Shooting an event with just the X100

[zwarte_kat]

Hi people,

I was asked to shoot this event, and decided to use just the X100. The photos, though surely not extraordinary, came out alright I think, especially considering it was a bit of a rush job. Wrote a little thingy about it here:

http://tokyoshots.com/2013/01/24/summer-memories-part-3-nuit-blanche-a-kyoto-art-night-festival/

Surprisingly, one of the heads at the organisation complimented the person who hired me, saying that he was happy that they finally had a proper guy to shoot the photographs. He hadn't seen a single image yet, but apparently he was impressed with the way I worked, running around with my little X100. Maybe he could sense my passion! 🙂

At the end of the article I link to a flickr set of more images, but if you are not interested in the (very short) article, you can go there straight away by clicking here:

http://www.flickr.com//photos/rudyshots/sets/72157632580938694/show/

Hope you like it, and I am always looking for advice to improve on both shooting and editing!

Cheers

 

[wallace]

You did a good job! I found both your article and your photos inspiring.
I have bought a second hand X100 2 weeks ago. Same for me, 35mm seems so natural and lets me concentrate on the scene.
The files from the Fuji allow some cropping. That's what I would do with some of your pics from this event that you show on Flickr, for example this one:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rudyshots/8403484854/

I'd also remove the neon lamp in ps.

Cheers,
Thomas

 

[zwarte_kat]

Thanks, I appreciate the constructive comments.

You are right. That lamp is indeed distracting.

About the cropping. Could you tell me how you would have cropped it? I like those sake bottles in the back and want to keep them. Would yo make the image more square by removing some of the top? Or would you go even further by making it a horizontal image, and cutting both the top and bottom, including the legs? Or...?

Thanks again for your help 🙂

 

[wallace]

You should try different crops. I made a quick choice in Picasa:
....plus removing of the lamp

 

[zwarte_kat]

Thank you! Looks good. The images are already delivered, but I will try some for myself.

I agree about the lamp. To be honest, I couldn't be bothered to go into photoshop with it. It was not a high paying job, and I delivered over 200 photographs. Had I delivered 20, I would have gone that way. But I definitely agree that it's a distracting element!

Thanks for you help and feedback!

 

[enero]

Beautiful shots! I dont have an X100, but have read all about how awesome they are. You certainly proved that. Wish I could have a job that didnt always involve giant DSLRs and multiple lenses...

 

[zwarte_kat]

Thanks Enero! I wish I could have a (full-time) job like that too. Working on it, who knows, someday!

 

[abumac]

Nice pics. I love the little beast also: http://mimpresion.blogspot.com.es/search/label/Fuji X100

 

[jonasv]

Nice series! The atmosphere comes through very well.

It's probably just personal preference, but I prefer not cropping my photos afterwards. I feel it really forces me to get the shot right from the first time.

Some time ago I took my X100 as a backup to a pair of Nikon DSLRs for shooting a wedding, and I ended up shooting half of the pictures with the Fuji.

 

[robert blu]

A real good work, well done!
robert

 

[zwarte_kat]

Cheers!

Great images on your website abumac!

 

[umcelinho]

job well done! nice pictures, and indeed the x100 is amazingly versatile.

 

[patsesson]

Amazing what people can get out of this camera, i need to get the full potential out also of my x100. Nice work.

 

[zwarte_kat]

Thanks!
I will soon post some images from a small solo exhibition that I did with just the X100. I printed the images myself on a canon pixus Mark II 9500, all black and white. The images looked great on A3+. So yeah, you can really do all kinds of things with the X100!

I remember one situation at the event, the guy dancing dressed in shaving cream (or whatever it was) where i wish I had a wide focal length, 21mm or so, to get both him AND the audience nicely in one shot.


_DSF9648 by Rudy Shots, on Flickr


_DSF9656 by Rudy Shots, on Flickr

That was the only time when I really wanted a wider focal length. Maybe I should have tried a panorama, but they were moving a lot. Of course sometimes during the performances a tele lens would have been nice, but I didn't feel it was crucial.

Sometimes the focus was tricky. In those cases it just wouldn't catch focus, even when aiming at high contrast vertical lines etc. I learned that in this situation, basically the X100 has "given up" on focus, and has to be "reset" by focussing at something at a different distance, the further the better. When I do that, and then focus back at the trouble subject, it works!