Tag: photography

Photography-related posts. I talk about inspiration, settings, gear, other photographers, etc.

Digital and Film

, , , , Photo Life, Slice of LifeLeave a Comment on Digital and Film
"Digital and Film" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/6.4, 1/6 sec, ISO3200
 “Digital and Film” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。

Today’s photo is of my favorite digital camera and my favorite film camera. I’ve seen quite a few videos about shooting film, and there’s a general revival of film photography happening. It’s pretty cool! I guess all the younger photographers who grew up with digital are discovering film. I think it’s great.

I love my old film cameras and had so much fun shooting with them. Because I learned photography by shooting film, they hold a special place for me, and each of my film cameras has certain sentimental value. Actually, that’s not true. I have a few that I acquired later on that I don’t have any real attachment too, and I should probably donate those. But my Minolta X-700, α507si, Nikon F, Holga 120, and Olympus XA are keepers!

That said, I don’t see myself shooting film in the future. I just think the advantages of digital are so great that the charm of film cannot overcome them. The combination of digital and Lightroom allows me to create the photographic style I like, plus the speed of processing that I require to post to my blog every day requires a digital camera. As much as I enjoyed shooting film, it’s simply a hassle to develop the film.

I guess for me it’s also a case of “been there, done that”. But for the younger photo-enthusiasts, it’s a whole new world to explore, and that is wonderful. I get excited thinking that they might be experiencing that same magic of discovery that I experienced when I learned how to develop film and make prints in the dark room. It was a great time. I honestly feel that film is something you have to try out at some point as a photographer because it is an important part of photography that still exists and it’ll be an itch that you’ll have to scratch, or it will stay at the back of your mind and drive you crazy.

Anyways, I will hold on to my precious film cameras and maybe someday my sons or even grandkids might want to use them to shoot some film. 😀

I hope you had a nice Friday!

またね～

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

Taking Photos and Staying in the Moment

, , , Photo Life, Slice of Life, Well-being2 Comments on Taking Photos and Staying in the Moment
"Used Camera" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/3.2, 1/30 sec, ISO3200
 “Used Camera” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

I was thinking about a topic I heard discussed on photography podcasts. It’s basically the question of during special life moments, such as your child’s dance recital or school play, if you should stay behind your camera taking photos, or if you should put down the camera and simply take in the experience with nothing in your way of your senses. It can be difficult because as photo enthusiasts – we love taking photos and want to get that perfect shot.

There are valid arguments to be made for both sides of the debate. On one hand, it’s nice to have photos/video to relive and share the moment, but on the other hand, you aren’t fully in the moment and experiencing life if you are looking through the viewfinder or at the rear screen of your camera. The question is, does the camera enhance your life, or does it get in the way of it?

My opinion is that I think that a happy medium can easily be achieved and you can have the best of both worlds! The keys that I have found work for me are:

  • Know your camera inside and out – You don’t want to waste time fumbling with settings. And set up your camera before the event starts. It’s no fun trying to tweak settings in the dark!
  • Think like an event photographer – Have a shot list in mind. Maybe not a written list, but think of the “must have shots” that you need to capture. Once you take care of those, then put down the camera and enjoy the moment. Keep in mind that for most events, the photos you take at the beginning of the performance will look the same as any other part, so no need to have the camera at your eye the whole time. Just be ready for the recognition and bowing at the end of performances. Again, take the photo, then put the camera down and join in the applause!
  • Automate it – If you want to take video, bring a tripod and set it up beforehand. Then just hit the record, turn off the LCD if possible, and forget about it.

Anyways, those are my tips that I’ve gathered from shooting both student events and corporate events. I hope this helps you “stay in the moment”!

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

Today’s photos are of my beloved camera (yet again!). 😄 I have a couple trips coming up, and I am taking my Fujifilm X100T with me as my main camera (with my phone being a backup). There was a time in my life when I would spend a lot of time thinking about what camera gear to bring on vacations, but ever since I bought my X100T, it’s the only camera I want or need. Just the thought of lugging around a heavy DSLR and a few lenses makes me shudder… when I used to carry all the gear it was not fun and definitely made “staying in the moment” more difficult.

You know, a life with less can be a good thing, especially in photography!

"Fujifilm X100T" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/3.2, 1/40 sec, ISO3200
 “Fujifilm X100T” Cedar Park, 2018

I hope you had a great day!

おやすみ

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

Flickr

, Photo Life, Slice of LifeLeave a Comment on Flickr

Barton Springs, Austin TX

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Yesterday Smugmug announced that it was buying Flickr. I’ve been using Flickr for over 13 years and have loved it this whole time, mostly as a paying “Pro” user. The photo above was my first upload to Flickr, back in 2005. I took the photo with a Holga camera using 120 film.

Through all the years, and many cameras, I’ve often wondered why people have been so damning of Flickr. Sure, it hasn’t been the most cutting-edge service, and the mobile experience is not very compelling, but for a desktop/laptop user it’s been a consistently solid place to share photos and have discussions in different groups. I’m hoping that never changes.

Anyways, I wanted to mention how fun it is when a photo gets chosen to be on Flickr’s Explore page. When that happens (and it’s a mystery how a photo gets chosen) your email inbox suddenly starts getting a ton of notifications and you can watch the number of photo-views skyrocket. It’s lots of fun!

Just yesterday, the sunset photo that Koa took got “Explored” and the views and favorites took off. I thought it was a nice coincidence that it happened on the day Flickr was bought by Smugmug. 😀

Daily Photo – 2018.04.18

As an amateur photographer, I love Instagram on my phone, but I’ll probably always be a Flickr user. 😄

I hope you have a nice Saturday!

またね～

Fujinon 35mm F/2 Bokeh Monster

, , , Photo Life, Slice of Life2 Comments on Fujinon 35mm F/2 Bokeh Monster
"Grey Limes" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/2.2, 1/90 sec, ISO3200
 “Grey Limes” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

One thing I really liked about my Sony a77 dSLR was its articulating screen. I could flip it out and have an instant waist-level camera, which is an interesting way/angle to shoot. Now that I have Mariko’s old Fujifilm X-T10, which also has an articulating screen, I have started using it in the same manner. It’s really fun!

I also enjoy using the Fujinon 35mm F/2 lens. It’s compact, focuses quickly and silently, and produces some wonderful bokeh. It’s what I would call a “Bokeh Monster”.

"Pen Case" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/2, 1/125 sec, ISO1250
 “Pen Case” Cedar Park, 2018

I like the Fujifilm X-T10, but I don’t love it like I do the X100T. I only wish my X100T had the articulating screen. Then it would be close to perfection.

"Bokeh" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/2, 1/60 sec, ISO1600
 “Bokeh” Cedar Park, 2018

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

Blue Button

, , , , Photo Life, Slice of Life1 Comment on Blue Button
"Blue Button" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/4.5, 1/25 sec, ISO1600
 “Blue Button” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today I took a photo of my beloved Fujifilm X100T’s latest goodie. It’s the blue anodized soft-shutter release button that used to be on my wife’s Fujifilm X-T10. I swapped the buttons on the two cameras, so now my black X100T has a bit more color.

I’ve kept my camera in “stealth” mode, with black gaffers tape covering the white logos and the soft-shutter release was a plain black version. But I took the tape off and am enjoying having the cool logo exposed. The blue soft-shutter release button looks pretty sharp, against the black body. It’s a millimeter smaller in diameter than the black button and sits a little higher as well. I would prefer if it was lower, but I like the smaller size.

I think the soft-shutter release button makes the camera better. For me, it helps reduce camera shake when I press it as compared to the regular button. Definitely a must-have for me!

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

X-T10 Camera

, , , Photo Life, Slice of LifeLeave a Comment on X-T10 Camera
"Fujifilm X-T10" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/9 sec, ISO640
 “Fujifilm X-T10” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

My wife bought a new camera, an Olympus E-PL9, to replace her Fujifilm X-T10. Her first ILC (Interchangeable Lens Camera) was an Olympus E-PL1 so this is a bit of a homecoming for her.

She liked the Fujifilm X-T10, but it was a little too big (even though it’s tiny compared to a DSLR), and perhaps a little too complicated. The E-PL9 is smaller, and the excellent 14-42 EZ kit lens is small enough to be considered by some to be a pancake lens. I think for her style of shooting, the Olympus will be a better camera.

But now we have an extra Fujifilm X-T10, with the excellent 35mm f/2 lens. I really like the camera, so I’ll be using it as my backup, or the camera I use when I need to use a focal length other than the 23mm that my beloved Fujifilm X100T provides. Besides the 35mm (52mm equiv.), we also have the wonderful 18-55mm (27-82mm equiv.) which is probably the lens I’d use most on the X-T10.

While the Fujifilm X-T10 is a great camera and reminds me of my Minolta X-700 both in size and looks, the advantages of the X100T still apply when comparing the two. I prefer the rangefinder-style body, single focal length, the non-detachable lens for zero decision-making, silent leaf-shutter, optical viewfinder, and discreet color/size. If I were to ever replace my X100T, it would be with another X100-series camera.

So, does the X-T10 really fit in with my camera collection? I think it does. But it only makes sense if I use it to replace my DSLR set-up. I guess I’ll put my Sony a77 and lenses on the market and try to get some money. 😄

I hope you have a nice day!

またね～

Paddington 2, Burgers, and a Broken Filter

, , , , , , , Food, Photo Life, Slice of LifeLeave a Comment on Paddington 2, Burgers, and a Broken Filter
"Ticket Stub" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO1250
 “Ticket Stub” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

This morning I was planning on seeing the 8:50 am showing of Paddington 2, but I woke up at 8:30 and had to rush rush rush! Luckily the theater is only 10 minutes away, so after brushing my teeth, throwing on some clothes, and tidying up a bit, it was off to the movies! And when I arrived, I noticed that the movie time had changed to 9 am. Whew!

The movie itself was fantastic. I heard it was good, but I wasn’t expecting to be so impressed. The entire cast is wonderful, but Hugh Grant really stole the show. So funny, especially the dog food commercial. And I loved the scene where the Browns were talking about how actors were despicable and that they lie for a living. It was a meta moment seeing actors talking about actors!

The special effects were amazing as well, with the pop-up book montage being truly breathtaking. On the other hand, the animation of Paddington himself was completely seamless and looked very natural. I never once had a “That looks so fake!” moment.

Lastly, the jokes were clever and refreshing and didn’t resort to cheap bathroom humor. The trailers before the movie, on the other hand, had a total of 3 fart jokes. I mean, come on!

I’d have to say that Paddington 2 is the best movie that I have seen this year (so far). I’m not surprised that it has a “100% Fresh” rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

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

In other news, I fired up the grill this evening and made burgers for the family. What made these special was that we also had bacon, avocado, and egg! Actually, Mariko and Bay had egg burgers, which made for a messy affair. But it did look damned tasty. Anyways, all the burgers were yummy, although I overcooked the patties just a bit.

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

"Shattered" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO4000
 “Shattered” Cedar Park, 2018

Lastly, Mariko couldn’t get the lens cap off of one of her lenses and asked if I could do it, but when I looked at it, the cap was stuck on as if someone super-glued it. And I could hear a strange sound coming from it… It turns out that Mariko had dropped her bag (which had her camera in it) and it must have impacted the edge of the lens. I had to use pliers to remove the cap, which revealed a shattered filter. Using the pliers again, I was able to unscrew the filter, then used a soft paintbrush to clear out all of the shattered glass. Thankfully the lens is undamaged, but we’ll have to get another filter. I guess that’s one example of when using a protective filter showed its worth.

I hope you had a nice Sunday!

またね～