Fuji X-Pro1

Sample Shots from Montana

 

The September-October period is my favourite time of the year for photography. It is the time when the summer “blue skies” days are over and instead you begin to encounter morning fog, stormy skies and the sun trying to find a space to get through. Recently, I was driving my son home from his late-afternoon activity. The conditions outside were plain horrible – dull light and never-ending rain (it is Vancouver, after all) – the kind of afternoon when you wished you had stayed home. As we were driving I noticed a sudden clearing from the west accompanied by fog and misty air. I quickly parked near Rocky Point Park in Port Moody and took out my Fuji X-Pro1. As I started walking toward the pier I couldn’t believe my eyes. The dark rainy clouds had turned into a beautifully coloured mosaic. Fog was flowing above the water and naturally diffused golden rays accompanied the park lanterns, which were just turning on.In this magical moment I shot about 15 images, each of them without a tripod. In a few minutes it had all disappeared. The openings in the clouds closed and the rain started. Once again, one of my favourite images was taken unexpectedly. All shots were taken with the Fuji X-Pro1, Fujinon XF 18mm F2 and processed in Lightroom 4.

Today, despite the crazy weather I decided to head out to catch a bit of seascape photography in Swanage, Dorset at Peveril Point. I wanted to try using three different lenses to create three different shots of the same piece of coastline.Firstly I tried the Fujifilm 18mm lens, set to f/11 with a B+W 10 stop ND filter to create that classic creamy sea effect. I set the camera up on a tripod, in manual mode with a shutter speed of 8 seconds. When I was happy with this shot, I then tried to make the rocks in the water more of the main feature of the photograph so I switched to the Fujifilm 35mm lens, to compress the foreground and background and to fill more of the frame with the rocks. I also switched to a portrait orientation to enhance the natural perspective of the rocks. I also used the B+W 10 stop ND filter to give it that creamy sea dreamy effect. Because this lens is so sharp I knew it would really create a strong black and white image. Settings were again manual, f/11, 15secs. Finally, something a little different to finish up with. I took the camera off the tripod and switched lenses to the Voigtlander 12mm M mount lens using the Fujifilm M mount adaptor. I laid down on the grass right on the edge of the small cliff I was stood on and framed up another portrait shot of the rocks. I wasn't using a ND filter this time, the lens was again set to f/11and the camera was in Aperture priority giving a shutter speed of 1/220 of a second....

 

Hát tuồng is one of the oldest art forms in Vietnam, and is said to have existed since the late 12th century. It’s believed to be influenced by Chinese opera performance techniques, but subsequently evolving and changed into a new form embodying Vietnamese characteristics and nature. Photographed with the Fuji X Pro-1/Fujinon XF 18mm in Hanoi, Vietnam.

 

 

Photographed with the Fuji X Pro-1/Fujinon XF 18mm in Sapa and Bac Ha in north western Vietnam. Most were shot from the hip. All were made using the X Pro-1 B&W in-camera simulation option.

For my audio-slideshow of the Indigo People with more photographs accompanied with ambient sound, go to Hilltribes In The Mist.

 

Photos from the mean streets of Singpore - an incredible location for street photography. Speaking of incredible - all of the photos are taken with my Fuji X Pro 1, and the 18mm lens - the only lens and only digital camera I have, as I travel around the world. I've chosen to shoot all the Singapore street photography in black and white. The streets of Singapore are more colourful than most, but I feel a strong connection with black and white images. Or maybe I'm just yet another poor tormented artist? ;) Maybe you could decide for yourself...

There’s travel photography, and then there’s vacation photography. In the first you’re traveling to shoot, and your time and gear is chosen carefully to deliver great images. In the second, you’re just on holiday and like everyone else, you want to bring a camera along. This is specifically a review of using the camera on a family vacation – I wasn’t sent to England and France on assignment, nor did I spend lots of time there specifically going out to shoot. But I did want to bring a camera that wasn’t going to annoy me. Those of you who have been following along for a while will remember that it was a vacation trip to California last year that pushed me into looking for a smaller but high-performing camera. The willing but somewhat limited Olympus EPL2 has now been and gone, and it was the Fuji X-Pro1 (and 18mm F/2.0 and 35mm f/1.4 lenses) that made the trip with us across the Atlantic...

 

Here's a few more from other temples in the Angkor area...hope you like them! The trick to visiting and shooting Angkor and temples is to do the reverse tour so you don't have to fight with the hordes of tourists from all over the world. The difference can be you are there with a few dozen tourists or you are stuck with thousands!

Fuji X-Pro1 with 18 mm lens and Olympus OMD

 

I returned to OB to do some more street work - it's such a varied community of locals and tourists, always something interesting going on.

 

All shots X-Pro1 and 18mm Lens

 

 

I’ve been taking my Fuji X-Pro 1 everywhere I go, and I can’t stress enough how much better my shoulders feel already. It’s a pleasure to shoot with this camera and although I’m just stuck with my 18mm lens at the moment it keeps on forcing me to try and get closer. In this post I’m posting some photos I shot in the past month in Amman, although the first photo was taken in Wadi Rum in a recent trip I took down there. I’ll be moving down to the desert very soon for a couple of months where I will be producing a feature film , I’ll also be doing the on-set photography so expect an abundance of photos from the desert in the near future. I wish I can post some of the photos from our test shoot but you’ll have to wait a bit to see those…embargos are a normal part of any working photographer’s life...

For now, here are some shots taken with the Fuji X-Pro1 and XF 18mm F2.0 R lens in Bermuda. Yes, these are some of my photos from my vacation to Bermuda. I will probably post more at a later time. The ones I shot with my Leica M9 will also turn up soon. I had so much planned in terms of photography for my trip to Bermuda but when I got there, I honestly just spent the time enjoying my vacation.

I'm going to a camera expo tomorrow where I'm hoping to get a good price for a trade in on several of my older Nikon prime lenses. Fuji has put out a teaser that there will be a major lens announcement on June 27th. Probably to unveil one or two new X-mount lenses for the X Pro-1 - a 14mm f2.8 and an 18mm-70mm f4 zoom. I've had to give a lot of thought to what direction I want to go with lenses for my XP1. My original motivation for getting the camera was because I had heard Fuji would be producing an M mount adapter for Leica lenses. That adapter was announced about a month ago and is expected in retail stores at the end of this month.

 

If there’s anywhere that lives life on the street, it’s Hanoi.

So here is a gallery of 12 monochrome photographs made in its streets. For these I used my Fuji X Pro-1 and the Fujinon 18mm f2.0 lens and most were shot from the hip. I didn't know this while on my last month's photo expedition-workshop, but it's said that Hanoi's Old Quarter consists of 36 streets (in reality, there's almost twice that number), each originally named for a traditional trade, and those eventually forming guilds. For instance, Hàng Muối (salt) Street was where the salt traders converged to sell their ware. Not surprising, since Hanoi's Old Quarter has a history that spans 2,000 years.This has now changed to a great extent, with some exceptions such as Hang Bac street (which I walked up and down many times) and that was and still is where goldsmiths and silversmiths plied their craft/trade. Most street names in the Old Quarter start with the word Hàng. Hàng means merchandise or shop. In Vietnamese, the formal term for street is đường phố; the latter word not be confused with its delicious signature soup, but which is a staple of its streets.

 

Shoot for Psyberia’s Fall 2012 lookbook and on-site assets. This was all shot with a Fujifilm X-Pro1 and 35mm f/1.4 and 18mm f/2 lens. Psyberia is a fashion goods company based in New York.

 

Client: Psyberia
Location: Lake Miramar, San Diego
Model: Lorenzo Canizales