Pentax K20D book "everything you need to know...and then some."

Hi Pentaxians and Friends,

I have released the K20D book about two weeks ago. I got myself in a little trouble as more books were sold than I anticipated in that short period. The delivery started a little slow because of that. I have now caught up and have enough books made in advance to keep up.


The new K20D book has 40 more pages than the previous K10D and K200D books. There are more pictures and illustrations than in my previous books. There are more general photography techniques. I will continue selling my books at $19.95 plus shipping, except when purchased from Ebay. Forty more pages reduces my small profit even smaller. Sales on Ebay, when counting the various fees, makes it impossible to sell the book at the same price as on my website. I will have to raise the price to $23.95 when selling the book on Ebay.

I will post all photographs and illustrations on the Website shortly, in color, so that you can download them or practice on them with your favorite post-processing software. Any upgrades to the Firmware or additional write-up will be posted on the website as well for free download.

The book will also be available for download as an e-book (PDF) in a short while, but it seems that most photographers prefer having a printed book in hand rather than reading on a computer screen.

You can order the book here : http://www.pentaxdslrs.com/and on EBay.


Thank you for visiting my Blogsite,

Yvon Bourque


P.S. Now that the book is launched, I will be able to post more regularly on this blog.

What does Pentax and Feet have in common?

Hello again Pentaxians and friends.

Through the years, I have taken many thousands of pictures, from film to digital. Some were landscapes and scenes from a vacation, some were portraits of friends, and family, some were of flowers, special events, etc. Every time we look at these pictures, we are transported to the time at which the event happened. It's wonderful how our human brain works. We can remember scents, sound, feelings, of a moment in time captured by a simple photograph.

About ten years ago, my wife and I started to take pictures of "feet", yes that's right feet. Everywhere we go, we take pictures of our feet, or our feet with our friend's feet, or a whole group of friends or family's feet at a special event. Sometimes we include a background but most of the time we just shoot down at our combined feet. It sounded like a crazy idea at the time, but now, ten years after, we have a whole collection of “feet” pictures. When we look at them, our brains transports us back to the time the pictures were taken. It probably, (actually surely), doesn't mean anything to anyone but us.

How silly you say? What could be beautiful in taking pictures of feet? Well, to us, these simple pictures mark a moment in time that only the two of us can really appreciate. It's sort of our little secret. I will likely never win any photo contests with these pictures, but we seem to enjoy looking at them more than looking at beautiful sceneries or City scenes of places we visited. I suppose that you could take pictures of hands or eyes or...well, I won't go there! Later on is when you will appreciate these mundane pictures for all they represent to you.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

Ultimate DSLR LCD monitor “Screen protector”

The description on the package.

The Packaging.

Installed on my K20D.

That is what it looks if you crack one, but your LCD monitor will be saved. I didn't really crack that one, it was given to me as a sample of what it would look like.

Hi Pentaxians and friends,

Every once in a while, a product comes out that radically change the market or at least the way we go about something.

We all know how easy it is to scratch the LCD monitor on our digital cameras. I tried half a dozen of screen protectors and all had some kind of problems. Either the plastic sheet would bubble up with trapper air, or would not be perfectly clear. Some would reflect the light so much that I could not see the monitor as well. Let’s face it, a thin sheet of film will only protect the LCD screen from minor scratches. The LCD monitor can still crack on impact. Then there the kind of hood protectors that do protect the LCD monitor, but you have to lift the cover after each picture…doesn’t work for me.

Finally, last week I found one that really protects the LCD monitor from scratches, breaking of the LCD and has 12 multi-coating layers to reduce reflection and glare.

It is made by Giottos. (They are mostly known for their tripods. Actually, all of my tripods, monopods and tripod heads are from Giottos.) The screen protectors are actually made of real quality glass. So if something hits the LCD, the screen protector will crack instead of the LCD monitor as there is a small space between the monitor surface and the screen protector. That also eliminated the bubble problems. It’s not cheap, $24.00 to $48.00 at B&H Photo. I think it’s well worth the money.

They make them in all sizes. I bought two of them for the K20D and the K200D, which both have 2.7” LCD, monitor. It comes with instructions and a micro-fiber magic cloth to clean the monitor before installing the screen protector. Most of all, it looks great on the camera.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

Let's vote for the Pentax Photo Gallery. It's in our family.

Hi Pentaxians and friends,



If you're on this blog, you likely have a Pentax DSLR and Pentax equipment. Here's our chance to help promote Pentax. After all, "Owning a Pentax DSLR is like being part of a family". Let's promote our family. Pentax Photo Gallery has been nominated for a Webby Award. They are currently in the lead position. Take a few minutes and click on the image above. It will bring you to a site where you simply register, Name and Email, not any other personal information. Then navigate to Website vote now!

Then navigate to "Best use of Photography and Locate Pentax and vote. You can also leave comments.

Then vote for Pentax.



That's all there is to it and we will help Pentax growth, and if they grow, we get more lens developed, more DSLRs, etc. Let's get Pentax to snap at the heels of Nikon and Canon. :-)

Thanks for reading and best Regards,

Yvon Bourque

Pentax K20D Book by: Yvon Bourque now available

Hi Pentaxians and Friends,

I have been working on this book for a while. I purchased the K20D and received it a little over two weeks ago. The news were that the K20D would be out at the end of April and the K200D late February. As we all know, something good must have happened at the Pentax factory because both cameras were released ahead of the previously announced dates. The new K20D camera is astonishing. I had to make this book better and with more information than the previous two books released for the K100D and the K10D.

I believe that I have achieved just that. Of course the book makes understanding the use of this great DSLR easy to...understand. There are more pictures and illustrations than in my previous books. There are more general photography techniques. The book is bigger with more than 250 pages, but I will continue selling my books at $19.95 plus shipping.

I will post all photographs and illustrations on the Website, in color, so that you can download them and practice on them with your favorite post-processing software. Any upgrades to the Firmware or additional write-up will be posted on the website as well for free download.

The book will also be available for download as an e-book (PDF) in a short while, but it seems that most photographers prefer having a printed book in hand rather than reading on a computer screen.

You can order the book here : http://pentaxdslrs.com/ and on EBay. Currently, the books will be shipped to you within one week.

Thank you for visiting my Blogsite,

Yvon Bourque

Pentax Photo Gallery nominated for Webby Award.

Mr. Ned Bunnell...He's the man.

Hi fellow Pentaxians and friends,

I spend a great deal of time promoting the virtues of Pentax products, on my blog site and everywhere else I meet someone interested in photography. If someone is not fascinated with digital photography, I usually start a conversation about it. I am obsessed with photography and the whole line of Pentax cameras and lenses. I’m probably a good definition of what a Pentaxian is. Fortunately, I am not alone and the group of Pentaxians is growing rapidly. I spent my entire adult life using Pentax products and I always got more for my hard earned money than from any other manufacturer. This is still true today and a new generation of photographers and enthusiasts are discovering Pentax everyday.

Ever since Mr. Ned Bunnell was promoted to President of Pentax USA, the US division has taken a new prosperous direction. I have several posts on this blogsite about the changes at Pentax.(Owning a Pentax DSLR is more like being part of a family) - ( PMA08) - ( Pentax will rise again) etc. The facts are that my entire blog is about photography using Pentax equipment. It seems that the good news is spreading around and both Pentax USA and Mr. Bunnell are getting the recognition that they deserve. In case you haven’t visited the Pentax USA site lately, there is an excerpt from the site’s news at the bottom of this post.

Mr. Bunnell, Congratulation for doing such a great job and for leading Pentax to new heights. I'm sure you have more great plans for Pentax and I am looking forward to growing my photographic skills right along with Pentax growth. \

Mr. Bunnell, if you happen to read this humble post sometimes, I am torned between the idea of having Pentax equipment available through outlets/mega stores such as "Best Buy", "Costco", "Circuit City", "Sams Club", etc. I like the idea of buying camera equipment through specialized camera stores because the employees are likely more experienced in photography than the clerk working in the camera section at one of the mega stores. On the other hand, there is this new generation of photographers that never heard about Pentax or perceive Pentax as a company that was in existence during their father's time. The same generation's perception of reality is more geared toward the Internet, cell phones, iPODs, and for the most part, they shop at the mega Electronic stores. Many have credit cards and accounts at these stores. Would that help with sales or hurt the Pentax Image? Would that help with sales and also promote the products to the new generation?

Thanks for reading and GO PENTAX!

Yvon Bourque

______________________________________________________
PENTAX PHOTO GALLERY NOMINATED FOR WEBBY AWARD

PENTAXPHOTOGALLERY.COM NOMINATED FOR
BEST USE OF PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE 12th ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS

GOLDEN, CO. (April 8, 2007)….The 12th Annual Webby Awards today nominated http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/ for the Best Use of Photography in a website for 2008. The site is the singular vision of Ned Bunnell, president, PENTAX Imaging Company, and a passionate photographer in his own right. The PENTAX Photo Gallery was produced and is managed by a team of PENTAX professionals and the web design firm texturemedia of Boulder, Colorado. Winners will be announced on May 6, 2008 and honored at a star-studded gala in New York City on June 10th.

Hailed as the "Oscars of the Internet” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile websites. The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-person judging academy whose members include Internet co-inventor Vinton Cerf, R/GA's Chief Bob Greenberg, "Simpson's" creator Matt Groening, Arianna Huffington, and Harvey Weinstein.

"The Webby Awards honors the outstanding websites that are setting the standards for the Internet," said David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards. "PENTAX's virtual photo gallery Webby Award nomination is a testament to the skill, ingenuity, and vision of its creators."
“For decades, PENTAX collected the best images captured by photographers with our cameras and published the work annually in an historical, coffee table-type, book collection,” said Ned Bunnell. “We went in a new direction creating the PENTAX Photo Gallery to offer 24/7/365 virtual access to the best photography captured by Pentaxians around the world. This nomination honors the PENTAX photographers.”

From now through May 1, 2008, fans may cast their votes for Pentaxians and the online gallery in The Webby People's Voice Awards presented by Nokia at http://pv.webbyawards.com/. See all the nominees here under the "BEST USE OF PHOTOGRAPHY"
http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?season=12

The 12th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from over 60 countries and all 50 states.

Another approach to take pictures of flowers.

Hi Pentaxians and friends,

It seems that everybody likes to photograph flowers. I'm not the biggest fan of flower pictures, but a few weeks ago, I saw an article about this woman that was taking pictures of flowers at night. I believe she started at the Montreal botanical garden. If I remember correctly, she now has a book out.

Anyway, from the little I know about her techniques, I understand that she uses a flashlight to illuminate the flowers. So tonight, I stopped at the grocery store and purchased a few flowers. I needed to get some flowers for my wife anyway, so that she would forgive me for what I have done or didn't do. I don't know what I've done wrong, but she must know! You know...more flowers = more lenses.

After giving her the flowers, maybe an hour later, I told her I would take photographs of her flowers. I used a flashlight and attached it to one tripod. I got my K20D, used the 70mm limited with a +2 close-up filter (I don't have an AF macro lens yet). With the camera on a tripod as well and with a remote shutter release, I turned all the lights off and use the flashlight only.

I took several shots and the results above are some of the shots that I got. I do like the the way it brings the flowers out. I can imagine what kind of results can be achieved with fresh cut flowers and with several kind of flowers, all with different colors.

Of course, the typical water droplets to simulate morning dew are from spraying water on the flowers. It's not completely natural, but everybody does it. You actually cannot imitate nature perfectly as morning dew water droplets are much smaller and typically coats the entire flower with a light film of water.

Try it, I think it does give good results. I spent about 15 minutes to photograph the flowers and about two hours converting the files from RAW to JPEG and writing this blog. I bet if someone devotes an entire evening at it, some awesome shots will emerge. I'd like to see yours.

Best Regards,

Yvon Bourque

The K20D is snapping at the heels of the Canon EOS 1DS MK II

Dear Pentaxians and friends

Tonight I went to Barnes & Nobles bookstore, just as I do about three times per week. While sipping a Venti® cup of Starbuck peppermint mocha, I was looking through six or seven photo magazines. I usually purchase the magazines published in the US, if I find good articles. However, I tend to read the magazines from abroad while at the bookstore without purchasing them because they cost nearly $10.00 in the US. Tonight, I found a magazine that I had never seen at Barnes & Nobles. It is PRO Photo and Bright Publishing from the UK, publishes it. They have a website http://www.dppro.co.uk/ Click here for a free demo of their digital edition. February 2008.

I was impressed with the contents. I read more stuff about Pentax in that magazine than any other magazines on the racks. Although I will not plagiarize the Pentax article on page 6 of the March 2008 issue, written by Adam Scorey, I am posting some excerpts from it. I really like what he had to say and especially the way he wrote it. I hope you can get that magazine.

The article is “PENTAX PIXEL POWER is the K20D the proverbial David?”

He writes about the Pentax presentation in Dubai where 122 European photojournalists gathered.

He goes on to write” Now you might think Pentax? A pro camera? But hang on. It chucks out a whooping 14.6MP! It beats the Canon 5D, the new D3 and D300 from Nikon and it is snapping at the heels of the Canon EOS IDS MK II. Talk about coming from behind…

Adam, if you ever read my post, you’re my kind of guy. You recognize a good thing when you see one.

There is a good plug for the new Pentax 200mm f/2.8 and the 300mm f/4 lenses on page 8.

On pages 20 and 21, there is a great ad from Pentax UK. Geraint Tellem, a pro landscape and stock photographer from the UK, wrote it. I scanned the pages above…I don’t think that Pentax UK will mind the additional advertisement on this blog.

I’ve always had a Pentax camera since I was a young boy. I am so glad to witness their comeback. Although Pentax is now owned by Hoya, they announced yesterday that the Pentax name would remain. That a smart decision.

Oh...by the way, I did purchase the magazine.

Thank you for reading.

As always, I appreciate your visit to my blog site as well as your comments on the forums or on my blog site.

Best Regards,

Yvon Bourque - Pentaxdslrs.blogspot