Category: Photography – Fujifilm X-T1

Categories
Fujifilm X-T1 Photography Photography - Fujifilm X-T1 San Francisco/California Street Photography

Playing with Empty Space in Street Photography

Enter - San Francisco - 2015

Composition – and subsequent cropping (if we choose to cheat a bit) – really shapes the images we capture on the street. Sometimes, rarely, it’s empty space that makes the composition.

This is a recent example – shot at Vinton and Grant Avenue in San Francisco with my Fujifilm X-T1 – and, I’ll admit, cropped to perfect.

The focus of the image is the woman moving into the doorway on the left edge. But the empty space – and the dramatic light – really fill the frame. The No Parking sign on the right really anchors that side of the image.

I opted to leave the image in color instead of converting to monochrome. I found the colors of the wall on the left, the woman and the street shadows added a lot to the image. In monochrome, without the colors, the empty space seemed too overwhelming.

Categories
Fujifilm X-T1 Fujifilm X100T Photography Photography - Fujifilm X-T1 Photography - Fujifilm X100T San Francisco/California Street Photography

The Two Genres of Street Photography

Attitude - San Francisco - 2015

Street photography has become my favorite genre – after having gone through a serious period of landscape (including HDR) photography. Landscape is beautiful – you shoot from stunning locations – but the hours are tough (up very early before sunrise – and out until after sunset). Seems a younger person’s pursuit.

Street shooting prefers crowds – typically at mid-day. You can sleep in – and not stay up late.

But there are at least two genres of street photography. One is based on shooting with a wide angle lens (think 35mm). The other is based on shooting with a zoom (think up to a 200mm). They’re very different – but both can be fun. In May 2014, I took a workshop in New York City with Jay Maisel. Jay’s a proponent of the zoom approach. More recently, in June 2015, I took a workshop in New York City with Peter Turnley. Peter’s a proponent of the wide angle approach.

Late last year, after I signed up for Peter’s workshop, I decided to exclusively shoot with my Fujifilm X100T – a classic 35mm rangefinder camera. I came to love the images it produced – and it taught me how see in that 35mm format.

Today, for the first time since I made that commitment, I shot with my Fujifilm X-T1 with the 18-135mm lens. For some street work, having the extra reach of that zoom is just perfect for the street candid style of photography. But the X100T is beautiful for street portraits.

Both genres have their place – I’m going to continue to explore them both!

Rear Guard - San Francisco - 2015
Street Artist - San Francisco - 2015
Categories
Fujifilm X100T Photography Photography - Fujifilm X-T1 San Francisco/California

Surfer on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach

Surfer - San Francisco - 2014

Here’s another image shot last Saturday from the overlook at San Francisco’s Cliff House.

Image shot with my Fujifilm X100T.

Categories
Fujifilm X-T1 Paris Photography Photography - Fujifilm X-T1 Street Photography

That Glance

Glance - Paris - 2014

Sometimes you see something and just feel it might get interesting. Part of the fun of street photography.

I saw the cook doing his thing through the window – I liked the framing of the soft drink cans along the bottom – and then this guy walked into the frame from the right – adding a new layer to this already interesting story – at the time of the cook’s glance my way.

Sometimes you get lucky…

Categories
Black and White Fujifilm X-T1 Monochrome Photography Paris Photography Photography - Black & White Photography - Fujifilm X-T1 Street Photography

Paris in the Fall

Bride and Groom - Paris - 2014

I recently spent a beautiful week in Paris. Paris in the fall is such a delight. Here’s one example.

Categories
Black and White Fujifilm X-T1 Monochrome Photography Photography - Black & White Photography - Fujifilm X-T1 Street Photography

That Decisive Moment – Street Photography in San Francisco’s Chinatown

Walker - San Francisco - 2014

Lots of credit – deservedly so – has gone to the notion of “the decisive moment” in photography and its origin with Henri Cartier-Bresson. The notion is a precise capture at the moment of most interest.

In late August, Doug Kaye and I went exploring in San Francisco’s Chinatown. We came across this lovely alley way that heading up hill – a perfect “stage” that street photographers love to find. Once you’ve got a stage, you have to wait for something interesting to come by and fill it – patience helps!

I got lucky – this fellow walked into my shot and I was able to capture him in mid-step – holding that coffee cup in his left hand. A decisive moment to be sure!

Categories
Fujifilm X-T1 Photography Photography - Fujifilm X-T1 San Francisco/California Street Photography

Exploring Street Photography in San Francisco

Mid-Day - San Francisco - 2014

I just finished a week long masterclass in San Francisco led by Ming Thein. Ming’s an outstanding photographer based in Kuala Lumpur who I’ve been following for the last couple of years. I was originally encouraged to follow Ming by my photographer friend Doug Kaye who was particularly intrigued by Ming’s monochrome photography. Ming’s web site is a treasure trove of valuable content for photographers looking to up their game – and the masterclass was that and more, in person, on steroids!

I primarily shot with my Fujifilm X-T1 using the new Fujifilm XF 18-135mm Zoom Lens. This kit is great – a superb camera and a lens that provides excellent coverage for almost any scene you’ll come across in daylight hours.

The image above was shot in the early afternoon outside the Bank of America building on San Francisco’s California Street. For more of my photos from this week’s masterclass, see this Flickr album.

Categories
Books Half Moon Bay Living Photography Photography - Fujifilm X-T1 Quotations

Less but better.

Less But Better

I’ve been enjoying reading Greg McKeown‘s new book “Essentialism” – and, after listening to the beginning, put together this image suitable for desktop or screen saver use. It’s a shot made in the kitchen at the James Johnston House in Half Moon Bay – and was one that seemed to focus on the essential!

Here’s a link to Greg’s book and perhaps an easier to download version of my image on Flickr.

Categories
Abstract Fujifilm X-T1 Lightroom Photography Photography - Fujifilm X-T1

One for JPC – Sunrise at the Klamath River Overlook

One for JPC - Klamath River Overlook - 2014

As I was reviewing my images from last week’s workshop up in the far northern coast of California, this image caught my eye. Led by Michael Frye, we were up early and headed from our B&B to the Klamath River Overlook which put us above the valley fog that particular morning. No marine fog – it was all valley fog flowing out to the ocean above the Klamath.

This image brought to mind many of the beautiful – and more abstract – images that John Paul Caponigro creates. Thus the title “One for JPC”.

Shot with my Fujifilm X-T1 and post-processed in Lightroom 5.

Categories
Fujifilm X-T1 Photography Photography - Fujifilm X-T1

Morning Mist along the Klamath River at Requa

The Klamath - Requa - 2014

For four days last week, I participated in one of Michael Frye’s Mystic Forest photography workshops held way up along the coast in northern California. We stayed at a delightful B&B – The Historic Requa Inn – which is situated just across from this wonderful bend in the Klamath River about a half mile from where the river meets the Pacific Ocean.

One morning we headed up to the Overlook to shoot images above the fog. We spent about an hour up there watching the sunlight shift and play with the valley fog flowing out onto the ocean. When we came back by the Requa Inn, we discovered this beautiful light shining through the fog above with a light mist on the river itself. This image was captured with my Fujifilm X-T1.

We had a wonderful time at this workshop – thanks to Michael and his wife Claudia Welsh. For some more background, see this post I wrote for InMenlo.com which includes another view from along the Klamath on that same morning last week.