Hyde Park, Sydney

Fig trees in the park, looking towards Archibald Fountain.

Leica Repair: Sending a Lens for Cleaning (CLA)

Recently, to my dismay, I found out that my hazy Leica 50mm Summicron Dual-Range F/2.0 has already started to spread oil in the inner elements and the aperture blades while temporarily stored. Since I don't have any expertise in taking apart lenses, and putting it back together in good working condition, I decided on sending it to someone instead of making it worse by a DIY repair. After thinking on who to send it to, I tried to contact Sherry Krauter (Golden Touch), a well known Leica repair specialist, to handle the lens cleaning.

Inner element contamination.

Under the Sydney Tower

Sydney Tower, also known as Centrepoint Tower, is Sydney's tallest structure.

1.25x Viewfinder Magnifier for Leica M Review

I recently obtained a 90mm and a 135mm lens for my Leica M6 body (0.85 magnification). I have no trouble focusing using my 50mm lenses, but I want to have more accurate focusing using the telephoto lenses that I have.

A viewfinder magnifier will help me deal with this issue since it magnifies the rangefinder image to help in focusing. After deciding that an original Leica 1.25x viewfinder magnifier is too expensive, and getting a cheap used one from eBay is difficult, I had to made do with an aftermarket 1.25x viewfinder magnifier which retails for around US$65.00 from HKSupplies with free shipping. It is a cheap alternative and after receiving the item, I am not dissapointed.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Keyboard Shortcuts

If you want to increase efficiency and productivity in using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 for your workflow, learning the keyboard shortcuts really helps.

Here is a printable PDF in a cheat sheet format and an HTML version for quick reference.

It is also good to have a book handy for reference and I recommend Lightroom 3: Streamlining Your Digital Photography Process by Nathaniel Coalson's.  I have the Lightroom 2 version of this book and it is a good resource for beginners.

An Afternoon at Observatory Hill

Another study on light and shadows on Sydney Observatory.
A scenic spot which is a favorite location of local photographers.
There are lots of big old trees, and has a nice view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

A Seagull in Light and Shadows

Studying with light and shadows on this shot of a lone seagull at Darling Harbour. 

Yep, lots of seagulls there so be careful if you are eating around them. Nasty opportunistic snatchers they are, likes to sneak around and take a bite on any food you have on your hands.

Update (2012.04): Removed embedded video, no longer exists.

Balusters and Girl

Managed to take this gritty looking shot while relaxing after a long walk. 

I don't really recall if its really a girl or a skinny guy with long hair on the other stairs.

Abandoned Cart

Sails

Under the Bridge

An afternoon under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Printing Puzzle: Nikon EL 50mm F2.8 Enlarger Lens

Having plans of actually having a home darkroom made me acquire several pieces of the printing puzzle. I've already gotten hold of a Meopta Axomat 4a enlarger for quite sometime now. I found out that the Meopta Anaret 50mm F4 lens that came with the enlarger seems to be quite hazy so I opted to get a new one which should be decent enough.

There aren't much details on both of the lenses available so I hope this post will be useful to some of the readers.