What is coming next?

Now, you might say that I am not really up-to-date with technology but I would like to talk about "new" Pentax K-5 as I assume I will acquire it in next
couple of months (Santa might just surprise me, you never know, haha).

Jim Radcliffe at his website Boxed Light has brilliantly described his experience with K-5 (and also his amazing pictures) here:

http://boxedlight.com/k5/index.htm

Why I am thinking to upgrade? Main reason is the tough K-5 body with weather sealing as I take my gear outdoor a lot. Secondly, its dynamic range and great
sensor (the same as in Nikon D7000).

And why I am being a bit reluctant to actually get it? Well, before I buy things like this I always do my little research. K-5, as Jim Radcliffe also
stated on his blog had some temperament behaviour at the beginning and also there were pearl strings like stains developing on the sensor itself -
users believe it has been caused by overheated inner space of the body (maybe because of the weather seals the heat is being trapped inside, not sure)
Therefore I have decided to wait some time - to see if Pentax is being able to fix these issues. Last reports say that this issues should be fixed and the K-5 is now
a brilliant buy!

Cuba

So, came back from 2 weeks holiday in Cuba and it is about time to sum it up.

First thing first - I do not think you can grasp how Cuba feels like from a blog. I will try though.
For me, in some ways, it was almost like a return to my childhood when my country has been occupied by Soviets.
So I had my experience with communism. But I will try to share my experience.

We arrived at Havana for 3 nights and I have to say the city has many flavours. If you are old car enthusiast Cuba is the place to visit.
It comes with prices though - the fumes are daily bread for most of the citizens there, Havana streets might be a bit smelly for some people.
Also buildings are old and as amazing as you can see them on the internet.
For me the most shocking thing has been the poverty of the people living there. I guess that is probably why Cubans are so keen on meeting tourists,
offering them services or products (sometimes really dodgy I have to say, not sure if some are so desperate).
I do not want to open a political debate here but I think the regime will have to change very soon.

When you get off your plane the first you get is the punch in your face by Cuban heat and very humid air. Within seconds you will start sweat profusely
(we landed after midnight) believe me. Funny enough, I miss it now in London. :)

After 3 days we have moved to Varadero, described by Cubans as "too touristy". It is a long strip of land going into the sea towards Florida coast,
about 2 hours drive north from Havana. It has a big hotel complexes all along the beaches and let me tell you - the beaches are just out of this world!
White sand, sky blue crystal clear water (a tide brings some sand, mornings are usually very calm), tropical foliage.
I can only recommend it, the hotels are usually very well equipped, bars, restaurants, pools, activities - everything is there. I can recommend
sea-kayaking and if you can, let locals take you out to the sea for a diving/snorkelling via catamaran. What I did not know our guide carried
a bag full of bread and as soon I submerged he threw a handful into the water. Hundreds of fishes swarming around you, experience I can only highly recommend it.

The other thing is Cuban nature. Go out and explore! It is worth it. We have visited Bay of pigs, Varadero Nature reserve, a crocodile farm and a national park in Guama.
I am sure you will be lucky and you will see some of Cuban fauna and flora like a butterfly bat, fishes, curly-tail lizzards, hummingbirds, various types of insects, etc.
We saw some snakes too but told by locals that none of Cuban snakes is poisonous althoug I cannot confirm that (fortunately). :)
We have even found a real shell in a size of a human head!

You also have to try mojito, pina colada, or just a shot of Cuban rum! Your experience of Cuba would not be complete!

As a morning alarm we had a little plane passing overhead every morning around 6.30am spraying some stuff from its wings - I assume this is being done for
tourists - some chemical against mosquitos. I hope it is not a DDT. :)

One last thing I would like to say, if you go to tropics, please take some first aid kit and also some Immodium, you will very probably need it (pharmacies in Cuba are not very common I think). The heat makes your food go off
quicker than you think (that includes restaurants and other food places) so diarrhoea and stomach problems are quite common for people from "outside" countries.

Cuba is a very very unique place and I am really glad that I had the opportunity to experience it before it changes forever. Now I can clearly see why Ernest Hemingway
picked Cuba for his writing.

Pentax K-x, 18-55mm, HDR

Pentax K-x, 55-300mm, HDR

Why Pentax?

First thing I would like to say is that you do not really need a professional (D)SLR to take good pictures. Of course it might help but you can learn a lot with your current camera. If you do not know how to use your camera you can have the most expensive gear and it will be just a waste of time.

I used to take pictures for years with point & shoot cameras from Olympus. I cannot blame them because they always served me well, taken a hell of a beating all around on my travels or work, were easy to carry and the pictures were great straight from the camera!

A couple years ago I thought it might be quite good to upgrade to DSLR and hopefully open a door to a different level of photography.

I think every photographer went through the process of choosing the right brand and the right gear for their needs. There is really a huge portfolio of affordable products these days and it might be quite difficult to look all the gear and make the decision on a system one wants to use for next number of years.

This took me around 6 months of research and deciding…

For me, Nikon was my favourite, it made it to my finals just because there is something about their IQ and the rendering of the pictures straight from a camera.

So why did I go for Pentax then? Well, for a number of reasons:

1.    They came up with advanced K-x model with good IQ and the right form of marketing

2.    Wide portfolio of cheap and quality glass (lenses) – with their PKA mount you can in theory to mount any old Pentax lenses on your DSLR what is pretty unique compared to other brands. You will get usually only manual focus and you need to set aperture manually but I do not really mind as I am always on a budget when buing stuff. J At the end of the day after all the research I understood that the camera itself is only capturing the moments coming through the good or bad lenses, so lens is the key here. The reason why I upgraded to DSLR is that you can change the optics and get a different view or feel to the pictures. Of course, camera does not take pictures – people do, so you have to use it the right way and put your own “signature” on it.

3.    Image stabilization in camera – now this is bad and good thing at the same time. If you want to use non-stabilized (old) lenses it is quite handy to have in-camera stabilization system instead – that makes sense. Although after a couple of hundreds of shots I worked out how Pentax SR actually works and how to use properly. And even then it is not as effective as I wish it could be… But everything comes with a price, right?

4.    Supporting the poor. :) Not sure why but I have a tendency to support a weaker or smaller party (I am not saying that Hoya or Pentax are poor brands) but I just kinda liked Pentax quirky approach and their market strategy.

5.    Price for a combo with lenses

So Nikon has lost the battle only because of stabilized and a bit more expensive lenses and the price in general. It would be probably even harder these days with new Nikon models launching and offers on DSLR bodies and lenses but still – choose whatever you like to put your hands on, go to the store, try how it feels and then make the decision!

So the gear in my backpack currently includes Pentax K-x with 18-55 and 55-300mm zooms, Sigma 10-20, A50mm f1.7mm and Cosina 100mm macro. That should keep the fun coming for a while.

Why a blog?

I have decided to create my own blog. For me, for all good people, for my thoughts, for my pictures, and hopefully for my learning curve as a photographer as well.

Why photos and photography? Well, to cut a long story short, just because even as a little kid I used to enjoy books about wild animals or pretty much any amazing photos in general and would be thinking how did it probably feel to be behind the viewfinder... I used to sit for hours on a sofa and browsing through the book pages and think about what photography actually is, capturing one single moment of a time, maybe touching your mind or possibly even telling a story.

I enjoyed high-res print outs very much for some reason I cannot really explain why. 

When I was a teenager I had the same passion for music (I still do). I found it extremely interesting seeing Slash standing with his Les Paul on stage and it looked like his thoughts, pains and joys were literally expressed by his fingers on the fretboard. At that point I was hooked. I wanted to understand the secret of music, the power which makes people dance, scream or smile for no apparent reason, to be able to write my own song, just to understand the pleasure of well composed song, melodies or rhytms. And even now – being almost 30 years old, knowing that I will never be even close to Slash, I still play although not publicly but for my own pleasure. 

So knowing that I am not the best photographer in the world I have decided to create my own blog to learn and better understand photography. For me, because it soothes my mind and I guess I want to somehow capture the beauty in the chaos of our lives. And if it brings a little joy to life of others or if somebody wants to join me on the way, even better.

That is what my blog is hopefully going to be about…

Peter

Northern Paris in BW, camera Olympus SP-500