Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

 Hi Photographer friends,

I haven't been blogging for most of this past summer. There's really no good reason why I didn't, except that I was very busy and that it has been my best summer ever (photography wise).

I spent the summer photographing for my lowest salary ever, and yet, I enjoyed my summer job more than any other job I ever had. Yes...you probably think I've gone crazy. Let me explain:

I spent the summer working for the YMCA, photographing kids at summer camps. Yep...the salary wasn't great, but the experience more than compensated for it. 

I'm retired now and around April or May, while reading the local paper, I saw an ad looking for a photographer for the summer. The assignment would be taking pictures of summer camp activities at two local YMCA summer camps. I didn't think I could get the job, as I was sure there were many younger candidates. To my surprise and satisfaction, I got the job. Sometimes, experience wins.

So I gathered my faithful Pentax K-3, my Pentax 50mm f/1.4, my 10mm x 17mm wide angle lens and a 300mm telephoto. This combination got me all the results I needed, without being too heavy to carry around.

The camps are located in the San Bernardino Mountains, about 70 miles east of Los Angeles. You can look at some of the landscape images below. It’s easy to appreciate the locations. At elevations ranging between 6,000 feet and 8,000 feet, the air is thinner but certainly less polluted than in Los Angeles.

I took hundreds, if not thousands, of pictures and videos ranging from landscape, actions, activities, and the summer camp kids.

One thing that every single one of these ordinary children had in common, despite their different ages, background, ethnicity, or religion, was bright, discernible spark in their eyes. The kind of spark that, in previous generations, has produced the most extraordinary of people – those with the intelligence or persistence or determination to change humanity. People like da Vinci and Einstein and Newton and Beethoven and Hawking and Tesla and many others that have achieved so much...they had the spark.

The spark isn’t reserved for those few and far between anymore. Kids today are smarter, more empathetic, more aware, and more progressive than any other generation before. They have access to more information at any given time than anyone else before them and they want to learn. These kids will use all the resources given to them by those extraordinary predecessors and make this world their world, making it extraordinary as well. Our newest generation is entirely extraordinary, and it shows.

They all have the spark.

 Now, for you Pentax owners, I do have e-books for most of the Pentax DSLRs. You can check this site ebooks4cameras.com and even download any e-book for checking the contents. 

The K-1 e-book is available NOW.

Click on the image above to visit our e-book store. You can also download sample e-books and get the free AF front and back focusing adjustment charts at this e-commerce.

http://www.ebooks4cameras.com/

I love my hometown of Montreal...but these images explain why I now live in California.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com 

 Hi Photographer friends,

I love my hometown of Montreal...but these images explain why I now live in California.


My Pentax K-3 is better insulated for snow and rain than I am.

It's fun for 10 minutes, but it gets old quick.

When you know what's important, snowing  or not.

It is hard to balance a bicycle in the snow, and its even crazier to even try.

Snow or not, some basic needs have got to be met.

Where is my car?

That's what happens when you leave your window partly open!

__________________________________

Where I live in California is called Big Bear Lake. I chose this place because it has the four seasons but the snow doesn't last six Months or more. Montreal had 16 inches of snow yesterday  and we had one inch.

...and this is Big Bear Lake.

Me and my human Dad went on Big Bear Lake mountain today, and he brought his Pentax K-3.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com 

 Hi Photographer friends,

I have a new human Dad, and today we went to Big Bear Mountain to cut wood for the winter. My human Dad and I left early this morning and drove into the wood up to an incredible elevation of 7,542 ft.  That's very high. My human Dad brought his camera, a Pentax K-3 and some Pentax Lenses. He wanted to take pictures of my first trek...whatever!

I'm just pretending, I can't drive a car yet!

Once we got there, my job was to hold the car, so he tied the car to me and I kept it in place for the whole time. I only stumbled once because there was this big boulder in my way.  It only took me five minutes to spill all of my water. We only had one bottle for the both of us so we were careful after that. 

I'm holding the car while he is cutting wood.

Did you see this big boulder, no wonder I tripped.

The car isn't going anywhere, not on my watch anyway.

After cutting and gathering enough wood for today, he drove to a big rock formation, almost all the way to the top of the mountain, a place called Pacific Crest Trail.  I met other humans there and they all wanted to pet me. That's okay, they were all nice.

Then I climbed the big rocks (with a little help from my human Dad) and he took a bunch of pictures. I have to admit that I'm pretty cute.

This is nearly 8,000 feet elevation.  The Pacific Crest Trail.

See how good I am at climbing! I can do it with three legs...see!

Wow, this is high and I don't want to get too close to the edge.

I'm just posing for Canine Magazine.

It's time to go.

Coming back, the road was rough and I bounced back and forth in the  car. When we arrived home, he gave me some Puppy Chow and he added some warm chicken gravy to it.  It was yummy.

Now I am in my crate for the night and I'll be a good dog, but he will have to bring me out about every four hours. I'm only eight weeks old and my kidneys are small. I will only get better at holding it as I grow up. I think I'm going to like this new human Dad and my new human Mom.

Thank you for reading. I'll let you know when I go to some more adventures.

Maggie.
By the way, I am an Australian Shepherd / Border Collie mix.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com 

 Hi Photographer friends,

The e-books samples are now available directly from pentaxforums.com

Here is an excerpt of what has been posted on the Forum:

*********************************************

We have recently teamed up with Pentax eBook author and forum member Yvon Bourque to bring you samples of his most popular eBooks (see below).

Yvon's eBooks have enjoyed a great deal of popularity among our community as they can be an excellent supplement to your owner's manual and our many forum resources.  If you are just starting out, the books can help guide you through the many features of your cameras; whereas if you already have some experience, they can help you master those features.

The Pentax eBooks are available for $14.95 via www.ebooks4cameras.com.  Yvon is donating a portion of each purchase to support the forum and PF homepage content.  Questions about the books can be posted in the corresponding Marketplace thread, or in the comments below.

We are also happy to announce that along with each future in-depth camera review, we will also be giving away a number of eBooks to our readers.  Stay tuned for our K-3 II review in October!

Pentax eBook Sample Downloads

All eBooks are in PDF format.  Links to our in-depth reviews accompany each download link:

Read more at: http://www.pentaxforums.com/articles/columns/pentax-ebook-samples.html#commentarea#ixzz3n47wGrPL

Pentax eBook Sample Downloads

All eBooks are in PDF format.  Links to our in-depth reviews accompany each download link:

• Pentax K-3 / K-3 II
  Download eBook | Read Review
• Pentax K-5 / K-5 II / K-5 IIs
  Download eBook | Read Review
• Pentax K-7
  Download eBook
• Pentax K-S2
  Download eBook | Read Review
• Pentax K-30
  Download eBook | Read Review
• Pentax K-50 / K-500
  Download eBook | Read Review

Read more at: http://www.pentaxforums.com/articles/columns/pentax-ebook-samples.html#commentarea#ixzz3n48zTKMq

** (Update) ** Why do PENTAX specific forums disallow the posting of e-books availability for Pentax specific cameras?

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

 Hi Photographer friends,

Update:

Following up to this post, a reader suggested that I should put my e-books for sale on the "Market" section of PentaxForums. I did and also received this PM from  them also:

I just wanted to let you know that our Marketplace policy disallows commercial posts such as your book promo threads without Marketplace Reseller Access.  Since I wasn't able to help you promote the book after our discussion last year, though, and since I know you're on a budget, I will go ahead and make an exception to this rule and permit you to have one thread promoting your books.

That's being a true Pentaxian.

Thank you Adams

I appreciate this and , I'm sure, many Pentax DSLR users appreciate this as well.

I once held the Pentax 645, and wish I could afford one. 

Now, the 645Z is out and it's even better. I will probably 

never write an e-book about it because (A) Most people

that purchase one are Professional Photographers and (B)

I cannot afford to get my hands on one.

For seven years now, I have written and published e-books for all the Pentax DSLRs, with the exception of the Pentax 645/645z and the K-s1. 

I understand that my e-books are not for everyone. Professional Photographers probably don't need any books.  Of all the emails I received, I get thank you notes for writing the e-books and most often, compliments on how friendly and easy-to-understand my e-books are.

I only write about Pentax cameras because I am a Pentax life-long user and I am convinced that the Pentax cameras and lenses are the best value for the money.

I am a subscriber to  all Pentax related forums, including
http://www.pentaxforums.com/
http://photo.net/pentax-camera-forum/

http://www.pentaxuser.co.uk/forum

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/1036
and many more forums and blogs.

We all have one thing in common, "PENTAX". Each Forum has a set of rules in which they forbid any marketing posts.  I have to agree with them, because before you know it, Camera Gadgets, Car Manufacturers, Pharmaceutical Products, Computer Manufacturers, etc., would all be posting their products. However, I see that most do have "Google Ads" or other "Pay-per-click" advertisement on their sites. It is a way to earn money and I see nothing really wrong with it, although I do not have any of that sort of advertisement on my blog.

What I find regrettable, is that I cannot talk about my e-books on any of these sites, although I am strictly Pentax. You, the readers, are allowed to talk about my e-books, but not I.  I find that unfortunate, because what I do helps PENTAX users and nobody else. I am not the enemy, I am a friend.  I even offered Pentaxforums a commission if they would advertise my e-books for the Pentax DSLRs. At first, everything was very promising, but then Adams wanted to collect the money on PentaxForums and have the actual e-book files on his database. My sales book was open for verification, but I couldn't bring myself into giving all my hard work to someone else. It's too bad, because  more Pentax users would have been able to benefit from an e-book for their specific camera.

You can find all kind of helpful books, videos and e-books for Nikon and Canon, but there are nothing for the Pentax brand. I am pretty much the only source. It is obvious that there is a lot of money to be made in writing material about the Nikon and Canon brands, but I am a Pentax user to the core. I am not living off my e-book sales. I would be really poor if my e-books were my sole source of revenue. I do it basically because I love photography and I love Pentax. The money generated allows me to purchase the cameras as they are introduced so that I can write my e-books soon after a new camera is released.

There, you have it, the way I feel about the whole thing.  It looks to me like all of us, Pentax Users, would stick and help each other, but the reality is different.

Thank you for reading my rants.

Yvon Bourque

# 16 - Our current two-year RV trip across North America. This week's featured City; Bandera, Texas, Cowboy Capital of the world.. I used the Pentax K-3.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

 Hi Photographer friends,

"Howdy Pardner"

This week's City,  Bandera, Texas, was an enjoyable one. 

(From Bandera's Web Page)

In a rugged county filled with hills, rivers, and a sprawling lake, the small town of Bandera holds a really big place in the hearts of Texans. Located in the beloved Texas Hill Country less than an hour from San Antonio, Bandera reminds us of a different, more authentic, era, when a handshake was all the contract you needed, self-reliance was the norm, and chivalry was a given. There is a spirit of independence and individualism here that speaks of the cowboy tradition of hard work and hard play.

Bandera embodies the cowboy in its strong rodeo tradition. Even today you'll often see horses tied to downtown hitching posts. Bandera County dude ranches offer a taste of the cowboy lifestyle with horseback riding, trail rides, and chuckwagon meals. Secluded cabins tucked away in the hills throughout the county are perfect for watching wildlife, listening to the birds, and gazing at the stars. At local honky-tonks, the music is lively, the dance floor is full, and the beverages are cold.

****************************

The images below were all taken with my Pentax K-3 and a combination of two lenses...my favorite lenses.

smc PENTAX DA Star 60-250mm F4 ED (IF) SDM

• Zoom
• Wildlife, sports, long range shots

smc PENTAX DA Star 16-50mm F2.8 ED AL (IF) SDM

• Zoom
• Portraits, landscapes, family, general use

With these two great lenses, I am covering from 16mm to 250mm (Roughly 24mm to 375mm  cropped image). Both lenses render high quality images and the bokeh (Telephoto) is particularly great. This week, all the images were manipulated in Adobe Lightroom 5. I wanted the images to be special because Bandera is a special Town. 

I turned the contrast up, then adjusted the sharpening and luminance to where the images almost look like paintings.Then, I added vignetting. I love the rendition and I hope you do too.

New Mexico is next. 

Here are the Bandera images:

Main Street in Bandera is pretty much like it was a hundred years ago.

This is the Cowboy Capital of the world...you don't wear a baseball cap here.

"Ruby" our tow truck was not alone in this town. They could  name Bandera the Pick-up truck Capital of the World as well. In the background, the OST (Old Spanish Trail) restaurant served the best breakfast in Texas.

Hope it stops at the crossing!

This nice gentleman goes all around the Country showing how life was back in the cowboy days, along the Old Spanish Trail. The building in the background is Bandera's Court House.

He actually cooked a full chuck wagon meal on the Food Network. He told me that they had rented his wagon and were going to have some famous chef cook an authentic cowboy meal. When the chef arrived, he was covered with tattoos, had earrings and did not fit the Cowboy style. The producer asked him if he could really cook and he ended up cooking for the show.

He builds chuck wagons just the way they were back in the days.

The real cowboys come to the Bar on their horses. The Urban cowboys come to the Bar on their Harleys.

Some things don't ever change.

The old versus the new rides. I love both.

Hand crafted souvenirs, made in Texas, USA.

Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree

Thank you for visiting,

Yvon Bourque

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