Friday I took a ride to purchase a couple reviewable items from a local photographer.

While the Konica Hexar AF and Nikkormat FT turned out to be good gear for my purposes, the real gem of the trip was chatting with the seller. We discussed the contact prints hanging proudly in his living room. He recalled the allure of creating prints and the hours spent in the dark room. And we shared our general fondness for working with film.

This photo is eye candy only. It does not relate to this post. Shot with an EF 28-80mm USM kit lens.

But the most interesting part of the discussion was about how camera gear can affect a photographer's photography. But not necessarily the way we might expect. We both related situations where the gear we chose influenced the photos we created. Not the sharpness of the image. Not how much detail was present. But the style or mood of the photographs.

It was on the way home that I started to realize the impact of the day's conversation.

As a student of photography I often look for ways to improve my work. Sometimes I ask a respected photographer for a critique. Other times I study a collection and attempt to understand what makes it work. But this day just chatting with a photog with more experience helped me realize one aspect of photography that I had already observed. The topic we related on may have been a small thing, but I felt validated, more confident, and inspired to continue pushing forward to improve my work.

Thank you Vern.

MC W.Rokkor-NL 21mm Advice

2010-02-22T11:38:00.000-08:00

I've been shooting some film images with the camera and lens shown below. Readers of my Camerology.com website may remember my fondness for the Minolta X-370 body. The MC W.Rokkor-NL 21mm 1:2.8 lens has been interesting and fun to use and will be receiving a write up soon.

But I have a question for other users of this early Rokkor-NL 21mm lens. The focus ring, which is gnurled, turns smoothly, is well damped, and has no looseness. The metal portion of the lens in front of the focus ring, which seems to act only as a non-rotating hood/filter ring, has about one millimeter of slop. Is that normal? If another Minolta user could leave me a comment regarding the normal-ness of this looseness I would surely appreciate it. TIA

Photo Bike

2010-02-16T21:03:00.000-08:00

Kevin over at A Few Fuzzy Photos talks about going on a 'Photo Hike'. I've taken the next step and am now venturing out on my own version. A 'Photo Bike'. Some of my most enjoyable photography seems to happen when I follow the front wheel of my bicycle and shoot whatever catches my eye as I ride by.

Western Washington was treated to a few hours of dry and mild weather today. With The Tin Man, a vintage Raleigh Record, I headed for a popular walking trail that circumnavigates Chambers Bay Golf Course. I've visited this trail many times with my camera and never seem to bring back the same image twice.

A Madrona soaks in the last few rays of the days sunshine.

A popular vantage point to catch a sunset over South Puget Sound.

Manualized Canon 10d

2010-02-13T16:20:00.000-08:00

In a previous blog post I mentioned a Canon 10D that was experiencing the dreaded Err99. The previous owner knows that I'm familiar with the 10D as I use one for some of my lens reviews. He didn't want to waste time with it and sold it to me, with a BG-ED3 battery grip, for a low price.

After some research and experimentation I came to the conclusion that the camera was having trouble communicating electronically with the lens. The err99 would only occur when the camera attempted to communicate with the lens at the moment of exposure. By fitting an adapter that allows M42 screw mount lenses to be mounted I was able to get the camera to function in AV (aperture priority) and manual modes. Of course the M42 lenses require manual focus and manually setting the aperture with the on-lens aperture ring.

Before selling this body I decided it should be used a bit to guarantee it would still function in what I call 'Hobbled Mode'. I already owned an M42 to EOS adapter. My adapter has the focus confirmation chip. A strip of tape over the contacts prevented electrical communication and prevented the err99 from occurring. From my box of unsellable camera gear came an M42 screw mount Hanimex Automatic 35mm 1:2.8 and an M42 screw mount Auto Exaktar 35mm 1:2.8. Neither of these lenses inspired confidence in their optical quality potential. The Auto Exaktar felt cheap, had already lost a mount side dust cover, and possessed the unusual feature of excessive focus dampening in one direction and none in the other. The Hanimex felt better built with a well damped focus mechanism and more legible aperture and focus markings.

The Hanimex 35mm 1:2.8 was fitted for the following images. I didn't expect much from the camera or lens. My first outing started at dusk and went into the early evening. The shutter speeds were long and required the camera to be rested on or against whatever objects were available. Most images showed enough camera movement that the lack of lens sharpness was not an issue.

Despite all these shortcomings, one of the images was perfect. As my wife and daughter started off towards the restaurant I noticed their silhouettes and shadows on the wet pavement. I had only enough time to set the focus to infinity, rest the camera on the ground, and get off a couple exposures before they moved out of the path of the light. Technically they were duds. But emotionally, the one shown below is one of my favorites.

Walking to Steamer's

A light pole lights itself. Shot handheld, it was one of the few images I attempted without something to brace the camera.

Call for advice from 10D owners

2010-02-10T19:05:00.000-08:00

A friend asked me to take a look at a Canon 10D that shows err99. I did some research to get a better understanding of the issue. Then I tested the 10D in question to find out when and how the err99 occurred. It seems that the error only surfaces when a lens is attached and the camera attempts to make an exposure. The camera will make an exposure with no lens attached. Has anyone experienced a similar problem and simply dedicated their body to adapted non-EOS lenses? Does anyone have a good sense of what this faulty body is worth on the used market?

The Tin Man

2010-02-08T23:24:00.000-08:00

A Craigslist recycled bicycle frame has been transformed into a bicycle. The project was so rewarding I added the Raleigh Record page to my sailing site.