Art | MiKS Media Photography

Fuji in Europe Part 6 – Street photography in France

by Mac Sokulski | Jun 7, 2014 | Art, Fuji X, People, Urban

Streets

Both villages that we visited in France were absolutely teeming with people. A perfect place to try out street photography. It wasn’t easy at first as there was literally too much to take in. Once the jaw dropping first impression passed I could think and concentrate. It wasn’t easy at first, since being quite introverted, I never liked focusing attention on myself. I tried telling myself that I will probably not see these people ever again, so who cares what they think. I had to do this quite a bit, to get myself in the proper frame of mind. It worked 🙂 … and the silent Fuji X100s helped.

Gear

For this the most often used camera? Yep, you got it, the Fuji X100s. Although I did try the X-T1 and the 56mm f1.2. I brought a special graduated ND filter with me, just so I could shoot at f1.2 in the the day time. I wasn’t disappointed. The combo of either X Fuji, and the 56mm lens is just wonderful.. really wonderful. That lens is sharp, even wide open, but I did experience a bit of strange behavior when auto focusing at f1.2 with the Fuji X-T1. I found the AF hunting a bit, and not lock on the proper subject. It only happened a few times, so I think it was probably a user error, but will test it more. So here are some street photography from France… Enjoy!

Fuji in Europe Part 5 – Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg

by Mac Sokulski | Jun 6, 2014 | Art, Fuji X, Landscape

Castle

Now what would a trip to France be with out visiting at least one castle. There is quite a bit of them around Alsace region in France. On the way to the charming village of Ribeauville, almost every hill had a castle or a ruin of one. It was a hot day, and we were feeling a bit lazy, so we picked a castle that you could drive up to. Most of the others require a nice 2h hike. Thus we ended up at Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg. It’s a beautiful castle dating back to around 1147. For more history and better images of the castle I would refer you to this link on my very good fiend’s site Hooked On Europe. The castle and views of surrounding areas were quite spectacular.

Gear

This was a perfect time to try out the Rokinon 8mm fisheye lens. I know it has a tendency of distorting the view, and in truth I don’t mind that at all. I really like the view with all the distortion, that’s why I never correct it. Because it’s a very wide lens, I can set the aperture to f8, set the manual focus on infinity, and pretty much never have to worry about things being out of focus. Easy lens, and very very good quality. It’s small and light, perfect addition to the Fuji system. In my view, castles, churches, and pretty much any architecture lends itself very well for that lens.

Goodbye France

After the castle, it was time to grab something to eat, at a local eatery where snails were on the menu. Overall I’m not overly impressed with snails, or escargots as more sophisticated readers might call them, but as they say…when in France… 🙂 I have one more post from France which will be coming tomorrow… yes more street photography. For now I leave you with a few images from the Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg… enjoy!

Fuji in Europe Part 4 – France

by Mac Sokulski | Jun 5, 2014 | Art, Fuji X, Landscape

Rorschwihr

This village name I can’t even pronounce. Another beautiful little village, nestled among the vine yards. This one did not have a castle overlooking it, and it was a little more peaceful in terms of tourists. Again, cafes, bakeries, artisan shops beckoned. It’s a wonderful time to stop, rest, have a coffee, and watch the world pass by. Nothing could be better…

Gear

All my Fuji cameras were working this day. Bringing all that gear along, maybe an overkill, but I was happy I did. Shooting with Fuji XT1 is a pleasure, but I still haven’t decided which one I like shooting with best. There are certainly pros and cons between the Fuji XT1, Fuji X-Pro1 and Fuji X100s. The XT1 excels in speed, and ease of use, the X-Pro1 feels like an old shoe – in a good way – comfortable, predictable, and thoughtful 🙂 , and the Fuji X100s is there as a back up of the other two. I really like shooting with all three, and I don’t know if I will come to a decision which is best…

Fuji in Europe Part 3 – Ribeauvillé Urban Photography

by Mac Sokulski | Jun 4, 2014 | Art, Fuji X, Landscape

Brunch in France

Why not? I mean it’s only a 3.5h drive from Nuremberg. First destination was a little french village, Ribeauvillé. Picturesque is an understatement. All three Fuji cameras got a work out that day. I particularly wanted to give the Fuji 10-24mm test. It performed perfectly. Sharp all the way, and so much fun to use. The village was perfect for this, with it’s cute little houses, and narrow streets.

Ribeauvillé

Even though I pack too much gear, walking around with 10kg bag was quite manageable, and really with so much things to see I hardly even noticed. The pastry shops, the bakeries, the coffee shops…my I didn’t know where to turn or what to train my camera on. The colors are absolutely out of this world. Buildings, streets, people…. and this is just a beginning of the day.

Gear

I think my favourite camera to use that day was the Fuji X100s, even though it’s not as wide as the 10-24mm on an X-Pro1. I had mine shooting b&w, just as an experiment, and I think I will keep it that way :). The X100s is discreet, quiet and focus is nice and fast. Perfect for this type of shooting. People just don’t notice. Second must be the XT1 with the 56mm f1.2. I had a variable ND filter on, so I can shoot at the maximum open aperture. That particular lens was used very often during the whole trip. It’s absolutely spectacular. The 10-24mm f4 was perfect for narrow streets, and to take everything in. It would be difficult with out that lens. These are just a sample of images from Ribeauvillé. Enjoy!

Fuji in Europe Part 2 – Nuremberg Urban Landscapes

by Mac Sokulski | Jun 3, 2014 | Art, Fuji X, Urban

Fuji Keeper

This European excursion was really rich in images. I was quite surprised, since I didn’t shoot so much. I ended up with a lot more keepers than usual. I don’t know if it’s the Fuji cameras, or just me wanting to get good images, with out coming home with a tons, and deleting a whole bunch. So slowing down and actually enjoying the experience of using the too many Fuji cameras, that I dragged with me.

Urban Scapes

The first day was spent walking around, and getting acquainted with the surroundings. There was a bit of street photography and I think one can call urban landscapes… I hate all these terms. Nuremberg, is one beautiful city. Leaving Canada, just when the leaves just start poking out, and arriving, where everything is luscious green, and all the flowers are in bloom was a bit of a shock. It was a little hard to point the camera that day. Everything different, everything new, and interesting. Good thing I had my very very good friends from Hooked on Europe guiding me around, and showing me most interesting places. Here is some images from that day, enjoy!

Fuji in Europe Part 1 – Nuremberg Street Photography

by Mac Sokulski | Jun 2, 2014 | Art, Fuji X, People, Urban

Fuji on a Trip

This is going to be a series of posts of my little excursion to Europe. History repeats itself, as 3 years ago, I manage to get the first Fuji camera, the X-Pro1, a few days before the family European vacation, and the whole trip was shot with that. This time I manage to get the new Fuji X-T1, a day before I left. Mind you the venerable Fuji X-Pro1 still came with me. It’s a bit more beat up, from the 3 years of constant usage, and works better now, with Fujifilm constant upgrades to the camera. One thing I did wrong on this trip though, is I took too much gear. Having switched to Fuji X cameras from Canons, I found that I can take more gear, and have it weigh less than before. This time I over did it. 3 cameras, 4 lenses, batteries, and the bag suddenly became about 20lbs. Stupid.

The Cameras

So what did I take…. practically the whole Fuji arsenal. The images in these series were shot with the Fuji X-T1, Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji X100s, and lenses were 55-200mm, 10-24mm, 56mm, and Rokinon 8mm fisheye. Most days, I carried all that gear with me, you know, just in case. Surprisingly the lens I used the least was the biggest of the bunch, namely the 55-200. I just didn’t find the need for it that much. Next time, it’s going to stay behind. I didn’t do a lot of planning ahead, thus I packed everything. So there is a tip, plan ahead, and anticipate what you will be shooting, so you don’t over pack. My answer to this tip is of course, “what if!”… 🙂

The Images

I was trying to decide how to present the images I took on this trip. I mean they are a mixture of street, architecture, landscape, urban, and fine art photography, and putting them together in separate posts may be a little chaotic. So I figured that maybe documenting the trip day by day, might be best. At least it will be best for my memories, as I saw a lot, and photographed a lot.

Thanks

So all that aside, the biggest thank you, goes to the Wala family with out whom I would be at home, photographing Alberta prairies, and not gallivanting around Europe. Great, wonderful people who have their own blog about being Hooked on Europe, with a lot more facts, history, and images then this series will provide. That blog is a definite resource, for heading to Europe. So thank you, thank you for everything!

Mac