Moving home to a new region was never my “plan A”. High on my list of equipment that may not like being moved was the Canon iPF6300 large format printer.
Moving South!
My home here in Christchurch was thrown at least three feet upwards and sideways in the Christchurch earthquake in 2011.
I have been lucky. I have been able to continue living in the house, I am on high ground and haven’t been flooded out, and I didn’t completely lose my income.
Fujifilm X-trans sensors and large prints
After using a full frame sensor for the last few years, my only reservation about going back to an APS-C sensor was whether I could make 24 inch wide prints from the files.
Fuji X-E2 high ISO
I recently made 17×25 inch (43×63.5 cm) prints to look at the high ISO performance of my Fujifilm X-E2.
I loathe pixel-peeping on screeen. To judge a camera’s sensor I want to see photos on a wall.
Switching to Fujifilm
After being with Canon since 2004, I’ve sold the lot and moved to Fuji. There’s nothing like burning your bridges to sharpen your wits and make you learn new ways.
Photo and Video gave me a good trade-in, and there is still enough credit left over to cover the XF10-24mm zoom when it comes out.
Like every system it isn’t perfect and it won’t suit everyone, but I’ve spent a happy summer out photographing and I’m pleased with the results.
My backpack now weighs 2.5kg in total. One camera body, three lenses, sundry filters, straps, batteries and chocolate.
Some informal test reports coming soon.
“What is art?” (With a nod to Robert Henri)
The approach of Christmas. They say you can hear the dismal cash-register lullaby from afar on a moonless night when the chill winds from the fens stalk the living.
Hmm, this time of year puts me in a strange mood. Here’s another thing that does it: the question “What is art?” It shows its face immediately after the question “is this art?” (often referring to some new fashion).
Is this the ideal street camera?
On the 3rd of November I attended a street photography workshop run by Fuji and Tony Bridge here in Christchurch. From the range of models on offer for for the day I chose an X-A1. I haven’t used a camera without a viewfinder before and I wanted a bit of a challenge. I spent ten minutes setting it up and working out the controls and went out photographing.
Here are a few thoughts about its use for street photography. This is not strictly a review, just my impressions after two hours of use.
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Exhibition at St Andrews Preparatory School
St Andrews College are kindly hosting an exhibition of my work on standing stones and my images from the Antarctic.
So, really there are two exhibitions! And here are their details:
Three ways we improve our photography
There are many methods used by photographers to develop their skills. But three really stand out. We work with them regularly to mature our vision, to bring clarity to what we want to express, and to refine the way we go about this.
Here they are in no particular order.