Let's get away from the new FF Pentax and lenses for a while and look at what we can do to improve "not-so-good" images.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Photographer friends,

Color images are great, but sometimes they lack punch and no matter what you do, you can't make them project what you had in mind.

I like Black & White images but they are more often than not very cold. I found that turning some images to antique looking in Photoshop Lightroom often save some bland images. There is a little more to it, but the process in most Imaging software is about the same.

When you turn an image to basically a Black & White (or antique or sepia which renders warmer images) in Lightroom, the color saturation section can be used like the old Black & White film filters. Playing with blue, red, yellow, green and orange filters, you can change the intensity of the shadows and contrasts of your image. 

You ought to try this on some of your images you find flat. You might be surprised. The images below looked flat to me and now I believe they have more punch and project more of a 3D look.

All images were taken a while back using the Pentax K-5 or K-7.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

Need a little help grasping the functions of your Pentax DSLR?  Check my e-books. You can request a free e-book sample for your particular Pentax DSLR. Click of the image below:

Free sample of the Pentax K-3 e-book and Free Focus Check Charts.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com 

 Hi Photographer friends,

I received many emails telling me that the free Pentax K-3 sample e-book and the Free Auto-focus charts will not download from the e-commerce store. It appears that Paypal is blocking any free transactions although I posted them at $0.00.

I understand your frustration and I will upload the free stuff on a different server.First, I need to open another account with a provider. In the meantime, just email me at brqyvn@gmail.com and I will manually send you the file(s) you request (Samples or AF charts). I am not sitting at my computer all day, but do check periodically.  I do receive emails on my iPhone, but I can't transfer the files from my iPhone as it would take too much memory to install the files there to begin with.

The bottom line, if you haven't been able to download the free e-book samples or AF charts, email me. I will fix it.

Best Regards,

Yvon Bourque

The e-books for the Pentax K10D, K100D, K20D, K-7, K-x, K-r, K-5, K-5II, K-5II e, K-30,  K-50, K-500  and the K-3 are available here: http://www.ebooks4cameras.com

First workshop for Pentax Cameras only.

(C) Me - 2012

(C) Me 2012 - K-5

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Photographer friends,

I had my first workshop last week in Las Vegas and Vicinity. I believe all had a good time, learned a bit more or a lot more about photography, got great images and made new friends. The Hotel was included as well as the e-book corresponding to their own  Pentax DSLR. A coffee Table book will be sent to each participant in the next few weeks, that will include every participant's best images, with caption as well as a commemorative section with the dates, locations and other participant's names. The book is formatted as though all photographers were Professionals, on assignment.

Picture taking took place at Red Rock Canyon, the Neon Signs Boneyard and around the Las Vegas Strip and Old  Downtown at night.

Since the expertise level was different with each person, the teaching was individualized to each person's own needs. Among the things I do photographically , there isn't much that's more rewarding, in my mind, than getting someone excited about photography. Consequently, there isn't much that gets me more pumped-up than photography.

The following images were all  taken during the workshop. These are just a few images, as several full SDHC cards were full.

(C) Roland 2012 - K-7

(C) Monique 2012 - K-x

(C) Annie 2012 - K-r

(C) Henry 2012 - K-r

(C) Monique 2012 - K-x

(C) Annie 2012 - K-r

(C) Henry 2012 - K-r

(C) Roland 2012 - K-7

For information about our next Workshop, at the end of May, email me at brqyvn@gmail.com

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

New iBook coming soon for the Pentax K-01

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Photographer friends,

Apple came up with a new App recently called iBooks Author. It brings e-book writing to a new level. It only works on iPad but allows multi-touch books. You can incorporate videos, animation, photo galleries, interactive diagrams, 3D objects and more.

Pentax just announced the new Pentax K-01, with availability in March. I am going to publish another e-book "Everything you need to know...and then some" for the Pentax K-01. It will be available in PDF format, like my preceeding e-books, but it will also be available for iPad  owners in this new iBooks Author format. Take a look at Apple's  https://www.apple.com/ibooks-author/

Click above to see how Apple iBooks Author works. See the video within Apple's page. You will need to have Apple Quick time player to see this video.

Click above for a short introduction to my upcoming iBook on how to use the new Pentax K-01. This will bring you to the You Tube site.

Click on the above to see the video on this page.

Until march, you can purchase the Pentax K-5 at a reduced price. If you need a little help, you can get my e-book for the K-5, as well as other Pentax fine cameras, such as the K-7, K-x, K-r, K20D, K10D and the K100D. Check it out here

.

As always, thank you for visiting,

Yvon Bourque

Going camping at Joshua Tree National Park tonight. I will be back Monday afternoon and share images Monday night.

Check this video below:

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

Going camping at Joshua Tree National Park tonight. I will be back Monday afternoon and share images Monday night. Joshua tree is one of my favorite place. I never took pictures of the stars and painting with light there, so I'm going to try that during that overnight trip.


Bringing the Pentax K-5 and K-7 along with an arsenal of Pentax  lenses, since we are driving in. This will also be an excellent opportunity to use the AlettA Stabilizer, since 95% of the images will be taken from 1/30th sec and losger.


Yvon Bourque

 Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

It's weekend already. It's gonna be a Pentax DA* 300mm weekend.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

Yesterday, I received my latest acquisition... a "like-new" Pentax DA* 300mm lens. Since I started to sell my AlettA Stabilizers for the K-5 & K-7, the only big lens I had to illustrate some of the functionality of the Stabilizer was an older Tokina 400mm. The Pentax 300mm weighs almost 3 pounds which is nearly one pound heavier than the Tokina. The 300mm came with no hood because it was broken when the camera was resting on a table and toppled over. That wouldn’t have happened with a Stabilizer under the camera.

So Sunday, weather permitting, I will go out and about and take pictures with my new DA* 300mm. There is no doubt that the quality of the images will be better than the older Tokina, but I will shoot with both lenses so we can compare. I have a 1.4x and a 1.7x tele-converters and will test the Stabilizer with them on. This will make the lenses much longer and defy the law of gravity. I don’t know if it will work or not but I will wait until Sunday to try.

Hope you have a great weekend and go take some pictures.

Thank you for stopping by,

Yvon Bourque



Pentax DA* 300mm f/4



Tokina SD 400mm f/5.6



Field trip with my Pentax K-5 & K-7, both fitted with the AlettA Stabilizer. I can't wait to ship them out to you all.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

First, I have to apologize once more for not having the Stabilizers on hand for shipping. It is so frustrating having something manufactured  in our Country, that sometimes, I too think it would be cheaper and faster to have my stuff manufactured in China. I'll wait out for a few more days, maybe another week, but if I don't get my shipment, I will be forced to look somewhere else. I really don't want to. I really want to have all my equipment fabricated here in the USA, but it's so complicated. It feels like I'm doing something bad.

Fabricators and Manufacturers seem to be willing to make my equipment when their work load is slow, it seems,  or in between bigger jobs. I understand that my "less-than" one thousand units order is not enough to keep a shop in business, but that first order (Less than 100 units to get started) is just  as important to me as as the one million dollar order from a giant Corporation.

I have to confesst that I have been discouraged many times during the design, the patent application process, the Blogging (that went viral with words put in my mouth by others), and now the manufacturing stage of my Stabilizers. I have been ridiculed on many forums, I have been challenged and I have been called names.  I recall it being the same when I wrote my first book for the Pentax K10D almost four years ago. In fact, DPReview kicked me out of their site when someone else posted about my new books. It was perceived as spamming, although someone else was doing the blobbing and writing.

Oh well...I keep telling myself  "Don't ever, ever give up."...and I won't ever, ever give up, because I know that when you get one of the Stabilizer under your camera, you'll see how practical it is.

Today, being a day off from work for me, I drove to the country side to take pictures of the spring flowers and to test the Stabilizer used under certain conditions.  What I was looking for today was uneven surfaces where the Stabilizer could be used instead of a cumbersome tripod. Of course, only certain situations require stabilization, such as dim lighting, slow shutter speed, creation of intentional blurring of rushing water, etc. However, my rule-of-thumb has alway been to use a tripod whenever possible for the best blur-free image. It's not my rule-of-thumb only, as most landscape and wildlife photographers always use a tripod.

So here are some images showing how the Stabilizer can be used in the field, not just for big lenses but for any lens attached. I will show the other advantages of the Stabilizer in the days and weeks to come. Remember that your best lens...is the one you have attached to your camera.

Click images to enlarge.

This picture was taken with the camera stabilized on a mail box. See picture below.

In this picture, the camera was actually stabilized on the ground. I used the bubble level to make sure it was levelled. Normally, my face would have been in the dirt!

Stabilized on a rock.

Stabilized on the roof of my Pick-up truck.

Shown here with the back legs extended.

Shown here with the front legs extended.

Shown here with the right  legs extended.

Shown here with the all the  legs extended to conform to the uneven surface. The camera is always  in perfect alignment with the horizon, regardless of the surface irregularities.

Yes, you can use a bean bag, but it's not easily carried around with you. It's similar with a tripod...it does the same, but it's cumbersome. The Stabilizer remains attached to the camera at all times, even when stored in your camera bag. It also prevent your large lenses from tipping over, and it also protect the bottom finish of the camera.

P.S. The Stabilizer shown here is attached to a K-5 or a K-7. It has the same contour as the battery grip. Because the bottom of each cameras, or battery grips are different, this particular Stabilizer may not fit all brand of DSLRs. With time, Stabilizers will be built for each major / popular DSLRs.  "Universal" models may be available as, small, medium and large.Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

Mini vacation in Palm Springs and Anza-Borrego Desert with Pentax K-5, K-7, K-x and K-r.

 Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

My brother and his wife visited us this past week. We took advantage of their visit and spent four days in Palm Springs and visited the Wind Farm.. While there we also drove to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. We had a good time, although I broke my K-5 by dropping it on the ground, with the telephoto lens hitting first and tearing the k-mount completely off the camera.

I will write more about the vacation, the K-5 and pictures we took, but I thought I would just post some pictures tonight.



First morning in Palm Springs, on our way to the Wind Turbines.

© Yvon Bourque - K-5

 

The sun peeping through the clouds and dark skybehind  gave us some unique opportunities.

© Yvon Bourque - K-5

How lucky can we get, a rainbow to top it off.

© Yvon Bourque - K-5



Second day, 7:00 A.M, entering the Anza-Borrego Desert State park.

© Yvon Bourque - K-5



The cactus were in bloom.

© Yvon Bourque - K-7



And so were most of the wild flowers, however, we had to get off the paved roads.

© Yvon Bourque - K-7

Look at what we found; The famous  "Great Road Runner", roaming around for food!

© Roland Bourque - K-x

I'm not a "Birder", but this one was pretty. Anyone knows what it's called?

© Yvon Bourque - K-7
it's an adult male Bullock's Oriole. More info here:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bullocks_Oriole/id
Contributed b yMiserere...Thank you.

What a nice Church, in the middle of the desert.

© Roland Bourque - K-x

We were being watched. These are wild dogs that people just leave behind. We couldn't approach them.

© Roland Bourque - K-x

P.S. The AlettA DSLR Stabilizer will be available sometime early April. I have my first big order scheduled for delivery to me next week.  I won't advertize it again before I get them in my hands.

Coming soon...

Best Regards,

Yvon Bourque

Thank you for your patience and support. INTRODUCING THE "ALETTA DSLR STABILIZER".

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

 

Hi Pentaxian friends.

 

There are numerous things that have bothered me for years when using my DSLRs.  I looked everywhere for  an all inclusive type of solution but could not find any. Eventually, I designed something to fix the problems or inconveniences. For the last year, photographer friends and family told me to patent my invention and to market it. Several Pentax employees I met at various shows told me the same. I'm finally doing it.

 

Here are the problems or inconveniences I am alluding to:

 

• 1.  When using a telephoto or long zoom lens, the camera cannot stand in the upright position when laying it down on a flat surface.  This has caused many broken or scratched lens hoods and even scratches on the camera body.

 

 



This has caused many broken or scratched lens hoods and even scratches on the camera body. While some telephotos have tripod mounts, these are mostly for distributing the weight evenly.  They are rarely tall enough to protect the camera, or the lens itself, when resting the camera/lens on a table or other surface.

The Aletta  DSLR Stabilizerresolvesthat problem. 

 

 

 

•   2. Sometimes I like a camera strap around my neck and sometimes I like a hand grip. A hand grip secures the camera in your hand and is super convenient when shooting events or in a fast pace environment. The problem with current hand grips is that the part that fits under your camera covers about half of the body preventing you from laying the camera flat. They are also very unstable when setting the camera on a tripod while keeping the hand grip installed.

 



The problem with current hand grips is that the part that fits under your camera covers half of the body preventing you from laying the camera flat.

The Aletta DSLR Stabilizer resolves that problem.



• 3. I often go on photo treks and try to keep the equipment down to a minimum, while having enough for the unexpected. I always need a tripod at some point. It's easy enough to bring, let's say...a wide angle zoom lens, a normal to medium zoom lens and a medium to extreme zoom lens. What I hate the most is carrying the tripod. It's always in my way, except when I need it and then it takes times to stabilize it, extend the legs, etc.

The Aletta DSLR Stabilizer resolves that problem.

 

 

• 4. Don't you hate it when you travel with your camera and  night time comes. You see good opportunities to take long exposures of night scenes, but you don't have your tripod with you. You try to set the camera on a tree stump or branch, a fence, a mail box, but can never stabilize the camera straight. Too often, your pictures either come out blurry or tilted.

The Aletta DSLR Stabilizer resolves that problem.

 

• 5. Most newer DSLRs now have video capabilities. This opens up a whole new world. Wouldn't it be nice to have reasonably priced supports for taking videos? Wouldn't it be nice if all types of supports could be made to work together, again at a reasonable price?

The Aletta DSLR Stabilizer will have that capability as we grow.

 

• 6. While some of the newer DSLRs have an electronic level built in, it would be nice to have a bubble level with your DSLR at all time.

The Aletta DSLR Stabilizer resolves that problem.

 

 

SO HERE IT IS: "ALETTA DSLR STABILIZER".

 

• It protects your camera from scratches.

• It stabilizes the camera even when a long Zoom or Telephoto is attached. While some telephotos have tripod mounts, these are mostly for distributing the weight evenly.  They are rarely tall enough to protect the camera, or the lens itself, when resting the camera/lens on a table or other surface. (See the first picture above)



Never damage your long lenses anymore.



Overall view

• It incorporates a bubble level, slightly offset for better reading.

 

Easy to see bubble level.

• It has a 1/4" threaded hole underneath if you want to install the whole camera system on a tripod for studio work.

 

It has (3) sets of screw-in extending legs, (four in each set, 1/2" long, 1" long and 1-1/2" long), allowing levelling of the camera on a rock, mail box, fence, or just about any uneven surface for night photography or simply to replace your cumbersome tripod. It's great for field trips and wild life or landscape photography.

 

Four different sized of screw-in legs are supplied. - 1/2", 1" and 1 1/2".

• We use genuine non-slip "egrips" on the top surface to prevent camera shifting.

A hand grip is included for secure camera holding. (A genuine leather hand grip will be available at extra cost.)

Underside view.

 

 

• S-biners are supplied so that you can install your neck strap when needed or remove it quickly when not needed.

 



Camera strap in use.



The S-Biners makes installing and removing the neck strap simple and quick.

• It is made of aircraft aluminum, CNC machined for durability and quality. (No cheap plastic here)

The overall finish is black velvety powder coating, matching the look and durability of your camera finish.

 

It is made of Aircraft Aluminum,  CNC machined. You paid a lot for your DSLR, don't you want quality products to match it? It weights a little over 12 ounces, but most tripods are weighing around 4 pounds.

 



 

The K-5 stabilized on a car roof and hood. You can see the adjustable legs in use. These "screw-in "legs can be adjusted to most shapes, (tree trunks, mail boxes, benches, fences, etc, You will appreciate that capability when traveling or when you are without a tripod. Once attached to the camera, you never have to take it off. It fits in your camera bag.



 

It works without the Battery grip, but doesn't conform to the smaller footprint perfectly. For that matter, it will fit on any DSLR. We are contemplating making three different sizes, accommodating most DSLRs. However, custom cut for a particular DSLR always looks better. You can let us know.

For all the other peripherals it replaces, incorporated in one unit, we are introducing our "DSLR Stabilizer" at a target price of $149.95 U.S. We will have a finite price once we calculate the exact manufacturing cost.

 

We Will start shipping in April, and you will be able to pre-order in a few days. You can also send us an email,  brqyvn@gmail.com  and request to be informed when the Aletta DSLR Stabilizer is available for shipping.

 

Be prepared to answer questions from other photographers everywhere you go. They are intrigued by it.

 

More photos and videos to be released in the next few days.