315: Dustfingers

My fingers were covered in paint dust, and I noticed how the fine detail was so well defined by its covering - almost like an over-sharpened photo. A very sharp lens (a Helios-44M) was great to use here; it shows the fine details very clearly. To get most of the fingers in focus it was set to f/11 (which is roughly near to the supposed
diffraction limit of the Pentax K10D's Sony 10Mp CCD.)

Two versions of one image here: I couldn't decide which way round I prefer it. The landscape version is the original.

Settings: f/11, 1/180, ISO 200, 58mm Helios-44M M42, 18mm extension, 1/4 flash, fluorescent lamp, black velvet, tripod.

314: Green Dome Matrix

The rubber keyboard dome: A nice example of cost-cutting industrial design. Glued directly to the membrane, these things not only save weight, cost and complexity over older individually-switched designs, but are also quieter to press.
I'm even using examples of these as I type this post...

Cheap rubbish! Where is my good old clicky keyboard!?

Settings: f/4, 1/180, ISO 100, 50mm Cosinon M42, 33mm extension, 1/4 flash, white card, tripod. White balance, colour & levels adjustments, slight cropping.

313: Crispy Cone

A dried-up pine cone, shot with a wide aperture. Kind of clichéd, but it looks quite pretty, and the composition is rather pleasing to my eye.

Settings: f/4, 1/20, ISO 100, 50mm Cosinon M42, 33mm extension, fluorescent lamp, tripod.

312: The Foam Cave

Not the inside of a stomach, but the interior of a tiled roof with sprayed-on insulation. Lots of weird bumps and blobs up here, and with a very fine foamy texture close up.

Settings: f/2.8, 1/60, ISO 400, 50mm Cosinon M42, 9mm extension. Levels and saturation adjustments.

311: Feather Ribs

Settings: f/8, 1/4, ISO 100, 58mm Helios-44M M42, 62mm extension, flash, tripod. Sharpening, levels adjustment, crop.

310: Around the Flame

That is a big fire.

Settings: f/2.8, 1/25, ISO 200, P-FA 50mm. White balance and colour adjustments.

309: Fireworks Night

It's the time of year for bulb exposures once more, and I'm at least consistent in turning up to the same fireworks display for the third year running - with the same main intention. The difference this time is that I brought along my 16-45 instead of the 18-55. Favouritism, I know, but wider is more appealing.
The main challenges in this event seem to be anticipating where and how wide the fireworks will burst, and trying to avoid the glow from the massive bonfire on the left.

Ironically, most shots didn't seem to need 16mm wide - if only I was right over the field with the lighting crew. That'll never happen, but maybe next time I'll try to find a radically different spot to shoot from (that doesn't involve stepping out into the forbidden zone.)

Settings: f/10, 3s, ISO 100, DA 16-45 (38mm,) remote release, tripod.