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Pentax SMC DA 645 25mm F4 AL (IF) SDM AW

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I recently purchased a 25mm lens for my Pentax 645 system. This is one of the new lenses designed for the digital 645D / 645Z cameras alongside the DFA 645 55mm and the DFA 645 Macro 90mm. A few important facts about the lens: At 25mm when used on the 645D it is equivalent to 19.5mm on a FF 35mm camera. This is one of the widest medium format lenses available.  I also use the excellent 645 35mm. It’s a heavy beast  at 1040g and expensive US$ 4,996.95 at B&H (although still several thousand less than the Hasselblad 24mm). Occasionally they appear used on Ebay, which is where I purchased mine. As with the 645D body, the 90mm, and 55mm, it’s weather sealed so can stand up to the elements. This really separates the Pentax system from other medium format digital systems which are more suited to a controlled studio environment. The front element is curved, which means filters are designed to be inserted internally. The filters are 40.5mm and polarizers can be rotated with a nifty dial on the holder. Interestingly, this …

FAQs – Can I use your images for free?

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I often get requests asking if I will allow a person or a company to use my images for free. In return they will give me picture credit and possibly a link back to my website. I got one such request a couple of months ago via Flickr. For educational purposes I’m going to share the experience. I imagine the content in this blog post will be painfully  familiar to other photographers, but more importantly it may be enlightening to others. I received a Flickr mail in March: We are working with the martial arts magazine to promote Taekwon-Do and Martial arts to partitioners around the world. By searching in flickr, I found some of your beautiful martial arts pictures in your profile. I would like to ask for your permission to use the pictures related martial arts as here:www.flickr.com/photos/13377977@N04/sets/72157629295646900/If you allow to use your pictures in our website, we will publish it for our martial arts articles under following two websites:1. itfline.org | Taekwon-Do Federation website2. moosin.net | Martial arts online website.We will keep your credit of you in each article …

Old School Gamers

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All I wanted was a quick pic of my friends Rob and Shawn playing on an old Atari 2600 “Video Computer System”. Unfortunately Bear decided that it all looked too much fun and decided to crash the photo shoot. Old school gamers. Old school diva.

Huis Ten Bosch, Nagasaki, Japan.

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Going Dutch? Huis Ten Bosch is a theme park in Sasebo, near Nagasaki. An interesting place to wander around, it is very much like a large elaborate movie set. There are windmills, stores selling cheese, Dutch ceramics, and even a teddy bear museum. However, like a movie set, it tends to look best if you squint, and of course “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain”.

Summer / Fall Photography Workshops

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June 14 & 15 , 2014 – Studio Lighting Intro Workshop with Chris Willson June 28 & 29 , 2014 – Photography Fundamentals Workshop with Chris Willson July 12 & 13 , 2014 – Off Camera Flash Workshop with Pete Leong & Chris Willson October 4 & 5 , 2014 – Photography Fundamentals Workshop with Chris Willson October 10 & 11, 2014 – Light Painting with Trevor Williams and Chris Willson October 12, 2014 – Advanced Light Painting with Trevor Williams and Chris Willson For more details click on the Photography Workshops Tab. To book a place on any of the workshops please email  chris(at)travel67.com    I will send you a Paypal request for the class fee. Payment secures your place on the course.  

Ryukyu Rampage 2014

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Do you find simply running from A to B no longer a challenge? Do you envy children as they splash in the mud, swing on ropes, and play with fire? Do you want to show the world just how fast, strong and awesome you are? Are you ready to rampage? Coming in November 2014, is Ryukyu Rampage. It will be open to everyone on Okinawa, so whether you’re an Okinawan firefighter, a U.S. marine, or an occasional jogger, all are welcome. The Ryukyu Rampage Website and the Ryukyu Rampage Facebook Page are now online. James (the organizer) asked if I could take a few action shots for publicity purposes, so we headed down to the beach with a few friends from Torii Gym. A huge thanks to everyone who helped out, it was great to see you all in action!

A Cambodian Wedding – Part 3

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Day 2 began with a procession to the family home where the day’s ceremonies would take place. The groom and family lead the way followed by the rest of the wedding party. Most guests arrived with offerings of food or drinks. The groom awaits the arrival of the bride. The bride arrives with her bridesmaids. The couple then give thanks to their parents. More prayers, more offerings, more changes of clothing. Pao, the bride, manages to quickly grab some food between events. Indoors the ceremonies continue with blessings from monks, and then pieces of red thread are tied around their wrists. Family members give gifts of money. The official ceremony ends and the couple is married. Congratulations Suon and Pao and thank you so much for letting me be part of your wedding. It was such an amazing opportunity to photography the event.

A Cambodian Wedding – Part 2

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After the western style dress and suit, the bride and groom changed into the first of many traditional Khmer outfits. I’ve been to Japanese weddings where there were three outfits ( a traditional kimono, then a white wedding dress, then a western dress), but at the Cambodian wedding, over the two days, there were close to twenty. After the hotel, events took place at the family home. Tents had been erected outside for the ceremony and there were various offerings to the gods. Part of the ceremony involved close family members giving the bride and groom a haircut. They’d snip away, without actually cutting the hair, then show the bride and groom the result in a little mirror. After another change in clothing, monks arrived and more prayers and offerings were given. After dinner, everyone went home to rest, as the second day of celebrations would begin at dawn.

A Cambodian Wedding – Part 1

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While in Cambodia I was lucky enough to spend a couple of days photographing the wedding of Suon and Pao. The groom’s sister worked at the Lotus Blanc Hotel where I was staying. One morning, as I returned to the hotel after shooting the dawn, Suon walked into the lobby in a wedding dress. The staff explained that a local photographer would be taking some photos of  the bride and groom at the hotel, before they began the traditional khmer wedding celebrations that would last for two days. Knowing I was also a photographer they said they’d be quite happy if I’d like to tag along and take some pics. Hoorah.