Tag Archives: monochrome

Time for some love…

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Truth is, I haven’t given my X100V much love lately. I’d had a few instances of camera shake spoiling photos (down to not using a fast enough shutter speed, given my shaky hands..) so ended up using my recently purchased Sony A7C with its image stabilisation and of course full-frame sensor for ‘casual’ photography. Not such a satisfying experience using it, as the ergonomics are no match for a Fujifilm camera. The tiny viewfinder is a pain if you wear glasses, and even with a slim 35 or 40mm prime lens it’s also still a fair bit bigger than an X100V.

So a misty morning this week seemed like a good opportunity to try and rekindle the connection. I figured that mono would suit the misty conditions, so set the camera up with a mono film simulation, tweaked to give me the high contrast look that Leica cameras are renowned for. Just took the camera, no filters etc and off I went.

The half an hour I planned to spend wandering locally ran to almost two hours, and I took around 35 shots.

Started processing them by loading the JPG simulated files into Lightroom, and have to say I wasnt that keen – they all looked a bit ‘muddy’ and the small amount of grain effect was rather noticeable. Fortunately I always shoot with RAW enabled, and these files, although lacking ‘bite’ were much cleaner. I had recently bought the DxO Pure RAW add-in, so as an experiment processed all the RAWs in that.

Wow! – what a difference, much brighter, sharper, and cleaner – noise, especially in the higher ISO shots was much better too. So these became my start point, and only a modicum of tweaking was needed, both to the shots I left as mono, and the few that seemed to work better in colour. I’m very happy with the results.

So it leaves me in a quandary – do I still need the A7C for ‘casual’ photography where a 35mm or so lens works for most shots, or is the smaller lighter X100V the way to go? (After all, I’ve also got a Sony A7iv and both zoom and prime lenses where I need flexibility, and that’s a much better option then than the A7C). What are your thoughts on the subject?

Alone Again… Naturally

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I’ve had my X100V for a couple of years now (and several other X100 series cameras before that) but it ‘s never been my main, or only, camera. For as long as I can remember I’ve had a camera with interchangeable lenses – film in the ‘old’ days, and digital more recently. Always seeking perfection, I gravitated to full frame, and ended up with a significant sized Sony A7iii outfit. A most capable camera, with huge dynamic range, and superb image quality, but I realised that the weight of the camera and it’s rather bulky and heavy lenses and accessories were becoming a real burden to carry – not helped by my advancing years, and dodgy back!

First thoughts were to offload the heavy (but excellent) zoom lenses in favour of 2 to 3 smaller prime lenses so I kept the excellent full-frame image quality of the Sony, but it soon became clear that that wasn’t really going to solve the problem. as it was still quite a weight to carry around with tripod etc.

What also became apparent was that I was falling out of love with photographing landscapes – after all I’ve been doing it for more years than I can remember, and with so many photographers taking good landscapes, it’s increasingly difficult to come up with something ‘new’. Tramping up and down hills with camera and tripod, and getting up at the crack of dawn for sunrises have definitely lost their attraction.

Downs Banks – Fujifilm X100V

So, I really needed a fundamental rethink of what I was going to photograph, and what camera to use. Fair to say that I’ve enjoyed finding ‘quirky’ or different photos of everyday life, and I’ve always been a fan of monochrome, even though I’m not very good at it! I was reminded of the excellent One Year, One Mile, One Lens slideshow by Todd Gipstein. If you haven’t watched it, I certainly recommend it. It’s 10 years old now, and was entirely shot on an original Fujifilm X100 camera – and for me it’s a stark reminder that it’s the photographer who makes the image, not the camera.

Something of a Eureka! moment, crystallised by some wise words from my dear wife… (she’s always right!) So I’ve sold the entire Sony outfit (no point in just putting it in a cupboard as the temptation to revert to it would be too great) and the little X100V is my only camera! It all fits in a small shoulder bag – just a couple of filters and spare batteries etc, and I even have a lightweight tripod that is fine for it if I really feel the need.

More to the point, I’ve decided its going to be mono only, at least for a while, and I’ve set up the camera accordingly. I’m not saying I won’t be taking any ‘outdoorsy’ photos (yesterday I had a little wander in some local woodland) but there will be no more traipsing across hills or along muddy paths at the crack of dawn, or stumbling around in the dark finding my way back to the car!

It’s going to be an interesting journey, and I feel quite liberated, so watch this space!

A Sad End…

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X10V0184

The Countess’s Arms – Weston Heath.

This burnt out relic on the A41 near Newport was once a lively and successful business. Formerly a pub known as The Plough, it was bought in 1999 by The Earl of Bradford, and converted into a very chic restaurant and bar. I remember visiting it many times and enjoying great food in a convivial atmosphere.

The business faltered after several changes of staff, and closed in 2009.  There were rumours that the building was being converted and reopened as a hotel, but these plans never seemed to come to pass, and the site was boarded up and slowly deteriorated. Then in August 2019, a fire (thought to be arson) ravaged the building, leaving just the shell intact, and so it remains.

I travel that road quite often and wonder whether it will ever open again, or just stay as a sad testament to change?

A mono image, taken on the Fujifilm X100V, on a rather overcast day.