Free Ebook - Eclypso: Photography by Catharine J. Anderson

 Eclypso: Photography by Catharine J. Anderson is a 110 page book of B&W concert photos.  Some of the bands include The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, Translator, Romeo Void, Bonnie Hayes and the Wild Combo, SVT, The Dead Kennedy's, The Squares, XMas Eve, Elemenets of Style, Vctms, The Contractions, and others.

Download for free!!!

  " in these images are the obscure, the famous and the future stars. But the future was never the point for most of the subjects, it was the moment. And these are moments too easily missed, and we should all be grateful for the finger on the shutter and the eye behind the lens." - Lou Ming

You can view sample photos at Eclypso.com

Maximum Rock N Roll - MRR Monday Photoblog

Anyone who is into punk rock is familiar with Maximum Rock N Roll.  I'd like to thank Mark Murrmann who serves as photo editor (and a million other jobs) for including a few of my photos in this week's MRR Monday Photoblog.  I also think you should check Mark's website out as he is an awesome photographer and does some really cool B&W work.  I'm kind of fond of him as he is a Bay Area Photographer and I'm kind of partial to those guys (especially the ones who are into music).  Make sure to take a look!!!

Gossen Luna Pro

Finally I score a Luna Pro on Ebay!  It seemed like every time I found a nice one to bid on, I got out bid at the last second by some antique dealer or collector.  I think they try to buy low and sell high, you know?  That's cool but I wanted one to actually use for photography!

As I've implied elsewhere, I am pretty much shooting with Pentax M Series lenses from the 1970s.  The quality is just awesome.  The problem is that the K10D exposure meter does not work after you take the initial reading.  I always have to take the shot and then check the histogram and adjust from there.  That is okay, but sometimes leads to missed opportunities.  Photography is mostly about capturing a moment in time and in many cases those moments are short.

Well, my Luna Pro arrived today and it is one beautiful piece of equipment.  I can see why antique dealers want them.  To be honest, one of the reasons I wanted this particular meter over any other is kind of silly.  Its because I like the little sun and moon symbols on the dial  :-)

Using M Series Lenses on a K10D

PENTAX:  "Pentax K-mount, M-series and S (screw) mount lenses without auto-aperture control (an “A” setting on the aperture ring) can be used in Manual exposure mode using stop-down metering and manual focus. This is the exposure mode which will give accurate exposures when using these older lenses on our digital SLRs. If older lenses without an "A" setting on the aperture ring are used in Av (Aperture Priority) Mode, an exposure error may occur. "


Up until today I had a hard time believing the above statement.  Whenever I use manual mode I have to do some compensation.  If I use the reading the "green button" comes up with, my images will come out overexposed.  I have to adjust my exposures using a histogram to guide me.  I have read posts on several sites from people having similar results.  If I shoot in Av mode the exposures are right on (contrary to the above statement).  The problem is that when shooting in Av mode, you are shooting wide open no matter which F-stop you select.  


I thought it odd that the exposures can be so far off in manual mode.  A little research shows that the problem is easily resolved by changing a custom setting:


Go to Custom Settings

 Step down to Green button in Manual
Press the right arrow and select Tv Shift
Press OK
(This setting allows easy and accurate exposure metering using older lenses without an "A" setting on the aperture ring. When the Green button is pressed in Manual exposure mode, the lens "stops down", the camera's meter measures the light passing through the lens, and an appropriate shutter speed is automatically set based on that measurement).

By default this setting is on "Program Line."  Change it to "Tv Shift" and the problem is resolved.  For those of you new to this, here are all the settings you need to change:

Press the Menu button

Go to Custom Settings
Step down to Green button in TAv & M (K10D/K20D).
Step down to Green button in Manual (K200D)
Press the right arrow and select Tv Shift
Press OK
(This setting allows easy and accurate exposure metering using older lenses without an "A" setting on the aperture ring. When the Green button is pressed in Manual exposure mode, the lens "stops down", the camera's meter measures the light passing through the lens, and an appropriate shutter speed is automatically set based on that measurement).

Step down to Preview Method
Press the right arrow and select Optical Preview
Press OK
(This setting enables the camera to "stop down" the lens to a selected aperture when the On/Off button is rotated clocwise).

Step down to Using aperture ring
Press the right arrow and select Permitted
Press OK.
(This setting allows the camera to operate with older K-mount or S-mount lenses that do not have an “A” setting on the aperture ring).

If Shake Reduction is enabled when using an older lens, you will need to manually select the closest matching focal length from the Shake Reduction (K10D) or Input Focal Length (K20D/K200D) menu. Press the Menu button, step down to Shake Reduction (K10D) or Input Focal Length (K20D/K200D) then press the right arrow. Scroll left and right to select the closest match for the focal length lens you are using. Press OK, then Menu.

SMC Pentax 200mm F4 M Series Lens

Earlier this year I spent a lot of time on Ebay trying to buy one of every SMC Pentax M Series lens I did not already have.  I never finished that project as some of them rarely ever come up for sale (the 20mm for example) or the specifications of a particular lens are too close to one I already have (28mm F2.8 vs 28mm F3.5).

After buying several of them, I became enamored with the 40mm Pancake lens and never bothered using anything else for months on end.  I still love that pancake lens but its time to move on!  I put the SMC Pentax 200mm F4 on the camera yesterday and took a few shots in the backyard.  Pretty remarkable.

The lens is fairly light and compact for a 200mm telephoto lens.  Combined with the K10D's image stabilization feature, I was able to shoot some decent photos without a tripod.  The flower pictured above is one such shot.  Keep in mind, this is a low resolution version of the original.  The original was a jpeg (not Raw).  ISO 100, F4 at 1/45th of a second handheld.  From what I've read, this lens is very sharp and conrasty once you start stopping down.

Dee Dee Ramone

This is a rare photo of Dee Dee Ramone. Its not rare because it is of Dee Dee. It is rare because I hardly ever shot in color when I photographed bands. The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, SVT and The Patti Smith Group are the only bands I shot in color back in my film days. This image is a scan of an Ektachrome slide. It was shot with a Pentax Me and a 135mm Pentax Ashai lens. I shot the show in Black & White as well. You can view a few of those on Eclypso.com

Xmas Eve

This is a photo I ran across on a music blog somewhere along the line. It is a scan of an insert from a 45 rpm record (an e.p.) released in the 1980's (1982 I believe). The band is Xmas Eve - a Bay Area punk band. (Jerome Capers, Eric Capers and Bruce Rayburn).

Ok, the reason why I am posting this is because I took it. I am always proud and pleased to see some photo I took on the net. Who wouldn't be?

I have a lot of photos from that day in the California desert.

If you'd like to see Xmas Eve live visit my main site eclypso.com