Weekend Portraits | + thoughts on bokeh, tools and silliness.

We’re back from our great nondescript long weekend: Victoria/Fête de la Reine/First People/Patriotes/Dollard des Ormeaux Day… No disrespect but I don’t quite know why we don’t get rid of all this political/historical hogwash and just call it Summer Kickoff Day — it’s what everyone celebrates anyway. Fire up the BBQ, get some rays, hit the flower beds; that whole naming situation is getting ridiculous. But I digress ;)

Bit of a lack of updates lately and I apologize. I’ve shot stuff I’m very happy with these past weeks and will be sharing some of it in the near future. I’m getting a little backlogged over here.

My initial thoughts on the pre-production 55–200mm Fuji lens seems to have created a bit of a stir in the online community. In fact I found myself debating its merits in a forum discussion, something I should steer clear of given the passions these tend to inflame. The big issue? That most dreaded of words: bokeh.

Here’s the thing about bokeh: discussions around this subject can quickly devolve into silliness. A little like wine tasting. There are certainly objective factors at play and certain visible technical issues that can be identified… But there’s also a heck of a lot that depends on what was shot and how it was shot. And beyond all the mumbo jumbo, my take on any tool remains the same: use it to your advantage. Use it’s so-called "faults" creatively and they can turn into qualities. It’s all subjective as hell anyway, no matter what pixel peepers like to think. Photography isn’t just about formulas.

Coincidentally, while I was in the middle of this I read David Hobby’s BTS post on Soprano Rebecca Hargrove. In the comments someone mentioned not being crazy about bottom catchlights, to which David responded pretty eloquently. But I think the last part of his answer bears repeating: “In 33 years of shooting seriously, I have never heard a non-photographer even bring it up. I haven’t even heard a photo editor bring it up in literally thousands of picture editing sessions. Ditto the word ”bokeh,“ while we are at it.”

Yup.

Maybe I’m a technical moron. Maybe I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. But I look at the images I’m getting from the very little time I’m managing to spend with this pre-production lens… And I can’t think of a single client telling me there’s a problem with subject separation on my differential focus. Or nissen rings.

Images below from that aforementioned nondescript weekend…
Later.

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IMAGES SHOT WITH A PRE-PRODUCTION FUJINON XF 55-2OOMM F3.5-4.8 R LM OIS

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Fujinon 55-200mm Zoom | Pre-Production Unit

At some point Fuji is going to disappoint me. They'll have to let me down, I just know they will. Everything follows this basic, unforgiving law of averages right? But at the risk of coming off as some sort of fanboi, that day hasn't come and I’m again forced to swoon over an upcoming X-series product: the Fujinon XF 55–200mm F3.5–4.8 R LM OIS.

This lens isn’t out yet but Fujifilm Canada sent me a pre-production unit to test — with all the caveats this involves. A telephoto is the one thing I’ve been missing most on this system so I was eager to try it out. I had to install a new firmware version in order for the camera to recognize it but everything went without a hitch. I was warned by Billy (Luong, of the Fuji Guys) that there were still improvements being made (the zoom itself is way too stiff but this won’t be in the final version), and Tokyo has put an embargo on any full size images until everything has been ironed out. But I’ll tell you this: if this is the level of image quality in the pre-production unit… Man, we’re in for a serious treat. The contrast, sharpness and highlight rendition is right up there with the 35mm f/1.4. My initial feeling is that it even surpasses it. The OIS feels like a Steady-Cam; Manual focussing follows in the footsteps of the 14mm and 18–55mm and keeps me eating my own words about fly by wire. And when mounted on my X-Pro1 the entire kit feels like it’s at least half the weight of my old Nikon 70–200 2.8 on its own.

I can’t wait to shoot portraits with this lens but for now, a few images from my backyard (moments after the lens got here and a few after dinner) just to give you an idea of what it looks like wide open — which of course will vary based on focal length. Make sure you hover over the lightbox images to get the exif data.

One more detail: minimum focussing distance seems to be a little over 3 feet, a bit more on the long end. Enabling macro mode on the camera doesn’t seem to do anything.

First steps — More to come.

Le Portail | twenty fragments in monochrome.

A long hard fall through the looking glass has me longing for absinth, for dreams like white haze and a fog thick with the smell of opiates. Another century. Out here I am no longer aware of my surroundings; I am lost in the movement, the pose, the sudden whims of gravity as it pulls bodies off the floor — the Dance.

One frame; two frames; If I could deconstruct it all. Catch figures in the act of melting & unravelling. I want dancers spilling onto the stage in their slow, prepared combat, to lose themselves in the maelstrom of war as music blasts through the hall. Arms and legs intertwined, eyes stilled and locked in a beautifully frozen pantomime. 

I close my eyes and see Nijinsky — Moving under a black and white sun. 

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Shot with the X-Pro1 and Fujinon XF 18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS

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The Movement of the Sun

I've rarely felt this trapped by a season. But spring this year has been nothing but fits and starts, winter constantly clawing its way back, refusing to die. Glacial winds annihilating the sun's rays, even as days have grown longer and birds have returned home to nest.

One morning, after hearing me rage about the weather under my breath, our youngest daughter turned to me and said "But dad... That's life."; c'est la vie. Zen wisdom and acceptance from my three year-old. Gave me pause.

Today the chill is finally subsiding. It's still out there, scratching through cloudy interludes with its blue fingers; but it's losing the battle. Finally. The girl on the radio is calling for 18ºc tomorrow; then 20º, 24º...

The movement of the sun is infallible. 

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Shot with the X100S (except #11, X-Pro1 with Fujinon XF 14mm f2.8)

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The Living Colour | + a few tidbits.

Alright, one last post for the week...
I've been playing around with more intense colours lately, turning to the internal Velvia simulation on both the X100S and X-Pro1. I do it in very specific circumstances as I tend to favour slightly more muted tones but it's fun when the light is right, as it was in some of the images at the end of this post.

Now, about those few tidbits:

• If you haven't done so already check out Paul Pride's new KAGE COLLECTIVE essay entitled SPRAY. Wonderful images coupled to a great story. And in the midst of all this X100S hoopla (of which I'm guilty as charged) a good reminder of the X100's ability to hold its own.

• Speaking of the X100S: firmware update 1.0.2 is out. The official fix is minor but my buddy Rob Boyer swears it cured his AF problems. I'm seeing the same great performance but perhaps there's something to it in specific cases. Certainly can't hurt to update; Fuji's track record on firmware is pretty stellar in my book.

• Tony Bridge has a great first look at the upcoming Fujinon 55-200mm F3.5-4.8 R LM OIS zoom lens. I've been eagerly anticipating this lens and it looks like another winner. 

• If you're interested in my inner workings (!) or, more importantly, care for a sneak peek at what may be an upcoming Kage Collective essay, check out my interview on VSCO Journal. And just to reiterate: those animals are happy, most of them roam free and this farm is NOT an assembly line operation owned by an evil conglomerate. So easy to spew nonsense these days... 

• Another great X100S review, this time from UK photographer Kevin Mullins. Beautiful work as always.

Living Colour images below. Have a great weekend guys :)