Bird Outing with the DA 55-300mm

It's been a long time that I've been shooting birds, and I figured my DA 55-300mm needed the workout. Birding is a particularly challenging endeavour as one has to first of all find a good spot, know the best time to shoot and more importantly be able to execute when the time comes and the bird is in sight.





Well these images of the Olive-backed Sunbird were the result of the three ingredients coming together. This little bird is about 10 cm from tip to tail and fly very quickly with their short wings. With my camera on Auto ISO matched with a fast shutter speed and Quick Shift on the lens, I managed to get some nice shots when the birds made their hurried nectar hopping visit to a clump of heliconia flowers. Oblivious to my presence, I easily squeezed off frame after frame. And just as quickly they flew off. All shots uncropped on the K-7.

Orchids at Mandai Orchid Garden

Our regular Pentax monthly user outing took us to Mandai Orchid Garden. This unique place and tourist attraction has been around since 1951 when the late John Laycock, a founder of the Orchid Society of Southeast Asia decided to acquire some land to keep his growing collection of orchids and later for commercial orchid cultivation. When news of a possible redevelopment with the ending of the lease for the land, it became an obvious location for a group outing to capture some of the many orchids on hand.





Shooting flowers means shooting up close and the choice I had was either to go with the DA 35mmf/2.8 Macro Limited or the DFA 100mm f/2.8 Macro WR. My instincts told me to go with the smaller lens and on-site, the DA 35mm Macro proved to be the perfect lens for the subject.





The wider field of view allowed me to move around quicker to obtain the best composition and as there was no distance limitations, it was easy enough to move up close to the flowers. AF is perfect in this situation, allowing me to shoot quickly in the warm day and take a lot of shots of the many varieties of orchids on hand.





Many traditionalists still cling on to belief that to shoot macro, it has got to be manual focus all the way and preferably with a tripod. Well there's definitely a place for this approach given the wide variation in macro gear and technique, and a lot of it has to do with the subject in hand and the magnification needed. But to steadfastly maintain that this is the only way is something I have serious reservations with. I have found the current crop of Pentax AF lenses with Quick Shift to be invaluable, even in the context of macro shooting. Obviously when shooting handheld having shake reduction built-in on the camera body makes a big difference in the number of keepers.

All-in-one Wonder

Recently I decided to get two lenses that I had never used before. The two were the DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited and the DA 70mm f/2.4 Limited. For the longest time I had never seriously considered these two DA Limited lenses as I had other prime lenses which were either very close in focal length or I had zoom lenses that covered the same focal length. Well I'll start off with the DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited in this post.



First off like other DA Limited lenses, the build quality is reassuringly solid, perhaps not on the same quality as the FA Limiteds but nonetheless good enough. The lens is a 1:1 macro and focuses down to 0.139 m, has 9 aperture blades and covers an angle of view of 44 degrees. This ability to focus up close and coupled with the decent coverage make this a most versatile lens to use. From scenics to close-ups, this lens is a very capable all-rounder. I actually feel this lens allows anyone to come up with stunning images in a very short space of time.

There a lot to like with this lens: the bokeh from this lens is actually pretty smooth, the auto focus is by no means slow plus there's the very useful Quick Shift manual focus override. About the only thing negative I can think off about it is the slip-on metal lens cap and the short lens hood.

Some B&W Conversions

Here's some shots that were converted to black an white from the June 2010 Pentax user outing.
A spiral staircase becomes a graphic element of radiating lines with the DA 10-17mm fisheye.



A close-up of overlapping palm leaves provides a nice graphic image. Sometimes just excluding other elements can lend itself to a nice photo. Added a yellowish-green tone to add a little nostalgia.



Managed to shoot this young man who was busy trying to catch butterflies with his butterfly net. He's got a nice friendly expression and was a very nice fun nature. Obviously this shot breaks the rule that you got to try to shoot at the same eye level with your subject but I think this shot has managed to grab a bit of his personality. Shot with the DA 35mm Macro Limited.



Along the way we bumped into a group of Westie owners out with their dogs and with such cute subjects, the DA 10-17mm fisheye makes for some interesting images. These dogs just can't stay still so shooting at faster shutter speeds is the way to go.

Pentax June Outing: Southern Ridges Walk

Well we had a great outing for our Pentax Singapore users. Starting at Hort Park, we had a nice easy walk along the hills of Telok Blangah Hill Park and Mount Faber Park. The weather was perfect and as our visit fell on with the last Saturday of the month, the Butterfly Garden was open for us to shoot butterfly macros.







In all it was a good time of fellowship, light physical workout and the opportunity to shoot a varied range of subjects, from plant and insect macros, flowers and people. Got to try out my new DFA 100m f/2.8 Macro WR. Just lovely bokeh in the flower and butterfly shots. Shots of the millipedes and mushroom were with the DA 35mm Macro Limited.









A portrait lens used for in a non-portrait context. A lotus flower shot with the DA 70mm Limited.



And who says the DA 35mm Macro Limited can't be used for insects? A quick snapshot of pretty fierce ants crowding around a drop of sweet plant sap.

Claypot Rice Stall

Singapore is a foodie paradise and one of my favorite food stalls is one that sells Claypot rice at the Beach Road Hawker Centre. Never mind the warm air and food aroma from all the stalls cooking, or the 20 to 30 minute wait before you get your food. Once you tuck in, you'll forgive all the minor inconveniences of sweating like a pig while you sit waiting. Ok this little pre-amble is just an excuse to try out my new DA 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 fisheye lens.

I got this compact wonder because I came away impressed by the one I borrowed from my friend at the recent Pentax outing that I figured that I just had to have one myself. I've come to realize this lens has pretty much held it's price amidst the recent spell of Pentax price hikes for their lenses, so I'm feeling pretty pleased about it. Build quality is very good and the 100 degree to eye-popping 180 degree coverage makes this zoom more versatile than if it were a straight up fixed focal length fisheye. Images are surprisingly sharp and flare control is good. This lens has the unique feature of being able to shoot subjects as close as 25mm from the front element. This shot was taken with the built-in B&W image finishing tone on the K-7.

The Pentax Denim Strap: YEEEEHAW!!!

Looking for a nondescript camera strap is often a difficult thing. Using the stock camera strap that comes with the camera is an exercise in brand promotion with the name of the camera brand prominently stitched in bold for all to see. If like me you want to go about carrying your camera without the camera brand or manufacturer's name calling for attention, it can be a pretty hard to search out for a strap that doesn't scream brand fanatic.



One option is to use one of the old nylon camera straps popular from 35mm film camera days but these straps begin to lose their allure pretty quickly when you find the increased weight from a long lens and a battery grip starts to weigh down on your shoulder or neck and worse, the thin strap doesn't grip very well on the shoulder.



Lucky for me I got another Pentax user friend who was going to Tokyo to pick up one of the "oh, so nice" Pentax Denim Strap from one of the Japanese camera stores. Just the right shade of denim blue, no big Pentax logo emblazoned or embroided on, just a small Pentax on a red tab (shades of Levis perhaps) and there is a nice grippy textured surface on the reverse side so it doesn't slip off the shoulder. It's not boring black and isn't too pricey. I just love it.

Pentax May Outing: Helix Bridge

For our May Pentax outing we went to the new Helix Bridge, a new footbridge spanning the Singapore River. The shape of the twisted metal is supposed to represent the helix structure of DNA. All very nice but unfortunately I just think it is just a vanity project to beautify the skyline and to complement the new integrated resort (read casino).

Being very warm and sunny, it was a perfect day to shoot some IR images. Took this shot of the Singapore River using the DA 21mm Limited. An IR image that was converted to black and white.

For the actual photos of the bridge, I decided to use a pseudo high contrast HDR treatment to the images. Used the DA 10-17mm fisheye and the DFA 100mm Macro WR for the close-up.