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Sorry Nikon – This is Where You Lost Me… (Now Fujifilm X-T2 Shooter)

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I’m going to be honest and say I wasn’t an very unhappy Nikon user, but I’ve become progressively despondent. My D750 was great (despite having two shutter replacements), the lenses were great, and the system was great. But I wanted a second body and I wanted that body to be mirrorless. I would have been great to have a mirrorless body coming from the same system as my DSLR but after waiting and hoping for Photokina, that didn’t happen, so I had to question how important DSLR or full frame was for me. The more I compared, the more I really that there was no longer a loss of performance moving to mirrorless, at least not for what I was doing.

I always said that when mirrorless offered a viable alternative, I’d consider switching. Sadly for Nikon, mirrorless now offers a viable alternative, but Nikon isn’t close. To put it into perspective, the race started 5 minutes ago, and the problem isn’t that Nikon started late, they’re still in bed sleeping.

Their last announcement at Photokina was more than just a little disappointing, and I wasn’t the only one. I don’t think I saw many positive comments at all. For those who missed it, Nikon seemed to indicate they might consider, thinking about contemplating, potentially, maybe looking at mirrorless and they would continue to monitor it. I’m glad you’re monitoring it, but if I’m going to continue to invest in a system, I want to know they are doing more than just watching this space. I can watch this space and I don’t even manufacture camera’s.

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So where did Nikon go wrong? Well, for starters, if your customers are waiting for you to produce a mirrorless, and we know there are a lot of them out there waiting for this, and if you are actually developing a mirrorless, you may want to mention it. I know what you’re thinking…maybe they wanted to keep it quiet so the market doesn’t know what they’re doing for competitive reasons. No, 10 years ago if Nikon was doing it, it might have been a secret. Now the market actually thinks you an idiot if you’re not doing it. And if you’re doing it and not mentioning it, they think your marketing department are idiots.

In the last 12 months, I’ve seen 5 Nikon amateurs/enthusiasts switch to mirrorless. They probably would have stuck with Nikon if they knew there was a good mirrorless coming, and don’t give me this Nikon 1 crap. I’m talking a mirrorless with a APSC or FX sensor. Sure, we’re not professional sports photographers bu we’re not spending small sums of money either. We may not be buying 400 f/2.8‘s but we are buying D810‘s, D750‘s and pro glass like 24-70‘s, 70-200‘s and 14-24‘s. To put that into perspective, when these photographers go out and buy into another brand, they’re spending $5,000 – $10,000 to start with along with a another $5,000 – $10,000 over the next year or two. Maybe that’s not much to Nikon, but it should be, because when enough people start doing that, the numbers and up. This is the next generation of photographers that influence the youth who are buying and right now, we’re telling them not to buy into Nikon and Canon, because mirrorless is where the future is at, and Nikon and Canon aren’t the future.

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How I Capture Genuine Moments With Complete Strangers

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guest post by Allan Higa – website

I’ve got a love/hate relationship with lifestyle photography. Lifestyle photography for me photos that feel like candid moments where a person is looking at you and not your camera. Each photograph feels like the viewer is with them living in the moment with whomever is in the photograph, and I love that. I love being able to transport someone to Hawaii and experience the lifestyle we’re blessed to have every single day of the year.

But sometimes you shoot with someone for the first time and that chemistry just isn’t there and you don’t click at all. I hate that, a lot.

So over the years I’ve come up with ways to break the ice and get that instant chemistry that leads to photographs that feel genuine and true to the last pixel. Luckily for me Haley didn’t need any of this, but I’ve found that doing these few simple things with each new acquaintance ensures that you’ll break the ice quickly and the two of you will “warm up” a lot quicker, leading you to have way more keepers at the end of the day.

The first thing I preach is don’t pose, don’t act, just do. When you’ve got someone who is shy or more aware of the camera lens than the person behind it, posing makes everything feel rigid and Pinocchio-like. So the best thing you can do is make your subject do something crazy without giving them time to think about it all.

For this photo I had Haley spinning in circles ridiculously fast as she moved up the beach and I followed her. Majority of the photos were completely unusable with crazy hair but it’s a situation that is impossible to not laugh at. After reviewing the images with her and laughing even more, I told her to slow it down a notch and we captured this beautiful moment.

Haley spinning in circles as she moves away from me.

The second thing I like to do to ensure instant awesome photos are captured from the start is giving them something to do with their hands, because karate chop hands ruined everyone’s photos at one time or another. I really wanted Haley to have a few photos where it looked like she was sharing a smoothie with a best friend or a significant other. So in order to capture that moment, I had to take it up a notch again.

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Bypassed: The Effects of the M4 Motorway on a Welsh Industrial Town

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guest post by Nick St.Oegger stoeggerphotography.com + www.ptbypassed.com + Instagram @aquietamerican, or Twitter: @NickStOegger

My name is Nick St.Oegger, I’m a documentary photographer from California.

I recently completed my major project as part of a Master’s degree in Documentary Photography at the University of Westminster in London. I was part of a collective who traveled to Port Talbot, Wales to produce different stories about the town, which has been in a state of crisis since the owners of the nearby steel plant announced plans to sell off all their UK assets last spring.

I shot the entire project using an X100T I recently acquired after my Leica was stolen.

Despite an initial hesitation based on previous experiences with the first X100 and early Fuji X cameras, I found the camera an absolute delight to use for the project in terms its light weight and beautiful color output. The whole multimedia piece can be viewed at: www.ptbypassed.com

The Port Talbot Bypass was Wales’ first motorway and the first part of what would become the larger M4. Conceived in the 1930s but finished in 1994, the M4 provided a much-needed economic link between England and the historically depressed south of Wales. It served as a major upgrade to the previous main route between the two countries, the A48, which offered motorists a slow, often perilous journey along winding roads. When the 4.5 mile long stretch was opened in 1966, the town was still experiencing a boom period due to the nearby steelworks, which employed close to 20,000 people. Issues with traffic had been worsening due to an increase in motorists and a growing shift to road based shipping routes. Traffic jams through Port Talbot were a common sight, made worse by a railway crossing that periodically halted traffic, making simple trips across town burdensome.

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Fujifilm XF 16mm f 1.4 WR Lens Review and Images

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I don’t normally write reviews but this will be not a typical review. Just few thoughts on the Fujinon 16mm lens. I own this lens for more than six months now. I have waited with this blog, so I could try this lens in many different scenarios. I used it in crumpled spaces documenting children in action, on a photo shoots of a new born baby,  several boudoir sessions and on weddings. In addition to professional shooting, this lens is attached to the Fuji camera (currently XE 2), which is always on my table, so my wife can grab it and take a photo of our baby anytime.

Main reason why I wanted a wide Fuji lens was to capture moments with more context and at the same time not to scare my audience. I needed wide open lens which could be used in crumpled spaces. So I don’t have to switch lenses as often.

I already own 18mm lens and I was not sure if 14mm or 16mm would be the best choice. Actually I was not 100% sure if I need this lens at all. Once again I was defeated by GAS (gear acquisition syndrome). I was maybe influenced by totally positive reviews. My decision was easier, when I found out, that this lens can be used for close ups. I sold my canon macro lens and now I have this 16mm beauty.

16 mm Fujinon lens feels pretty solid. I am not sure if it’s influenced by weight or size, but it just screems – quality! The aperture and focus rings can be turned smoothly and with small push of focus ring you can get into manual focus which is awesome. Lens hood is quite big and not that nice, but well at least it’s there. When I tried this lens in a shop for the first time it seemed very heavy to me. I think it’s because I compared 16mm Fujinon lens with my 18mm lens which is extremely light. On my assignments where I take both Canon and Fuji it feels in the contrary light. ;-) It’s a little bit front heavy on XE2 so I am waiting on the new XT2.  Just based on feelings (no exact measurements) this lens produces much sharper images than 18mm.

When shooting close enough, this lens is able to produce very pleasant looking bokeh. This is now my go to lens for close up photos of rings, food and details. I shoot “macro” wide open and manual mode with magnification is so handy in these cases. I love this feature.

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Marine Shoots Bride & Groom on Their Wedding Day!

Wind in the Hair by Rick Birt with a Meyer-Optik-Goerlitz Trioplan f2.8/100

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*Request – I have just been informed that one of my photos has been nominated for an award. I would greatly appreciate it if you would support a fellow Fuji X-shooter by clicking this link and like, love, or comment on my black and white portrait. Thanks to all of you, and to Patrick for suggesting I add this request to my post.

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Written for Kelly Williams Photography by Rick Birt of RomeoBravoPhoto.com

I recently had the honor of documenting the union of Anna and Hayden Taylor. They are a cute and fun couple, and I thoroughly enjoyed shooting them. I should also mention that Anna’s mother, Charla, was kind enough to provide me with a shot list, and kept everything running smoothly that day. It was arranged to be an intimate ceremony with close family in the living room of the Groom’s parents’ home. It all sounded like the perfect scenario for photographing my first wedding.

So was it all rainbows and unicorns? Not quite…

I had just switched from a Sony a7R II camera to a Fuji X-Pro2 the month before. I absolutely love the Fuji, but I still haven’t mastered it like the Sony. Moreover, I got a bad copy of the 16-55mm zoom-lens and was in the middle of an exchange – so I didn’t have it for the ceremony. Therefore, I went looking for a second body. I almost bought another X-Pro2, but I got a great deal on an Olympus Pen-F and two prime lenses the night before the big day. Suffice it to say, I had not mastered the Olympus either.

As for lighting, I purchased an on-camera speedlight, a Diva ring-light, and a small LED continuous light array. My wife also suggested I bring her light-gun, so I stopped by her studio on the way to meeting the bride, and her mother, at the salon. When I got to my wife’s studio she told me her light gun was “in the attic.” So I proceeded up the stairs to a little loft area where she keeps some of her equipment.

She then asked, “What are you doing?”

I explained, “I’m looking for the light-gun.”

She then said, “It’s in the attic – at home.”

Great :/

So, I grabbed a couple of her Westcott Ice lights and off I went.

The salon was very nice, but was pretty crowded (which I’m sure is normal for a Saturday), so it was hard to find a good shooting position, but I managed to get a few nice portraits.

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