Author: travel67

A tale of two cameras

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Here’s a quick game of spot the difference between two images of the same lizard. The first is the one I put up a couple of months earlier. Taken with the Pentax W60 compact point and shoot. The second image was taken just a few minutes later in the same lighting conditions with my medium format Pentax 67II and Provia 100F slide film. Together these are a great example of how sensor / film size influences the depth of field. It is also interesting to see just how different the level of contrast is between the two shots.

iPhone Apps for Photographers

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On my last trip I found my iPhone to be a fantastic companion. Although it did struggle to  make phone calls (possibly due to the fact that it uses the Softbank network) it was filled with many other great features. Of course I could listen to music, watch videos and check emails, but there are several applications out there that are particularly useful for photographers. The first one comes as standard on the phone: the compass. While walking around at night scouting locations, I could check where the sun would be the next day. Also it  stopped me walking a couple of kilometers in the wrong direction when confused by Japanese street signs. The Simple Depth of Field Calculator is a useful learning tool and field tool that allows you to calculate which parts of your photograph will be in focus for a given film/sensor size, lens length, f-stop, and focus point.  Use it to check you will have front to back sharpness when shooting landscapes or calculate just how shallow your depth of field …

Beppu Sand Baths

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Just started scanning the images from my trip. Here’s a couple of shots from the sand baths of Beppu. I tried the sand baths myself, and although it was  an interesting experience, the sensation of the heavy sand pressing down on your chest while your arms are pinned to your sides was more unnerving than relaxing. One great part of the day was that I met a few fellow sand bathers who didn’t mind me taking a few photos of them while they were buried alive.

A little help for vegetarians in Japan

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If you are vegetarian or vegan and living in Japan shopping can be tricky, especially  if you can’t read ingredients labels. I ate what I thought was vegetarian Miso (bean paste) ramen for many months before I found out that it also contained ポークエキス (pork extract). I hope the following list of words will make things a little easier for others. Gelatin ゼラチン Beef　ビーフ　　Beef Extract　ビーフエキス Chicken 鶏  or チキン　Chicken Extract　チキンエキス Pork ポーク　Pork Extract　ポークエキス Katsuobushi (fish sprinkles)　鰹ぶし Another useful thing to know is that when you are buying eggs in Japan the most expensive ones are not free range eggs but rather fertilized eggs. These are labelled 有精卵 yuu-sei-ran. There doesn’t appear to be any particular labelling for free range eggs, but they are usually priced between the battery eggs and the fertilized eggs. At my local supermarket the free range eggs have a photo on the box showing chickens wandering around in the dirt.

Baggage Allowances in Japan

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Recent changes in the Japanese airline industry and are going to affect the way photographers select and transport their equipment. On my last couple of trips up to the Japanese mainland I noticed that when checked baggage is weighed the display shows the weight along with the excess charges for baggage over 20 kilograms. Carry on baggage is restricted by both weight and size,  and these dimensions are shrinking. For flights of 100 passengers or more maximum dimensions are 55cm x 40cm x 25cm (115cm total) and 10 kilos in weight. For flights less that 100 passengers this drops to 45cm x 35cm x 20cm (100cm total). Why is this significant? Well your present bag which came with a sticker saying suitable for carry-on may no longer be small enough. My Lowepro bag is 37 X 29 X 48.5 cm which comes out at a total for the 3 dimensions of 114.5cm, just under the limit. However put a few extra items in the front pocket and and you will have a bag that is …

Earth Day

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Today, April 22nd, is Earth Day. I just watched The 11th Hour an interesting documentary about the impact of mankind on the planet and the changes we need to make to our lifestyles. Another documentary that is worth watching is HOME. You can see the entire movie on YouTube, so if you’ve got 90 minutes to spare, please take a look. Double click on the video below to watch it on YouTube (embedded viewing has been disabled).

Pentax 645D v Nikon D3X v Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark III

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The April edition of Nihon Camera 日本カメラ includes a couple of very interesting things for Pentaxians. The first is a history of Pentax’s medium format cameras, the second is a detailed overview of the new Pentax 645D camera including a comparison of the camera with the top of the range 35mm digital cameras. Here’s some (but not all) of the differences between the Pentax 645D, the Nikon D3X  and the Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark III. Sensor Pentax 645D: 44x33mm 40MP CCD Nikon D3X: 35.9x24mm 24.5MP CMOS Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark III: 36x24mm 21.1MP CMOS Live View Pentax 645D: No Nikon D3X: Yes Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark III: Yes Dust Removal System Pentax 645D: Yes Nikon D3X: No Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark III: Yes Max Shutter Speed Pentax 645D: 1/4000 Nikon D3X: 1/8000 Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark III: 1/8000 Frames per second Pentax 645D: 1.1 Nikon D3X: 5 Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark III: 5 Memory Card Pentax 645D: SD / SDHC cards Nikon D3X: CF cards Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark III: CF cards & SD / …

Nicholas Centala at Global Gallery

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Several interesting things happening in Okinawa this weekend. Ceramic artist Nicholas Centala has an exhibit at Global Gallery (Plaza House),  Kluso is playing Saturday night at Al’s Place in Okinawa City, and Erykah Badu is performing on Camp Foster Sunday night. Just scanned this image of Nick firing up his kiln. Really happy with the shot, as it was very difficult conditions to shoot. I used a light meter to check how much light there was on his face and then asked him to stand still for a couple of seconds while I took the photograph. The heat was incredible, it was tough being so close to the flames for more than a fraction of a second. Nick came away a little singed but I think he’ll be happy with the portrait.