Yearning for a Trip to the City - the Real City - NYC

 

City Dweller, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Summicron 35mm f2 v.3

iso 320, f6.7, 1/125 sec.

 

It's time. I will start planning my next visit to NYC.

 

It's such a vibrant place, literally full of stories and photographs waiting to be made.

 

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16:9 Format - Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

 

Landscape in 16:9, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 400, f5.6, 1/100 sec.

 

I've just uploaded a set of images from my recent trip to the Desolation Wilderness in Northern California to my flickr page. (Click Here) to view them all (or if you want to see this image larger). Every single one of the images in this set was captured with the LX100. What a wonderfully compact and capable camera this is, perfect for a long hiking trip like the one I was on (3 days, two nights camping).

 

I love the native 16:9 format in the LX100, though I did crop a larger image to get it in this case.

 

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Haleakala Crater

Haleakala Crater, by Reed A. George

Panasonic DMC-GX7, Lumix 20mm f1.7 Lens

Graduated ND Filter

 

What an amazing, nearly-alien landscape this is...

 

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Photograph What You Love

I just read a BBC article with the typical ten tips to bring your photography to the next level. Really, it must says one thing: photograph what you love.

Fishing With My Daughter, by Reed A. George

 

(Click Here) to read the article.

 

As I write this, I am about to board a flight to Honolulu. Travel is one of the things I love most. I intend to photograph it!

 

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Preparing for Some Travel

Belizean Scene, by Reed A. George

Panasonic DMC-G1, 100-300mm f4-5.6 Lens at 100mm

iso 2000, f5.6, 1/400 sec

 

I'm mentally gearing up for my trip to Maui and California. This is mostly a family trip, followed by a couple of days of hiking in the Northern California mountains. I'm trying to figure out how little gear I can get away with and be happy on the trip. We'll be in transport quite a bit, especially flying the small airlines between Hawaiian islands.

 

For the camping portion of the trip, it's already decided. I'll be taking my Panasonic DMC-LX100 and Fujifilm GS645S. The LX100 is the super-compact, super-capable solution. With its Micro 4/3 sensor and 24-75mm equivalent, fast (f1.7 at the wide end) lens, I'm almost convinced it's all I need for the entire trip. The GS645S will fill my need for a more manual camera, and as a bonus, it shoots medium format film.

 

For the Hawaiian portion of the trip, I'm tempted to take a camera with a longer focal length lens. Since the GS645S is a wide 60mm (35mm equivalent on 35mm format), the longest I'll have is the 75mm equivalent on the LX100. As you can see above, sometimes I like to shoot longer lenses on travel. So, this has me considering a small Micro 4/3 interchangeable lens kit.

 

For some travel gear tips from a real pro, (Click Here) to check out an article and video on B&H's "Explora" website.

 

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Do I Miss My Hasselblad Xpan? I think I Do.

Some of my Xpan Shots, With 45mm f4 Lens

 

I used to own a Hasselblad Xpan and 45mm lens. It's the only Hasselblad I've ever owned. I liked it, but didn't love it at the time. It was valuable enough, I decided to sell it. Now, I wonder if that was a good idea. I was just getting into the panoramic composition. I have continued to play with panos, with a few different cameras that give me the option - the Reality So Subtle 6x17 pinhole camera is my favorite. I also have a Lomography Sprocket Rocket, and a 35mm wide (panoramic) back for my Bronica ETR. But, the Xpan was a nice combination of small size, flexibility (it can also shoot normal 35mm frames), and very high quality optics.

 

As I prepare for my upcoming vacation and hiking trip, I'm thinking about the Xpan again. My plan is to take my Fujifilm GS645S medium format rangefinder, and my Lumix DMC-LX100 on the trip. Both are excellent travel cameras. But, an Xpan would be great, especially for the hike.

 

Nick DeMarco of the Rangefinder Chronicles shoots an Xpan regularly. (Click Here) to see a nice post of Nick's work.

 

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Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, with Lumix DMC-LX100

Here's another shot showing the capability of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100 for travel.

 

Kiyomizu-dera, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 200, f5.6, 1/640 sec.

 

Now this is a situation where most cameras would do just fine - bright sunny day, outdoors, wonderful subject. But, the detail, sharpness, and color representation of the LX100 really come through here in my opinion. None of my (much) heavier, more complicated cameras would have done significantly better with this scene.

 

I'm quite pleased with the LX100 as a travel camera.

 

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Walking in the Rain, New Orleans

I met this nice lady one morning at Jackson Square. I informed her that she was wearing the red jacket that every photographer dreams of, especially when shooting on a dreary, rainy day. She actually agreed to walk out into the rain so that I could photograph her under the tree covered in Mardi Gras beads, with the wrought iron fence of Jackson Square in the background. Now that says New Orleans.

 

Walking in the Rain, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, 50mm f1.4 Summilux Lens

iso 800, f3.4, 1/90 sec.

 

She actually emailed me (I gave her my card), and I sent her this image. It's nice to close the loop in that way.

 

My only regreat is that I had to act quickly, and didn't use a fast enough shutter speed to clearly show that it was raining pretty hard at that moment. 1/250 second would probably have capture it well. Of course, that would have meant higher iso and wider aperture, which would have compromised depth of field (I wanted a lot) and digital noise. So, this is the compromise I decided to make.

 

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Finding Space in the Big City of Tokyo - with Leica IIIG

 

Urban Space, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIG, Ilford HP5 Film

 

This gentleman on left was out early in the morning at the Tomioka Hachiman shrine in Tokyo. The lesser shrines are always a good place to go for some space and relaxation. The big ones, like Meiji Shrine, are frequently very crowded. The secret in either case is to be out early.

 

I find this to be true in almost any big city. New York City, Barcelona, Tokyo, they're all pretty quiet in the early mornings.

 

Here's another shot from the shrine. I focused on the cherry blossoms, rendering the fountain slightly out of focus with shallow depth of field. There was no one else in sight when I shot this.

Quiet Morning, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIG, Ilford HP5 Film

 

So, if the crowds in the big city get to you, simply get up early! Jet lag sure helped with that while I was in Tokyo.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Another Panning Example With the Leica M9

 

Bike Taxi, New Orleans, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Summilux 50mm f1.4

iso 800, 1/15 sec.

 

As in yesterday's post, I used the panning technique to show a moving subject at night.

 

In this case, I didn't match the camera motion to the subject's speed as well as I did in the shot posted yesterday. However, this picture says more about being in New Orleans. Motorcycles can be seen virtually anywhere; bike taxis are less common. But, there are plenty of them in New Orleans.

 

So, as a travel photo in which I wantedd to say something about the place, this one works better.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

Panning at Night

Panning is a technique in which you set your camera to a relatively slow shutter speed and follow the motion of a moving subject. If you follow at exactly the right speed, your subject comes out sharp. If your shutter speed is slow enough, everything but the subject is blurred due to the motion of the camera. It gives a great sense of motion to the image.

 

Here's a panning shot I made of a passing motorcycle in New Orleans:

 

Panning a Motorcycle at Night, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, summilux 50mm f1.4 Lens

iso 800, 1/15 sec.

 

In this case, the 1/15 second shutter speed was slow enough to give decent motion blur to the motorcycle's surroundings. Based on the fact that you can read the lettering on the motorcycle, I must have gotten the camera motion just right.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

Rain Makes Night Photography More Dramatic - Leica M9

Armstrong, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Summilux 50mm f1.4 Lens

iso 640, 1/16 sec.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Everyone, I Mean Everyone, in Japan Loves Cherry Blossom Season

Even the dogs...

Dogs Enjoying Sakura, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 35mm f2 AF-D Lens

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

 

More Men at Work - Nikon Df in Japan

Here's a guy working on the outside of a building in Ryogoku, Tokyo. Ryogoku is the home of Tokyo's sumo wrestling, and this business sells "chanko nabe," the hearty pork soup that is a mainstay of the sumo diet.

High Work #1, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 50mm f1.2 AIS Lens

iso 1100, f8, 1/500 sec.

 

After taking this shot from steet level, I went up to the platform at the Ryogoku train station to capture this view from a higher perspective.

 

High Work #2, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 50mm f1.2 AIS Lens

iso 1100, f8, 1/500 sec.

 

The Nikkor 50mm f1.2 lens functions very well as a normal lens when stopped down, though that's not normally how I'd use it. It's really purpose-built for extreme low light applications.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Invited for Dinner - Japanese Style

If you're a fish, never accept an invitation to dinner in Japan...

Where Shall I Sit?, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 50mm f1.2 AIS Lens

iso 800, f2, 1/250 sec.

 

Fugu (Pufferfish), by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 50mm f1.2 AIS Lens

iso 800, f2, 1/500 sec.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

Heading to New Orleans for the LHSA (International Leica Society) Spring Shoot 2015!

New Orleans, by Reed A. George

 

 

My two plans for traveling this spring happened to fall right next to each other this year. Both are controlled by schedules other than mine - the trip to Japan has to be on my daughter's spring break, and the LHSA Spring Shoot has it's own time constraints. So, while I'm still adjusting to jet lag from the Japan trip, I'm gearing up for my trip to New Orleans this week, to go to the Spring Shoot.

 

What better place for a Spring Shoot than New Orleans? I can't think of any.

 

(Click Here) to read about the program. Everyone's welcome, member or not, so please join us! Hope to see ya'll there (a little Southern touch).

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Today's Image From Japan - Lumix DMC-LX100

Matcha Tea, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 400, f1.7, 1/60 sec.

 

We wrapped up our last day in Kyoto with some very nice Japanese tea and sweets.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Today's Image From Japan - Someone Has to Keep This Place Up!

Shrine Painter, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 200, f5.6, 1/1000 sec.

 

I always like to photograph people at work. This gentleman was painting the shrine; you can see his handiwork right there. He was completely surrounded by tourists, but that didn't affect his concentration on his job.

 

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Image of the Day From Japan

 

Spring Kimono, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 200, f2.8, 1/250 sec.

 

Well, faithful readers, I truly appreciate your dedication to reading my blog. My dedication to writing every day is certainly being tested by jet lag on this trip!

 

I really worked hard to get this shot, as the three girls in kimono were actually taking a selfie with a smart phone. As soon as the phone dropped from sight, I released the shutter. Unfortunately, the woman in the background "photo-bombed" me by walking into the scene. Oh well, the camera captures reality.

 

Our timing was perfect for the cherry blossoms in Japan, as you can see here.

 

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Image of the Day From Japan

 

Kiyomizu-Dera, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 200, f8, 1/400 sec.

 

Yes, it is a little postcard-like, but I loved the view.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com