I took some pictures in Egypt

ThePrettyDamned

All that bollocks aside, your pics are great! I love the hot air balloon one especially. Fantastic colour. 

Chalky

Dominic said:

Luxor ones are great
Pyramids/Giza are too but they are the perfect example of the tourist fairytale - you shoot from one angle and it looks like the mysterious Arab fantasy or a shot from a 1970s Frys Turkish Delight Advert..........if you shot from the other you see this strange sight of 3 Pyramids and a Sphynx growing out of a Cairo suburb surrounded by cheap hotels and hostels, tourist markets ,coach stations and a semi slum .
 Pompei is a similar situation in a Naples suburb.
 Great Camera work .....the Nile delta ones are wonderful too

When I first saw the Colossi of Memnon decades ago they were the only thing to be seen in miles of desert and you could stand right against them and touch them.

Now they appear to sit fenced off in the middle of cultivated farmland with trees, buildings and a coach park around them.  Understandable I guess but it takes away some of the magic.

stickyfiddle

Chalky said:

Dominic said:

Luxor ones are great
Pyramids/Giza are too but they are the perfect example of the tourist fairytale - you shoot from one angle and it looks like the mysterious Arab fantasy or a shot from a 1970s Frys Turkish Delight Advert..........if you shot from the other you see this strange sight of 3 Pyramids and a Sphynx growing out of a Cairo suburb surrounded by cheap hotels and hostels, tourist markets ,coach stations and a semi slum .
 Pompei is a similar situation in a Naples suburb.
 Great Camera work .....the Nile delta ones are wonderful too

When I first saw the Colossi of Memnon decades ago they were the only thing to be seen in miles of desert and you could stand right against them and touch them.

Now they appear to sit fenced off in the middle of cultivated farmland with trees, buildings and a coach park around them.  Understandable I guess but it takes away some of the magic.

That must've been amazing. The place we stayed was about a minute up the road from there (they're behind the trees to the right of the wheat field pic!). I'd have loved to have seen some of the temples when they were still full of sand. Must've been incredible.

RandallFlagg

Very nice pics, well done

holnrew

Absolutely incredible pictures

handsomerik

Amazing photography

Wazmeister

So, @stickyfiddle @RaymondLin ;
it's all your fault !

A Fuji XT1 arrived today, and I instantly loved it  

Looking forward to getting in to it

RaymondLin

Wazmeister said:

So, @stickyfiddle @RaymondLin ;
it's all your fault !

A Fuji XT1 arrived today, and I instantly loved it  

Looking forward to getting in to it

How's it my fault  lol

What lens did you get with it?

stickyfiddle

Wazmeister said:

So, @stickyfiddle @RaymondLin ;
it's all your fault !

A Fuji XT1 arrived today, and I instantly loved it  

Looking forward to getting in to it

Wisdom awarded! What lens? I look forward to seeing results!

Wazmeister

1. Fujifilm Fujinon XF35 mm F2 R WR lens - it was the first one I could get from Amazon

What lens would you recommend guys ?

RaymondLin

Wazmeister said:

1. Fujifilm Fujinon XF35 mm F2 R WR lens - it was the first one I could get from Amazon

What lens would you recommend guys ?

I have...

the same lens.  I would recommend a couple of spare batteries, the Expro Whites.  

As for more lenses, depends how you shoot and what focal length.  I could suggest lots of glass but if you don't use them then its a waste of money.  the 35mm is a very good start, 50mm focal length, you could use that for most things.

stickyfiddle

That's a great lens. I took mine round Japan and had a great time. I do prefer the f1.4 version by a smidge though. 

I also love the 10-24 and the 18-135. Neither are as fast as the primes, but they just work so damn well (including great OIS) that you get over it very quickly.

The 56mm prime is meant to be fantastic if portraits are your thing. Basically Fuji don't make any bad lenses - just grab whatever focal lengths you want and be happy

Though maybe don't bother with the 18mm prime. It's absolutely fine but it's a really boring field of view.

RaymondLin

I really want the 1.4 versions.....shooting at F/2 makes me feel all dirty.

stickyfiddle

RaymondLin said:

I really want the 1.4 versions.....shooting at F/2 makes me feel all dirty.

I actually rarely use 1.4 as it gets a bit silly on the bokeh, but it's really good in the dark. 




And of course 1.4 can be pretty special when it *is* appropriate. That lens is one of my favourite possessions. I can't even describe why, it's just brilliant.

ChrisMusic

IMHO @Wazmeister ;, your lens choice should be dictated by:

your view of the world, the subjects you want to take, and the way your creativity wants to 'draw' or interpret them.

Photography = drawing with light.


The most dangerous way to buy photographic gear is to allow your inner collector loose with your credit card !

I am so glad the same doesn't apply to guitar related gear...    :-\"

ChrisMusic

BTW, what is this 'bokeh' of which you speak ?  I thought that it referred to the way depth of field was handled by the optics and the diaphragm, the quality of the 'out of focussedness'.

I am very happy to be educated on this seemingly elusive and unusual term, if you would be so kind...

ChrisMusic

BTW 2 ~ bloody nice shots @stickyfiddle   

RaymondLin

@stickyfiddle there is no such a thing as silly on the bokeh, 1.4 is like 2.0 on FF...I shoot 1.4 all the time on FF, its fineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

It's like having too many pedals....narrrrh

stickyfiddle

ChrisMusic said:

BTW, what is this 'bokeh' of which you speak ?  I thought that it referred to the way depth of field was handled by the optics and the diaphragm, the quality of the 'out of focussedness'.

I am very happy to be educated on this seemingly elusive and unusual term, if you would be so kind...

Yes, basically that. I was merely noting that you can go overboard if you go too shallow with the DOF. But as @RaymondLin points out, it's a lot of fun...

ThePrettyDamned

RaymondLin said:

@stickyfiddle there is no such a thing as silly on the bokeh, 1.4 is like 2.0 on FF...I shoot 1.4 all the time on FF, its fineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

It's like having too many pedals....narrrrh

Agreed! Although I had a bit of a weird time picking my 85mm. The nikon 85 1.4d was not sharp at all wide open, the newer 85mm 1.8 one was super sharp but the bokeh was really weird! I wound up with an older sigma ex dg hsm. Great on full frame as an 85 and sharp enough wide open for crop as a 130mm f/2 equiv. Focuses quick, too. 

@Wazmeister just get the focal lengths you need. The neat thing with the fuji system is the lenses are all good enough, with no real lemons. Don't try to get everything as out of focus as possible and instead focus on composition, lighting, choosing the right thing to focus on and colour or tones. There is such a thing as too little in focus, and it's something a lot of people use as a photographic crutch, as fun as it is. 

You have a weather resistant set up too, so you are already able to do a lot of things that plenty of others would struggle with. Very few people bother using their weather sealed kit in the rain but it can create great shots. 

stickyfiddle said:

ChrisMusic said:

BTW, what is this 'bokeh' of which you speak ?  I thought that it referred to the way depth of field was handled by the optics and the diaphragm, the quality of the 'out of focussedness'.

I am very happy to be educated on this seemingly elusive and unusual term, if you would be so kind...

Yes, basically that. I was merely noting that you can go overboard if you go too shallow with the DOF. But as @RaymondLin points out, it's a lot of fun...

Could have been shot wide open but stopping down an extra stop to f/2 and bumping the iso a bit gave me more hope of getting both eyes in focus (equiv 130mm f/3.5). Still a very shallow depth of field, but f/1.4 would have almost certainly left one eye noticeably less-in-focus - which is okay if they're in noticeably different planes, but when one is just a little bit out.... Not so much. I don't usually do high key style, but my cousin is super cute and high key was really the only way to go look in the eyes and you'll see my brother in a west ham shirt... Mum's white jumper behaved as a reflector which was nice. 

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