Standing firm

I have been dormant on my website for a while but not in real life. The Corona situation takes over everything and sometimes it's easy to feel like giving up and hiding in a shell until it all blows over. But life has a way of providing opportunities if you look for them.

Just when I was wondering if it was time to hang up my camera gear for good, I was planning a holiday to North Germany and by coincidence saw a Facebook post by Simon looking for a photographer. And so we managed to make a photoshoot that was a lot of work, fun and photos! Here is one of the ones I like so far…

Kodak E100 VS

Kodak Ektachrome E100 VS (Very Saturated) is a film that is unfortunately discontinued but still there's a few rolls taking up my fridge space. I put one roll in my Pentax 645 and found it to produce interesting results but it is probably restricted to landscape photography.

European Central Bank in fog. Slight magenta cast visible at the bottom.

For portraits, the colours are otherworldly and so extreme it feels like they were part of a drug inspired hallucination unless they are toned down in editing. Even for landscapes, the film responds differently to over and under exposure by producing a magenta hue when done wrong-unless that's what you are after. The variation in tones produced by the camera settings when taking the shot is one of the reasons why film has a unique organic feel compared to static film effects produced in digital software. Sometimes, mistakes create the best photos!

Unreal colours for portraits that need taming unless you are the kind of person that likes those super saturated HDR effect photos in your face. (This photo desaturated in post) Pentax 645 80-160 f4 zoom

My son is a tiger

I need a bit more practice with face paints but he seemed convinced.

Different view point

Canon 6D with 85mm

selfie stick with smartphone

I've been meaning to do a comparison of DSLR Vs selfie stick photos for some time. It seems that selfie sticks became the norm for couples and travelers but can photos taken by them be as good as a DSLR?  When I saw Christine taking a photo by the Main river in Frankfurt I thought it would be a good opportunity to find out.

A full frame camera and small tele lens is bound to have a bit better background separation and blurry bokeh even when stopped down on a bright sunny day. In both pictures the sky is blown as shooting towards the sun. In general the DSLR probably is sharper and looks better to my eyes but I wonder if I keep doing selfie comparisons, will any particular situation favour the selfie... To be continued!

Congratulations

 something old, something new, something borrowed, something full frame

I might have to work on my rhyming skills. I did some photography at a wedding last week and while it was a long day, it was sunny and enjoyable every minute. Weddings are a special time and this wedding was certainly that involving a ceremony, party at a cafe and a trip on the local Frankfurt apple wine tram!

On my part, before the wedding I researched the locations, hunted for good photo places online and in person, did lots of research, found an able assistant and made tons of prep notes which all went out the window as time and circumstance didn't work in my favour at all...

Even so, it was a great event that I was proud to be a part of, and hopefully have recorded some decent memories of! If anybody needs any advice for wedding shoots - definitely have a back up camera even if you just borrow; take more batteries than you think you will need and make sure they are all fully charged; take time to relax amongst the chaos and have fun! 

100 Strangers

A beautiful day for being out in the sunshine

100 Strangers

work, rest and play

It's been so long since I posted any pictures. So I thought it was well overdue. I bought a back up camera and wanted to test it out and luckily meet Katy doing some yoga.

100 Strangers

Sometimes I struggle to find someone to take a photo of. One day I might feel less confident, other days I can't find the person who is close enough to the image I have in my head, and sometimes a person walks past and it takes a couple of seconds before I realised I actually did want to ask if I could take that person's photo, but by then the moment is gone...

Banking style

But when I see someone this sharply dressed, there's no hesitation! The only downside being after taking a photo of somebody this stylish, I look at what I'm wearing and cry inside.

100 Strangers

Maria Anna

This morning I found the perfect spot in town where the sun rises between two tall buildings and is reflected in the windows of another. This creates a massive natural golden urban reflector at just the right height for only 5 minutes before the sun is too high. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anyone suitable for a photo before the light had gone. I was just about to head off feeling cold and disappointed when I noticed Maria Anna was walking just behind me so even though I had lost the perfect moment, I decided to ask if I could take her photo. Well, at least, I tried to ask but she didn't understand what I was saying as she only spoke Russian. After some poor attempts at communication, she graciously let me take her photo. It was only then I realised walking round in the cold without gloves didn't help with keeping a camera steady. Luckily, after taking a couple of photos I asked if I could take one more, and this one (above) wasn't a blurry mess! I guess the moral of the story is never give up and don't dwell on missed opportunities... But always wrap up warm.

Portrait-ified

http://www.v-d-blokk.de

Was lucky to go to an indoor Christmas market this weekend and get a quick family portrait done which is really cool and unique by V.D. Blokk.

The artist at work! 

what are you looking at?

Day 259

collage

Day 258

100 Strangers

Polina and Paulina Polaroid

100 Strangers

David

100 Strangers

Jens

  I stopped to take a photo of Jens as he was walking in the same direction as me and I spotted a sea shell attached to his rucksack. The shell is worn by people who have done/are doing the camino walk in Spain. Jens had done it 2 years ago and was now walking the rest of the route through Germany. We had a quick chat and wishes each other a "bon camino" before going on our ways - it made me wish to have time to do more walking and exploring too!

100 Strangers

Pavel

I'm glad I back tracked and crossed back over the road after seeing Pavel making his way further along the path by the river I normally take to get to work. It turns out Pavel spent 2 months hitchhiking around Spain and was just on his way back to Poland. I am a bit jealous of his courage and freedom and the experiences he must've gained from the trip. Hope you made it back safe!

100 Strangers

Alex

I had wanted to ask how a man in an England shirt survives in Germany as my 3 are tucked away in shame at the bottom of my cupboard. Oddly enough, Alex turned out to be German and can change into a shirt with much more stars on it any time he likes.

100 Strangers

Simon

Technically we are strangers but we met and chatted together over a year ago. I took a photo on my film camera and said I would hand him a copy next time we met. However, I didn't bump into him again until now and have no idea where the photo went. I was carrying my Canon so managed to get a second digital photo. He plays guitar around Frankfurt and is one of the nicest people with a very relaxed tropical island kind of accent when he isn't singing some acoustic classic rock music on the street. A lot has happened for each of us since the last time we chatted and I was grateful to have met him again. So if you see him, say hello and make a request!

100 Strangers

Asim

I met Asim with Korash and just meeting them for a few minutes is enough to make you wonder if you really need to eat chocolate to get through the day... (says I after crying into a slice of Dr Oetker's pizza)