PhotographyBanzai.com

Here are a few of the photos I took yesterday using the Bushhawk camera mount and Pentax DSLR combination.  Mist early in the day is amazing. Success for the hunter and failure for the animal… Most of of the “action” that was close enough was of decoys floating in the water. I lucked out with this bird color wise, many of the birds I noticed were far away, or into the sun.

I’ve started trying to really get out into nature. My friends have been allowing me to tag along as they hunt, so here is how I have been gear wise.  What this is comprised of:  Pentax K-7 camera body (weather resistant) DA* 300mm F4 lens (weather resistant) 1.5x Teleconverter with silicone tape wrapped around it. My first attempt at making it weather resistant. The camera still functions, so that’s a good sign! Bushhawk camera mount stock. Custom adapter made by a friend so the camera body and lens mount both attach to the Bushhawk. Here is the first version for comparisons sake:

I had seen an article mentioned that when it comes to sharpness, professional lenses have no clear advantage compared to kit lenses. While I can’t debate that suggestion without spending effort to search out or personally test kit lenses compared to professional, I still question the “sharpness” aspect, but there is a lot more to a quality lens than some measurement on a black and white scale. 1. build quality (use of metal, quality internals) 2. ergonomics (quick shift manual focusing, lens hood, etc) 3. Maximum aperture (eg. larger sweet spot, easier to produce nice bokeh) 4. Contrast and rendering quality (those lens coatings he talks about, or how the lens was engineered). As a lot of people mention the 3D effect that some Pentax glass can produce. Not to mention what I consider important aspects to photography: – Composition and framing – Lighting – Overall subject, idea, or thought – Point of interest – Tools I think the tool is a big aspect as sometimes a person’s idea requires ...

A DSLR Camera: Digital SLR cameras have been out on the market for quite a while now. All current models would probably be a pretty decent camera for the majority of people, however try not to buy the cheapest thing available. The cheapest DSLR cameras can be lacking in features that might be important to you in the future such as: small mirror based viewfinders, lack of an auto-focus motor (meaning the lens must have a motor), limited number of auto-focus points, poor body construction quality, sparse physical control buttons, and limited lens compatibility. That being said, there are cheaper models that are generally solid functional cameras overall. It’s just important to do some research on features first at websites like dpreview.com or imaging-resource.com. Keep in mind that local brick & mortar stores like Best Buy are not your only option when buying a DSLR. Many cities will have a few local camera shops that you can check out as well. Regardless, most any local store will ...

If you own a Digital SLR camera, but have yet to buy a lens besides the one that came with the camera, you are missing out. In this article and video, I will go over a few lenses that you might find interesting to get more fun and quality out of your DSLR. What photography basics do I need to know? Aperture: There is a number value that says how much light is let in through the camera lens (measured in “f-stops”), and how much of the picture will be sharply focused. Inside each lens there are diaphragm blades that control the size of the opening (the word Aperture means the opening). A lower number, say 1.4, allows more light in, but only a small part of the picture is focused. With a large aperture number, less light gets in, but the light rays are aligned straighter, allowing more of the image to look sharper. Depth of Field: This is a term that refers to how much of the picture is sharply focused. Having the whole image in focus is called deep focus, and having only a s...

Are you interested in getting a digital camera, but don’t know what is available? Let me give you a quick overview of the most popular model types to help you decide which would fit your style best. 1. Digicam (Examples) : These cameras are small and easy to carry around in a pocket. As many of these cameras are very tiny, they have slower electronics in them. Their imaging sensors are respectively small, which means less light will be recorded. Less light tends to produce lower quality photographs, especially when there isn’t much light to record. Major digicam benefits: – Size – Weight – Ease of use 2. Prosumer Digicam (Examples) : These cameras tend to have similar electronics and sensors as Digicams, but are higher quality with more features. The imaging sensor sizes are most likely the same size as Digicams, but they are higher quality and faster. The physical build of these cameras are generally much better than basic digicams, with things like metal ...

I felt it was time to start yet another blog.  This time I’ve decided that discussing my passion of photography is the perfect subject to keep interest high.  In the past I had quite few websites related to photography, but none of them exist in a form that I can use for writing such as I plan to. Who am I?  A guy who has a degree in computer science.  A guy who has been interested in photography since 2002.  My first serious foray into photography was in the wonderful land of anime convention cosplay photography.  The interest grew into all forms of the art and currently is a good part of my life. As a person who has spent a good part of my life writing computer software and using computers in general, I feel that the opinion of photography that somehow whatever comes directly out of the camera is stylized idea of trying to hold onto the past of film cameras. My first SLR was a digital one (circa 2005 Pentax *ist DS), so I guess I could be considered a neo...