I'm exploring a new hobby -- tinkering with wristwatches. Since it's probably pretty boring to anyone not interested in watches, I put the stuff related to that in a new blog.
I haven't been writing here lately. The reason is that I've run out of things to say about photography, although I do still continue to take pictures. In case you're wondering what I'm up to nowadays, you can track my doings on my blog at http://primejunta.blogspot.com/ or (a little) on Twitter, http://twitter.com/primejunta -- I'll see you there, perhaps.
Been a while since I last pontificated on photography, over here anyway. Still, here are my field notes on a pretty interesting camera -- the Sigma DP1. In case you've been living under a rock lately, it's a compact camera with an APS-C sized Foveon X3F sensor and a fixed-focal-length 28/4.0 equivalent lens. I also did a few comparison shots against my EOS-5D. Check out the article to see how the DP1 fared!
Well, I finally got around to writing up another instalment in the Ugly Duckling series. This one is about the 24/2.8. I really like this lens, although I don't shoot this wide very often. Read the article for a more detailed write-up with examples galore.
Well, I finally got around to writing up another instalment in the Ugly Duckling series. This one is about the 24/2.8. I really like this lens, although I don't shoot this wide very often. Read the article for a more detailed write-up with examples galore.
I recently bought something I've always sort of wanted but never could bring myself to do: a Leica rangefinder camera. This one is the Volksleica -- the Japanese-built CL from between 1973 and 1976. If you're interested in my experiences in going back to an all-manual film camera, after several years of all-automatic digital cameras, read on...
I've been messing around with trying to simulate the look of various types of films using Photoshop curves. Re-inventing the wheel, in other words. If you're interested in my wheel, read on...
Canon introduced a unique line of prime lenses between 1987 and 1989 when it
marketed the EOS system. It has fallen between the cracks a bit since then, with the
introduction of newer, fancier lenses. However, I have developed a real liking for the
series and have collected most of it. This is a part of a series of articles on the series,
which reviews each lens individually and compares it against its siblings.
My usual type of rambling, semi-systematic review of an old and slightly unusual
lens: Canon's 135/2.8 Soft Focus. I dubbed it Crystal Vodka because it's clear and smooth
but can make the world go all swimmy if you're not careful.
Life goes on, and Ira has successors: Missy the cat and Jekku the border terrier
just joined our pack. We're only just getting to know each other, but things are looking up.
So, now that it's over (for now), what the hell was it anyway? I reactivated my
political blog for some rambling about the topic. To find out all about how (not) to fight
wars against countries whose capitals start with a B, read on...
As some of you may know, I have a connection to Lebanon. When the current crisis
blew up, I resolved to keep my photography-related writing separate from my politics. I
can't do that any more. Please take a moment to read the short message I felt I had to write
about it before continuing to whatever it is you came here for.
I rewrote my March, 2005 article about the Pixel Sweeper -- that is, how to
select and prepare a brush for cleaning your digital SLR, and how to go about the actual
cleaning. I've learned a quite a lot since writing the original article, including stuff
about how dust behaves and what's actually going on in the cleaning process. The new article
reflects this. It also presents a cleaning technique that's both simpler, less risky, and
(in my experience) more effective than the one originally described.
Since I don't have anything in particular to say about photography at the moment,
I figured that another pursuit of mine, cycling, could make a nice change of pace. This is a
photoessay, and does contain a few observations about combining cycling and photography.
Enjoy!
A second essay about computers and digital photography: what information security
means for the digital photographer, and in particular how to set up a backup regimen that's
as simple as possible yet provides pretty good protection against losing your photos..
Been a while since the last update to the site: thanks to everyone who asked what
had happened; it's nice to be missed. ;-) This article is only tangentially about
photography, but it does concern something quite important to any digital photographer: the
computer to edit the stuff on. I'm not an expert system-builder by any means, but I have
been messing with computers for a quite a while, and have put together a few boxes. I also
just upgraded mine. This inspired me to write down some thoughts about what makes for a good
photography workstation and whether or not, and how, to build one.
Tripods are less exciting than lenses. I certainly don't enjoy them anywhere near
as much as lenses or cameras. However, a bad tripod is pretty annoying to use, while a big
tripod is annoying to carry. I've made a few mistakes in my choices, but have learned
something in the process of buying and using them. Perhaps this article will help someone
avoid making the same ones...
I updated (well, more like rewrote) my field report of Raw Shooter Premium, with
some thoughts about Color Engine, as well as a quite a few pictures. It's not perfect (but
then, what is, on this mortal orb?) but I like it a lot. Read on if interested...
Well, well, well. I only wrote my mini-review of Raw Shooter Premium two weeks
ago, pleading for better color profiles, and here they are -- Pixmantec has announced the
Color Engine for RSP... and it looks like Magne Nilsen of Etcetera made them. Fast work,
guys. Can't wait to try it. ;-)
Comparison shots and analysis of the EOS-5D with the popular EF 17-40/4.0L
ultra-wide zoom, pitted against the EOS-20D with the EF-S 10-22/3.5-4.5 USM, by Rom Prakash
at http://rommae.smugmug.com/.
Some rumination and self-examination about brand biases; how they happen, and
what they mean. With pictures. Based on a discussion at DPReview, as is the next one.
Some pixel-peeper crops of comparison shots I made, pitting the EF 24/2.8 against
the 35/2.0, with the 50/1.8 Mk I watching from the sidelines. With a short analysis.
Unless otherwise indicated, all materials on this site are by Petteri Sulonen. They are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. I would appreciate it if you dropped me a line if you want to reproduce them.
Any trademarks are property of their respective owners; their use is purely editorial and does not constitute an infringement.
