Krabi Thailand

Beautiful and friendly Thailand. Every time I go to Thailand I enjoy it more and more. The people are always super friendly and respectful, always willing to help in anyway they can. Now trying to find something interesting and authentic to shoot becomes a little tricky when you find yourself in a tourist spot like Krabi but with the help of a great tour guide I managed to get away from the usual more well known places.

Although this trip wasn't purely for photography I did manage to get a few great shots as well as trying my hand at shooting 35mm film which I have been wanting to do for a long time. Shooting film alongside digital proved to be a challenge for me because the way you go about shooting each format is completely different. I found with digital I am used to shooting a lot more photos per scene but with film I really had to slow down and think about my shots. The other benefit of shooting digital is that I got instant feedback how the photo looked and obviously the same is not possible when using film. This can be frustrating but at the same time exciting. The one thing I will change for the next trip is that I will have to choose beforehand which medium to shoot, digital or film as both at the same time had me feeling like I was doing half a job for each. Next time I would like to focus on just one. Like that I will work with both the advantages and limitations and I think this will help me improve. One the the really frustrating things I found shooting with film is that I am so used to changing the ISO on the fly to achieve the look I want that I didn't give much thought to what happens when I shoot film until I have to shoot in the daytime as well as night. Digital has really made it so easy and convenient that we are spoilt for choice. With film I had to make a decision beforehand about what film speed I would use and live with whatever restrictions came with that decision. For example I was shooting Ilford HP5 Plus 400 which was great for the days but I had to make sure that before the night I had finished the roll of film and had a new one ready pushed to 1600 so that I could get that bit extra shutter speed that I needed in dark night scenes. I'm not sure how old film shooters got around this, the only thing I can think of is that they carried 2 cameras around with them with different speed films in each. Anyway, I have a long way to go on my film adventure but the bug has already bitten me.

Thanks for reading and have a great week.

Dancers Project

Just in time for your commute home. Well done you did it, Monday is finished!!! I hope this post makes your day just a little bit more interesting.

It's been a while since I posted so I thought I would update you on what I've been up to. I've been shooting lots for my ongoing Dancers Project. This is a long term project dedicated amongst other things, grace, beauty and energy of dancers. The project is evolving in some ways and thus I feel it could go on for a while until I am satisfied that it is complete. I think this is normal because the more time I spend with dancers the better I understand what being a dancer is all about, the more I want to show the pain, dedication and very personal need for self excellence that each dancer seems to bring to each movement and pose. Also the longer I work on this project, the more ideas and different angles I discover that I feel add to it in some way. Finally it's also important to me to bring a little of each dancers stage personality into the photo. The project has also changed in that what started off as a purely black and white idea now will be a mix of color and black and white photos. This came about after just talking to the dancers about what they do and how they see themselves.

There are so many different styles of dancing that I have not yet discovered or explored. For the moment the idea is to show as many as possible. If you are a dancer and would like to collaborate with me then feel free to contact me.

3 Summit, Lin'An

Another great place in China. The mountains are beautiful and peaceful, a far cry from the masses that inhabit the cities and towns in China. The only sounds you hear in the mist at the top of the mountain are the bells around the necks of cows.

Down in the village the locals are friendly and welcoming. Children stare with curiosity and intrigue at any foreign face and a few badly pronounced words of Chinese gets you an explosion of laughter.

Street Photography Using Flash

AAAARRRGGGHH, This is the 3rd time I am writing this post because my blog keeps on crashing. So, as I was saying twice before, currently I am using a Fuji EF-X20 flash to shoot street. I really enjoy the compact size and solid build of it but the downside is that it doesn't last very long before I need to change batteries. I am looking for another option if anyone has good experiences with a small flash suitable for street photography then send me a message.

The Long Road To Consistency

Once again it's been far too long between posts. Life has been crazy for the past 5 months and I have had to learn to manage my time differently. Having said that, as you can see from the lack of posts I haven't been entirely successful but I'm getting better.

So, what have I been up to? Lot's of shoots, building up some great work on my personal projects, also I've been shooting some beautiful clients, always a pleasure, explored a bit of China and I still need to post those landscapes from a while ago. Also, I'm rekindling my love affair with street photography and hopefully I'll start shooting film a bit soon. My friend has been bugging me to do it and I have always loved the feel of film, in fact most of my favourite photographs where shot with film. It's gritty, raw and honest in a way that digital just struggles to be. Of course this is just my opinion and it still doesn't stop me from trying to simulate the film feel when I shoot digital.

Speaking of Street Photography and legends of film photographers, if you are in Shanghai be sure to check out the exhibition by Fan Ho at the M97 gallery. It is on until around the 31st of this month. 

Below are some street shots of the daily life in Shanghai, I've been playing around shooting with flash a la Bruce Gilden style and I have to say I like the effect. For the moment I am moving away from this obsession of needing my photos to be tack sharp, in fact I really like a bit of intentional blur in some of my shots.

JinZI Jian, Zhejiang In Color

Second part of my blog about Jinzi, this time in colour. Did a lot of playing around in post to see which film feel I like. Some photos suit the portra400 feel others not. I think I should shoot an entire trip with the same feel from now on, almost as if I was shooting a role of film, yeah let's see how that goes in the future.

JinZi Jian, Zhejiang China

These days I find myself still shooting half in color and half in black and white. I still can't bring myself to just commit to one because I still feel that there is a need for each but what is strange for me is the fact that I am more inclined to lean towards black and white for landscapes. For the time being I will stick to this, my only concern is that they don't all start to look the same but I guess that is the challenge that we face when trying to be creative.

JinZi was the most difficult hike that I have done to date. I was told before hand that it should be so I was debating if I should take the X-T1 with the 16-55 lens or just stick with my trusted X100s. In the end I decided to go with the X100s and I am glad that I did. It is so light and convenient that I could just hang it around my neck and forget about when I wasn't using it. Also because there were no paths a lot of the time and the gradient was very steep, I found myself using my hands a lot to pull myself up or to climb. The result was that the X100s was bouncing around a lot  on my chest. I couldn't imagine being able to do this with the heavy and cumbersome 16-55 lens hanging around my neck, I think I would be too worried about smashing it against the rocks while jumping from one to the other. I know some of you are saying well why not just put it in your bag when not using it? The problem is that I don't have a rucksack that can offer sufficient padding for  my cameras and still be able to hold all my camping gear. Also because this was a hiking/ camping trip there wasn't really much time to stop every 10 min, take off my rucksack to get out the camera and, shoot and then put it back. A lot of the shots were done on the move so as to not hold up the group.

For now I still feel the X100s is the prefect travel camera, I just wish it had wifi like the newer X100T so that I could connect the Instax printer and give out some prints to all the locals I photograph.

Dubai Street Photography

I spent a few days in Dubai, it was my first time not just transiting through the airport. Unfortunately we didn't get to do the desert safari this time. I would have loved to shoot a few portraits of the tribesmen and I am dying to try the roasted goat that is slow cooked in a hole in the ground and coved with sand.

For me the most interesting shots I got were at the souk. It is a pity that it is so geared towards tourists though, I would have liked to see more local people and even where the migrant workers to the country shop for their daily things. On the plus side, food all over was amazing and the weather was great. I have heard that summer is definitely a no go as temperatures go into the 50's and we are talking Celsius!

Have to say that I am loving the Fuji Systems more and more each day for travel photography. Besides the fantastic quality of the photos, the size and weight are great for saving your back and shoulders when you are out the whole day. So Well done FUJI and keep it up!

Be wary of strangers.

Hand held. I really need to get a travel tripod.

South African Bush Getaway

Continuing my time spent in South Africa, we took a little time to get out of the city into the countryside. One of the great things I love about SA is the fact that you can drive for 1 hour and be relatively isolated, no car horns honking, not a person in sight, just lots of blue skies, puffy white clouds and fresh air. Oh and depending where you go, lots of wild animals to be found in game parks.

Another normal day on the Highways in South Africa. Just kidding, the highways have much more traffic that this. Shot with a 35mm lens while steering with my elbows!!!

Always wanted to see what I look like behind the camera, scary stuff!

Huang Shan- Yellow Mountain Pt 2

For those of you who have never been to Yellow Mountain, here are a few tips. The cable car does not go all the way to the top no matter what your friends tell you so there will be plenty of hiking. This could cause severe shortness of breath and mocking by friends. It could also cause severe hunger in which case you are advised to eat the mocking friends if they do not throw candy bars at you. Also, the walls in the hotel are paper thin so take ear plugs if you want any sleep. The hike down is just as bad as going up. Don't let the fact that there are groups of 14 year old school girls passing you and giggling make you think any different. What was even more amazing to me were the men walking up the mountain while balancing about 80kgs on bamboo poles over their shoulders. This is the only way that everything gets transported 10km up the mountain. And when I say everything, I mean everything, from roof tiles to whole metal framed sliding doors with the glass inside to all the food and beverages that you have in the hotels.

As far as photography goes, I found it difficult to hold the camera up to my eye while constantly feeling the urge to vomit but I did manage to get a few good shots.

Lessoned learned from this trip... get fitter.