Tag Archives: London

Wapping Wander.

Todays lunch hour was taken up with a wander in the sunshine round the back streets of Wapping.

Armed with the X100 looking for anything that would spark my interest. Now I have started a little project which will come to light at a later date which is based along the lines of street photography in a very broad manner.

However for todays images I have been playing with HDR to see how I make out with some new software….. previously I have tried to stay clear of HDR software and have normally achieved the look I am after with contrast masking, but I am trying to keep all my editing of the X100 files out of Photoshop and anything I do to the images is from within Aperture and any available plugins.

Now this may limit what I can do to the RAW files in the long run, however it will be sticking with my original idea of keeping it quick and simple with the new camera. I am hoping that as I get used to the X100, and get to learn all its ways I will be able to shoot JPG’s all the time but for now I am shooting both as it is enables me to rescue any images that I do not get correct in camera.

Anyway back to the images for today, and as mentioned HDR has been employed here.

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I must say if anyone is teetering on brink regarding purchasing the X100, Just hold your nose and jump in you will not regret the purchase it is a cracking camera that really performs well. It has a few issues but nothing that can not be overcome or worked round.

For me it has re-ignited my passion for wandering the streets camera in-hand, with the DSLR this was always a pain as you alway felt the need to bring addition lenses along just in case a scene presented itself that need a different lens.

Some people might find the fixed focal length a limitation, I find it more of a challenge that makes me find the images even if does mean being that little bit closer to the subject. One thing this camera does…. is make you less threatening to the subject, most of the time people area not even aware of the fact that an image has been made, with the cameras volumes settings all set to zero not even the shutter can be heard.

The only thing that is a give away that the camera is doing something is the light on the rear of the camera, and a square of insulation tape takes care of that little giveaway.

 

Posted in Candids, HDR, London, Manipulated, X100 | Also tagged , , , , , 2 Comments

Steel Drumming In the Sunshine.

This last week has seen me getting used to the new puppy in the camera kennel, the Fuji X100.

I have been taking this little belter with me everywhere and using it as much as I can to get used to all the functions and slowly getting the camera settings fine tuned to my liking.

Here is a shot of a steel drummer that I came across on the foot bridge that crosses from the South Bank to Charing Cross.

I have posted up the original colour version and a black and white conversion that was produced in Aperture. Personally I prefer the conversion, for me has just that little more pop and impact.

Steel Drummer.

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I am loving the new camera which has re-ignited my passion for observational photography, I love being able to wander about with this unobtrusive camera that everyone seem to disregard as a threat, unlike my normal DSLR which normally gets peoples attention as soon as I raise to my eye.

Would be interesting to hear which image you prefer and your reasons behind the choice, additionally I would love to hear from other uses of the X100 letting me know how they are getting on with the camera, and any issues they have found.

Posted in Black & White, Portrait, Street, X100 | Also tagged , , Leave a comment