Yesien / May 27, 2016 by Tom Henderix

All images shot on the Fujifilm X100T and X-T1 with 56 1.2 APD.

Berlin, in pictures / May 19, 2016 by Tom Henderix

Berlin, city of many faces.

The architecture...

The people, always on the move...

The history is everywhere...

Having to run for ever changing weather...

... and finding shelter in good food and beers that are always on the large side

It shows it's beauty during the day...

... but it comes alive at night

Art on every corner too... Or at least something quirky...

It's always to soon to go home...

All images shot on the Fujifilm X-T1 and XF35mm F2, apart from 2 that were shot on the XF16mm F1.4 and the X100T.

How to shoot the obvious, part deux / May 19, 2016 by Tom Henderix

Continuing my previous post, different subject this time. If you haven't read the previous post on how to work a scene, read that one first here.

This time subject is the Reichstag building, still in Berlin. And I'm still using only the Fujifilm X-T1 and the 35mm focal length. No wide angles, so it's not easy to capture the vastness of the building. Even standing quite some distance away, it's hard to capture the essence. Arriving at the building, even from quite some distance, this is looking tough.

Take a snap, meh, not interesting enough. It's a vast building, but I don't like how I can't get it in the frame. Perhaps it would be better just to focus on the details. Time to move inside, up to the dome for which it's most famous.

That's about as much of the dome as I seem to be able to frame without including other stuff that detracts from the image. I'm liking the lines and the shadows, but it's not quite there yet... Okay, so perhaps get even closer then?

Lines, shadows, reflections, but it doesn't speak to me. It's missing something, let's try the inside walkways instead.

Strong light, so people appear as silhouettes, yes, that seems to work for me. And I like the German flag, but I need to keep looking for that frame that brings it all together. While moving, it's always a good idea to look back or down in this case. Nice, I'm liking the geometry. That'll do as far as the dome goes. Now for the other shot I want...

Looking up again, I see a kid moving into a sliver of light. The other people are still silhouettes if they don't start moving. Wait for the kid to move into the light. And click.

Captured the dome, captured some movement in the people and the flag, some reflections in the mirror assembly. Not the generic shot of the Reichstag that you'll find everywhere, so that'll do just fine.

How to shoot the obvious? / May 19, 2016 by Tom Henderix

When on holiday, it's hard to take pictures of landmarks that aren't boring. So how to approach a shot of something obvious like the Fernsehturm in Berlin? Best option would be to wait for the golden hour, or even night to have great lighting on the subject. Then figure out the best angles, taking lenses appropriate for those choices. Sure, but not everyone wants to spend their holiday planning where to be, hoping for good weather, just to get one picture. We keep moving, and we have to work with what we have at the time we're there. And not all of us want to lug several kilos worth of gear and tripods around...

First, do what everyone does: walk up to the landmark, point the camera at the centre of the thing and click.

There, nice sharp image, but boring as hell for the most part. So, what can we do to improve the image? Perhaps move the subject to the side of the frame, perhaps even to fit the rule of thirds?

Okay, bit more interesting, still not there yet though. Perhaps take a few steps forward?

Interesting, not as easily recognisable any more, but at least it's not the shot that everyone takes. So what else can we do? Perhaps fit in another subject to draw attention away. Difficult, since the tower is so big. Only other thing close enough would be a church. And I only have one fixed lens, so zooming out is not an option. Maybe slanting the image would fit everything in?

Right, not my favourite. Something else then? Aha! Eureka, a reflection of the object in a window! Bingo, the signs on the wall even say something about "DDR" and "free will". Subtle, not something everyone will have seen.

Right, that should be it, no? Something keeps nagging at the back of my mind that I still don't have what I want. Last chance, turn around, take a quick snap while walking away. Wait, power lines, let's use those to fill up the sky and add some interesting lines to the frame.

There we have it. Not the best image I'm sure, certainly not the best light or time of day. But it's not the obvious shot, and that's all I ever wanted.

Small disclaimer, I shot all of these in the opposite sequence while walking towards the tower, but I turned it around to better make my point. The point is to always look for another shot, change it up, don't just go for the obvious. It's a great creative exercise, especially if you've only got one focal length available. Only one lens does not mean only one option.

All images shot using the Fujifilm X-T1 and 35mm.