Rose, taken with an older camera that I now understand to be a piece of crap compared to the new stuff that's out there.

An ancient, crappy Pentax K20d with a seriously deficient APS-C sensor took this really awful photo. I really should just burn it.

Corning Glass Museum, Corning NY

Corning Glass Museum, Corning NY, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Winter is...bringing long-forgotten photos into the light...

Prague (Praha) is a city of spires and statues.

Prague (Praha) is a city of spires and statues., originally uploaded by john m flores.

Grapes

Grapes, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Just a reminder of how colorful and nice the world will be in the Spring...

2011 Christmas - YouTube

We stopped sending out cards years ago - too much work LOL! Instead, we try to put together a holiday video card every year. Guess what - it takes as much work, if not more!

Shot with a Pentax K20d + DA* 50-135 F2.8 (me) and a Pentax K-x + DA* 16-50 F2.8 (my wife). Edited in Final Cut Pro X

Happy holidays y'all

Abstractum Anamorphica

Abstractum Anamorphica, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Abstractum Anamorphica

Abstractum Anamorphica, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Breathe

Breathe, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Staircase, Palazzo Barberini

Staircase, Palazzo Barberini, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Stairs as a sculptural, sensual experience? Only in Italy!

This photo was linked to from an art blog on Guardian.uk, Jonathon Jones on Art. It's the link to "architectural spectacle" in the next to last paragraph.

So long, farewell...

Pentax K20d and DA* 50-135 F2.8 are indeed weatherproof, originally uploaded by john m flores.

And so the GH2 continues to rock my world and force me to rethink my toolbox. First it shoved the Canon G10 to the sidelines with much better IQ for not that much more size. Now the Pentax K20d has left the building, after nearly 2 years and over 31,000 photos taken. It's in good hands now, a former film shooter that's rediscovering his love of photography. So that's good.

At the end of the day, the GH2 stood toe to toe with the K20d in nearly all measures except for two. It didn't match the K20d's build quality and weather-resistance (as shown here) but beat it decisively in AF. And video of course. So thus the K20d has flown.

Problem is, I've been doing a lot of video lately, which means that the GH2 is stuck on a tripod while I'm capturing stills with my wife's K-x. It's a risky proposition, as the malfunction of either camera would leave me severely compromised. So I need a backup, for both. Ideally that backup could shoot both good stills and good video. The likely options are:

A - another GH2
B - a Pentax K-5
C - a Pentax K-r

still don't know which way I'll go on this...

The kids are alright

The kids are alright, originally uploaded by john m flores.

So I live in this small town that's just a slice of America, with a Main Street chockfull of restaurants and small shops. And an honest to goodness record store. On a recent Saturday night, a crowd of teens overflowed onto the sidewalk as a band was thrashing away inside the record shop window.

What I found interesting was the fact that most of these teens were completely comfortable around a camera, not self-conscious in the least. I wonder if this is a generation so used to having its photo taken that someone snapping away just doesn't register on the radar.

The GH2 with the 20mm F1.7 is proving to be a potent combo - small, quiet, and good at ISO1600. I don't really miss the K20d for stuff like this, partially because it's AF was poor in low light (the GH2 has an AF assist light; the K20d didn't), and partially because most of my Pentax lenses are only F2.8.

At the Somerville Farmer's Market

At the Somerville Farmer's Market, originally uploaded by john m flores.

There are birds chirping outside my window, which can only mean one thing - Spring is on its way. With Spring comes color of course. I can't wait, so I peruse older photos, patiently waiting.

It was a perfect day to take pictures - the rain had washed away the crowds, leaving perfectly even light that was diffused through the white pop-up tents each vendor had set up.

I had the vaunted Pentax 35/2.8 Macro Limited with me and it excelled, drawing out color and tone and detail. Most of the photos here have have had little more than white balance correction along with a minor crop here and there and minor fiddling with the tone curve. It's a special lens.

Macro Comparison - Panasonic GH2 vs Pentax K20, both with the DA35 F2.8 Macro Limited

Macro Comparison - Panasonic GH2 vs Pentax K20, both with the DA35 F2.8 Macro Limited, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Here's one of those rare circumstances when you can test two cameras using the same lens. The effective focal length changes of course when you move the lens from one camera to the next, but this does give you a sense of how the respective cameras and sensors handle macros with the same pieces of gass interpreting the image. Of note:

- both cameras/sensors render a similar level of detail - I never knew that apple's had hair!

- the added DOF of M43 helps with macros

- it might be hard to see at web resolution, but the GH2 does exhibit noise in the upper right region. In contrast, the K20d is smooth here. This is the noise that have some people worried about the GH2. In my experience, level 20 NR in Lightroom makes the noise go away.

- the GH2 colors are hypersaturated. The Panasonic seems to want to make the world more colorful than it really is

- The K20d is performing quite well for an old, obsolete camera!

Checking out the V-dub

Checking out the V-dub, originally uploaded by john m flores.

"Where's the GH2?" you might ask, to which I would respond, "where's the sun and the grass and color in this world?"

Haven't taken a lot of photos with the GH2 recently due to general business with work, life, and the complete lack of color in my world right now. Until then, let's all go back in time to warmer seasons...

Staircase, Palazzo Barberini

Staircase, Palazzo Barberini, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Finally, a shot that plays to my Pentax 10-17 FIsheye Zoom's strengths! To be honest, I've struggled with this lens, to find situations where the fisheye distortions adds rather than distracts. I've even contemplated selling it, replacing it with a more rectilinear wide angle.

But I was just editing some old photos and came upon a series I took in a circular staircase in Rome. With some of the shots I've set Lightroom's distortion correction to 11 in order to create a more rectilinear view, but here I'm letting the fisheye wreak havoc with straight lines. I quite like the result...

Barca

Barca, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Looking at these older photos taken with my K20d. Funny, now that I think it's crap, it proves me wrong LOL!

Honeymoon room with a view...part 2

Honeymoon room with a view...part 2, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Ok, last shot from our room. The view was spectacular though...

Swimmer

Swimmer, originally uploaded by john m flores.

All this snow just makes me long for summer.

Honeymoon room with a view...

Honeymoon room with a view..., originally uploaded by john m flores.

It's a cold dark miserable blizzard outside. I need a reminder of warmer times...

Storm King Art Park

Storm King Art Park, originally uploaded by john m flores.

We now take this moment to remind you what a world with color looks like..