Journal

Arriving

2012-02-17T08:23:11Z

Alight │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E24mm F1.8 ZA │ 24mm F1.8 1/40s ISO1600Whenever I use a different brand of camera for the first time, it takes a while before its user interface becomes second nature. During that time, I have to be extra careful to make sure that my exposure and focus settings are correct. That's easy to do when I can take my time, but when attempting to grab shots as they unfold in front of me, my hit rate goes down. For this photo, luck was on my side. Despite the low shutter speed caused by the camera running into it's automatic sensitivity limit of (only) 1600, the non moving parts of the scene are sharp enough. Of course the guy stepping out of the Taxi is blurred at such a slow shutter speed, but that's good in this case because it conveys a sense of movement.

Immersed in Art

2012-02-16T13:12:28Z

Immersed in Yellow │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Biogon T* 35mm F2.0 ZM │ 35mm F2.0 1/40s ISO400Modern art galleries offer strange and wonderful settings for a kind of indoor “street photography.” Photography is usually even permitted, at least in the UK and also here in the Netherlands. Even better, UK galleries don't charge admission, so as a photographer you can go in check it out and leave again if nothing moves you. Galleries also make an excellent refuge for photographers seeking to escape inclement weather. If you're lucky, you'll even find splash of color in the perpetual gray of winter.

A Matter of Context │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Biogon T* 35mm F2.0 ZM │ 35mm F2.0 1/250s ISO800
Black & white works as well, although I had to boost the contrast to counter a rather flat, diffuse lighting. I took quite a few photos at the Tate Gallery in Liverpool, with no one paying me much attention. Be sure to turn the flash or the annoying focus assist light off though, or that won't be the case.

Footwear Forest │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Biogon T* 35mm F2.0 ZM │ 35mm F2.0 1/200s ISO800

All But Gone

2012-02-15T14:33:31Z

Soft Fissure │ GF2 + Leica 45mm F2.8 │ 45mm F5.6 1/640s ISO160I promise this will be the last of the ice abstracts. I mean that literally, since even if I wanted to take more (which I don't), I couldn't since the ice is disappearing so rapidly.

For a change, I thought I'd take my old GF2 for a spin today. While the lens was a treat to use, not having a tilting screen for this low to the ground photos was a real pain. If you like taking abstract shots, then I'd suggest you stay away from cameras with a fixed screen. They don't give you enough framing flexibility.

Washed Away

2012-02-14T16:18:41Z

Remnants │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E24mm F1.8 ZA │ 24mm F4.0 1/160s ISO100The thaw is in full swing here, washing away the remnants of winter and any hope that the locals had for an "11 city skating race" (Elfstedentocht).

Lime Street Curves

2012-02-14T08:47:39Z

Curves │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Biogon T* 35mm F2.0 ZM │ 35mm F2.0 1/60s ISO100

Baltic Fleet

2012-02-13T15:31:02Z

Bartender │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Biogon T* 35mm F2.0 ZM │ 35mm F4.0 1/60s ISO1600While beer seemed to flow reliably out of very tap in Liverpool, the hotel we were staying at couldn't get he electrons to flow back and forth between the web and my laptop. “Oh, I'm sorry sir, but we have no control over our internet service” was the helpful comment from reception. I guess one has to get one's priorities right. So I had no choice but to sit back and go with the flow. As to the photos I took in Liverpool over the weekend, they'll be trickling onto this blog over the next few days. Cheers!

On Tap │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Biogon T* 35mm F2.0 ZM │ 35mm F2.0 1/60s ISO200This is the Baltic Fleet, an original sailors' pubs near Liverpool's Albert Dock.

Cameras and More

2012-02-10T14:15:13Z

I've added an illustrated list of my current and recently used photographic gear under the equipment tab above. Writing the descriptions of each lens me realize that I don't really need all of them. As difficult as it may be to let go, I'll have to sell some more lenses. There's no point in letting them simultaneously collect dust while losing even more of their value.

Last Chance

2012-02-09T14:17:24Z

Warm Up │ NEX-7 + Konica Hexanon 135mm F3.2 │ 135mm F5.6 1/2000s ISO800With the onset of milder temperatures, this creature's habitat is disappearing rapidly. By next week, sightings such as this one should belong to the past.

This photo was taken with my 200mm FF equivalent Konica Hexanon AR 135mm F3.2 lens stopped down to F5.6. I prefocused on the track, then captured the skater using a 10 frame per second burst as he raced across the frame. I didn't need to repeat that many times before I had shot a hundred frames in only a few seconds.

Olympus E-M5 and More

2012-02-08T16:44:42Z

Partial Weather Sealing │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Biogon T* 35mm F2.0 ZM │ 35mm F5.6 1/250s ISO100Until today, I've not really been drawn to Olympus' Micro Four Thirds (MFT) cameras. To me they looked too flashy and were missing important features. So for 3 years I shot exclusively with Panasonic Lumix G cameras instead. Of course I've switched to using a Sony NEX-7 now, but if I hadn't done that, I would be taking a very serious look at Olympus' new E-M5. I would even go so far as to say that I would likely end up choosing the E-M5 over any of Panasonic's current MFT bodies. Of course that's assuming that there aren't any serious issues that haven’t raised their ugly heads yet.

The specifications look good though: for the first time we have a MFT camera that combines the advantages of a stabilized sensor with both an integrated electronic viewfinder and a high resolution, tilting screen. The E-M5 looks robust, is even water resistant and features a customizable user interface with a full suite of external controls. In addition, Olympus is promising record breaking autofocus speed and the camera is also capable of good burst rates and has a sizable buffer. Not all marketing hype turns out to be true, but it's not unreasonable to expect the E-M5's performance to be at least on par with the best compact system cameras. So we don't need to worry about performance and can concentrate on the attractive combination of features that the new Olympus brings to the table. I for one would love to have every one of my lenses stabilized without being forced to give up the features I consider essential in an enthusiast camera.

Control Wheel │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E24mm F1.8 ZA │ 24mm F2.5 1/1000s ISO100But these are interesting times and the Olympus E-M5 is not the only camera announced today that's caught my attention. Sigma also announced a duo of very intriguing, fixed lens compacts with large, APS-C Foveon sensors. Of course they already sell similar cameras but I'm hoping that the new models will iron out some of the bugs and quirks of their predecessors. At the very least, the camera shouldn't stand in the way of capturing the amazing images that the unique sensor is capable of.

Thick Enough

2012-02-07T14:40:21Z

Upheaval │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Biogon T* 35mm F2.0 ZM │ 35mm F5.6 1/1600s ISO100In the fifteen years that I've lived in the Netherlands, I've never been able to walk out onto the Nieuwe Diep (a lake) in Amsterdam's Indische Buurt. It's just never been cold enough for long enough. But conditions are different this winter and the immense area of the city normally occupied by water is now covered in ice. It's enough to make my everyday surroundings look so different that I'm inspired to grab my camera.

Tea Time │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Biogon T* 35mm F2.0 ZM │ 35mm F5.6 1/640s ISO100

Open White │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Biogon T* 35mm F2.0 ZM │ 35mm F5.6 1/1600s ISO100