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Cleanliness is next to Godliness. See all PhotoFriday submissions.

Details: shot with Asahi 2.8 50mm

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Mark Hewatt is a North Georgia photographer.
Prints for sale | huecycle.com

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For those of us who take pictures on a meager budget, we are always looking for the next trick or hack, to avoid paying the price for a sometimes costly hobby or business. One of those ways is to invest in old glass. No, not an old dirty drinking glass. Old lenses that have gone by the way-side in this digital age.

One of the more popular groups of old lenses are considered M42 mount lenses. They represent a whole slew of glass that was part of a very popular mounting base, sometimes known as a Pentax mount as well. Its a screw-in arrangement since the base is threaded. And for most new dSLR’s you will need an adapter to get it to attach to your particular body.

Today I’m going to give a brief review of a Hanimex 135mm f.28 lens. Its by far not the “best” glass in old lenses, as it was considered to be one of the many economy or knock-off brands that was popular back in the seventies and eighties. But, surprisingly or maybe not, it produced a unique image that’s worth taking note of.

Hanimex 135mm F2.8 m42

In fact,  a lot of old glass is worth taking note of. Because the quality in some of these old knock-offs actually surpass what you get today in a more premium lens. The build is usually more sturdy, the glass sometimes larger, and the image can be very unique. But, enough about the value of owning old glass lets talk about this particular one.

The build on my copy was very sturdy. All metal construction, clean glass – overall no major problems with the lens itself. The focus was responsive, but a little stiff.

I took it out for a test-drive on a sunny evening in a nearby town. And yes, as usual – it was cold (sigh.) Windy, and cold, when will spring ever arrive? For this test I tested in urban areas, alleys, street corners sidewalks etc. And I was also trying to see how the lens would respond to diminishing light since it was around 4:30 pm when I started my walk.

Here are my impressions:

• Bright lens. The Hanimex responded very well to light. I usually needed to stop down more than expected to keep from blowing out highlights.
• Nice depth-of-field. Most of these shots are taken between 5.6 – 8 stops.
• Bokeh is also pretty nice for this lens.
• The colors produced are often a mix of warm browns with blue deeper tones. Its a bit more of an unusual tone than I’m used to with my other lenses. But, I’m enjoying it.
• Chromatic aberration. Unfortunately this was the one weak area of this lens. You will need to do some post work to remove fringing, but its not the worst I’ve ever seen.
• Detail and sharpness. If you look at the video below you can see a few that have some very nice detail and sharpness. I was impressed with the level it was able to deliver.

So, overall its a nice lens for the price. You can normally find a lens like this on sites like eBay at a very modest price tag. Which is important for broke people like myself.

The next part of the review will deal mainly with adapting it to your camera. And in this case, since I shoot with Pentax, how you attach to that brand.

You will want an Pentax M42 adapter to make this work properly. Please, don’t even bother with one of the many knock-off copies you will easily find floating around the web and on sites like Amazon or eBay. These cheaper versions just don’t hold up.

The first problem you will find with them is that one, they break. And when they do you will need to pry that lens away from your camera body – a scary thought. And two, they don’t allow  you to focus to infinity – kind of ruins the fun doesn’t it? So, do yourself a favor and buy a genuine Pentax adapter, you will be much happier.

Original Pentax m42 adapter.

How the adapter works is you place it into the camera body, much like you would a normal K-mount lens. Turn it, it snaps in place and thats it. Then just screw the lens into the adapter and start taking pictures. You will in most cases loose the ability to get AF to alert when something is in focus, so you will need to do it the old fashioned way, and really pay attention to your view finder.

Next, set your camera  and lens to manual and go take some pictures!

Below is a short video of some of the photos taken with the Hanimex.

Mark Hewatt is a North Georgia photographer.
Prints for sale | huecycle.com

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What a beautiful day. It feels like spring in mid-February.

I’ve decided to take to the back deck, where my also beautiful wife is reading the newspaper, and take some pictures. Hopefully my invasion with photography gear won’t bother her too much.

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What I’m shooting today are some little silk flowers and colorful tin cans that I grabbed in the dollar bin. You know, you can find lots of neat little things to photograph in dollar bins, I love digging through them for neat stuff. So, here is what I’ve got on the back deck:

• Tripod
• 4 pieces of foam core in white, black and blue
• My camera (of course)
• Silk flowers in tin pots
• Nice bright sun

I’ve got a short video at the bottom of this post that can give you a better idea as well if you want to scroll down.

I would suggest if you’re outside and in direct sun to use a light disc or possibly light tent to diffuse the harsh direct sunlight. If, like in this situation, you don’t have any of these handy or they won’t work for in this instance then find a shady spot. You can then direct natural light onto your subject with white reflectors. This diffuses the light to give a more balanced effect.

Watch the video for more info.

Some more photos from this setup.

Mark Hewatt is a North Georgia photographer.
Prints for sale | huecycle.com

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New buds on a winter tree reach forth to escape the cold. See all PhotoFriday submissions.

Details: shot with Pentax 18-55mm lens.

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Mark Hewatt is a North Georgia photographer.
Prints for sale | huecycle.com

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Walking along a gravel path on a windy morning. That’s where I find myself, heading higher, and higher into the stony mountain foothills of North Georgia. There is ice hanging off the frozen rocks to my right, and a thin layer of snow clinging to the rocks in the ditch below. The sky is a icy blue, with thin wispy clouds overheard, my hands are numb with the cold as I try to take some photographs.

Icy rocks

Here are a few tips when walking/hiking in a cold or remote climate:

• Bring fluids. Many times I get out in remote spots and need water. And one thing you don’t want to be when help is not nearby is dehydrated. I usually stick a bottle of water inside a zip-lock back and put it in my backpack.
• Get a good backpack. You are going to need this. Don’t depend on a sling bag when hiking in the woods. First, you need both hands free in case you need to pull yourself up a path, or carry a walking stick. Second, its much harder to get your camera free when you need to set the bag down and pull it out.
• Let someone know where you’re going, or take a buddy. If you can’t maintain cell phone coverage (which many times you can’t) you will need to tell someone where you are going. Let them know when you plan to enter the rough, and when you expect to leave. Also, it doesn’t hurt to take your “backup” plan by the spot you plan to enter the trail, or show them a map of the terrain. Get them familiar to some extent on where you are going to go. Or, the best bet – take someone with you.
• Bring a flashlight. I would assume a lot of the time you’re trying to catch the golden hour. I’ve had several times I forgot to carry a flashlight, and almost broke a leg because of it. In fact one time I lost a cellphone and spent the next morning combing through the woods looking for it.

Here is the real trick of taking photographs in the wild. Don’t be there. That’s right, if you can take the same shot, without having to actually go five, ten or more miles into the great wilderness, then the better. Not only will you avoid the risks, but also the associated costs you’re incurring on a per-hour basis if you want to sell the work later. Efficiency is what its all about.

At the same time, you don’t want to take exposures of the same old tired thing that everyone else has. You want your stuff to look like its taken in an exotic locale, even if its just down the street in a neighbors yard. You achieve this by looking at things from a different angle. One of the best ways to do this is to create a story in your own mind, just like I did in the short description above.

Here is where I really was.

Not so intimidating is it? Actually my wife found this spot. It was on the way to her grandparents. I was able to utilize the cold weather from last week, which we don’t get very much, add a little “story” and viola, I’m deep in the mountains. When in fact, its very flat where I am, and I’m within a mile of two of a refreshing soft drink machine.

Here is one of my favorite images from this little shoot (click it to see larger)

What places have you been that weren’t what the seemed? Share your stories or links with me, I’d love to see them!

Mark Hewatt is a North Georgia photographer.
Prints for sale | huecycle.com

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Shining light on a cold winter day. See all PhotoFriday submissions.

Details: shot with Pentax 18-55mm lens.

Fading North Georgia – Print sale

Mark Hewatt is a North Georgia photographer.
Prints for sale | huecycle.com

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I wanted to share some more photographs from our first (maybe only) winter storm here in North Georgia. I  took probably 200-400 images, snapping away since you don’t get too many chances like this here in the south. I also posted some winter photography tips in a recent post that you might like to check out too.

Anyway, scroll down to enjoy the images.

Winter weather in North Georgia.

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Mark Hewatt is a North Georgia photographer.
Prints for sale | huecycle.com

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Snow in North Georgia. We’ve missed out on most of the winter blizzards that have been plaguing the U.S. up until now. In fact from what I’ve read in the news, as of today all 49 continental states have some of the white stuff on the ground.

Down here in the south we don’t get to experience too much of this icy mix and, most of what we do get turns immediately into black ice on the roads, and you can’t get out of your house. We go into panics, buying bread, milk, beer etc.

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I tried something really stupid myself, My wife and I thought we could beat the weather and go out for a nice Valentine’s dinner at a local restaurant. When we arrived the snow was really coming down, but not sticking to the pavement. We went in, sat down and began having steak and lobster tail (pretty good I might add) while I kept glancing out the booth onto a quickly freezing lot.

Quick, we gotta eat!

Quick! Eat it all so we can go!

We shoved our food down our throats and ran to the car to grab the kids, who were out with the grandparents down the street, myself in a total panic about careening off the road into a ditch somewhere in the ice.

Just let me say, the trip from getting the kids, until getting home was really nerve wracking. We slipped, slid and skidded for a horrible thirty minutes before crunching to a stop at the top of our drive-way. Safe, car in one piece and heading to a warm home.

It snowed all night, we had around 4-5 inches, a real blizzard for us in the south. Heck, we are happy with 1 inch, and consider that reason for celebration.  I got up several times to insure that no branches had fallen from the trees in the backyard and fell on the house (one did.)

The backyard, and next morning.

The next morning

There was a thick, beautiful layer of snow on the ground the next day and, I had to take advantage of that for some photographs. Because the last time we had snow this nice was probably five years ago. We got up early, knowing we needed to act fast. Snow down here doesn’t last long, and when the heat and sun hits it, it will be gone like hot vapor.

We waltzed through snowy paths, over crusty ice on the streets and dodged the occasional snowball.

Snow!

Snow!

There are lots of things to take photographs of in the snow that you don’t get the chance to see on an average winter day. A normal bare backyard can turn into a bright,  brilliant field of white. Normal subject matter like chairs, rocks, trees – they all take on another quality when isolated in this white wonderland.

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Here are a few tips you can use when out on a cold winter day (especially for us southerners.)

Winter photo tips:

1. Do a double-take. If you’re going to a place you visit often take a second look. Snow can change the entire landscape.
2. Shoot RAW if you can. If you’re using a dSLR and can choose RAW settings, I would advise you use it. Why? White balance. Snow and lots of white can take auto-white settings and shift them to blue a lot of the time. I use RAW to correct this error when I forget. You can also just white-balance before you start, that’s probably the safest route.
3. Don’t chill. Especially for us in warmer parts. Don’t forget to dress warmly. Wear extra layers, and rubber boots to keep the feet dry.
4. Watch for falling ice and snow. Snow melts fast in North Georgia. Make sure that if you’re walking in the woods to keep an eye out for snow and ice falling off branches and lines. It can smack your camera gear and get it soaked, or you even.
5. Watch your exposure. If your camera is set to auto or program will always attempt to compensate for the bright white of snow. What happens is that the brilliant scene will come out under-exposed. The best way to combat this is to shoot in either manual and set your shutter and aperture yourself. Or, set exposure compensation to +1.5 or higher.

I hope you have a great time in the snow, and take some really great pictures. Share some of your thoughts and links to your own work with me. I’d love to see it.

Have fun!

Enjoy some winter photo time.

Mark Hewatt is a North Georgia photographer.
Prints for sale | huecycle.com

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Have you ever gone to scout out a new location and just gone hog wild with snap-shotty junk? The reasoning behind it (for me) has always been that since I’m not “seriously” trying to get that perfect shot to promote, that the shots don’t really matter. Its just to get a lay of the land, decide where to shoot when you’ve really got your “game on.”

This is was my mindset when heading out to a local park. I didn’t get there early enough for many long-exposure shots, I just did the run-and-shoot through most of it. And then, I packed it up to see what I wanted to come back and shoot later.

Freemans Mill Dam - Conceptual 01

Above is a compilation of a shot of the dam at this park.

I went through all of this stuff, and amazingly, had some not-so-bad stuff. Maybe it was because I didn’t really expect anything much, honestly. And I think that is exactly what helped.

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I’ve noticed that many times if I’m trying real hard to get a photograph just perfect when out in the field, I’m much more rigid and uncompromising about how it could be improved in post. I get in my head that I’m not being “honest” to the image. Now, when I’m plopping down to a bunch of images that I frankly just didn’t get attached to when taking them, I don’t have that guarded approach.

I don’t mind changing things around, adding layers, filters, distortions, changing tones, removing a few things. I tihnk this is because I’m not wedded to what I “saw” when taking the exposure, and more “aware” of how I felt when taking the photograph. Well, at least sometimes anyway. Because frankly some weak images really can be turned into something spectacular during post-processing.

Below is a short video of the ways this image changed from original

So, what do you think about the changes? Do you prefer the black and white? The conceptual version? I’d love to hear your feedback on which you prefer (or hate.) And feel free to supply your own thoughts and links to work you’ve added some conceptual effort into.

Mark Hewatt is a North Georgia photographer.
Prints for sale | huecycle.com

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This saw grass was blowing in an intense cold wind. See all PhotoFriday submissions.

Some details:50mm Pentax-M 1:2 F2.8

Fading North Georgia Limited prints for sale thru March.

Mark Hewatt is a North Georgia photographer.
Prints for sale | huecycle.com