Digital Ink'd

The human collector of HONY pictures shares with us how goes about getting those memorable stories and pictures of fast moving New Yorkers. If you have not seen or heard about HONY then click below and find out what makes Brandon Stanton's website so popular around the world and photographers alike. An entire accumulation of 5,000 photos of New Yorkers is a pretty substantial figure for reluctant and snappy straphangers of the city trying to get home, trying not being late to work and shooing away  people looking to waste our time. Brandon Stanton captures just more than simple street portraits. He captures their lives and souls in portions of time in their lives readers and viewers get to share in. Every photo he posts touches something deep inside of us when people share there once memorable happy and sad events, advice and lessons of there lives. Thanks Brandon Stanton! Do you know anyone captured on HONY? Source/Credit: PetaPixel , Humans of New York (HONY)

Camera Repair , a set by rick_oleson on Flickr. Rick Oleson is recognized in the photography and vintage camera enthusiast communities for his extensive knowledge and skill in repairing and refurbishing classic cameras. With a deep understanding of both the mechanical and optical components of a wide range of camera models, Rick has become a go-to source for those seeking to restore their cherished photographic equipment to working order. His work often involves intricate processes, such as disassembling, cleaning, recalibrating, and sometimes machining replacement parts for cameras that are no longer supported by their original manufacturers. On his Flickr page, Rick Oleson shares detailed photographs that document the meticulous steps involved in each repair job. These images not only serve as a visual record of his restorative work but also as educational material for hobbyists looking to learn more about camera mechanics. From common fixes like replacing light seals and mir...

Takumar 55mm Bokeh - Old Graffiti Cans The amount of empty, derelict and rust out cans shows the amount of layers of covered art pieces forever lost to new artful pieces never to be seen again. Graffiti art is like love lost. It is there one fleeting moment and the next moment it is gone forever. Gritty street art does not always last forever. Brooklyn is in the house! Lens Info: Super-Takumar 55mm 1:1.2 @ f/2  © Digital Ink'D Photography

Underground German American Führer 1 - Buddy, what you looking at? Underground German American Führer 2 A very colorful portrait I call the German Hitler. This boxed looking portrait reminds me of the Führer in a whimsical caricature light. I am so pleased to release these never before seen graffiti people rarely see this deep in Brooklyn where I live. It really shows the character and flavor of these unknown artists whose works most people will never know about except those who traverse this graffiti line I frequent. Bringing these artworks to life and spreading it to the masses is a duty. What is so different from a Rembrandt and a Picasso in a museum to a tagged wall filled with such vibrant works of color and composition? I hope you like it as much as I do because it brings a smile to my face trying to figure out what mood and mindset the artist came to creating such pieces. Lens Info: Super-Takumar 55mm 1:2 @ f/2  © Digital Ink'D Photograph...

Old Schenectady Avenue Subway line This old Brooklyn rail line will be lost forever. Tracks of a bygone era when subway trains rolled endless along its track. Man and machine rolling along the steel so effortlessly. Millions of hard working Brooklynites traversing each corner back and forth. Night after night. Day after day. Now all is lost. Service gone no more lumbering along the narrow tracks. Nature has come to take back its rightful place. Eating away tirelessly at its anti-rust core. All nature can do is hide it away from sight until that final day comes when it shall be no more.  Lens Info: Super-Takumar 55mm 1:2 @ f/2  © Digital Ink'D Photography

Abandoned Brooklyn Subway Train Line - Disused Sometimes you have to keep plugging away and just keep moving forward. Don't get derailed. Lens Info: Super-Takumar 55mm 1.2 @ f/2  © Digital Ink'D Photography

Bad Apples -  Super-Takumar 135 Green Apples but bad to the core - Super-Takumar I shot these blighted apples over in my neighbor's yard with the Super-Takumar 135mm with a hood.  The lighting source was trickery with a hood on and outside being cloudy in some places and bright in other areas. Hopefully tomorrow I can get access to this abandoned place I want to shoot so badly.

Capturing the ethereal beauty of the night sky, I recently took my new Takumar 135mm 1:3.5 lens for a test under the stars, setting my camera to ISO 200, a shutter speed of 1/200s, and manual mode to best capture the lunar landscape. With the aperture set between f/16 and f/22, the intricate grey details of the moon's surface were vividly showcased against the backdrop of a perfectly clear night sky. As I jot down these thoughts, the clock nudges closer to 3AM EST, specifically 2:37AM EST, underscoring the serene quiet of the early morning. The intention was to complement this lunar exploration with some low-light video footage, utilizing the Yashica 1.4 lens. However, the whims of nature intervened, as clouds veiled the celestial spectacle, obscuring the view and dashing my plans. Such is the unpredictable thrill of astrophotography, yet the promise of future supermoons keeps the spirit of anticipation alive. This nocturnal venture not only offered a glimpse into the moon...

The best and worst of times in the subway is a early morning ride. Quiet, buzzed and sleepy travelers. 

Rare 135mm Tele-Lens A 135mm 1:2.8 lens. Tokyo Koki Mount??? I am here trying to find the appropriate adapter for this 135mm Minetar lens. If anyone knows about this pre-cursor to the T-Mount hit me up in the comments or my Facebook page here .  The seller states it's a 49.2mm/1-15/16" Tokyo Koki mount. Used by Soligor, Sun, Tokyo Koko, Vemar, and other lens manufacturers. Adapters have been seen for Minolta MD, M42, and Nikon cameras. I am looking for an adapter in the M42 range since I have an M42-EOS adapter. You can view more mount photos here in this folder on Mediafire. http://www.mediafire.com/folder/mflhi6x9bo218/Lenses Source : eBay Listing

I think this lens is pretty rare by manual focus standard lenses. It is not even listed on the M42 database list. The 28mm and 135mm Samigon are only listed but not Samigon 35mm. I wonder why. Just a quick look over. Source: Samigon Corp Lens Database

A short lens test using the Zenitar telephoto 135mm manual focus lens. I wished I could of shot this in ML RAW rather than Canon's h.264. I think I might be taking a trip over the Magic Lantern forums so I can at least shoot for a few seconds and really open the Canon 600D. It would really give these old lenses another century to shine. My growing 135mm collection is growing really fast. Now, all I need is a Super-Takumar 85mm. I need to control my G.A.S. urges. My wallet is not happy! This was shot at f/5.6, ISO 100, 1920x1080 24p. Many more lenses I have in store for this blog!

This is a shot of some weeds in my neighbor's overgrown backyard. Just the other day he cleaned it up. I wonder why? :)

Shot all these photos wide open at f/2. No editing was done in the post. Straight RAW and unprocessed. You can't go wrong with a Super-Takumar lens. Sharp images, sharp contrast, and crazy bokeh. I purchased my 55mm copy (a steal) for around $23.00. The lens does have an inordinate amount of these white particles sitting on the back element lens but you would not even know that if I did not reveal this tragic flaw. The pictures here would not even show any discernable trace of particulate in the way. The quality make and feel of Super-Takumars is phenomenal. If you are not into manual focus lenses and believe in the auto-focus Gods, a Takuma inside your camera bag is worth a bit of space any day. I recommend getting yourself a copy in the 50mm, 55mm, and 135mm. Matter of fact any will do. These lenses perform like champions. If the postman would hurry up and deliver my takumar 135mm I can get outside and test it out. Very willing flower buds and bee subjects for my...

The beautiful Komura Sankyo Koki K.K (Koki). Read more about this lens at Komura Wiki !! Two Sample Images Below