Fauxtons

Today seemed like a very promising bright and sunny day, with pouring light. But it also poured rain since we had a strong late afternoon thunderstorm. I almost got caught by the rain. Strong winds picked up pretty rapidly, throwing branches on the ground in some places. Even the power went out for a few minutes, just before supper time. From blinding light to total darkness ― in a matter of minutes.

There were festivities planned later in the evening for la Fête de la Saint-Jean. I was not sure if the rain would stop in time and if the sky would clear up early enough to be able to go. But it finally did. So I knew I just had to go shoot, as if my life depended on it...

"A cold chill of fear cut through me
I felt my heart contract
To my mind I brought the image of light
And I expanded out of it
My fear was just a shadow
And then a voice spoke in my head
And she said,
« Dark is not the opposite of light
It's the absence of light »
And I thought to myself
She knows what she's talking about
And for a moment I knew
What it was all about."   ― The Beastie Boys

Some days, you have to wait until the night time to go out shooting. That's life. The real life.

"Fauxtons" ― Fuji X100s

A New Lens Day

Today was a very special day for me. I just made the acquisition of an smc PENTAX FA 31mm F1.8 Limited film lens, a lens I lusted after for a long time. Why do you ask? This lens is considered to be one of the best lenses Pentax has to offer. It's a very well constructed brushed metal lens that offers sharp, crisp image reproduction, even at the maximum aperture of f/1.8. A truly wonderful lens.

On my way back from the post office on Fleury Street, I decided to stop for a coffee at Le Petit Flore. After having ordered a crème café, I opened the box I had just picked up and installed the new lens on my beloved PENTAX K-5. I also had my Fuji X100s with me so I took shots with both cameras, alternating between each cameras so to not make any of them jealous. Here are some shots I took that afternoon.

"The Iode Couple" ― Fuji X100s.


"Le Petit Flore" ― 1/125 sec, f3.5 at ISO 2500 no flash. ― PENTAX K-5 with
smc PENTAX FA 31mm F1.8 Limited lens.


"Simon Says... Synchronicity" ― 1/125 sec, f3.5 at ISO 400 no flash. ― PENTAX K-5 with
smc PENTAX FA 31mm F1.8 Limited lens.


"Some Benches Are Luckier Than Others" ― Fuji X100s.


 "iDoorstop" ― Fuji X100s.


"4,20m Closer to the Sky" ― Fuji X100s.

Then I headed downtown later in the day. I brought the Fuji X100s with me along with my K-5 and my new 31mm LTD out for its first spin. As I walked in the Cremazie metro station, I saw this woman musician with two kids singing and playing guitar. I took a few shots of her. After she was done singing, she handed me her business card over. Her name is Nadia High.

"High Undergrounds", version 1 ― (Nadia High, singer, song writer, producer). ― Fuji X100s.

"High Undergrounds", version 2 ― (Nadia High, singer, song writer, producer). ― Fuji X100s.
 

"Joey Is a Punk... The Other One Is Just a Dude With a Ramones T-shirt"

Fuji X100s ― 1/125 sec, f4 at ISO 6400.

"Light. Painting." ― Fuji X100s ― 1/250 sec, f8 at ISO 1600.

Then I hooked up with my longtime friend, singer/sax player of "D Sharp & the Blue Moon Devils ― Donovan "D Sharp" ― and so the context to snap a few portraits with my new little jewel of a lens presented itself very candidly. We started out having a bite downtown and then made our way to la Place des festivals where Les Francofolies de Montréal are taking place. Since nothing beats a good old cup of java after a good meal (again?!), we decided to make a stop at Café Dépôt on Ste-Catherine Street. Here are a few portraits of Donovan I shot with the 31mm LTD lens and the K-5. As you can see, this lens is incredibly sharp.

"D Sharp" ― 1/125 sec, f1.8 at ISO 2500 no flash. ― PENTAX K-5 with
smc PENTAX FA 31mm F1.8 Limited lens.

"Donovan" ― 1/125 sec, f1.8 at ISO 2500 no flash. ― PENTAX K-5 with
smc PENTAX FA 31mm F1.8 Limited lens.

So this is what I do while my friend calls his wife ― I take more pictures!

"Calling Up The Wife" ― at Café Dépôt, Ste-Catherine Street.
 1/100 sec, f2.2 at ISO 1250. ― PENTAX K-5 with
smc PENTAX FA 31mm F1.8 Limited lens.


"Close Encounters of the Sweet Kind" ― at Montreal's Francofolies. ― PENTAX K-5 with
smc PENTAX FA 31mm F1.8 Limited lens.


"Front Staged" ― at Montreal's Francofolies ― 1/100 sec, f2.2 at ISO 2000 with flash.
PENTAX K-5 with smc PENTAX FA 31mm F1.8 Limited lens.

"Rockabilly Rules!"  ― 1/100 sec, f2.2 at ISO 6400 with flash.
PENTAX K-5 with smc PENTAX FA 31mm F1.8 Limited lens.

So it was a perfect day in the end. Got a great lens and got to spend some time with my very good friend.

THANKS TO DONOVAN FOR ACCEPTING PLAYING THE ROLE OF THE MODEL!!!

Ghosts, Witches & Other Freaks.

On the go with the Fuji X100s. A short visit at L.L. Lozeau for some soul food (thanks to Ron Harris' photo exhibition) followed by a photo walk on la Plaza St-Hubert and a metro ride sets the mood for the day. And the mood was strange... a strange mood indeed.

All pictures in this set were shot with the Fuji X100s.

"Witch Trap"

"The Ghost Passenger"

"Freakshow: A Show of Hands"

"Steel Worker"

First Time Out With The Fujifilm X100s

Here are a few of the first pictures I shot with the latest offering from Fujifilm, the new X series Premium Compact Fujifilm X100s. I've had the camera for a week now and I have mainly shot indoors because of all the rain and bad weather we've been having lately. I finally managed to go out for a mini photo walk this week and so I took my first "real" photos with the X100s. The lens is a fixed prime with a focal length of 23mm (35mm equivalent in 135 format) which is not a focal length I'm used to shooting with. So it's kind of a challenge for me. Without a zoom, let's just say that I have to use my feet a lot more than I usually am used to. I've become a human zoom. Nonetheless, I was up to the challenge. Now let's see how I did.

 
The Fujifilm X100s

The first picture I took outside my home was actually... inside a metro wagon. I was playing with my camera, making some final adjustments before the start of "the big day" when I candidly shot this Goth girl sitting right in front of me. She was dressed in black from head to toe. She had this huge hood over her head the whole time. I got off before her. I never got to see her face, but at least I got to take this souvenir of her with me.

"Awkward Goth Girl"
1/60 sec at f/2.8 ISO 2500. Custom preset in Lightroom 3

Exit Sherbrooke station. Out the metro we go, and onto rue St-Denis for the first outside shooting with the X100s. The sky was mostly cloudy but now and then the sun was piercing through. Setting the camera to Auto White Balance is the key for me. I shoot in RAW anyway so that I can always play with the balance later in post-production.

A few shots of signs with a lot of details to see how well the X100s performs image quality wise. Not bad.

Below is a 100% crop showing the quality of the image at the center of the lens was the focus was made. You can see how detailed and sharp the X100s' 23mm lens performs, where it's specially noticeable around the black script graffiti. You can also make out the letters on the bolt pretty easily.

Another shot of the sign with some custom color editing in Lightroom to boost the contrast and color saturation (mainly red, blue and green ― while cutting slightly on yellow, purple and magenta). The bokeh is pleasing to the eyes, although there is a lot of noise in the background to really appreciate it.

"No Way!?" ― 1/500 sec at f/2 ISO 200.

I had originally planned on getting the latest compact pro shooter from Ricoh, the GR (V). It's also a fantastic little camera with great looking JPEGs straight out of the body. It's specially good for it's black and whites in street photography (Read more on the Ricoh GR philosophy in this blog). But, just like the Nikon Coolpix A, it doesn't get good ratings in reviews for its auto focus performance in low light which is a very important factor for me. I also prefer the X100s over the GR for its Fuji film emulation capabilities. With the X100s, you benefit from Fuji's longtime experience in film making and can simulate the looks of Fuji Provia, Velvia, Astia and Pro Negative film on your JPEGs. The color rendering is very good on the Fuji.

A wall painting by Canadian artist Labrona. ― 1/500 sec at f/2 ISO 320


"Bar Passeport 2"

 

"A Personalized Sign" ― 1/500 sec at f/2 ISO 320

"Le Saint Bock", rue St-Denis.
Vintage cross processing in Lightroom

"Rue St-Denis" ― 1/250 sec at f/4 ISO 400


"St-Denis et ses terrasses"

A few musicians in front of Pub l'Île noire taking a break 

Now... let's see how these guys look like a little closer.
Mmmm... not bad... not bad at all! (Shot in RAW)

The auto focus on the X100s is lightning fast and very accurate. I usually set the auto focus point in the center of the view finder, aim at where I want to focus and then recompose the image. I'm not a big fan of  moving the focus points around, unless I shoot multiple shots of the same subject (i.e., portraiture).
"Waiting" ― 1/1000 sec at f/4 ISO 640


"Bixi"
A Bixi stand on rue Ste-Catherine. ― 1/250 sec at f/2 ISO 200. Custom high contrast B&W editing in Lightroom.


"On Da Corner"

"Red Dot"


"Ghost Bike"


"Don't Get Too Excited"


The Fuji X100s next to a 1972 Minolta Hi-MATIC F rangefinder.

Oddities and Whatnots

Things you might see around the city. A photo walk with an old friend on a beautiful sunny day.

All photos were shot with a Pentax K-5 DSLR mounted with a Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC HSM lens.

"Fast Money"

"Do You Believe In Signs?"


"From A Dog's Perspective"

"The Only Moose Crossing Guard's House In Town... Not Really"


"Oh! Yeah, That Old Place"

"Wall Tattoo"

"Shadow of a Doubt"

"Always Look At The Big Picture"


"The Orange Booth"


"Scews"

"On The Corner"