Bring it In…

As I’ve mentioned over on my Google+ stream, I’ve been using my X100 quite a bit lately, even to shoot sporting events that my daughters are part of. Â It’s been a lot of fun, I must admit, particularly since I’d previously photographed such games with a DSLR and much longer zoom lenses (usually 70-200 f/2.8). Â Shooting with the X100 (35mm equivalent lens) really helps me to think about what it is I want to “say” with my photographs. Â Case and point, today’s shot of my daughters’ team (dark jerseys) and the opposing team. Â As soon as I saw them all gathered out there, and the referees in the “frame” of my minds eye as well, I made a bee-line out onto the court to capture that moment. Â Like all the other shots during the 2-day tournament, I knew that post-processing this shot in black and white would help me to keep the attention on what was going on in the scene.

The Colors of the Season

What I really miss about living in Germany during this festive season are all the ” “colors” of the Weinachten: the colors, the lights, the feeling. You just don’t see that here in the U.S., it seems. If you’ve ever been to the Christmas markets in Germany, you know what I mean. This little tree in Vienna, Virginia, which I photographed with my X100 a few days before I came back to California, brought those memories rushing back, as did post processing the shot for today’s post.

This way up…

As I was going through my extensive backlog of Route 66 digital negatives, I came across this sign I captured with my Fuji X100 at the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas. While I loved the striking colors of the sign, contrasted against a brilliant blue sky, I also thought it might look pretty good in Black and White. Here is what I came up with. By the way, this place has some crazy good pies (quite famous, I should note). They’re know, affectionately, as Ugly Crust Pies. If you ever happen to be in Adrian, TRY THE PIE at the Midpoint Cafe!

This is how I roll…

A week or so ago, I sent my DSLR and several lenses in to Nikon Service Center for check-ups/maintenance. It’s been nice running around town with just my iPhone and my X100, as they’ve really has forced me to think in all new ways about my compositions/framing, especially since my primary lens of choice, for several years, has been a 14-24mm wide-angle lens mated to a full-frame DSLR. Now that I was constrained to only 35mm with the X100 (and to whatever the iPhone is), I’ve become much more deliberate about what stays in the frame and what is “excess”. I’ll start posting some of the results in the coming days. Â By the way, if you have not already figured it out, today’s photograph is one I shot and post-processed with the iPhone.

X100 does HDR… and how!

Yesterday, a visitor to this website asked me how, exactly, I handle shooting High Dynamic Range photography with the X100, particularly when the dynamic range of light on the scene exceeds what a normal five-shot bracket set (+2, +1, 0, -1 and -2) would be able to cover. Â More specifically, the reader wanted to know if it was possible to shoot a seven-shot braket set of photos (+3, +2, +1, 0, -1, -3 and -3) with the X100. Â Answer: Â Yes, absolutely. Â In brief, you’ll use the following steps (listed under today’s photo) to do this, and I’ve included a short video tutorial under today’s photograph to walk you through this. Â Let me know if this is useful.

1. Â Set X100 to Aperture Priority

2. Â Make sure EV dial is set to 0 and take one shot at 0 EV

3. Â Then, set Drive button on dial of X100 to AE BKT and choose 1 stop increments (as opposed to 1/3 or 2/3)

4. Â Now go to the top of the camera and dial the EV down two stops from 0 to -2.

5. Â Press the shutter release (this now gives you three exposures (-3, -2 and -1 EV).

6. Â NowÂ go to the top of the camera and dial the EV up four stops from -2 to +2.

7. Â Press the shutter release (this now give you three exposures (+1, +2 and +3).

8. Â Once you’ve done the above, you will have a total of 7 brackets (-3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2 and +3).