Urban | MiKS Media Photography

Fuji in Europe Part 27 – Last day in Nuremberg

by Mac Sokulski | Jul 15, 2014 | Art, Fuji X, Nature, People, Urban

It has finally come to this. Last in day in Nuremberg, and my good friend from Hooked on Europe decided that it would be good to go out on the streets again, and try some fuji night shooting. We started off early, before the sun went down. Which allowed me to catch some images with the golden light of the setting sun. Nice long shadows, beautiful colors, great pictures. It was a great finish to a wonderful day spent in the quiet atmosphere of the Altenburg Castle, then wondering the old streets of Bamberg. Luckily I was leaving in the afternoon the next day, so I had time to go and spend the evening in great company, taking pictures of this beautiful city of Nuremberg.

Fuji in Europe Part 26 – The streets of Bamberg.

by Mac Sokulski | Jul 14, 2014 | People, Urban

From the hill where the Altenburg Castle is located, it’s a short drive the town of Bamberg. As mentioned in the previous post, it’s a very old city, and very beautiful. Walking around the streets on a beautiful sunday afternoon, there are lots of people relaxing, and enjoying the views. Most shops are closed on Sundays, which actually is quite a nice change from Canadian market, that seems to be open 24/7. It’s a very nice change of pace, providing ample opportunities for street photography. Armed with Fuji X100s, it’s quite easy to just walk around and hip shoot, anything and anyone that seems interesting. I’ve talked about the silent stealth of this camera in previous post, and here it didn’t fail either. Even when brought to the eye level, people usually ignore it, because it’s small and nondescript. Most actually think it’s an old film camera, because of it’s looks. Not that the other Fuji cameras, the X-Pro1 and the XT1 are more visible. Their shutters are a little louder, but nothing compared to a full sized DSLR. So all Fuji cameras I had, work perfectly for quiet street photography. I just wished I was better at it 🙂

Fuji in Europe Part 25 – Altenburg Castle

by Mac Sokulski | Jul 13, 2014 | Fuji X, Landscape, Urban

It’s my last day in Europe. We didn’t want to travel to far, but then again you don’t have to travel very far in Germany, to run into history. This time it was a little town called Bamberg. When I say history, this town is about 1000 years old. Surrounded by 7 hills it’s often referred to as the Franconian Rome. On one of the highest hills lies the Altenburg Castle. It’s a small structure, built in the early 1100. For about 300 years it a was a quite home for local bishops. It’s a beautiful spot, with great views on the surrounding country side. Even better views are from the castle tower, that is still climbable. I guess it was good to be the bishop in those days.

Fuji in Europe Part 24 – The Streets of Prague

by Mac Sokulski | Jul 11, 2014 | Fuji X, People, Urban

Walking around old town of Prague can be quite rewarding if you like street photography. There are interesting people, tourists, political rallies, musicians and many others. It’s never boring. Taking their pictures with a silent camera, like Fuji X100s, is also great, because no one notices, thus no forced poses or awkward smiles from the subjects. Everything comes out almost as it was at the time you pressed the shutter release. I think that’s why the Fuji X100S is so in demand for street photography. Great lens, great sensor, very good images, and silent. Here is my attempt at street photography in Prague…

Fuji in Europe Part 23 – Palace, Cathedral and Prague

by Mac Sokulski | Jul 9, 2014 | Fuji X, Landscape, Urban

Walking a sloping narrow street, full of people and cars, towards the palace, you can see the beauty and craftsmanship of the old building lining the street. Every building is different, yet they somehow fit very nicely together. It was a hot and muggy day, with a promise of a storm in the air. The climb was worth the effort though. The view of Prague, was magnificent, and the palace wasn’t too shabby either. We didn’t have time to go inside, as you can waste a day, stumbling through the halls of the palace (I hear it is beautiful inside), so we walked around, and popped in to a couple of churches. Here again, the Czechs are more resourceful then the Germans. In one church you had to pay to be allowed to take photos. We got politely ushered out, because we didn’t pay. Interesting concept, but definitely not a new one…. 🙂

Gear

This time, again, because of the beautiful views, and tall spires of the cathedral, the Fuji 10-24mm f4 lens was a perfect choice. As I said before this has to be one of my favorite lenses on the Fuji camera. I like the range it covers, and I find it perfect for the wide shots of the beautiful landscapes.

Fuji in Europe Part 22 – Falling in love with Prague

by Mac Sokulski | Jul 8, 2014 | Fuji X, Landscape, People, Urban

One thing I have to say I like about the Czechs. They know how to play up to tourists. The old city hall tower has an observation deck, which is accessible and the views are stunning. Now, all the German towns and cities also had towers with observation decks. The only difference is that the Czechs were smart, and installed a nice elevator in the tower, Germans are a little more primitive, and if one wanted to see the top, one had to use the old way of climbing, namely stairs. I could almost say the this was a stair climbing trip. It was a hot and humid day, and since I’m lazy (one of the reasons I shoot with the Fuji cameras now) 🙂 , so having access to an elevator was blessing 🙂 . Of course if you feel like continue the masochistic ritual of climbing stairs, you can. The views from the tower, as I said above were brilliant. The whole city on the palm of my hand. The clouds started breaking allowing for sun to peak through. Even though there were a lot of people, all tourists and speaking different languages, they were friendly, and courteous. After the views from the tower, we started around the square, where at least 4 weddings were going on, and we turned our way towards the palace and cathedral.

Gear

The views from the city hall tower, required only one lens. Of course the Fuji 10-24mm, but because of uneven lighting coming from the beautiful skies, I found the HDR process to work best for these images. Besides the Fuji 56mm lens, I have to say that the Fuji 10-24mm is my second favorite lens. I really like the wide view it produces, and the quality of images. It’s light, and a joy to use. Images just speak for themselves.