How to be happy when there’s nothing really to be happy about (playing w/ camera

[S21FOLGORE]

Shot this afternoon at the garage, after came back from the ride.
I needed to cool down the engine before putting the cover on, let the helmet liner, inside of the gloves and the boots dry. So I decided to take some photos with X100V while I’m waiting.

Garage04-16_1_v2 by T K, on Flickr

Garage04-16_2_v2 by T K, on Flickr

I shot these photos with 10 sec. self timer.
But, lately I (sort of) learned I can also use interval shutter, to take self portrait type photos (instead of using self timer).
So, next time I’m going to try that.

I wanted to make them look like a screenshot of the movies.
(That’s why I intentionally placed myself in the shadow and out of focus.)
What I should have done (with the second photo) was, placing myself on the stairs, so that it looks like I’m just coming down from the upstairs with that crossbow in hands.
I think that would make more interesting “story”.

[S21FOLGORE]

NA6 at TEXACO_v2 by T K, on Flickr

Wild Turky_V2 by T K, on Flickr

DSCF2327 by T K, on Flickr

DSCF2333 by T K, on Flickr

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Both shot on X100V

Cows & S4R_V2 by T K, on Flickr

Tin Dog by T K, on Flickr

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Kuma_v2 by T K, on Flickr

[S21FOLGORE]

Shot yesterday, with X100V.

Vespa_1_v2 by T K, on Flickr

Vespa_2_v2 by T K, on Flickr

DSCF2423 by T K, on Flickr

DSCF2427 by T K, on Flickr

(Should have turned around the tray, so that “Made in China” sticker wouldn’t be visible.
I’m always like this. I really need to check these details before start shooting.)


Made a short video at the same time

[S21FOLGORE]

A little story about the camera gear storage...

 I went to Seawood Photo in San Rafael today.

Wasn’t looking for anything particular, but I go there every once in a while, because that shop is a great place to buy used gear.
(Most of my vintage lenses were purchased there.)


I found two Pelican cases, 1510 and 1520.

$135 for 1510, $35 for 1520.

DSCF2498 by T K, on Flickr

I bought them both. Took them back home.

I washed them,...

Screen Shot 2024-05-17 at 8.15.36 PM by T K, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2024-05-17 at 8.16.47 PM by T K, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2024-05-17 at 8.15.18 PM by T K, on Flickr

...towel dried them, then, applied 303. (That stuff works really well. A LOT better than Armorall.)

Screen Shot 2024-05-17 at 8.19.45 PM by T K, on Flickr

DSCF2500 by T K, on Flickr

DSCF2506 by T K, on Flickr

I’m going to use 1510 for camera gear, most probably.

1520, maybe knife storage? Maybe movie prop storage? (prop guns, holsters, police badges, etc.)

Overall, I’m pretty happy with the purchase.

DSCF2512 by T K, on Flickr

[S21FOLGORE]

So, the day I purchased this lens, while I was at the garage I did some still photo comparison test, too.

The lens:Legendary Canon FD80mm F1.2 “L”

DSCF2536 by T K, on Flickr



[The video performance part is in my short film / fillmmaking thread.]

[Back story]
So, I’ve been trying NOT to buy things I don’t really need for my day to day life.
And, to be honest, I’ve been doing pretty good.
(After March 31st, I’ve spent a whole lot less than befor…)


“Create, rather than consume”, someone on Youtube said that.
I don’t remember who it was… (could be Peter McKinnon, but not sure…)


But this one, I couldn’t resist.
The last day of my “2-month time off”, I was drinking my first cup of coffee in the morning, while casually browsing through Craigslist ads.
And, I saw the title,

“Canon FD 80mm F1.2 L $695”

That particular ad was from Seawood photo in San Rafael, which is “kind of” my go to camera store. (Have been their customer for roughly 20 years or so…)

Five out of six FD lenses I own, I purchased from them, over the period of long time. (I’m not a vintage lens collector, I’m a vintage lens shooter, so normally don’t actively look for some particular lenses on eBay, etc.)
Dimly lit garage

[Note]
The camera is Fuji X-T4, all my FD lenses are used with Metabones Speed Booster. (So 80mm is an 80mm, not 80 x 1.5.)

Focused on Ducati logo on the tank, standing far back

Fuji X100V (35mm equivalent, f2)
DSCF2525 by T K, on Flickr



Canon FD35mm f2 concave+Speed Booster

35mm_F2_2 by T K, on Flickr



Canon FD50mm f1.4+Speed Booster

50mm_F1.4_1 by T K, on Flickr

Focused on me
(In all the photos, the distance between myself and the S4R is the same)

Canon FD35mm f2 concave + Speed Booster
35mm_X2 by T K, on Flickr

Canon FD50mm f1.4 + Speed Booster
50mm_F1.4_4 by T K, on Flickr
50mm_F1.4_5 by T K, on Flickr


Canon FD80mm F1.2 + Speed Booster
80mm_1 by T K, on Flickr
80mm_2 by T K, on Flickr

Yeah, so there's a reason why I film myself mostly with 50mm.
I just don't like the way I look with wide angle lenses.

The funny story about this "focal length that I prefer (to film myself)".
Today, I was at my new work (the brand new restaurant that's just about going to open.
The owner hired the professional photographer, to shoot both foods AND people (including myself).
While I was being photographed, we were talking about casually, and when I mentioned about my lens choices for Youtube video creating, he said "let me switch to 85mm lens".
Only my photos were shot with 85mm. (All the others, including the owner, were shot with 50mm).

[Duck-Stew]

Great photos and a good read. 

Will circle back on this thread.

[S21FOLGORE]

Hi, Thanks.

The score, today

Again, I went to "Seawood photo" in San Rafael.
I went there just for two items.Ended up getting a lot more.(They are all used gears. Some of them are pretty old, dating back to the1970s.)

ThinkTank Retrospective 7M
(This one is for hauling X100V with filters and flash, and maybe with audio recorder.)
Retrospective 7M by T K, on Flickr

...and,...
What's inside by T K, on Flickr
[size=16
pt]
MINOLTA binoculars[/size]
(I use binoculars in a very peculiar way. When I'm filming myself, quite often, I'm too far away from the camera(monitor) to see the details, because I HATE filming myself with a wide angle lens(so typically I use 50mm or longer focal length). I use binoculars to check composition, framing, etc, etc, on the monitor. I've been using cheap binoculars from Amazon. This one is much nicer.)
Minolta Binoculars by T K, on Flickr

Canon FD24mmf2
This one is pretty hard to find.Especially in this condition AT this price.(24mmf2 is quite rare. 24mmf2.8 is a lot more common. 28mmf2.8 is a lot easier to find and is pretty cheap. And, 24mmf1.4 Aspherical is a unicorn.)

FD24mmf2 by T K, on Flickr
24mm face by T K, on Flickr


Canon FD135mmf2.8 U.S. NAVY
The box is a little bit beaten up.
FD135mmf2.8 box by T K, on Flickr

HOWEVER, the lens itself is brand new !
AND, look at the locking ring!
FD135mmf2.8 US NAVY by T K, on Flickr
(Apparently, DLA purchased some photography equipment from Canon, back in the 70s. There's 13-digit DLA NSNs on the box.)
Back in the days of films (when I was a teenager), once I shot everything with 135mm, because that was all I had. So, 135mm focal length has a special place in my mind.


Manfrotto 501HDV video head with 055XB legs.
055XB by T K, on Flickr
501HDV by T K, on Flickr

The leveling head was not included. I added it after coming back home.
Leveling Base by T K, on Flickr

I was looking for a secondary tripod, for (so called) run-and-gun filming, AKA guerilla filming.
I had been checking B&H used section, but I'm really glad I found what works for me locally, for a lot less price.
(501HDV is pretty old, over 10 years old. So, you don't find that much info on YT, etc. But, this is actually a pretty nice video head. If I were just reading the spec online, I would have disregarded this head simply because of the spec.
(For example, this is NOT a true fluid head. There's no fluid in the head. The drag is controlled by friction. BUT, Manfrotto used some sort of teflon coating on the sliding parts, the movement of this head is quite smooth, to be honest, better than some of the newer "budget" fluid heads I've handled. )

[S21FOLGORE]

Testing the "new(to me)" tripod (055XB + 501HDV)

Goat3v2_Cr by T K, on Flickr



Sheepdogv2 by T K, on Flickr

The lens was 85mmf1.2 L.

So far, I like the legs AND the video head.
(This tripod was actually owned by one of the guys who works at Seawood photos.
He bought them as used, many years ago, for medium format camera.)

[S21FOLGORE]

I went to Lincoln Elementary school, in Petaluma, CA, to “test” (AKA; playing around with) Canon FD24mmf2.0 lens, which is new to me.

As usual, it is mounted on Metabones Speed booster.
It is interesting, because I didn’t like Sigma 16mmf1.4, at all. (Everyone on Youtube highly regarded that lens. Well, I guess I’m just different.)

Before
XH2C4348 by T K, on Flickr

After
CanonFD24mmf2.0_Asteroid City_school copy by T K, on Flickr

Before
XH2C4339 by T K, on Flickr

After
CanonFD24mmf2.0_Asteroid City copy by T K, on Flickr

Before
XH2C4344 by T K, on Flickr

After
CanonFD24mmf2.0_Asteroid City_selfP copy by T K, on Flickr

They were shot with X-H2, not X-T4.
And I heavily edited, because I wanted to learn about Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City color grading.

As you can see, it didn’t really work with the last picture.
If I spend enough time, maybe I can make it work, maybe not.

I normally go for dark, high contrast image (as I’m more of a film noir, 1950s and 60s PI hard boiled PI story type of guy, not a bright, pastel colored image type of person), but it was quite interesting to learn Asteroid City’s colors(how it is done).

[S21FOLGORE]

Carry less, Create more
Vintage Canon FD 24mm f2, with Metabones Speed Booster
On Fuji X-H2 (Oh, and with Nisi VND on)

All these images were shot yesterday late afternoon (in my lunch break, which is around 3-5PM. Some of you may be able tell at around what time they were shot, by lighting.

This is where I work right now.

Outside

XH2C4550 by T K, on Flickr

XH2C4548 by T K, on Flickr

Patio XH2C4544 by T K, on Flickr

XH2C4545 by T K, on Flickr

XH2C4546 by T K, on Flickr

Moved the camera closer, AND really low (like, an inch off of the ground)
XH2C4547 by T K, on Flickr

Same patio area, but later (around 5PM), different lighting

XH2C4552 by T K, on Flickr

XH2C4551 by T K, on Flickr

Yesterday, I took my X-H2, with 24mmF2 FD, to work.
I work in the restaurant. (As a sushi chef.)
Most people in my line of work DON’T bring anything (other than their knives) to work.
I’ve been known to bring “too much toys” for work.
Camera(s), laptop (for editing videos in the break time), (Non-kitchen) knives, even air pistols…

That’s why I’ve always been wearing backpack.

But, I’ve stopped that when I started working for this new place in June.

…………….

Now, I actually have to leave for work.
So I will write more, when I come back.

I’m not going to stay in this restaurant.
I will have to tell the owner(s) today.

[S21FOLGORE]

Shot July 21st, with X100V.

Trying to improve composition / framing, and lighting.
And, most importantly, “story telling”.

Lunch Break by T K, on Flickr

I didn’t have a tripod with me.
So, I partially flipped out the back screen, and tilted the camera up so that it would rest on the screen bottom edge, stay at an angle.
Worked out pretty good.

Lunch Break2 by T K, on Flickr

Lunch Break3 by T K, on Flickr

Back Lighting test by T K, on Flickr

BTW, I’ve been testing a pair of new eye pro, Gatorz Specter, with OPZ lenses.
It’s been probably over 10 years since I tried polarized lenses the last time.
(I’ve always been wearing non-pola gray lenses.)

So far, they have been working great.
No problem with operating the camera.
No problem at Trader Joe’s cash register.

If they are good for Jack Carr, they are good enough for me, too.
I guess.

[S21FOLGORE]

Hill People Gear CARGO kit bag review
Carry less, create more!



It forces me to carry less, and allows me to walk around more with the camera (=create more)
For what I do, this kit bag works really well.
For hipster photographers, definitely not. (Looks too dorky, I guess.)

I purchased this just recently. And it has become my most used camera carrying bag.
Perhaps, one of the most tacti-cool looking camera carry options out there.

MarkusPix channel that I mentioned in the video
https://www.youtube.com/@MarkusPix/videos

white balance video

[S21FOLGORE]

White Balance…

This was shot in the morning, around 8AM.
Turkey family_2 by T K, on Flickr

This was shot in the late afternoon, around 4PM
Mill Valley-Sausalito Path by T K, on Flickr

They were shot in different days, with different cameras, but …

Can you tell, by just looking at images, one was taken in the morning and the other was taken midday?

When I was a Sony Shooter, I almost always used custom white balance. Setting white balance using a gray card, pretty much every single time I took photos / videos.
And I didn’t use picture profile.

After switching to Fuji X-T4, just like everyone who picks up Fujifilm cameras, I started playing with “film simulation” and “film sim recipes”, for both still photos and videos.
https://fujixweekly.com/recipes/
I enjoyed them, just like most of Fuji users.

Fast forward to 2024 summer.
I purchased X-H2 (Fuji).
Started shooting video in F-log2.
(which wasn’t an option with X-T4. X-T4 shoots only F-log, NOT F-log2.
And there’s quite a bit of difference between F-log and F-log2.
Basically, F-log is not worth bothering.
You can get better result with one of the flatter film sim such as Eterna.)
Shooting in “Log” means no more film sims, for video.

When I shoot still, I shoot in both Jpeg and RAW.
And when I edit photos, I do it with RAW file.
Again, Film sim doesn’t affect RAW file, so it doesn’t matter which film sim I used while shooting.
I started feeling very differently about “Film sim recipes”.

Then, I watched this video, by one of my favorite Youtube photographer.



After watching the video, I started reading comments.
People reacted in the comment section, saying,
“Fuji film sims are customizable! People have been making great “film sim recipes” and …blah, blah, blah…”
And he pointed out “customized film sim recipes” are, essentially just changing white balance and shifting red and blue.
Yes, you can add things like film grain, and can adjust tone curve.
BUT, it’s not like you have vector scope and color wheels in your camera…

Then, I watched this the other day.




What he described in the video made a lot of sense. At least, it seemed, to me, right now.

So I decided to try NOT to change(adjust) white balance.
I just set all my camera’s white balance at 5500 kelvin. And don’t bother changing it whether it’s in the morning or midday, sunset or indoor at night, I just shoot everything with 5500 Kelvin white balance.
If the color looks obviously off, I’d correct it in the post.
In order to do this, highly stylized “film simulation” gets in the way.
So, I now tend to shoot in “flatter” profile film sim….