Freedom Through Photography :: Part 2

The second phase of Freedom Through Photography is underway with the first of the videos and an advertorial in Digital Camera Magazine. David Cleland drew the short straw and had to get up at 4:30 to go out into the beautiful Lake District hills (only the first part was a short straw). Of course, David done a stellar job and between his relaxing accent and the great work  of the Video crew, this is a chill out experience. David (Cleland), Andrew (James) and I were there at the invitation of Fujifilm UK and Millican to promote two new bags made for the Fuji X range and the Freedom Through Photography campaign. It was a fantastic weekend with fantastic people and one of those times that you wish you could go back and savour the full thing even more.

Click on these links for more information. More on this project. David Cleland (Flixelpix) Andrew James Fujifilm UK Home Of Millican Digital Camera Magazine

Autumn Frost :: More from the Fuji 23mm

The first real frost of winter hit this week and it collided nicely with all the colours of autumn. The sun had just came up and it was a good time to grab more shots with the Fuji XF 23mm f1.4 R. Check the last post to read my first thoughts on the lens, or click HERE. I haven't been able to do what I'd call a propper shoot with the lens yet as I've got two jobs in the post production stage that I need to complete ASAP. I thought these photos went well together as they have the same composition and are all shot with the Velvia film simulation. I've been shooting the Fuji X Series since day one, but I think this might be the first time I've used Velvia. I wasn't getting the rich colours in the camera that I was seeing with my eyes, so I popped it into V mode and it done the trick. I'm loving this lens, but I have a problem with petal style lens hoods. I don't care much that the hood is plastic, but I think a lens hood should be even so that you can sit the lens down on a flat surface. Then you can change lenses and swap the bottom caps easier. It's not a problem when working out of a bag, but when using flat surfaces it's essential!

Fujifilm XF 23mm f1.4 :: Mofo & Mopho

The XF 23mm f1.4 R is probably the most eagerly awaited lens of the X-Series (or is that just me). I'll get out and about shooting with it soon and post more real world photos soon. But due to a heavy editing schedule and the need to get this post out, I thought I'd just grab a few of my instruments and fire off some shots. First up is the Mopho from Dave Smith Instruments, a fantastic little old school mono synth from the original designer of the legendary Prophet 5 back in the day. This little synth is as creamy and buttery as the 23mm f1.4 (see how I pulled it back on track:o).

I'm sure you've read elsewhere that the build quality is superb on this lens and it absolutely is. But it's one of those products that you need to hold in your hands to get just how pukka it is. Lenses for the X Series have moved into a version 2.0 phase. The original three lenses (and the two zooms) are fantastic (the 35mm f1.4 is a modern day classic) and the built quality is very high, but the 14mm was a higher quality build and the 23mm is definitely from the same mould. The mould for this one is definitely bigger though, and the 23mm dwarfs the other lenses in girth. It's one fat beehatch of a lens and all though not as large, it reminds me of the Nikon 85mm f1.4G, short and fat.

Like the 14mm, this too has the push pull focus ring to switch from Auto to Manual Focus. It's worth mentioning something here that I haven't read about the 14mm or 23mm (though I might have missed it). If you're a back button focus shooter, things are a little different now. On the other X Series lenses, if you put the camera into Manual Focus the AFL/AEL Button would act as auto focus and then you could tweak with the focus ring. Things have changed with the new style of lenses and it's one more thing you have to get your head round when shooting on the go.

The focus ring on the 23mm (and 14mm) is not continuous like the other lenses, it travels from one end to the other and stops (just like old school lenses). It's still fly by wire, but this new glass works like a lens should, which means you don't keep turning the ring after you've reached minimum focus distance or infinity. But here's the thing; if you switch to manual focus on the camera body, you can use the back button to focus, but the focus ring is locked. If you work it the other way and instead of switching to manual mode via the camera body, you pull the focus ring back, the AFL/AEL button doesn't work as a focus button. I shoot in manual focus a lot and I really miss the ability to flick the back button to get the focus close and then tweak it with the ring. But the up side to this new design, is that the Manual/AF selector on the camera is a quick way to switch between trigger finger focus and back button focus (as long as the focus ring is pushed forward into the AF Mode).

The 23mm feels perfect in your hands, especially on the X-Pro. But the quality of this lens is just stunning and Fuji has done a fantastic job in producing a lens that is more than the sum of it's parts. The 35mm f1.4 has always had the edge over the other X Series lenses, but the 23mm has a look that is just as special and I can't wait to use it on a real shoot. I'm a documentary photographer and this is a lens to tell stories. You get a great perspective with an old school 35mm, just the right amount of foreground to background without a load of distortion. It's also a lens that you can move in close and still get a great look without peoples faces getting all bent out of shape. The 18mm f2 can be a little wide for my liking, but this new 23mm foots the bill.

So the 23mm f1.4 has been worth the wait. The 56mm f1.2 should be out early 2014 and if it's in the same league as the 23mm it will be stunning. I shoot with two bodies a lot and the 23mm on the X-Pro1 and 56mm on the X-E1 will be a great partnership. I'll have more photos from the 23mm in the next few days on this blog as well as Twitter and Facebook. I'll also shoot some street photography and post them on 35mmStreet. I'll leave you with the horn, or rather, two horns. My Selmer Tenor and Yanagisawa curved soprano, two amazing saxophones. If you've got the horn and still not satisfied, take a look at Project Jazz on this here site.

Jazz & Other Projects

I've added a section to this website to include personal projects, especially long term projects that don't necessarily fit as a documentary story. Surpassingly it's called PROJECTS and can be found in the main menu. The first thing to be added is my long term Project Jazz that started as a story, but morphed into a long term labour of love.

I absolutely love looking at black and white photos of jazz musicians like Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon,Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock (to name just a few). The focus is mainly on colourful photos of pop stars these days, even though the suited and booted jazz musician is very much alive and giging. So I want to continue what photographers like Herman Leonard and William Claxton started and create rich black and white photographs of jazz musicians. I've had the pleasure recently of photographing live performances of modern day jazz legends like Tommy Smith, Branford Marsalis and David Liebman and hopefully a lot more to follow. At some point in the future, I'd like to go on the road with a jazz band and document a tour or at least part of one. On stage, backstage, on the road and everything in between.

So the Projects section is now open and kicks of with Project Jazz. More projects will follow, but in the meantime click HERE to take a look. as always, your comments are very welcome.

Freedom Through Photography

I was asked by Fujifilm UK and Millican bags to head to the beautiful Lake District in England to shoot with the X-M1 and test drive a new range of bags that Millican have designed specifically for the X-Series camera system. A weekend of photography in the stunning landscape of the Lake District with the chance to try out a bag designed for Fujifilm cameras that wasn't even on the maket at that point (breath). It took me about 2 seconds to make up my mind. But the icing on the cake was that photographers David Cleland (FlixelPix) and Andrew James were also on board.

The film crew grab a bit of footage of my bag and X-M1. I grabbed a shot for the photo at the top of this post.

Each of us were to be filmed over the weekend by the crew above (Giles, Andrew & James). We were each given an assignment. David, being so lucky, had to get up at 4am and shoot landscapes. Have a look HERE for some of his shots. Andrew followed a sheep farmer for a day and in my opinion was a bit too eager to get there. If you want to know what a sheep dog on drugs looks like, click HERE to see some of Andrews shots. I was given three assignments for my sins, but the third one was called off on the Sunday due to a change in weather. My first subject was Des, an elderly gentleman who's had an amazing life from World War II to fell running, rock climbing to Lake District Mountain Rescue. His stories were amazing and I could have stayed with him all day.

My second subject was Al, a rock climber with a passion for bouldering. He was an absolute star and kept going longer than the Duracell Bunny. His show of strength and skill was amazing to watch and he gave blood sweat and skin to this project. All that capped of with the fact he was a really nice guy.

Freedom Through Photography

For me, the concept of Freedom Through Photography is about throwing a small X-Series camera and a couple of lenses in a rugged bag (Millican of course), getting out there and loose yourself in the craft. Photography gives you freedom by escaping day to day life and losing yourself in whatever is in front of your lens. At least that's how it is for me. With a camera in my hands, I'm in the zone, lost in whatever I'm shooting. It doesn't matter what you shoot, street photography to landscapes and everything in between...photography is therapy, or at least it should be!

Millican is all about getting out into the landscape and enjoying the freedom of the countryside. Founders Jorrit and Nicky built their company around the spirit of real life cave dweller Millican Dalton, a mountain guide in the Lake District who originally escaped corporate life in the south of England in favor of an outdoor life in one of the UK's most beautiful landscapes. It was really refreshing to see the founders of a company who are as interested in the lifestyle as much as the products.

Fujifilm X-M1 & X20

The first two shots in this post were taken on the X-Pro1, but all of the others are from the X-M1. It took a bit of getting used to not having a viewfinder on this body, and the controls are a little different. But the quality of the images are just as good on this camera as they are on the X-Pro1 or X-E1. The tilt screen turned out to be very handy and I did get to use the built in wifi, a feature that will become standard on all cameras fairly soon IMO. But judge for yourself how capable this little camera is from the images on this post. The colour shots were processed in Lightroom and the black and white shots in Silver Efex Pro.

I didn't take a huge amount of photos with the X20, but I was impressed with the solid feel and build quality of it. I carry my X-Pro1, X-E1 or X100 with me all day every day, sometimes all three together. But if I was in the market for a quality point and shoot, this would be the one.

Millican Bags for the X Series

There are two bags and two inserts available. The one I tested, and still using, is called Christopher and the smaller one is called Robert (Millican name all their products after their friends). The bags are some of the highest quality I have seen (and like most photographers, I've used lots). The materials used and the craftsmanship is world class and will last for many years. They have a good amount of pockets for storing mobile phones, cables, portable hard drives etc, and also include a handy rain cover in a zipped pocket at the rear. Christopher can even hold an 11" Macbook Air and an iPad at the same time in a separate compartment from your camera gear. The main compartment can be used as one large open space or with the felt insert. The larger insert (included with Christopher) can hold an X-Pro1 (or smaller) facing down with a lens attached and two lenses in front compartments, all separated by the felt. They way I tend to use the insert is to flip it on it's side in the bag after I have removed the camera. I can then swap lenses easily and the insert keeps them in place and scratch free.  It's amazing how much gear can be packed into Christopher! I have 2 bodies, 5 lenses, an 11" Macbook Air and an iPad in mine right now, and there's still plenty of room for accessories.

The People

I met lot's of great people over the weekend. From fellow photographers David and Andrew, to Fujifilm's Katie and David. Jorrit, Nicky, Sophie and Emily from Millican, Angela from Digital Camera Magazine and film guys Giles, Andrew and James. A fantastic bunch that I hope to work with again some day.

What Next

Look out for short films on David, Andrew and myself rolling out over the next month or two and maybe a spot on Digital Camera Magazine.

It's A Wrap

So get out there and experience your own Freedom Through Photography and share your photos with #freedomthroughphotography. The new range of bags for the X-Series are available direct from www.homeofmillican.com or from the following.

• John Lewis, Oxford Street, London
• Peter Jones, Sloane Square
• John Lewis, Stratford city
• John Lewis, Cheadle
• John Lewis, Southampton.
• And at www.johnlewis.com

An Early Christmas :: The Fujinon XF 23mm f1.4

Fujifilm have officially announced the imminent arrival of the XF 23mm f1.4 R. This is the one that I, and I know a lot of you, have been waiting for. With that classic 35mm field of view (full frame), this latest X system lens is perfect for street photography and documentary photography. But not just that, it will also be at home shooting anything from environmental portraits to Landscapes.

I've never quite got into shooting street with the X-Pro1 or the X-E1. The 35mm f1.4 (53mm FF) is too long and the 18mm f2 (27mm FF) is a bit too wide for me. The X100 has stayed as my trusty street camera, but this new lens might change that, although I love the way the X100 with the lens hood feels in my hand when I'm out shooting on the streets. I think an X100s is on the cards at some point.

Like the 14mm f1.4, the 23mm has a depth of field scale near the front of the lens that makes it easier to use for zone focusing. It has 11 elements in 8 groups and includes 1 aspherical element. Aperture ranges from f1.4 to f16 and moves in the usual 1/3rd stop intervals. It has seven rounded diaphragm blades and a filter size of 62mm. The best part is that it's only 63mm in length and weighs 300g, so it must be one of the smallest (full frame equivalent) 35mm f1.4 lenses around. Price in the UK is looking like £849 and it should be available in October this year.

Asia 2013 part 5 :: Leaving The Lights Behind

So that’s it for Hong Kong. I’m typing this on the flight to my first destination in the Philippines. By the time you read this, I’ll have shot the first part of the orphanage project for the NGO, then another internal flight to shoot the second part. I don’t want to say to much about destinations at this point as the Philippines is a poor country and I’m carrying some expensive kit. But I’ll post more details at a later date.

Part of the gear I packed for this trip was a Joby Gorillapod Focus. I've carried it half way around the world and I hoped it wasn’t for nothing.  Luckily It turned out to be a good move as I’ve shot quite a bit of long exposures. I've also shot long exposure street photography with interesting results. Take a look HERE for a couple of those shots. I also wanted to capture the breathtaking views of Hong Kong lit-up at night. So here are a small amount of what I’ve taken and I hope you guys enjoy them. The first three were shot with a tripod and the next three were handheld.

I really enjoyed taking these long exposures, it’s extremely relaxing and I’m sure it’s the fishing or golf for the photographer. I wrapped the Gorillapod around railings to get the first three shots. I used the X-Pro1 for these and set it to full manual. Shutter speed dial was set to B (Bulb), with an aperture of f18 and ISO of 200. Each of these three shots took a 20 second exposure to capture. There’s so much light coming from these buildings that they illuminate the clouds and then the clouds act as a huge softbox, sending light back down on Hong Kong.

This shot is straight out of the X-Pro1 with no editing at all. I wanted to show what these cameras can do in extreme conditions. Setting on this one and the other handheld shots are 1/30th of a second at f2.8, ISO 3200. There is noise there, but I’ll fix that in Lightroom 5 later and I know it will do a fantastic job. But I wanted to show this totally untouched straight OOC. It’s a kind of eerie look with the clouds so bright at night.

This is the view from Victoria Peak at night. I was here in the day time in 2008, but it's a completely different experience at night.  I recommend visiting around 6pm to catch day, night and a sunset to boot. But go early as cues can be very long and there’s a bit of pushing and shoving to get on the Tram (boy is it steep!).

So Hong Kong is a wrap. I’m sure I’ll post a lot more when I get home next week, but these photos are a good place to leave it for now. We’ve stayed on Lamma Island at the house of friends, while they were abroad So a huge thank’s go to Andy & Honeylet for the use of their beautiful home. You get the best of both worlds staying on Lamma, an island with no cars and an amazing contrast to the hustle and bustle of Central. It’s been a pleasure to arrive in Hong Kong by boat each day, most of them listening to an amazing album by violinist Daniel Hope, called “Spheres’. It was the perfect soundtrack to the breathtaking architecture of Hong Kong, a place I’m extremely sad to leave.

I’ll do a post soon about my workflow on this trip, especially file management and how I set the file structure up before leaving home and how I’ve backed up my work and tried to keep the files same in case of theft or disaster.

Asia 2013 part 4 :: Macau

Macau is probably based described as the Chinese Vsgas, but although the later is better known, Macau actually takes in more money than Vagas. It takes one hours be boat to reach and the first thing that catches the eye as you get close, is that the water is very brown, huge patches...I wouldn't swim in it!

As you can see from above, the skyscrapers are not exactly conventional. This golden monster is the Grand Lisboa and is probably the most striking building in Macau, if for nothing else, for it's plant style design.

You know there's money in town when helicopters shuttle people to and from the ferry terminal to the various hotels. This goes on all day long.

Just like the Brittish with Hong Kong, Macau was leased for one hundred years to the Portuguese and this is very obvious in the architecture. The Portuguese actually renovated a lot of the buildings in their original bright colours prior to the handover of sovereignty (to the Chinese) in 1999.

I don't know who I felt more sorry for in the blistering heat, the couple or the photographer...who am I kidding, it was the photographer. With no umbrella to shade hime from the sun and wearing jeans (very casual over here), he must have been having the worst day, especially having to shoot in direct sunlight.

We stayed in Taipa, which is just over one of the bridges from Macau. This is the flattest of the three (first night shot) and looking from Taipa to Macau. You can see the Grand Lisboa just at the end of the road. This shot give a better idea of it's hight, with the round entrance section just visible at the base.

The bridge above (second night shot) is the Taipa Bridge with the Macau Tower to the right. You can do lots of crazy things here, including a skyward or bungee jump like HERE.

The shot's on this post were taken with either the X100 or the X-E1.

Asia 2013 part 3 :: My Favourite (Travel) Things

Fuji X System Cameras (iPhone photo)

This one is really obvious, But I stands out the most when traveling just how fantastic it is to be shooting the Fuji X system. There’s no way I could have brought three cameras and the equivalent to a 35mm, 50mm, and a 27-84mm. The 35mm being fixed to the X100, but if I was shooting a DSLR system, it would be a 35mm f1.4, which is not a small lens. It’s amazing to see all these moms and dads running around with big DSLR’s because they think that’s how you get great photos.

Fujinon 18-55mm f2.8-f4

This was a last minute thing before I left. I’m a prime lens shooter, but I went for the 18-55mm for three reasons. 1). The longest Fuji lens I had was the 35mm. 2). I have the 18mm f2, but I get mixed results with it, I can’t put my finger on it, but sometimes it looks fantastic and other times  3). A zoom is just so much more versatile as a travel lens. The variable aperture bugs me and I’m not used to lenses that extend, but it’s definitely been the go to lens on this trip (so far). I was using it on the X-E1 and body and lens work well together, but it is a bit front heavy. It feels much better on the X-Pro1. But if you own an X-E1, don’t let it put you off.

Apple Macbook Air 11”

I bought the 11” Macbook Air for this trip and I’m so glad I did. I originally intended bringing a Windows laptop, then had the bright idea of buying a smaller Netbook as it would fit in the ThinkTank Retrospective 7 and I wouldn’t need to bring a bigger bag. That idea got out of hand and I ended-up buying the 11” Air. I have it set-up exactly like my iMac, so it’s so easy to edit and organize. The 11” Air was a good choice and I’m glad I bought it. I bought the 128gb version with 4gm of RAM for £600 second hand. It was the current model until Apple announced the latest updates a couple of weeks ago) and in mint condition. The downside of the 11” version is the omission of the SD card reader and the 3rd USB port.

Kingston MobileLite G3 SD Card Reader

So I bought this little card reader on Amazon for very little money and I just love it. It’s simple and does what it says on the tin. It does feel a bit wobbly when the covers are extended at each side (one to cover the USB plug and one to cover the card(s) if you choose to keep them in), but it’s solid when the covers are pulled back and in use. The G3 has slots for both SD and Micro SD cards and takes up very little room in even the smallest camera bag.

Think Tank Retrospective 7

The Retrospective 7 is great for travel or as an everyday camera bag. I have a few dislikes about it (as I do with any bag). The side pockets are too tight for my liking and I’ve ended up using them for the included raincover in one side, which I’ve used and really glad it’s there, and wetwipes and travel cards in the other. I’d liked to have a bit of elastic on one side at least to accommodate a water bottle. On the up-side for travel, being so tight makes it harder for thieves to get at. My second gripe is that the inner compartment should have a few pockets with Velcro lids to keep small items like batteries, card readers, lens cloths, headphones etc... But apart from that it’s a great travel bag that doesn’t look like a camera bag. If you haven’t seen my post on packing for this Asia trip, take a look HERE to see the contents of my Retrospective 7, it holds a lot of gear.

Oh, and one final thing...

Micro Fibre T-Shirts

I bought three of these t-shirts in a sale for £5 each. They’re lightweight and absolutely crease free. At the end of a day, I simply wash one in the shower and it’s dry in the morning and looks like new. These shirts are an essential item of clothing for traveling light.

Asia 2013 part 2 :: Hong Kong - Great Light

It's been five years since we were last in Hong Kong and it's great to be back. We have a ten day stop over here (although two days will be spent in Macau), then it's off to the Philippines to shoot the project for the NGO, which will appear on the Kage Collective site later in the year. I shot these with either the Fuji X100 or the X-E1 with the 18-55mm f2.8-f4 (more on this lens on a later post). At this point the X-Pro1 was still in the bag.

Hong Kong is an amazing city with stunning archetecture and design. It's a living, breathing, pulsating metropolis, a great place to be and an even better place for photography. I don't think I've felt more at ease or safe,  even in the two cities where I shoot street the most in Scotland. Everyone should come to Hong Kong at least once in their life.

I shot a small video of the scene above and it looks so much like ants. everybody just flowing along, moving out of each others way and going about there business.

There's one thing that Hong Kong has in abundance, and that's great light. Of course it's better during the golden hours at both ends of the day, but like my Kage Collective colleague Robert Catto wrote about in his story Brighter, everything does just look brighter and more colourful at this end of the world. I'm afraid the UK lucked out on light.

Hong Kong has many levels in so many ways. But for a photographer, it offers a lot in the way of places to shoot from. You can be on ground level shooting what's around you, or above. In the vast elevated walkways that join buildings like a giant dot to dot. You can shoot what's ahead or behind, or down on to the street. Or you could shoot over at another walkway running parallel. There's just so much veriety of view points.

And finally, here's a couple of locals.....not really, it's my kids, cooling of on the roof of our home for the ten days we're in Hong Kong. Even they are finding the heat hard to bear.

I've posted a number of black and white shots from the streets of HK on my 35mmStreet blog, so click HERE to go there. A lot more coming soon.

Patrick La Roque should be back from Cuba around the time this post goes out (or soon after), so check his blog HERE regularly for more travel shots.

Now...where are those Digital Rev TV guys?