Category Archives: Practice and Testing

Posts about photos while practicing or testing equipment.

Abstract submission to a gallery idea.

December 9, 2011

I’m part of a local photographer group on facebook and someone offered up the possibility of being in a gallery. I thought I might as well come up with an idea and see if the results were worth printing. Here is the description: “The idea is cell phone pictures, printed, matted and framed in recycled frames… Think sustainability. Go to goodwill, salvation army, or even reuse old frames around your … Continue reading →

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World Pentax Day Macros

June 18, 2011

So according to pentaxforums.com, today is “World Pentax Day” where everyone who has a Pentax camera is asked to participate in uploading photos to the forum gallery. I decided to take some macro photos today with my standard setup. (K-5 is being serviced), so… – K-7 with battery grip. – Custom bracket and adjustable flash cord. – Pentax 100mm f2.8 WR Macro with Kenko 1.5x teleconverter. – Sigma flash with … Continue reading →

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DA* 300mm and Kenko 1.5x Pz AF at the Airshow Absolute Sharpness

June 8, 2011

I had a request to provide unprocessed full resolution images from the airshow I went to recently where I used the K-5, DA* 300mm f4, and Kenko 1.5x Pz AF teleconverter together. I’ll be providing a few images with 100% crops straight from camera raw default settings for your viewing pleasure. First, here is some detail on the teleconverter if you don’t know about it: http://photographybanzai.com/2011/01/29/kenko-pz-af-1-5x-teleplus-shq-with-sdm-auto-focus/ The first image shows … Continue reading →

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100mm f2.8 Macro and 10-17mm Fisheye Practice

May 31, 2011

Today I went out to a local park for the nice weather and to get some practice. This time I used two lenses that don’t get as much usage as some of my others. The 100mm f2.8 Macro and 10-17mm Fisheye lenses. Here are a few photos: A small photo can’t do justice to just how sharp that photo is at 100% detail. It was taken with the 100mm f2.8 … Continue reading →

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Mock Studio: Practice in Macro Photography

April 14, 2011

Continuing on with my studio practice, I decided to try my hand again at macro photography. Equipment: – Pentax K-5 Digital SLR Camera Body – Pentax D-FA 100mm f/2.8 Macro WR lens – Kenko Pz-Af 1.5x Teleplus SHQ tele-converter – Custom Brackets flash bracket with a Sigma EF-530 DG Super flash, the Sigma acted as the trigger for the other flash units. – 2x Yongnuo YN460-II flash on Flashpoint light … Continue reading →

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More Mock Studio: Apple with Flash and Glass

April 12, 2011

I decided to do more practice with the two off-camera flash units. This time I was using a single apple with a sheet of glass (glass from a simple picture frame) to play around with reflection and flash placement. The equipment: – Two Yongnuo YN460-II set in S1 mode at 1-3 bars of power. They were mounted on Flashpoint stands. – Camera was a K-5 and DA* 55mm f1.4 lens. … Continue reading →

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Off Camera Flash With A Classic Fruit Bowl

April 10, 2011

I wanted to get some practice today with using off-camera flash and food. Lighting can make or break a scene, so it’s always a good idea to get as much practice as possible with controlling light. My goals were to try and get some mood lighted images as well as fully lit images by relying on the two flash units as a primary light source. The equipment: Two Yongnuo YN460-II … Continue reading →

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K10D and FA 50mm

November 7, 2010

Even with some back-focusing, quite a few of the images turned out lovely. I’m looking for forward to my next outing with this combo to see what I can really do with it. As orange as orange can get: Post-apocalyptic crossing. Symbol of Rockford:

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