As with most things, the Fuji X100s, while fantastic out of the box, can always use a few bits and pieces to enhance the abilities of the camera to match ones vision. I’ve had a chance to work with the camera on some trips to China and Germany, so I’m getting more confident and familiar with the camera. I even shot a wedding with it in Germany, and I’m thrilled with the cameras performance. Not so much with mine, I’m not a wedding shooter, but the camera performed flawlessly. The reason for this camera’s...
read morePeople Photography! Its been a while since I’ve played with portraiture, but I saw something on my twitter feed that sparked my interest. It’s a technique that has been around a while, but refined by a chap called Ryan Brenizer, a wedding and social snapper out of NYC. I’d seen it before, and tried it, but it was a bit complicated and I wasn’t enamored by my results. Ryan recently release a tutorial that really got into the details of the method. The result of the method is a wide angle, very shallow depth of field...
read moreFinally! I get to go somewhere I can put the new camera through its paces. I experienced a lot of trepidation, as this was the first time in ages I’ve gotten on a plane without my main rig, a Nikon D800E and a few really nice lenses. I bit the bullet and just took my X100s, determined to put it through it’s paces. First opportunity, a short visit to Mt. Emei south of Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the spectacular vistas as the weather was completely socked in, to the point I barely saw the temple. I did...
read moreIn 2012 I had a Fuji x10 as a walkabout / backup camera. I really liked the feel, design and handling of the x10, but I couldn’t make the kind of images with it that I really wanted to without a lot of work. The main issue was the sensor size. A small sensor will always have noise issues and the Fuji x10’s sensor was no exception. There was also the issue of the specular highlights rendering as white blobs, which was highly detrimental to the work I favour. Although the camera has it’s faults, I used it relentlessly and it...
read moreThere are a vast number of famous locations in Rome, all of which are typically crowded late into the evening. Places like the Spanish Steps and here, the Trevi Fountain. It is a beautiful extravagance, and very entertaining watching the tourists hanging out at the fountain. I was surprised by the size of the fountain, it is much bigger than I anticipated, but given it’s history, I suppose that it’s in keeping with the important role in the life of the city this area has played. It is purported to be the largest baroque fountain in...
read moreWhile in Thailand I had the opportunity to visit the Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai. I’d read about it on the Internet, with some people commenting that the tigers are drugged, which I absolutely refute. The big ones were relatively sedentary, but given that tigers are nocturnal, this isn’t a surprise. I started with 6-8 month old cubs, then onto the young juvenile cats, followed by a visit to the big young adults. You can’t visit the adults that are over 3 years old, they tend to treat visitors as lunch. I had fun watching...
read moreFor my last trip for a while, I ended up in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I was lucky enough to stay in the Mandarin Oriental hotel, which has gone to the top of my list of favourite hotels of all time, but that’s for a different post. I took advantage of the time I had to visit Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, which is a Theravada Buddhist temple. I took the lazy way up, riding the funicular up the mountain, which was a smart option seeing as it was 35c. I did walk down, though. Funnily enough, on the walk down there are lots of traders selling...
read moreMoscow is always a fascinating city. I’ve been there a few times and it always has another face to show me. This time I shunned Red Square and St. Basil’s and headed down river to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. This impressive orthodox cathedral looks as old as St. Basil’s, but is actually only 10 years old. Wandering around on a chilly April evening, I walked around the building and onto the connecting bridge over the Moscow River, known as the Patriarchs Bridge. This has a wonderful view of the cathedral and...
read moreWhile strolling around St. Peters, looking at the statues of miserable old men, you have to go and visit one of the best pieces of sculpture ever created. La Pietà was carved by non other than Michelangelo Buonarroti, who knew a thing or too about carving rock. I really enjoyed seeing this piece. Michelangelo carved this when he was 24 years old, and is the only piece he ever signed. Talented bloke. On that trip, I was with my eldest daughter, Alexandra, when we were in the Sistine Chapel. I point out to her the beautiful picture of God...
read moreLast weekend I was in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and I had to brave cold, damp and windy conditions to try an get a different (ish) angle on the city. Halifax is dominated by a Victorian military fortification in the center. Unfortunately, it isn’t high enough to really provide a good vantage point of the harbour because of the modern buildings in the way. There is a nice clock that looks down the flanks of the Citadel to the war memorial, but only the bottom part of the structure is lit at night. I guess Halifaxians don’t need to...
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