The Analogue Photography Series: Film is Still Alive

Leica M-A with 35mm f/1.4 Summilux Asph. CineStill 800T rated at ISO 800.

As many of you know, I am a film photographer. Yes I love all types of photography, but film is where it's at. If money was no object and I could choose to shoot with any camera and any format, I would use the Leica M-A and 35mm Summilux, and shoot with CineStill 800T and Kodak Tri-X for the rest of my life. Ok, maybe I'll have the Ricoh GR-21 as my back-up and shoot Portra 400 once in a while. Don't ask me about my negative storage workflow (I've been working on this for the past 25+ years).

For those of you who follow my YouTube channel, whenever I have the opportunity, I try my best to do film photography projects. I love interviewing film photographers, camera collectors, camera stores, and photo labs. However, these types of videos take more time, effort and cost, making it difficult for me to produce consistent content. Recently a good friend of mine encouraged me to apply for the StoryHive grant by submitting my pitch video, and it was accepted. Based on a voting system, the top 30 projects will get a $10,000 grant to produce their first episode of their web series. I'm hoping for your support by your vote to make my analogue photography project a reality. After the initial grant, there is another opportunity to receive a $50,000 grant to finish the series. This is the true goal for me and my series.

First Impressions: Fujifilm X-E3

September 7th, 2017 6am GMT: The day has finally arrived to announce the release of the brand new X-E3. It's been almost 21 months since the release of the X-Pro2, so it's taken awhile for Fujifilm to upgrade the body, sensor and processor to the latest generation. I have a soft spot for the X-E series since the X-E1 was the very first Fujifilm camera I reviewed way back in 2012. Since then I've always hoped the X-E series would basically be a mini X-Pro2 without the complicated and expensive hybrid viewfinder. I knew Fujifilm would stick to their guns with the rangefinder form factor, so no articulating screen, no vertical control battery grip. The big question was about navigation. Would the engineers choose a joystick (found on the GFX, X-Pro2, X-T2, X100F) or a touch screen (found on the X70 and X-T20).  How about both? Yes, indeed Fujifilm decided to put both a joystick and a touch screen on the X-E3, much like the GFX 50S. There's a lot more to talk about so let's get started with the some of the key upgrades as well as the differences of the new X-E3 versus the X-E2S and its sibling camera the X-T20.

Beers and Cameras in San Diego

I don't know how it happens, but it does. I get to work with really cool brands, even though I don't think I qualify to associated with them in any way. In Vancouver I often get associated with Revolver Coffee, the coolest coffee shop in town (is that the proper term?), even though I don't drink coffee. I do like the atmosphere of coffee shops though, and Revolver has cool hats. Last year Juan from Beers and Cameras invited me to come down to San Diego to celebrate their 1 year anniversary meet-up, and I was totally honoured. The first concern was that I don't drink beer and wondered if that would be a problem. Juan assured me that beer drinking was an option, and that the main reason for the meet-up was to talk about photography and camera gear. That's my type of crowd. I flew down for the event in San Diego last November and I had a great time. I met many photographers of all backgrounds shooting various types of gear and genres of photography. It was refreshing to meet such a diverse crowd of photo enthusiasts. Again, it was about atmosphere, not beers.

What is Vacation Photography to a Photographer?

Ricoh GR Limited Edition. High Contrast JPEG mode. 1/1600th sec f/2.8 @ ISO 800. Green Lake.

What is a vacation? For some it's a chance to get away from work and relax. For others it's the opportunity to do something exciting, something different from our daily routine. How about spending time with our family and friends? Yes, vacation can mean different things for different people. As an example, I would hate to be stuck on a cruise, but that's me. I have good friends that love cruises. Conversely, I know people who would never go to places like Hong Kong or Bangkok for vacation, but I love the energy of these big, crowded cities. And this leads to my problem. My idea of a vacation and my wife's idea of a vacation is not always the same. That in itself isn't the problem. The problem lies when I decide to take pictures. My wife knows I take pictures for work, so when I bring a camera on vacation, am I working or not? Are the pictures I take for an upcoming review, or is my primary motivation to take pictures to capture those moments that I can share with my wife and the rest of our extended family and friends?

Street Photography 101: Composition vs Chasing People

Fujifilm X-T2 with XF 35mm f/2 R WR. Classic Chrome film profile

If someone asked what the #1 tip I can give for creating a great street photo, I would say focus on composition. It's even more important than finding interesting people. Really? Many prioritize the search for interesting people and then composition comes after, but my approach is the reverse. Most of us understand what the term 'composition' means, but do we know how to prioritize it in our photography, especially when it comes to street photography? I've conducted enough workshops to know that many of us need a little help, but once we get it, we get it. Developing a systematic approach to our composition will take time, but it's time well spent. Once we acquire an eye for it, our street photography will improve dramatically. So let's stop chasing people and focus on composition. But how? Let's begin now.

First Impressions: Fujifilm GF 23mm F/4 R LM WR Lens

Fujifilm GFX 50S w/GF 23mm f/4. 1/125th sec f/4 @ ISO 3200. Classic Chrom. TJ Schneider of The Shop Vancouver

Back in the film days I was never a fan of the 18mm ultra wide angle focal length. I didn't trust it. The major manufactures would make 21mm prime lenses, or 21-35mm zooms; but rarely would they go to 18mm. The only brands who would go that wide was 3rd party manufacturers like Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, etc. I don't think there's anything wrong with the focal length, it's just the number seemed too.... even? Yes both 18 and 21 is divisible by 3 (sorry, I'm nerding out a bit), but the 21mm focal length just felt... better. The Fujifilm XF14mm, the WCL-X70 (for the X-70), the Ricoh GR-21,  Leica 21mm F/1.4 Summilux Asph, these are all 21mm equivalent (or actual) field-of-view lenses. I trust this focal length. But 18mm ultra wide? The APS-C equivalent is a 12mm, a focal length that Fujifilm does not make, but Samyang/Rokinon does... see the pattern? So when Fujifilm announced the GF 23mm f/4 lens instead of a GF 27mm f/4 (yes I did the math), I was a bit surprised. Would I dare test this unusual (for a major manufacturer) focal length prime lens for the GFX system? If so, would I enjoy shooting with it? Because of my experience shooting with the XF10-24mm zoom lens, I can safely say I am indeed reviewing and enjoying this crazy (good) prime lens for the GFX system.

Leica M10 vs Fujifilm X-T2 vs GFX 50S for High ISO Performance

The Leica M10 is very special. It's also very expensive. Of all the cameras I review, I get the most criticism from both fans and critics. The one thing we can't argue over is the final image quality. It is what it is. Although I rarely do back-to-back comparisons between various cameras, I was curious about the new sensor in the M10. I knew the new 24MP sensor in the Leica M10 has better higher ISO sensitivity, but how much better? It's definitely better than the older M240, but how about against the latest Fujifilm sensors, both the APS-C and the medium format sensor? I decided to shoot an impromptu portrait session with Marcello at Push Pull Café in Vancouver. Here is a quick indoor natural light comparison between the Leica M10, Fujifilm X-T2 and the GFX 50S at ISO 3200. Can you tell which sensor is which?

Why I Shoot Film: Hong Kong Edition

As someone who gets to review cameras for a living, as well as being a self-professed gear nerd for many years, I've had the opportunity to test drive a plethora of cameras. I started at the height of the film era (1990s), where amazing cameras were being built and innovative technological advancements were being made (OIS was invented during the film era). At the time everyone had access to a dozen film manufacturers and hundreds of film types. Used camera stores were stocked to the ceiling with old classics like the Nikon F3, Canon AE1, Minolta X700, etc. This was the final golden age of film photography.

Childhood Pictures: The Friendly Neighbourhood Photographer

In the mid 1970s, my family immigrated to Vancouver Canada from Okinawa Japan. We settled into East Vancouver, a working class community made up mostly of Hong Kong Chinese, Italian, Portuguese and Indian immigrants. It was a time when you could spend all day playing with the other kids on the block and parents didn't have to constantly monitor your whereabouts. Good times. I remember playing along the front of our house with my siblings with our bikes and scooters, creating a sort of social magnetic field, unwittingly pulling in the other kids from the neighbourhood. We would spend all afternoon doing absolutely nothing, but having a great time doing it. These definitely were my wonder years.

Hong Kong, Bangkok and Beyond. Where Have I Been?

Chinatown, Bangkok. Fujifilm X-T2 + XF10-24mm @ 10mm

Yes, yes I know. I have not kept up my promise of writing an article once a week, even if it's just a short little ditty. Since my last article on the Fujifilm SQ10, I've been all over the place. I took off to Hong Kong, then to Bangkok, back to Hong Kong, back to Vancouver, and busy ever since. I've put myself in a position that I'm at least 20 videos behind schedule, and about 40 articles behind on my blog. My photography has been backed up as well. I've shot, but I have not yet looked at much of my images. I still have many rolls of film to send off to get processed and scanned.  If you follow me on Instagram, YouTube or Twitter, you can piece together what I've been up to. However, this is not a good thing. My personal blog and website is my home base. This is where the meat of my content should reside. For this I am sorry. I am sorry for all my readers who have not given up on this grossly neglected and horribly laid out website. I am still working on a plan to migrate this website to a WordPress or SquareSpace template, but it is still months away. For now, let's just try and play a bit of catch up shall we?