Droplets in B&W
by Hin Man, on Flickr



Droplets In Green with Provia
by Hin Man, on Flickr



Droplets In B&W
by Hin Man, on Flickr

Droplets In Green
by Hin Man, on Flickr


These bunch of pictures were shot in 2010 with Pentax K-x and I shot them likely with the Kiron 70-150mm f/3.8 in M42 mount.

I no longer have this zoom lens and I have replaced it with Tamron Adaptall-2 70-150mm f/3.5.   And I do miss this Kiron zoom lens a bunch. The Kiron has charming characters in good sharpness and it is quick to focus making the lens well suited for street shooting in getting subjects closer from a distance.

It is an irony that today it is pouring rain outside but I have to drive to work on Saturday and likely need to work from home on Sunday. I brought out my bag with K20D and a newly acquired used of kit lens with WR. The bag has two other used lenses that I recently bought with Sigma EX 50mm f/2.8 1:1 macro and my favorite zoom with Tamron 70-300mm 1:2 macro. The whole package is a gift for my brother back in Macau and I was thinking to shoot in the rain but I chicken out due to no preparation with raincoat and the mundane day with lots of work to finish.

Had I had both the mood and time, I will take a Bart to San Francisco ferry building area with good street scenes with traffic lights and some normal scenes with people in and out of coffee shops. Perhaps scenes of the bay bridge traffic lights in long shutter with a tripod in the rain and a raincoat and good music for company -- that will be my best day to come with my Pentax gear.

And instead of the send off in the rain, I have my K20D in a noodle house that is my comfort food for the bad day or the good day -- it is likely one of the most unhealthy dish that I crave for and not meant for anyone with borderline glucose issue. I probably need to add 5 miles of walking the next day. What can we all do, we get one life to live -- fear don't get in the way and I always and I mean always jump for the instant joy of eating my Satay Noodle. Boy it tastes better than ever with my beloved K20D next to the wobbly noodle bowl.

All pictures were taken with Pentax K20D and Sigma EX 50mm f/2.8 1:1 Macro in f/3.5 with iso ranging from 640 to 1000. Shutter speed varies.

#1 Lime 

1/40 sec, 50mm, f/3.5, iso 1000, 0 Ev

#2 Tea & Hot Sauce

1/15 sec, 50mm, f/3.5, iso 1000, 0 Ev

#3 Satay It Is

1/15 sec, 50mm, f/3.5, iso 1000, 0 Ev

#4 Lime & Satay

1/35sec, 50mm, f/3.5, iso 1000, 0 Ev

I don't quite know why the Lime is there but I always squeeze out the juice to go with the Satay on the noodle. The spicy sauce in the Satay is not super-hot and I will challenge my two weeny boys to try it. Oh boy, I can't imagine the light up on their faces when they get the spices to kick in -- one can only imagine the very cutie face with a big O and hand-made fan around their cheeks. In truth, I add extra spicy sauce on the noodle. And I don't count myself as a spicy eating dude. A normal bite on jalapeño will be my type of spice that I can stand and love. I and perhaps many if not all can't handle anything habanero hots. The satay noodle is mild in that regard.

#5 Cucumber & Parsley Cool

1/50 sec, 50mm, f/3.5, iso 1000, 0 Ev

Almost every single time that I visit the noodle house, I forget to ask for more of the little cucumber that the shop puts into the Satay Noodle. I love the little cool mix of cucumber salad and a type Chinese parsley on the dish. It turns the noodle bowl into a great mix of mild spice of satay and with great flavor from peanut and coconut in the sauce. The small cucumber salad brings out the best hot and cold texture in the bowl which otherwise will not be as well balanced.

Don't You Mess With Me by hin_man, on Flickr

1/60sec, 30mm, f/2.8, iso 1000, 0 Ev

Sigma 30mm f/2.8, nex 5N, Big crop from original

The picture was shot on a sleepy toad in Academy of Sciences in San Francisco through a glass enclosure.  It is unusual that I am posting picture not from my favorite Pentax K-5/K-7/K20D. It is a good question that I don't even ask myself consciously why am I posting more non-Pentax branded pictures. It is quite unfortunate (but lovely) that I have found the sweet spot in carrying less and do more with my photos. I still treasure and will continue to use my K-5 until it drops dead. Will I invest more on Pentax. Yes and No. I want to get the DA* 16-50, DA 18-135mm and and FA 31limited but I am short on funding and I want to reserve my funding for the NEX line of development. And the Fuji, Olympus, and the Hasselblad/Rolleiflex pull my legs all the time.

The truth of the matter is I can only pick one system to go out at a time. When it become more serious shooting as in an event, portrait, studio and others, I will pick Pentax.

Picture taken with Ricoh xr-p and

Vivitar 24mm f/2.8 P/K-AR mount
Asian Art Museum in San Francisco

Home scanned with flatbed in 1200dpi

I shot the roll with kodak bw400cn thinking it might be the time that I gave up my 35mm film format and this roll changed my plan. The lens with Vivitar 24mm f/2.8 was gone but I have kept the camera and I look for ways to help with film scanning at home with a simple flatbed scanner, I will look for ANR glass next. I just wish I have more time to shoot on films. It slows me down in a good way and photography is more rewarding when I have to work with the limited patience in me.

Photo taken with Pentax K20D and
Cosina 55mm f/1.2

I am saying good-bye to my Pentax K20D which went broken with shutter and curtain locked up while taking pictures the day before Halloween. I have sent him away to Pentax for servicing. I am hoping that there are some magical hands to bring it back to live. It has a needle object sticking out of the mirror chamber. It is an awful feeling seeing my camera with no pulse but a whining noise that repeated every few seconds. It is like a dying friend in my hands. I know I write this story with a personal touch and perhaps I exaggerate a bit more than I will like to admit. One thing I am sure is that I will miss my buddy.

Picture taken with Pentax K20D and
Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5

Picture taken with Pentax K20D and
Tamron SP 24-48mm adaptall-2 (13A)
in Exploratorium of San Francisco

Picture taken with Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 and
Pentax K10D

Picture shot with Pentax K20D and
Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8

My friend Tu & Sam were behind the candle taking their vow in 2008.
It was a beautiful wedding.

Picture shot with Komine 135mm f/2.8 1:2 Close Up and

Pentax K10D

Picture shot with Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 and

Pentax K20D

Picture shot with Pentax DA 55-300mm f/4.0-5.8 and
Pentax K20D

Picture shot with Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 and
Pentax K20D

Picture taken with Pentax K20D,
Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 and Pentax-F 1.7x AF TC

Photo taken with Pentax K-x White and
Pentax DA 15mm f/4.0 limited

Photo taken with Pentax K20D,
Tamron 200mm f/3.5 adaptall-2 (04B)

Photo taken with Pentax K10D, K20D and K-x
Pentax 100mm f/4.0 1:2 Macro
Jupiter 9 85mm f/2.0
Photosniper Tair-3 Phs 300mm f/4.5
Pentax DA-L 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

Photo taken with Pentax K10D and
Pentax A 50mm f/1.7 + AFA 1.7x TC

Photo taken with Pentax K-x White and
Tamron SP 70-210mm f/3.5 adaptall-2 19AH

Picture taken with Pentax 645N
scanned with Canon 8800F
Fuji Pro 400H developed with Foto Express