Long Exposure

For some amazing long exposure photos, have a look at the work of Alexey Titarenko.

Scanned photos and Exif data

I don't know about you, but I use Exif data extensively to evaluate my own photos and learn from other people's photos. I scan my negatives via a Nikon Coolscan V ED and the drawback has been that the resulting files do not contain any Exif data. The TWAIN driver for the scanner nor Photoshop allow me to add more than just the Author information whereas my Pentax MZ-S stores exposure mode, metering method, shutter speed, aperture and exposure compensation on the negative outside the actual photo area and I would love to add that information to the images.

There are a lot of GUI tools around like Microsoft Pro Photo Tools and GeoSetter that allows you to manipulate some of the Exif data, but for some reason, none of these tools allow you to change or add any basic information like maker, model and exposure data. I guess the programmers always expected this to be set already by the DSLR or digital compact and of no value to add this. :-(

The only tool I have found capable of adding or changing the basic Exif data is Phil Harvey's ExifTool, a very powerful tool which is a Perl script using a command line interface. Using this tool I have been able to add a lot of Exif data to my scanned photos and in combination with ExifTool GUI, I have the environment for which I have been looking.

There Will Come Soft Rains

I'll be slowly phasing out the daily photo in this blog as I have moved over to Aminus3.com which really is the best free photo blog environment around. I would therefore invite you to update your bookmarks and follow me there: http://hoshisato.aminus3.com/.
I'll continue to use this blog for travel, technical subjects and miscellaneous.

The title of my photoblog comes from the poem by Sara Teasdale which was used in a fabulous short-story by Ray Bradbury.

There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pool singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white;

Robins will wear their feathery fire,
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
If mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself when she woke at dawn
Would scarcely know that we were gone.

©1920, Sara Teasdale.

Camera: Pentax *ist DS, lens: Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC MACRO

Water lilies

Close-up of a water lily in the pond in the Waterperry Gardens. A very nice place to visit and I'll be posting some more photos that I took in the days to come. Yesterday's photo was also taken there.

Camera: Pentax *ist DS, lens: Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC MACRO

Summer skies

Finally some better weather.

Camera: Pentax *ist DS, lens: Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC MACRO

Looking out

Somewhere in Soho, London.

Camera: Pentax MZ-S, lens: Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG MACRO + ILFORD HP5+

Water lilies

Water lilies in a pond on the golf course in Denham. What to do if your golf ball ends up on top of one of the leaves? Would you play it?

Camera: Pentax *ist DS

Churchyard, Denham

Same rosebush as yesterday's photo, just a 180° turn with a small cottage in the background. I used HDRI on this photo to keep the details of the flower.

Camera: Pentax *ist DS, lens: Sigma 20mm 1:1.8 EX DG Aspherical

Churchyard, Denham

Rose in the churchyard of the parish church dedicated to St Mary, Denham.

Camera: Pentax *ist DS, lens: Sigma 20mm 1:1.8 EX DG Aspherical

Denham Village, Buckinghamshire

Lovely houses in Denham. The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means "homestead in a valley". It was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Deneham. The light was just coming in from the right angle to avoid flatting all detail in the bricks.

Camera: Pentax *ist DS, lens: Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC MACRO

View from Albert Bridge, London

Moored boats and mooring positions as seen from the Albert Bridge.

Camera: Pentax MZ-S, lens: Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG MACRO + ILFORD FP4+

Nara Park

A tea and soba place in the depths of Nara Park close to Kasuga Taisha shrine.

Camera: Pentax *ist DS, lens: Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC MACRO

Wabash Ave

Overview of Wabash Avenue, Chicago.

Camera: Pentax MZ-3, lens: Sigma 28-300mm - 1:3.5-6.3 + ILFORD FP4+

Houses of Japan (8)

Shokudo- type restaurant in Tawarayama Onsen. One of these, often family run, restaurants in the countryside that also do home delivery. If you have watched the Maison Ikkoku anime, it is the type of place operated by Godai's parents.

Camera: Pentax *ist DS, lens: Sigma 18-50mm - 1:3.5-5.6 DC

Houses of Japan (7)

Ramen shop in Takayama. I have no idea what the construction on the roof is all about. It is more something you would expect on the coast instead of in the middle of Japan.

Camera: Pentax *ist DS, lens: Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC MACRO

Houses of Japan (6)

A house in Gero Onsen.

Camera: Pentax *ist DS, lens: Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC MACRO

Houses of Japan (5)

A soba restaurant near Takayama JR station. We had lunch here and it was pretty good. Inside, on the walk to the restroom, they had the prettiest little garden, maybe not larger than 2m².

Note the statue of the tanuki, a sure sign that the place is a noodle restaurant.

Camera: Pentax *ist DS, lens: Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC MACRO

Comedy Festival

Last night at the Comedy Festival in Amsterdam, standup comedian Theo Maassen destroyed the brand-new €15.000 camera of freelance photographer Ilvy Nijokiktjien who had been hired by the organization of the festival to document the performance. Maassen didn't like to be photographed apparently even though Nijokiktjien was just sitting in a seat amongst the public and was not using flash-photography nor walking around, and was hired by the organization as mentioned above. Nijokiktjien has filed a complaint at the police office. I can only hope that charges are going to be pressed but the damage is done: if you don't like somebody taking photos, just smash the camera! The reaction of the public who had cheered Maasen on and who still were hostile with Nijokiktjien after the incident made that very clear.

Mister Theo Maassen seems to be pretty full of himself. *disgusted*

June 3 update: Ilvy Nijokiktjien has retracted the complained filed with the police after Maassen and the Comedy Festival organization offered to refund the camera. It boiled down to the fact that Maasen hadn't given permission to the organization for photos to be taken while the organization had failed to communicate this to the photographer they had hired.
For me this sounds like a very feeble excuse: Maassen could have easily asked Nijokiktjien to refrain from photographing or asked her to leave, but he chose to get her up in front of everybody, humiliate her and destroy her camera. An overreaction of somebody with an inflated sense of self?

Houses of Japan (4)

Hotel in Gifu City, just right next to the JR station. The whole area is being rebuild and this is just the one old building standing there. Sort of reminds me of the Dolphin Hotel in Haruki Murakami's book A Wild Sheep Chase.

Camera: Pentax *ist DS, lens: Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC MACRO