It's good to report that there are new waves of interest in street photography and that can only be a good thing if we are to keep the genre alive. It's a fantastic craft and I encourage everyone to give it a go.
Sadly I have neglected my website for far too long and hopefully will have more time soon to get it up to date. Time just goes by so quickly I can't believe how old I'm getting. Still, while I can get out and take pictures of people, I will continue to do so.
Have a nice day and enjoy.
Keith
]]>It will take time to get the hang of all the pros and cons that’s for sure, and there are a few to get used to, believe me! Just don’t be fooled by its simple looks and small footprint, because what it isn’t is a camera for the uninitiated. So be well prepared for a learning curve of whatever length it takes. This will also apply to the newest kid on the Fuji Block – the X100S. Even so, the X100 is a lot cheaper and is no slouch just because a younger brother has hit the market place. Good on Fuji for their continued dedication to this kind of camera and it will be interesting to see what the future has in store for us all.
What Fuji has in fact created is a camera for ‘street’ photographers. It certainly isn’t a camera for those who are just in love with the idea of owning one. This camera is a photographer’s tool 100%! To get a decent image you will have to work with it and not against it. You will have to overcome its odd little quirks and be patient! You can start doing this by dropping the notion that the camera is always to blame when things go wrong. If things don't look good, or seem right, just question your own technique first and ask yourself if it can be improved upon to suit. The X100/S will not, and does not, react in quite the same way as an all-singing all-dancing DSLR! You need to understand that it is neither a DSLR, nor a Rangefinder - period! It is a unique blend of both and takes a combination of skills from both disciplines to become proficient with it! So instead of getting frustrated by the quirks, and no doubt you will, you are best served by remembering that user input always needs to be questioned first. Just succumb to the Fuji knowledge bank and learn how to use it. Join a forum where you can get solid info about your Fuji camera. You know it makes sense, and it will deliver all you need to know. Here's a forum you should consider joining: http://www.fujix-forum.com/index.php/index
I have likened the X100/S to that of a strong woman who will only give over her delights to a man if and when he knows how to handle her. So anyone who thinks the X100/S is just a fancy point and shoot, they should get that nonsense right out of their heads before they even purchase one. It isn’t a point-and-shoot. Far from it! It is a camera for people who want, and deserve, much more than that. If you are into sports photography maybe you should forget it and buy a DSLR! If you are into photojournalism then this is what it is best at doing and you won’t be disappointed. The X100/S is not in the Leica M league for sure (build wise that is), but they are as near as you can get to the experience for the price with the images it creates. Just enjoy the journey and good luck!
]]>I have come to the conclusion that in getting older I have become more inclined to leave my heavy camera bag at home and go out without it. I have had it with changing lenses, and had it carrying the weight all day. I have my virtually unused EF 70-200 F4 IS on eBay and if and when that sells the rest of my Canon gear will be up for grabs. What will I do?
My intention is to buy into the flawed, but incredible Fuji X100. I did think about the X Pro1 but really don’t want to change or worry about other lenses any more. It will be interesting to say the least and with the cash that’s left over I will invest it into an exhibition of my work.
Watch this space.
]]>
At the time of writing I own the EOS 5DMKII, a 17-40 F4 L and a 70-200 f4 L IS. Both of these lenses are real crackers and I have taken street style images with both and they work. However, there is always a ‘but’ isn’t there? I still think the 50mm is the best for candid work. It’s not an easy lens to use if you have been used to high quality zoom lenses for years. It takes a bit of getting used to. Even so, I find myself longing for one again.
A few years ago I had two 50mm lenses: the Canon f1.4 and the Sigma f1.4. Both lenses delivered well, but I sold them on to fund the lenses I now have. Let me say here and now, it was a mistake. As much as I wouldn’t want to part with my humble set-up as it is now, I wish I had a 50mm to take out on candid hunts, so that I can leave the heavy stuff behind. I will just have to save my pennies and try as hard as I can to buy one again.
The moral of this post is never sell any of your lenses unless it is absolutely crippling you to keep them. Camera bodies come and go, but lenses are the real heroes of photography and should be with us for life.
]]>I will keep trying until I do though, that you can count on. The image below was converted from colour via Photoshop.
]]>
I have never found a lot of use for filters to be honest. I still shoot as though I have a roll of Fuji Velvia in my camera and nearly always use exposure lock, with the exposure being taken from a midtone area before recomposing. It works that way for me.
However, things may change! Why? Well, because I simply love shooting for black and white, and am forever trying to improve my technique, I came across Joel Tjintjelaar, a photographer who shoots long exposure black and white stuff. ( see him here http://plusonecollection.com/blog/2012/3/15/joel-tjintjelaar-how-he-thinks-and-creates.html )
I have to say that I have been totally smitten by his work and now long to give it a go for myself. I have never been disciplined to use a tripod in all my thirty odd years of photography, so now is the time to start taking my hobby a bit more seriously. It also means using at least a ten stop ND solid filter to get the three minute exposures I will need, and as I have the ND X8 to stack on top I can start achieving exposures of up to five minutes. Well, I never thought I would get so enthusiastic about doing something so very different to what I have been used to. Now, who was it who said one can’t teach old dogs new tricks?
]]>Right, now on to the problem with the 77mm filter! After a short trip out I decided the filter and lens should be cleaned and prepared everything for the task of doing so. When I angled the filter at around 10 degrees from the plane to look for marks, there appeared a perfectly circular spot. I then noticed a couple more and proceeded to clean the filter as one does. They wouldn’t budge however. On further investigation it turned out that they were tiny imperfections in the glass (air bubbles probably) and not on the surface at all. Maybe they wouldn’t be noticeable on the image, but I couldn’t live with a filter like that myself.
I checked the date of purchase and realised it was almost a year to the date. Fortunately for me it was inside the warranty date by just 10 days and so the filter will be changed. How lucky is that?
The moral of this story is to check our lenses more thoroughly than many of us tend to do. And because we trust a particular manufacturer to provide top quality workmanship, we take it for granted that everything will be OK. The truth is, some duds will always get through the net, at our expense if not vigilant, so keep an eye on your gear, and check it thoroughly after each trip out.
]]>I am so glad that you have taken the trouble to look through my humble portfolio. As you will probably have gathered, my favourite genres are black and white and Street photography, but I am open to almost anything that enables me to be creative in a photographic sense, and if a shot is better in colour, then that's how it stays. Having said that, I do shoot with black and white in mind, but one can never really tell how it's going to turn out until one is ready to process the raw file!
I just love the challenges that photography brings its way; the uncertainty that a capture may not turn out as I had first visualised it; the excitement when it does; processing the raw to get an optimum final image that one can live with.
I hope that my work is different enough to have made it a worthwhile visit for you. Please leave a comment, or contact me personally. The website will be a "work in progress" from now on, so please visit again when you get the time.
Regards Keith
]]>