PhotoShumi

TEnYEARsAPARt:ONe – Zine Update

dan diaz — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 11:55:30 +0000

A few weeks ago the zine sold out at the Sticky Institute. It was more like a test batch to see how they would sell, since there was a little success and they requested more, I made the 2nd batch a littler more special. I have added an original, colour photo which was taken with a Holga camera, all photos were shot while living in Japan during 2006 plus a few words to accompany the photo. They have also been numbered from #1~20 but the price has increased by 50c so the zine is now $4.

I have 6 left from batch 2 and they can be requested by contacting me through the blog.

Random Scenes

dan diaz — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 08:48:43 +0000

Remembering Yesterday #7

dan diaz — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:16:01 +0000

Somewhere Further Than Here is a set of photographs taken on Sep 4th 2007 while on an outing in with friends in the country side of Sanwa in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan. I can’t remember the name of the park area but there are many random sculptures and art hidden among the natural environment and makes for a great day out. After a small detour we found an abandoned building which was once maybe a hotel and had a lot of boxes, tyres and junk lying about and I remember wanting to break in and photograph inside but was sternly scolded by my wife. Anyway, here are a few photographs for instalment #7 of Remembering Yesterday which were taken with a Pentax K10D and the sorely missed and versatile Pentax FA 28-105 f/3.2 lens.

Capture The Fade Photography Comp

dan diaz — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 12:06:29 +0000

I submitted four photos to Capture The Fade Photography competition run by Ampersand Magazine. Photographer Bill Henson is the guest judge so just the fact that he’ll be looking at my photos is good enough for me.

Site Update

dan diaz — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:08:56 +0000

I’ve tweaked the site a little, added animated menus for categories and removed the left side bar. The site has a little more room to move and be fixing small things here and there. Any issues, please let me know. Cheers.

UPDATE : No left side bar looked shit. Back to 3 panel layout. New Header added.

R.I.P – Pentax ME Super

dan diaz — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 14:28:26 +0000

I’ve been having troubles with my sexy little black Pentax ME Super with the mirror locking up and now the winder is completely stuck so the whole thing is fucked (because I tried to take it apart). I didn’t pay much for it but I didn’t even get a chance to run some film through it. Bummer. I still have the ME Winder II so I’ll have to pick up another one from the bay.

Remembering Yesterday #6

dan diaz — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:55:47 +0000

Same shoot as I No Longer Know You and Dreams Of Skin And Denim.

Red Frame – January 2008

News & Final Thoughts On A Lens

dan diaz — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 07:43:03 +0000

So usually I’m pretty content shooting with manual lenses, I learn a lot and it forces me to be patient when shooting but for some situations, AF (Auto Focus) is a necessity. Take for example when photographing my very active 17 month old daughter Elysa indoors with an off camera, hand held flash, makes holding the camera and focusing at the same damn near impossible and chasing her at the same time. AF can also suck, when outside, the DA* 50-135 is fantastic but blows when you are closer than two~three metres (especially when she’s running towards you) as the AF is just too slow and indoors it’s just that little too long.

So, bitching aside…I bought a Pentax DA 40mm 2.8 Limited pancake lens to cure my complaints. I think the combo of the DA* 50-135 and the DA 40 will make a nice pair. The DA 40, like the DA* 50-135 has a fast aperture of 2.8 (although I’d like a faster 1.8 or 2.0), it’s still decent in low light situations. I ordered it online last week so it should be here soon. Test shots and thoughts when it comes but I’m sure I’ll be pleased with it. Here’s some info on the DA 40mm from the Pentax website and a review from Photozone.

In other news, I’ve noticed my list of lenses on the blog is getting bigger as I accumulate and sell and I feel there’s no real conclusion to my use with the lens, just random shots. Now it’s all well to get a visual of what the lens can produce but a few words in conclusion when I sell it off is important for the person buying it or others who may be interested in the same lens. These posts will not be lens reviews…fuck that, lens nerds would tear me to shreds! No graphs, No IQ tests, No focusing tests, just a few final thoughts on a lens. I’ll post the first one soon on the Lensbaby 2.0. All you lens nerds, stay clear!

Docklands At Night #2

dan diaz — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 11:54:33 +0000

Here are a few more photos that I took a few weeks ago while shooting with the Melbourne Uni Fotoholics group at the Docklands in Melbourne. These three photographs have been manipulated in Lightroom, especially the colours which were saturated and de-saturated in different areas and I also made the photographs darker with added contrast to dramatise the clouds a little.

S-M-C Takumar 28mm : ISO – 200 : Shutter Speed – 6.7 sec

S-M-C Takumar 28mm : ISO – 200 : Shutter Speed – 0.6 sec

S-M-C Takumar 28mm : ISO – 200 : Shutter Speed – 0.5 sec

Pinhole #1 & Back To The Darkroom

dan diaz — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:11:48 +0000

After nearly a 10 year absence, my fingers smell like rotten vinegar again as my current placement school have a darkroom setup and I’m doing photography with the students. Last week, the year 8’s and I took some pinhole photographs and this was my result. A little over exposed so I kept it in it’s negative form and it gives the photograph a little more atmosphere. The process is pretty simple, black out a tin can (large Milo tin works well), add a pin hole on the side (cover with black tape), add some photographic paper inside the tin, close it up, take photo by removing the tape (exposure time varies with light source), cover the hole, head to the darkroom and develop. I’m thinking of investing in a Pinhole Holga soon which should be a lot of fun too.