All posts filed under: Photography
Pentax 67 lenses and accessories on Ebay
Just placed some Pentax 67 lenses on Ebay. Doing this to raise some funds and release some space in the humidity controlled cabinet for the wide angle lenses I need to get for the 645D. I will still continue to use the Pentax 67 film system, but can’t justify having these fine lenses sitting around when they should be out exploring the world.
Shuri Castle at Night
Shuri Castle in Naha is still undergoing renovation. It looks like they are in the second of three stages, concentrating on the roof line and the golden dragons that sit at either end of the apex. You can just spot the scaffolding in the above photo. Here’s a crop from the image at 100%. It’s nice to see they paint the scaffolding red, quite thoughtful really as the castle still gets many visitors while the reconstruction is going on.
Inked
The Canon ipf5100 printer I use for creating my limited edition prints is fantastic. It uses the highest quality archival pigment inks, it takes rolls of paper rather than sheets allowing me to use the thick cotton photo rag I love, and it produces images with great detail and wonderful color. It is, however, the size of a small piano and costs around 2000 dollars. As anyone with a exotic sports car will tell you, the high initial cost is not the only concern, the running costs are just as significant an issue. The ipf series printers have two print heads and 12 ink cartridges. Print heads cost around 400 dollars each, and probably will last you several years. Ink cartridges are around 70 dollars each and their longevity will depend on a combination of how often you print and how often the printer needs to run the cleaning mode. If you are an occasional printer, this is going to make running the machine very expensive. Every time you turn on the printer it will …
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Bear seems to have two personalities. One is happy and inquisitive, the other is mad and mildly psychotic. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, or in this case Teddy Bear and Grizzly Bear.
Amerikamura Portraits
Amerikamura or American Village is a small area of Osaka that is home to various funky clothes stores. (There’s also a big shiny Apple store). I decided that before I headed to Kansai Airport I’d see if I could get some shots of Osaka’s young and trendy.
Namba at Night
Met up with American model Rachael while in Osaka to try and get some images of a person visiting the city, rather than shots of the locals. Namba really comes alive at night so the plan was to use the neon lights as a background and then illuminate the model with off camera flash. It turns out that the male hosts of Dotomburi were fascinated with what we were doing, so they ended up in the shoot too. And finally a shot of Flickr friend Jan Moren who assisted me on the shoot by holding the off camera flash.
Hadaka Matsuri – Chaos
More and more men pack in to the temple until it resembles a scene from Dante’s Inferno. At 10PM a monk throws two sacred sticks into the writhing mass. Those who can grab a stick and pass it to another monk outside the temple will have a year’s worth of happiness.
Hadaka Matsuri – Purification
As the men arrive at the temple they wade through a pool of cold water to purify their bodies. For some the cleansing is a painfully cold test of endurance. Others splash and smile, seemingly unaware of the water or air temperature. After this sequence I can confirm that the Pentax 645D and the new 55mm lens are both weather sealed.
Kiku-san and the carrot
Kiku-san is 92 years old. She has a small garden next to her house where she tends her vegetables. She grows lettuces, radishes, garlic and carrots. There are a few important things to note from this simple series of images with regards to longevity. The first is that Kiku-san grows and eats a large range of vegetables. The second is that she is gardening and exercising even though it’s mid February. Third, she is smiling. So there you are, three keys to a long life. Eat your veggies, exercise, smile. Enjoy the rest of your lives 🙂
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 