Friday, April 27, 2012

Space Shuttle Enterprise Fly-By

Today the space shuttle piggyback flew by the metro-NYC area.
I was out with the Fujifilm X-S1 to capture some images.  It was pretty cool.






Weekly Email - 4-27-12 - It's A Helluva Town!

New York City never disappoints me.  Anytime you fall into a lull and think you've seen it all, a winning moment waits around the corner.

The other day while walking to the subway at Union Square around 8:15am a woman in an incredibly short skirt crossed in front of me on what I will assume was her "stride of pride" (aka walk of shame).  She was clearly uncomfortable in her last night's outfit.  Well no sooner could I lift my camera to my hip while walking did a man walking towards us glance her way.  It was a lucky shot and I didn't realize how well I caught his glance until I looked at the image on the Mac later that evening. 

This is further proof of my feeling to always have a camera with me since you just never know what pops out in front of you.



Now which version do we like better?  The black and white or color?

Fujifilm X-Pro1 with 18mm lens ISO 1000 - F/5.6 @ 1/400th


Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Fujifilm X-Pro1 with the 60mm lens

The X-Series 60mm lens has lagged behind the 18mm & 35mm in delivery to the dealers.  This week we will see them arrive at the dealers and folks can get their hands on a terrific lens for portrait, macro, still-life and whatever else you like a medium telephoto for.  The sharpness is great and it's a terrific lens to own.  


I've been experimenting with the 60mm (35mm equivalent is 91mm) for a couple months and have shared many images from my pre-production lens, and my final version is now in my hands so I'll update more images later.


For now here's a quick sample of the aperture look and some X-Pro1 colors.  I think the jpegs deliver fabulous results.  Don't forget to adjust the film simulation modes.  I hope people play around with the new negative settings as well as the great setting of Astia for daylight portraits.  One of the best slide films ever made and perfect for scanning for you film folks out there using a hybrid digital and film workflow.  (Almost all sold out now - lots of 4x5 available though)


The new flash model EF-X20 is next on my list to shoot with.  I must say the Assist Grip for the X-Pro1 is a terrific fit and once I pair it with a Thumb's Up type adapter and a soft release I'll be one happy shooter!  Remember to update the firmware of your camera and lenses.




 The images below are shot at three different apertures to give you an idea about the various depth of field looks.  F2.4 - F/8.0 and F/22.



Backlit at ISO 400 @ F/2.4

 Then I followed the trail of an ear of corn for some grab shots with the 60mm lens.



ISO 400

Using the multiple focus points to select far right

Perfect afternoon light reflecting into this shot







I am an employee of FUJIFILM North America Corporation.
The statements, comments and opinions expressed here represent my own, personal views and are not endorsed by, or affiliated in any way with, FUJIFILM North America Corporation or its affiliates.
bremler@fujifilm.com

Monday, April 23, 2012

Fujifilm X-Pro1 @ ISO 2500 - Is this love?

It's great to have a camera you can depend on at high ISO.  The X-Pro1 with the 35mm F/1.4 is wonderful to carry and use at all times.
I'm certainly not showing off an amazing image but the other night at 11:20pm while walking around town I noticed this guy in what I thought would be an enjoyable moment - but do you think he seems into it at all??  C'mon dude - give her a hug!

X-Pro1 with 35mm lens - ISO 2500 at F/1.4 @ 1/20th handheld.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Fujifilm X-Pro1 @ Madison Square Garden

It's virtually impossible to not get some great shots at a rock concert.  The lighting is so dialed in to the mood of the show that you just have to have some decent gear to capture the light and be in the right position.   The hardest part about shooting the singers is that they are always in motion.  Even though the light looks terrific the exposure needs to be the right combination of shutter speed, aperture and ISO to freeze the action and retain some detail in the background.


So last night when Todd called and said hey you want to go to the Garden to see a show I was like I'm in!  I grabbed a very light set of gear - Fujifilm X-Pro1 and the 18mm & 35mm lenses.  I figured I'd try to capture the ambiance of the show more so than the close-up action.  I shot in jpeg only for this show and made 529 exposures and the battery still had life.


The show was Bush and Nickelback and they were awesome.   They had a neat experience at the show when they get on a flying stage which lifts and transports them from the main stage to the center of the MSG floor.  It also rotated so everyone got a chance to see them and of course take pics and video.
If you review your music catalog and give them a whirl, I'm sure they'll fire you up on a Friday night!

The beauty of the X-Pro1 here is that it's low profile yet high quality allowed me to shoot unfettered since nobody really takes notice of you with a small retro style camera.  But as we know the images that the camera produces are amazing!
I shot most of the action shots at ISO 1600.  I did change occasionally from ISO 1000-2000 for all the images.  Click to enlarge them.  Exposures varied but safe to assume many at 1/250 with apertures F/1.6 - 2.2.











































I am an employee of FUJIFILM North America Corporation.
The statements, comments and opinions expressed here represent my own, personal views and are not endorsed by, or affiliated in any way with, FUJIFILM North America Corporation or its affiliates.
bremler@fujifilm.com








A Quick Look at the 1972 Hasselblad 500C/M

Just a few snaps of the awesome and durable 500C/M.