The first event at Fujifilm House of Photography on Saturday 2 March was followed by a photowalk through some slightly soggy Sydney streets where not a great deal was happening most likely due to the challenging weather and a major event that was about to occur in nearby Oxford Street.
Normally I’d prefer making urban documentary photographs in sunnier weather for the added benefit of expressive, sometimes surreal shadows and the dramatic play of light and shade on faces, bodies and the objects surrounding them.
It was good to get out despite the occasional drops of rain and to share the streets with some other camera-toters for a time.
Guilty as charged?
On reviewing these images I remembered something I was accused of for years, years ago, when I was living in another Australian city.
I was told more than a few times by a number of different individuals there in the city’s art world that I was guilty of casting and directing the people in my urban documentary photographs of the place in order to make them look like they are going about their business but in some kind of secret coordination.
Apparently the photographs I made were “too well designed” because “real life is just not like that” and I was “clearly pulling the strings”.
Can you imagine the sheer effort, time and control over others it would take to script, cast, direct and photograph multi-person urban documentary photographs one at a time or even more so in a series like these?
I’m lazy and would rather simply be there, be alert, be in the zone, perceive everything that is going on and then hit the shutter button at the split-second when as many elements as possible are in exactly the right place, or at least as close to it as possible.
I made these photographs with a Fujifilm X-Pro2 and Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R then processed the raw files in DxO PhotoLab 6 Elite with DxO FilmPack Elite 6 and DxO ViewPoint 4 as plug-ins using the Kodak Portra 160VC film simulation preset and DxO’s excellent DeepPrime XD, exporting the photographs as 2048px-wide JPEGs.
Iridient Digital – Web site – Iridient Developer 4.2.1 was released on 21 February 2024 and Iridient Transformer 3.2 was released on 4 March 2024. Both support the Fujifilm X100VI.
I attended the Sydney Fujifilm House of Photography free workshop event on Saturday March 2, first time for quite some time due to illnesses and a number of other commitments, and was reminded of why I have always enjoyed creating and sharing visual stories about events.
August 2023 was the last time I was at an FHoP workshop event and so I’m a little out of practice but it was good to get back in the saddle, as it were.
Who knows, but if the company doesn’t then the best and most versatile alternative camera would be a Fujifilm X-H2S.
The DSLR-styled X-H2S is not my preferred style of documentary camera, a rangefinder, but its combination of video with stills capabilities permits doing more with less, as it were.
I would miss the unique capabilities and way of seeing that the X-Pro series’ optical viewfinder aka OVF bestows, and that would be a damned tragedy if the X-Pro series no longer exists.
But, despite my X-Pro2’s lack of amazing autofocus, IBIS and smaller than 40 megapixel sensor, I am still getting great results with it in combination with DxO’s PhotoLab 6, FilmPack 4 and ViewPoint 4.
Right now I am unable to use PhotoLab 7 and FilmPack 7 due to my production computer being too old to run them and the macOS update they require but I would love to use both new versions’ Zone System implementation for refined control over the tone and colour of specific zones.
‘Discover Fujifilm’ editorial and documentary with Leslie Liu
This version below has been processed from the X100VI’s raw file in Iridient Developer, then I opened the exported TIFF in Photoshop, applied the Kodak Portra 160NC film simulation preset in DxO FilmPack 7 as a plug-in then downsized and exported this JPEG at 2048px wide.
Better images to explore and show off the combined capabilities of the X100VI, DxO and Iridient Design’s software would be urban documentary photographs and portraits shot in sunlight and other unmixed light.
Image notes
I made the top set of photographs with a Fujifilm X-Pro2 and Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R then processed the raw files in DxO PhotoLab 6 Elite with DxO FilmPack Elite 6 and DxO ViewPoint 4 as plug-ins using the Kodak Portra 400 film simulation preset, exporting the photographs as 2048px-wide JPEGs.
The Fujifilm X100VI was recently released and raw image processing applications have yet to be updated to support it so the most I could do was resize its straight-out-of-camera (SOOC) JPEGs to 2048px wide.
I had a very short time with the camera with Fujifilm WCL-X100 II Wide Conversion Lens attached so did not fully explore its menu and the many new options before making the above set of six snapshots using the camera’s new built-in Fujifilm Reala Ace colour negative film simulation.
With a little extra time I would have refined the camera’s settings and programmed in one of my preferred custom film simulations.
The light and colour at Fujifilm House of Photography is often challenging due to its ever-changing mix of natural light, artificial light, monitors and screens but DxO’s sophisticated applications enable fast balancing of colours and tones via sliders while it supports more intricate processing through its image area selection and masking system that has reportedly become even better in PhotoLab and FilmPack versions 7.
Fujifilm X100VI, WCL-X100 II Wide & TCL-X100 II Tele convertor lenses
Fujifilm X100VI. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm X100VI with Fujifilm LH-100 lens hood and adapter ring. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm X100VI with Fujifilm WCL-X100 II Wide conversion lens which can accept Fujifilm LH-100 lens hood. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm X100VI with Fujifilm TCL-X100 II Tele conversion lens. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm X100VI. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm’s X100VI plus the WCL-X100 II Wide and TCL-X100 II Tele conversion lenses should make a fine, compact documentary photography set-up especially in their black versions and with the camera’s in-body image stabilization allow you to work at slower shutter speeds and lower ISOs than I am accustomed to using on my X-Pro2.
DxO’s DeepPrime XD does a great job with high ISO raw files but its results should be even better again with low ISOs.
The aforementioned wide convertor, fixed lens and tele convertor yields 18mm, 23mm and 35mm focal lengths in the camera’s APS-C sensor format, or 28mm, 35mm and 50mm equivalent focal lengths on 35mm sensor-equipped cameras.
My preferred 3-lens documentary lens kit for APS-C comprises 14mm, 18mm, and 50mm (21mm, 28mm and 75mm equivalence), my current 2-lens kit is 14mm and 23mm and my current one-camera one-lens daily carry consists of the X-Pro2 and 23mm f/1.4 R with its excellent manual clutch focus, a feature I also love on the 14mm f/2.8 R.
My preferred one-camera one-lens daily-carry combo would actually be an X-Pro4 with compact “Fujicron” 18mm lens, the APS-C version of what I so relied upon in my magazine documentary days, a Leica M-4P with Elmarit-M 28mm f/2.8.
Can we hope that Fujifilm will bring my most-desired documentary photography camera and lens into existence any time soon?
I’m not holding my breath given recent rumours and comments but will be hoping for the best nonetheless.
Iridient Digital – Web site – Iridient Developer 4.2.1 was released on 21 February 2024 and Iridient Transformer 3.2 was released on 4 March 2024. Both support the Fujifilm X100VI.
I’m in the midst of catching up on the latest cinema and hybrid camera and lens announcements by Blackmagic Design, Fujifilm, Panasonic and others in between processing a backlog of photographs from our too-infrequent trips into the city of Sydney.
Tomorrow I’ll be attending a workshop at Fujifilm Australia’s Fujifilm House of Photography in Sydney and I’m hoping it will be an opportunity to take a look at the company’s recently-announced GFX 100 II and its three new GF tilt-shift lenses, the Fujinon GF 30mm f/5.6 T/S and GF 110mm f/5.6 T/S Macro, as well as a lens for all lights and seasons, the nearly perfect-normal 44mm-equivalent GF 55mm f/1.7 R WR.
Fujifilm GFX100 II with vertical battery grip, tilting viewfinder, two tilt/shift and one “lightweight cine-style prime”
Fujifilm GFX100 II with VG-GFX100-II Vertical Battery Grip and Fujinon GF 50mm f/3.5 T LM WR prime lens (40mm equivalent in 35mm). Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm GFX100 II with VG-GFX100-II Vertical Battery Grip. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm EVF-GFX2 Removable 5.76m-Dot OLED EVF with FUJIFILM EVF-TL1 EVF Tilt Adapter for Fujifilm GFX50S and GFX100 large format cameras. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm Wide Eyecup EC-XH W. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm FAN-001 Cooling Fan. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm Fujinon GF 30mm f/5.6 T/S 24mm-equivalent tilt/shift prime lens. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm Fujinon GF 55mm f/1.7 R WR 44mm-equivalent “lightweight cine-style prime lens”. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm Fujinon GF 110mm f/5.6 R WR 87mm-equivalent “lightweight cine-style prime lens”. Image courtesy of B&H.
Linhof Master Technika Classic 4″x5″ “Snow” sheet film view camera. Image courtesy of Linhof.
While there is no guarantee that any of the three will be on display there is a chance and I’m particularly keen to see them.
Two of my key magazine editorial portrait styles grew out of using 4″x5″ sheet film view cameras mostly with a moderate wide-angle lens for environmental portraits and a moderately long aka telephoto lens for close-up face-only portraits.
All my hardware was stolen by a colleague after I moved to London and I’m wondering whether the current residents at 19 Chipstead Street, Parson’s Green SW6 3SR found it hidden in their basement? I can provide a list and it is extensive.
No matter: the analog era is well and truly over and I’ve been hoping that Fujifilm might some day make the gear to allow a similar approach be taken in this digital age.
Fujifilm Fujica GX680III 6x8cm format 120 roll-film camera. Image found on eBay.
Fujifilm’s promotional video for the 110mm T/S lens positions it for food, products, commercial and still-life photography but movements like tilt, shift and rotate are just as useful in portrait photography especially in close-up with a telephoto lens to rapidly and selectively focus on an eye and a lip, say, or an eye and a highlight on the tip of a nose.
Fujifilm used to make some of the finest view camera lenses ever though I never had the privilege of using them as they weren’t available here and the same applied to the company’s reportedly superb GX680 analog cameras for 120 roll film in 6cm x 8cm format.
They offered camera movements not unlike those in view cameras was well as a large collection of excellent lenses and were used for magazine editorial and other applications such as portrait photography by luminaries including Greg Gorman.
I would have loved one!
Rolleiflex 4.0 FT twin lens reflex telephoto portrait camera, special edition. Image courtesy of DHW Fototechnik.
Fujifilm’s GX680 series also apparently offered a choice of viewing options like the one in the photograph above as well as, presumably, a folding waist-level viewfinder with magnifier similar to the ones in Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex cameras and various brands of 120 roll-film single lens reflex cameras including Hasselblad, some models of which, incidentally, were made by Fujifilm as well as their lenses.
Another item I hope to see in action at Fujifilm House of Photography tomorrow is the GFX 100 II’s upgraded viewfinder with, I assume, optional EVF-TL1 EVF Tilt Adapter.
Since losing my 120 roll-film cameras with waist-level viewfinders the closest I’ve come is Panasonic’s Lumix GX8 flagship compact but pro-quality rangefinder-style Micro Four Thirds camera which I still often carry to supplement my Fujifilm X-Pro2 digital rangefinder camera when waist-level viewing is an essential to get the image I need without having to bend over or kneel on the ground.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8 camera with tilting electronic viewfinder and Panasonic Lumix G 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 Power OIS zoom lens. Image by Karin Gottschalk.
I’ve tried flipping other cameras’ monitors up to try viewing downwards but that’s next to useless in bright sunlight or cloudy days with lightbox skies.
The hinge of the GX8’s built-in tilting EVF could certainly be a little tighter but nothing that a left-hand thumb can’t keep in position tilted upwards at 90 degrees.
Waking about in city crowds with a little tilting EVF camera is not unlike a cloak of invisibility and allows me to be up close and unobtrusive as some of the images below show.
DxO PhotoLab Elite’s DeepPRIME XD denoising and demosaicing feature does an excellent job of resolving fine details from Micro Four Thirds and, for that matter, APS-C sensors but imagine what it could do for raw files from medium format aka large format sensors such as those in Fujifilm’s GFX cameras: 100 megapixels with DeepPRIME XD, wow!
Blackmagic Design’s Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6K Pro aka BMPCC 6K Pro. Image courtesy of Blackmagic Design.
This week’s announcement by Panasonic of its SLR-style Lumix G9 II M43 hybrid camera with PDAF, improved IBIS and amazing video capability on par with its GH6 is impressive and I’m also looking forward to seeing one of those when they eventually appear in Sydney, but it makes me wonder if there will ever be a worthy successor to my beloved GX8.
Tilting viewfinders, like tilt/shift lenses, have a place in moviemaking as well as stills photography and it’s assuring to see that Blackmagic Design is continuing to offer an optional tilting viewfinder for its newly announced Cinema Camera 6K but Blackmagic’s EVF only tilts up to 70 degrees and not 90 degrees as I would prefer.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8 professional hybrid M43 camera mostly at waist-level using its tilting EVF at ninety degrees
B&H Affiliate Link – Click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
DxO – website – PhotoLab, FilmPack, ViewPoint, PureRAW, Nik Collection – Our #1 choice in raw image processing and editing software.
FastRawViewer – website – “Is your RAW converter slow while building 1:1 previews or culling RAW files? Use FastRawViewer – a great time-saver and an ideal RAW workflow helper.”
I attended the first free Saturday ‘Discover Fujifilm’ workshop at Fujifilm Australia’s Fujifilm House of Photography and witnessed Training & Events Specialist Charlie Blevins at work exposing a full house to the power of Fujifilm cameras and lenses as top-class tools for portrait photography.
“We have some news for you: X-S20 & XApp, YouTube FUJIFILM X Series Channel, GFX Challenge Grant Program, X Summit in September.”
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – Click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
FUJIFILM X Series – August Announcement / FUJIFILM – “We have some news for you: X-S20 & XApp, YouTube FUJIFILM X Series Channel, GFX Challenge Grant Program, X Summit in September.”
Last Saturday provided another welcome opportunity to get back into the Sydney Central Business District and the ever-expanding Darling Harbour entertainment and exhibitions district so I chose to continue the monochrome cityscape documentary photography project I began on Thursday, July 27 2023.
The city of Sydney and its inner suburbs have changed so much since before the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020 and some places are almost unrecognizable compared to when I was photographing human rights protests up to and including the year 2019.
Sydney Metro train stations are just some of the new building projects going on throughout the city and inner suburbs and Darling Harbour itself is very different to what it used to be.
Even more so compared to the city throughout the twentieth century: the hoardings around current construction projects are often decorated with big blow-ups of historical documentary photographs of city streets and previous construction projects but is anyone documenting the city in all its many aspects nowadays?
I suspect not: documentary photography has never gained the strong foothold in Australia that it has long possessed in the United Kingdom.
The photograph at left and in the photo gallery above shows contemporary Sydneysiders walking past a big blow-up of an historical photo from 1941 depicting women, children and some men waving at an arriving or departing ship.
The white-hatted woman has an almost contemporary-looking face while the dark-hatted woman one over from her right, our left, appears to be gazing out of the photograph as if at the modern world.
None of the modern Australians walking past her paid the photograph any attention, and so I couldn’t resist making this photograph.
I’ve been working on The Robert Krasker Project website, noticing parallels between Australian culture and society back when Robert Krasker was alive between 1913 and 1981 and now: some things change but too many remain the same.
Conversely my contemporaries are mostly embedded within their own little virtual worlds via the cellphones that they stare at when walking, crossing busy intersections, stopping suddenly at escalators thus blocking anyone who is behind them and deaf to their pleas to move aside, and even more noticeably lurching out of shops to smash into the crowd.
Some street photographers I met a while ago declared they would never make another photograph depicting cellphone addicts but cellphone addiction is a dominant aspect of modern life and it is everywhere all the time, the same as disregard for others in all its forms.
Is Fujifilm Australia restoring its Saturday seminars at the House of Photography?
The reverse phenomenon, regard for one’s fellow citizens, is the reason I was so keen to photograph the Discover Fujifilm free seminars at Fujifilm House of Photography in Park Street, Sydney, until a change of management saw it move them to Thursday nights from 6:00 to 6:45pm.
Hours of travel to and from the city on Thursdays for the sake of a 45 minute seminar was impractical for us so we’re glad to see Saturday mornings being restored and will be attending these two at least.
“Fujifilm Australia supports local creatives by offering opportunities to meet, learn, improve on your skills, to hear from our X-Photographers, and try our range of X Series and GFX cameras and lenses.”
We’ve not met Fujifilm Australia’s new training manager yet so will find out if he will be as receptive to our photography of these events as former presenter Stephen Pierce.
Powerhouse Museum’s acquisition of The Australian Centre for Photography’s collection
I would love to see the Powerhouse Museum become a real centre for photography and moviemaking in all their aspects and genres and start to make up for the yawning gap in access, education and viewing that exists for both in Sydney.
Sydney’s Ultimo-based Powerhouse Museum, formerly part of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS), now seems to have reverse-rebranded all of MAAS to The Powerhouse and has expanded from one location into four:
“The Powerhouse has four locations across Sydney, Australia.
Powerhouse Museum Ultimo, 500 Harris Street, Ultimo.
Powerhouse Castle Hill, Museums Discovery Centre, 172 Showground Road, Castle Hill.
Sydney Observatory, 1003 Upper Fort St, Millers Point.”
The Powerhouse acquired the photography collection of the new defunct Australian Centre for Photography in late 2022 but so far hard information about the new role of photography and other digital and screen-based media has been difficult to come by.
“Powerhouse Photography is a new initiative dedicated to amplifying Australian photography and lens-based practice. This program continues the important work of the Australian Centre for Photography (ACP).
For nearly 50 years, ACP was central to industry and community engagement with photography, which aligns with Powerhouse’s vision to promote and embed creative industries in museum practice. Powerhouse has acquired ACP’s photography archive and fund and will continue their legacy through Powerhouse Photography….”
So far the only mention of photography at the Powerhouse website is something called Photofields, running there during Sydney Design Week from 15-24 September 2023:
“Photofields is an industry-centred program that engages with contemporary issues and ideas at the intersection of photography, architecture and design. The program examines a range of image-making practices, and how they affect the way we relate to natural and built environments.”
Image notes
Photographed with Fujifilm X-Pro2, Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R and Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R then we processed the X-Trans raw files in DxO PhotoLab Elite with DxO FilmPack Elite and DxO ViewPoint as plug-ins using DxO’s DeepPRIME XD, the Fujifilm Acros + R film simulation and selenium/gold split toning.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – Click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
DxO – website – PhotoLab, FilmPack, ViewPoint, PureRAW, Nik Collection – Our #1 choice in raw image processing and editing software.
FastRawViewer – website – “Is your RAW converter slow while building 1:1 previews or culling RAW files? Use FastRawViewer – a great time-saver and an ideal RAW workflow helper.”
Photo Mechanic Plus – website – “Photo Mechanic®Plus is the Ultimate Image Database for Photographers.”
Powerhouse Museum – website – “The Powerhouse is the largest museum group in Australia. It sits at the intersection of the arts, design, science and technology and plays a critical role in engaging communities with contemporary ideas and issues. It is custodian to over half a million objects of national and international significance and is considered one of the finest and most diverse collections in Australia.”
August is traditionally the coldest and darkest month of winter in Australia and today is typical. We’re grateful that this house is a rare exception in being fully insulated and with excellent natural lighting and ventilation so we’re not shivering or running the air-conditioning at full blast 24/7 as the occupants of the giant brand-new block-filling MacMansions surrounding us are right now.
Today is a good day to process photographs we made the last time we were in the Sydney CBD when it was sunny and rather warm for winter and we’re already feeling a little warmer on being reminded of all that lovely sunshine and clear blue skies.
Fujifilm Australia’s Fujifilm House of Photography has suspended its free Saturday morning Discover Fujifilm seminars, replacing them with 45-minute Thursday evening presentations that we have yet to attend due to the time and hassle of walking, busing and training into Sydney from the far-flung northern suburbs then back again so we’re seeking other reasons to visit the city on Saturdays or Sundays.
I’ve throughly enjoyed attending Fujifilm Australia’s seminars as they’re the closest thing we have in Sydney to some sort of gathering place for serious photographers, something I’ve badly missed from other countries.
Sydney’s Fujifilm House of Photography is smaller than the Fujifilm House of Photography in London, one room on one floor compared to many of each, but it is a place where I feel welcome and even more importantly, accepted.
One sign of that is that FHoP’s manager is female and other employees are also female while the newest employee is a graduate from the University of the Arts London’s London College of Communications photojournalism and documentary courses with experience in working for the press in several countries.
I’ve also throughly enjoyed documenting Sydney FHoP’s seminars in colour for Unititled.Net’s Photo Galleries and they’ve provided and excellent opportunity to try out a range of DxO colour negative and transparency film simulations in combination with different focal lengths for photographing the same subject matter in the same location but interpreting them in slightly different ways.
I’ve learned that some though not all colour negative film simulations are great for processing raw images shot under mixed light sources and that it is well worth breaking free from the colour reversal film simulations I usually choose based on having relied upon analog colour transparency films for years.
Digging into detail and darkness with monochrome and DxO
My first analog rangefinder camera was a secondhand Leica M-4P with a brand new Leica Summicron-M 35mm f/2.0 lens and using them with Kodachrome 64 and Panatomic-X film was a revelation, like opening a door into a whole new dimension.
Later I added medium and large format rangefinder cameras to my kit and pushed my urge for detail and rich high and low value image information even further.
Our Fujifilm X-Pro2 with Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R stopped down to between f/8.0 and f/11 with the shutter speed at 1/500 to 1/1000 and Auto ISO selected is the closest I’ve been getting in digital to what I used to do in analog and I’ve been loving it.
I’m especially impressed by how dark I can go with shadows when processing my X-Trans raw files in DxO’s DeepPRIME XD while still retaining just enough information.
I’ll continue carrying our XF 23mm each time we travel into the Sydney CBD whatever our ostensible purpose so I can continue with this series but I’ll also be packing our XF 14mm f/2.8 R and XF 50mm f/2.0 R WR when colour will be more expressive than monochrome.
Image notes
Photographed with Fujifilm X-Pro2 and Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R then we processed the X-Trans raw files in DxO PhotoLab Elite with DxO FilmPack Elite and DxO ViewPoint as plug-ins using DxO’s DeepPRIME XD, the Fujifilm Acros + R film simulation and selenium/gold split toning.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – Click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
DxO – website – PhotoLab, FilmPack, ViewPoint, PureRAW, Nik Collection – Our #1 choice in raw image processing and editing software.
FastRawViewer – website – “Is your RAW converter slow while building 1:1 previews or culling RAW files? Use FastRawViewer – a great time-saver and an ideal RAW workflow helper.”
Despite widely variable light and weather a number of cycle packs of all sizes showed up at our usual Saturday morning location, next door in smaller groups or in the main street in far larger packs so what else can one do but photograph them and see how far I can go with DxO DeepPRIME XD enhanced shadows?
Photographed with Fujifilm X-Pro2 and Fujinon XF 50mm f/2.0 R WR then the X-Trans raw files were processed in DxO PhotoLab Elite with DxO FilmPack Elite as a plug-in using DeepPRIME XD, the Agfa Scala film simulation and selenium/gold split toning.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – Click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
DxO – website – PhotoLab, FilmPack, ViewPoint, PureRAW, Nik Collection – Our #1 choice in raw image processing and editing software.
FastRawViewer – website – “Is your RAW converter slow while building 1:1 previews or culling RAW files? Use FastRawViewer – a great time-saver and an ideal RAW workflow helper.”
Photo Mechanic Plus – website – “Photo Mechanic®Plus is the Ultimate Image Database for Photographers.”
Cyclists, “cycle nazis”, “corporate cycle men”: to describe them as unpopular here is an understatement in the extreme given they suddenly turned up in giant road-filling packs in 2009 and began ruling our streets to the point where they now stage a twice-yearly road race through once-safe, once-quiet outer-suburban main roads and backstreets.
But here they are once again now that it’s an increasingly rare cloudless sunny day, a manifestation of the Australian class war that we’re not supposed to admit exists.
Photographed with Fujifilm X-Pro2 and Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R then the X-Trans raw files processed in DxO PhotoLab Elite with DxO FilmPack Elite as a plug-in using DeepPRIME XD, the Agfa Scala film simulation and selenium/gold split toning.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – Click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
DxO – website – PhotoLab, FilmPack, ViewPoint, PureRAW, Nik Collection – Our #1 choice in raw image processing and editing software.
FastRawViewer – website – “Is your RAW converter slow while building 1:1 previews or culling RAW files? Use FastRawViewer – a great time-saver and an ideal RAW workflow helper.”
Time to reacquaint myself with the terrors and pleasures of colour transparency films or at least some of the excellent digital simulations of them by companies like DxO, after using colour negative film simulations for some time now.
Until Kodak killed off Kodachrome 64 it was my default colour transparency film for documentary photography and then I replaced it with Fujifilm’s Velvia 50 followed by Velvia 100.
Colour negative films loomed low as none of my clients wanted prints and good colour labs and printers were hard to come by, and now I’m often finding that I prefer colour negative simulations for documentary photographs featuring people.
Then, we began experiencing mid-winter days with strange light, odd weather and narrow beams of sunlight through puffy or misty clouds so I thought I’d see what some snapshots made recently would look like with simulated Fujifilm Velvia 100.
Will we see daylong cloudless blue skies and laser beam sunlight again sometime soon?
B&H Affiliate Link – Click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
DxO – website – PhotoLab, FilmPack, ViewPoint, PureRAW, Nik Collection – Our #1 choice in raw image processing and editing software.
FastRawViewer – website – “Is your RAW converter slow while building 1:1 previews or culling RAW files? Use FastRawViewer – a great time-saver and an ideal RAW workflow helper.”
UNITITLED.NET 