Thread: Spiral

Not sure if this works, but it's a type of object I wanted to photograph for a while. I had some fun prepping, shooting, and then processing, which was quite difficult to get just right.

It's one of my first few shots from my new K-5 and FA35 F2 combo.

It works. Glad you joined the Pentax cabal, our numbers are savagely depleted here. Most of the others have moved theirs on :(

nice shot, I like how the middle of the stairwell is slightly off-centre, giving it a warped feeling rather than the typical look straight down... processing works great too!

Originally Posted by bartjeej

nice shot, I like how the middle of the stairwell is slightly off-centre, giving it a warped feeling rather than the typical look straight down... processing works great too!

That was one of the things I really liked about it because it screwed with my eyes.

The first version was black and white and looked nice, I thought, but looked flat after I decided to add sepia to it, which added a 3D effect to it. I also have a selenium version, which is darker and very mysterious looking. Almost like something Ridley Scott would use.

The processing was somewhat time-consuming. First pass was via LR3, small adjustments made, then sent to Silver Efex Pro. Forgot what effect, but ended up having to really work at it with the subsliders. Then brought back for more LR work. Finally, sepia added and more adjustments.

Oddly, some are unable to tell that it is a staircase. I believe this is the underside, shooting straight up. Shooting straight down looks completely different. Almost like a shell of some sort in the ocean.

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

It works. Glad you joined the Pentax cabal, our numbers are savagely depleted here. Most of the others have moved theirs on :(

That's a shame. The K-5 is a great cam. I got an incredible deal on a new one. Found one online at a store in Aachen that supports the main pentax forum for 719 euros shipped, after using a coupon code on a certain pricehunting website. On top of that, I bought before the price increase that coincided with Pentax's rebate promotion. So another 50 euros off and the brand new body cost me 669. I then got an FA35 and F50 1.7. I'm now looking for an m85 F2.

I'm still learning how to use it and predict its behavior in different situations, but thus far, quite happy with the performance and the compactness for a dSLR. Surprisingly, compared to my EX1, I appear to attract less attention using it on the street.

Definitely a nautilus feel. Quite beautiful and haunting.

I love the way it makes my eyes work! I'm a big fan of Pentax and sold off my K5 but that's not to say I won't buy another at some point, I still have my FA77 after all :)

Originally Posted by BBW

Definitely a nautilus feel. Quite beautiful and haunting.

Exactly what I was going for and the other view has more of that look.

I might tweak it a bit more in time, but so far, I think I'm satisfied with it as a good early effort in getting to know how the K5 files take to post processing. On the contrary, it's not as easy as I thought, but still interesting what I can come up with.

Originally Posted by christilou

I love the way it makes my eyes work! I'm a big fan of Pentax and sold off my K5 but that's not to say I won't buy another at some point, I still have my FA77 after all :)

I'm looking for something in that range, myself. I can't justify the costs of the 77 and the Sigma 85 has become horrifically expensive in recent months, so I might settle for the DA70, which appears to be no slouch in the least, just a wee bit slower and different FL, but no less quality.

Outside of that, I'm really looking hard at the M85 f2. I think I could deal with MF, possibly for my concerts. I considered a Tamron 90 macro or the Pentax 100 WR macro, but they are much larger and not necessarily fast enough to be dedicated lenses in this range.

I'm glad you're enjoying your camera setup and hope you'll post more.

Originally Posted by snake

Outside of that, I'm really looking hard at the M85 f2. I think I could deal with MF, possibly for my concerts. I considered a Tamron 90 macro or the Pentax 100 WR macro, but they are much larger and not necessarily fast enough to be dedicated lenses in this range.

I had the 100WR, and it was an awesome lens. It's not really all that big IMO. Unfortunately, it is pretty loud when auto focusing. The build quality of the 100WR is awesome. IMO, Pentax should have called it a Ltd lens. On the other hand, Pentax would have then raised the price of the lens!

DA70/2.4 Ltd is also awesome. I had one and loved it. I think it's one ugly looking lens, but the photos from it were super nice.

Very tough choices. How was the focusing on the 100 WR? The thing is, I'd be using it for concerts and I don't think it would be fast enough as a macro, unless I lock down focusing ranges. In this case, the Tamron 70-200 might be a better bet, but I want to work with some small primes first. This is why I believe an M85 could work, even being MF.