Street Photography

Voigtlander 18mm - The Most Exciting Lens For Fujifilm In Years!

Voigtlander 18mm f2.8 Color Skopar for Fujifilm X-Mount

I have been waiting for this for years! A small and compact, 28mm (full frame equivalent), manual focus lens, with focus tab. This just might be the best street photography lens for Fujifilm, ever!

As an owner of the Voigtlander 27mm f2 Ultron (review coming shortly), I already know that the built quality on the new 18/2.8 will be premium. The focus will be smooth and the aperture ring will have just the right amount of clicks stiffness. The 27/2 is a great little lens, but for street photography using zone focus, this will be amazing!

My one concern is the very short distance between 2 meters and infinity. The 27/2 has the same travel distance between 3 meters to infinity and I found that to be very short. But I did get used to it fairly quickly, plus the 18mm will have much more depth of field than the 27mm

I still love my original Fujifilm 18/2, but it’s never been the best lens for zone focusing on the street.

I’ll review this as soon as I get my hands on one, but needless to say…I’m excited!

One Frame 010: 3 Red Dots

The vernacular railway trip up the mountains to reach the Benedictine Monk Retreat at Montserrat in Barcelona, Spain is a spectacular journey. The cable car is another option but I would recommend going up by vernacular and coming back on the cable car. After reaching the top, the air is clear and the views are spectacular. There is also a peaceful quiet only interrupted by the church bells every so often.

I noticed these three red dots on the window before heading downstairs to the exhibition and decided to wait to see if someone would walk into the frame. I had imagined a single person or possibly a couple but a few seconds later these three people walked past and I captured this picture. I shot 6 more after this one but there was no point, I already had the shot I needed. Time plays tricks on you and I had it in my mind that this was the last picture of the sequence rather than the first.

See more pictures of Montserrat HERE

SHOT WITH FUJIFILM X100T & WCL-X100 CONVERSION LENS (28MM FULL FRAME EQUIVALENT)

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One Frame 007: Man Down

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Each year in the stifling heat of Italy, runners set off from Venice on The Moonlit Marathon, pounding the streets through Jesolo. During the 2012 event, one of the runners suffering exhaustion and possibly dehydration collapsed outside Hotel D’Annunzio. Spectators tried to help the runner by placing his feet on a chair and the hotel owner brought glasses of water, with most of that water being poured over the runner. An ambulance was called and the man was treated on the ground by paramedics before being taken away on a stretcher.

I picked up the Professional Photographer of the Year Award in the news category in 2013 for this picture. It’s still one of my favourites to this day. Although the composition is technically flawed. as the main subject is in the centre of the frame and there is a lot of dead space. at the bottom, I think it adds to the. drama, especially with the extremely crooked verticals. I shot frames before and after this one but everything just came together in this one shot, the water on the ground, the number on his chest blowing down and the man leaning over him with his hands on the runner’s chest. It’s a shot made for black and white.

SHOT WITH FUJIFILM X100

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One Frame 004: Jeremy Corbyn

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I was heading to the Edinburgh Fringe with a couple of Friends (both called John) to shoot some pictures. We had decided all three of us travel there on the train so we could have a chat on the way. As we got off the train, one of my friends mentioned that Jeremy Corbyn was walking behind us on the platform. I asked who he was and John said he was about to become the leader of the Labour Party and possibly the UK’s next prime minister. So I spun around and shot a frame (which was out of focus). I grabbed another one as the entourage went through the ticket barriers (the one above).

That was back in August 2015 when I knew nothing about politics. Fast forward to today April 2020 - I still know nothing about politics, but I do know Jeremy Corbyn is not the prime minister. I don’t think he’s even the leader of the Labour Party...but I could be wrong.

I don’t vote and I couldn’t care less who is in power in Scotland or the UK. To me, they will all do as good or bad a job if it, they just move the chess pieces round differently. But I do think my impartiality would make me the ideal photographer to cover political event…I would just need somebody to point out who is who :o)

SHOT WITH FUJIFILM X100T

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One Frame 003: Out Of His Shell

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While leading a street photography walk for Fujifilm UK during London Photo 24 back in 2017. I took the group of photographers through Camden Market. On our way out the back of the market and over the bridge, this man was standing, coffee and walkman in hand, looking like Touché Turtle with a gym membership. Impressive for a man of his age and he was quite happy to show it off. Although this scene looks scarce of people, there were hundreds behind me.

I could have taken the sign on the wall behind him and taken this post in a different direction - but let’s not go there.

SHOT WITH FUJIFILM X70

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One Frame 002: TV Guys

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While walking through some narrow alley-ways in Barcelona, I came to a point where I could either turn left or right. But the light coming in from above, paired with the graffiti on the shutter in front of me was interesting. So I waited for someone interesting to pass through the viewfinder of my X-Pro2. A few people moved in and out of the frame, including girls that couldn’t make up their mind which way to go, or couples out for a stroll. But if you wait long enough something interesting will happen.

Suddenly these two guys walked through the frame carrying a large TV and I knew at that moment that I had the frame I had been waiting for. It didn’t occur to me until much later that there is a great shot by Magnum photographer Abbas in his ‘Return To Mexico’ book that has a similar picture. Now I couldn’t have predicted these guys would walk into my frame, so no copying occurred. Abbas has the best shot of course as it has a better TV and the dog is the icing on the cake. But I do like my Barcelona shot too.

SHOT WITH FUJIFILM X-PRO2 & 35/2

Mad As A Box Of Frogs

Probably the least amount of explanation for these pictures would be best. Lets just say that humans are absolutely bonkers mad! But hopefully it won’t be too long until the dreaded Covid-19 has been defeated and we can all resume the craziness once more.

SHOT WITH THE FUJIFILM X-PRO2 & 35/2 & 50/2

This Will Be The Past Some Day

Fujifilm X-Pro2, 35mm f2, 1/1000th Sec, f4, 500 ISO, Classic Chrome film simulation

Fujifilm X-Pro2, 35mm f2, 1/1000th Sec, f4, 500 ISO, Classic Chrome film simulation

I write many blog posts that just end up getting left as drafts on my website. Some I don’t get round to finishing on time and they are out of date before I hit publish. Some are rants about gear that have annoyed me, but I think twice about bitching about.

I was looking through my drafts today and I came across this one that I wrote back in September 2017. I didn’t think it was worth putting out at the time (maybe it still isn’t) and I was about to delete. But after reading it, I was surprised how it tied in with the current Coronavisus lockdown.

SEPTEMBER 2017:-

This is a picture from this years Edinburgh Fringe Festival. If you haven't been before, the Fringe is like a huge street party that goes on for weeks and has non stop performers and freaks (and that's just the public). I remember looking through the viewfinder of my X-Pro2 as I was about to take this shot and being reminded of a picture that hangs on the wall at my barbers. It's a photograph from the early 1900s that was taken in the small village where I live in Central Scotland, probably something to do with the first World War. A large gathering like we don't often see these days. Lots of suits and hats and the best Sunday dresses. But as I looked through my viewfinder at the scene above, I sort of saw it from the future looking back (probably prompted by my memory of that old picture I mentioned). What will people of 2117 see in this picture? Will the Fringe still be around? Will they wonder what this was all about? Will public gatherings even be legal by then? Maybe this will be one of those old fashioned 2D still pictures that don't have any movement or depth? And those mobile phones were so last century :o) Hopefully it's not used as a pre-nuclear war picture.

Domke F-5xb: Lightweight Street Bag

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Over-filling camera bags is something I (and I would assume many others) have a problem with. If there’s a space for another camera I’ll throw one in. An empty front pocket? I’ll add more batteries, notebooks or who knows what. So the only way around this sad affliction is to use smaller bags if I want to travel light.

Street photography is one area where I like to travel light because of the large number of miles I end up walking, and The Domke F-5xb is an ideal little bag for that very reason. I have the brown RuggedWear wax canvas version. It’s one of five Domke bags I own (at the time of writing this). I bought this one-second hand for £22, it’s in great condition and has none of the waxiness that these RuggedWear bags can sometimes have.

The Domke F-5xb with a standard iPhone 7 for size comparison

The Domke F-5xb with a standard iPhone 7 for size comparison

These two Velcro patches sit too high to make contact with the narrow strip on the front flap

These two Velcro patches sit too high to make contact with the narrow strip on the front flap

EXTERIOR

Unlike a lot of the larger Domke models, the strap on the F-5xb does not go all the way around the base. Instead, it attaches by oversized clips onto an O ring at either side, and these rings are attached using looped pieces of thick canvas sewn onto the side. The clips are extremely tough and do not unlatch accidentally (like ONA bags do). The strap is the standard Domke webbing version with the dual non-slip rubber strips to hold it in place on your shoulder. Another oversized thing is the YKK zipper. It’s chunky and both the tabs used to close the zip are massive. This zip will probably last longer than I will.

I do wish Tiffin would change the straps to a dark brown on these brown Rugged Wear bags as these light ones get so dirty during day to day use.

The zip on the main compartment is covered by a flap. This flap acts as an extra layer to keep the rain out, to keep thieves from opening the zip, and also to cover the front pocket. The pocket is a single compartment, with no zip or velcro, for holding small accessories. I have my wallet, a tiny Moleskine notebook, two spare Fuji batteries, and my Apple AirPods. I probably shouldn’t keep my wallet in here as it’s not that thief-proof! The bottom of the pocket is oddly sewn an inch and a half up from the base of the bag making it a little too shallow, even though there doesn’t seem to be a reason for this.

One downside to this front flap is that the pieces of velcro that hold it closed are positioned in such a way that they only connect if the bag is stuffed full. Each piece should be taller in my opinion.

The oversized belt loop at the back

The oversized belt loop at the back

Domke says this is a small bag or belt pack, meaning you can unclip the strap and use the sewn-in loop at the back of the bag to attach it to your belt. This might work if you use a separate belt and don’t overstuff the bag with too much kit, but I wouldn’t recommend putting it onto the belt that’s holding up your trousers/pants or you might find the photographer becomes the photographed.

There’s enough room inside the main compartment for 3 mirrorless cameras and an iPad Mini

There’s enough room inside the main compartment for 3 mirrorless cameras and an iPad Mini

INTERIOR

Inside the main compartment of the F-5xb, you will find two dividers that allow for three compartments for cameras and lenses. I have three Fuji cameras in here, an X100F, X70 and an X-Pro2 in the centre compartment with one of the smaller Fujicron lenses attached (16/2.8, 18/2, 35/2, or 35/1.4). I mostly have the 35/2, which gives me 28mm, 35mm, and 50mm (in full-frame terms) across my three cameras. If I want to carry one or two other lenses, I have to leave a camera at home. The F-5xb is always a compromise but it keeps the weight down. For the past few weeks, I’ve had the manual focus Meike 25mm f1.8 attached to the X-Pro2. More on that lens in a future blog post (or two).

The interior padded section is sewn into the bag, but there is a compartment between the padded section and the inside front of the bag. This compartment is exactly the right size for an iPad mini with a low profile case. Obviously, this adds more weight, so a choice has to be made.

One downside of the interior is the lack of padding on the ends of the bag. Domke has many bags that lean toward being smaller and better for working out of rather than being heavily padded. But the F-5xb is well padded at the front, rear and base, so why miss out on padding the sides? The bag is tiny so a couple of extra centimetres in length wouldn’t have made that much difference. My X70 and X100F lenses both face outward (toward the sides) so I have added a couple of dividers from other bags to help pad the sides a bit, even though it does make the inside of the bag a little tight.

The front pocket doesn’t have a zip or Velcro to hold it shut and is only covered by the front flap

The front pocket doesn’t have a zip or Velcro to hold it shut and is only covered by the front flap

CONCLUSION

The Domke F-5xb is a fantastic little bag that is super comfortable to carry for a full day street shooting. When I’m using a camera on the street the 5xb feels so lightweight and the rubber grip strips embedded into the strap keeps it from sliding off my shoulder. This bag is equally good for using the strap crossbody style. Like all Domke bags, they are very well made, plus they look and feel better with age.

PROS

  • Small & lightweight.

  • Extremely tough.

  • Rubber grip strips embedded into the strap.

  • Over-engineered parts, especially the zipper.

  • Doesn’t look expensive (and isn’t).

  • An internal base plate that keeps water out.

  • Can be re-waxed to make water-resistant (can of wax supplied).

CONS

  • The front pocket is not very secure.

  • Front pocket could easily have been deeper.

  • Velcro for the front flap is positioned badly.

  • No padding on the ends of the bag.

  • Difficult to fit a pen.

John Lennon Wall

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Tucked away in a small part of Prague known as Kampa Island, you will find The John Lennon Wall. A place where many flock to for reasons known only to them. Some come to look, others come to add to the graffiti. But most it seems, come to take selfies. It's a strange old world! **Click on the pictures below to see larger versions.