One photo to rule them all, one photo to find them, One photo to bring them all, and in the lightroom bind them
Got a new, super compact Fuji XF 18mm f/2 lens. Really wanted to prove to myself that the investment was worth it as with a more compact system I will carry the camera everywhere and it will be all worth it. After almost giving up at not finding a single photo eventually managed to catch this cool building around Exmouth market. Little bit of lightroom correction and I think I got a cool photo.
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 1/250 sec at f/10, ISO 80, 18mm (27mm at 35mm)
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This was my umpteenth time at London Bridge with a camera. No idea why I took it along, presumably to make myself feel less guilty about not taking photos. Surprisingly came back with my best photos ever from the South Bank. We learn 2 big lessons from this - 1. Guilt is a great motivator 2. A great photos is a 5% skill and 95% coincidence + luck
Tower Bridge. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 15 sec at f/16, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
City of London. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 15 sec at f/9, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm). Tone adjusted in lightroom.
Millenium Bridge. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 1/100 sec at f/3.6, ISO 6400, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
This was after a very long and fun day at Mr. Tortul’s favorite brewery in the middle of nowhere as a tribute to him leaving London.
Mr. Tortul leaving London. Taken with Apple iPhone 13 Pro, 1/35 sec at f/2.2, ISO 320, 2.71mm (23mm at 35mm)
At some point of a very blurry night. The biggest takeaway was the successful integration into the Romanian gang.
Taken with Apple iPhone 13 Pro, 1/13 sec at f/2.2, ISO 1600, 2.71mm (23mm at 35mm)
From the Pearl Jam concert during the summer concert series in Hyde park. This was my first concert in London and a good throwback to university. Unfortunately we were so back that the best photo of the day was the London Sky being an absolute rager rather than of the actual stage.
Taken with Apple iPhone 13 Pro, 1/420 sec at f/1.5, ISO 50, 5.70mm (26mm at 35mm)
This was our third day in Copenhagen and I was getting really desperate for the Hero image for Instagram. Ever since I have started taking photos and puttin on Instagram, if I carry my camera on a trip, I have this weird anxiety till I know I have my hero image from Instagram for this trip. Have started getting better at this but the lack of trips during Covid brought it back. So by our third day with a lot of good but nothing great kinda photos till now and no big plan for this day I was really really desperate. BUT Copenhagen delivered and how. I managed to get so much on this day. Some highlights below -
Nyhavn, the quintissential Copenhagen photo. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 1/2000 sec at f/4.5, ISO 160, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Kastellet. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 1/2000 sec at f/4, ISO 250, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Gefion Fountain. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 1/1000 sec at f/4, ISO 100, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Gefion Fountain. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 20 sec at f/16, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm) with 10 stop ND filter
Fountain of Amalie Gardens. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 10 sec at f/14, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 30 sec at f/4.5, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Opera House. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 30 sec at f/8, ISO 400, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Not the most productive day for photos. Was a fun day around Copenhagen but really non productive for the photo taking. Need to get better at not getting anxious about the lack of photos. This was the best I could manage in the day.
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 1/1600 sec at f/3.2, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
First day on my first ever trip to Copenhagen. Wasn’t expecting to take many photos as we only stepped out to get some food and a drink but while walking around to find an open place in Nordhavnen found this corner which led to a beautiful photo over the water. The first photo helps illustrate how waiting 15 minutes for the light to drop can have such a drastic difference during sunset. Basically, patience is key. ^ that is me teaching myself rather than anyone else.
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 1/180 sec at f/4, ISO 500, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 30 sec at f/16, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Day 3 in Inverness. This was mostly driving to some nearby places namely Urquhart Castle and Fort William and back to Inverness. Managed to annoy my friends to stop at a few places so I could play around with long exposures over the water. Some really low clouds added a lot more to the photos.
Also the 2 photos of Inverness at the bottom show that long exposures are such a hack to get a pretty photo. With modern cameras a tripod is useless. As long as you can prop the camera somewhere and get a wide enough angle to straighten later you can take some gorgeous photos without any major creative skills.
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 13 sec at f/8, ISO 160, 23mm (35mm at 35mm) with a 10 stop ND filter with a 10 Stop ND filter
Trying to make the Lochness spookier. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 5 sec at f/8, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm) with a 10 Stop ND filter
Lochness. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 1/250 sec at f/5, ISO 320, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Inverness, Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 1/250 sec at f/1.4, ISO 320, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Inverness, Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 30 sec at f/8, ISO 800, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Day 2 of the Inverness trip was a long day trip to Isle of Skye and back. Pro-tip about this area is to book restaurants really really really in advance as our hardest problem is finding space to sit and eat anywhere in this area. Outside of that even though I have been taking photos for almost 2 decades now this was my first time with a ND filter with waterfalls and I went crazy on that and how. This is just a small sample of the ludicrous amount of waterfall photos I took.
This photo session also convinced me to get a Gorillapod for my camera for the next trip. Really usefull when the only thing available to prop your camera on are round rails.
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 25 sec at f/8, ISO 100, 23mm (35mm at 35mm) with a 10 Stop ND filter
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 30 sec at f/11, ISO 100, 23mm (35mm at 35mm) with a 10 Stop ND filter
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 20 sec at f/8, ISO 100, 23mm (35mm at 35mm) with a 10 Stop ND filter
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 20 sec at f/10, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm) with a 10 Stop ND filter
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 30 sec at f/11, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm) with a 10 Stop ND filter
First time in the Highlands (the Norther part of Scotland). Mostly spent walking around and realizing that Inverness has no walkin spots at any restaurant - FOR A WEEK. None of the good ones do any takeaway also so had to eat some horrible starters at a bar for dinner.
Was also carrying my ND filter around a river/lake/waterfall filled area for the first time so was excited to try it out. I have a huge folder full of Inverness photos around this river which alone makes the ND filter a great investment.
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 30 sec at f/16, ISO 100, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 30 sec at f/14, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Taken from the annual visit to Franks Cafe. While I am completely biased towards Primrose Hill you have to accept that this is a smashing view of the London Skyline. Over 3 visits still to catch a proper sunset here though.
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 1/250 sec at f/1.4, ISO 125, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
This was a really mixed trip in terms of photography. I think percentage wise this is where I shot a huge chunk of really good photos while experimenting with a few things. The problem is that I don’t think I found any Hero Image which I knew would go on my Instagram definitely. Without that what is even the point of a trip. The first few photos are from a bar in a park that we randomly discovered on our first day and then managed to lounge around in the sun for a long while. The photos were taken while sipping daiquiris on the side.
The funny looking building is the Port authority building which has some really great photos on the internet. Given my single 23mm(35mm in full frame) the spot to take photos was really sketchy and probably illegal to be in. So chickened out of waiting for sunset to get a nice long exposure with lights. Still miffed at myself for missing this photo.
The last photos are basic long exposures over water ( which is becoming a major theme of my photo taking) which I did post on Instagram but I am pretty sure I could have done better.
Park Spoor Noord. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 25 sec at f/14, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Park Spoor Noord. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 25 sec at f/14, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Park Spoor Noord. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 15 sec at f/16, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Park Spoor Noord. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 20 sec at f/16, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Bar Noord at Park Spoor Noord. Taken with Apple iPhone 13 Pro, 1/3000 sec at f/1.5, ISO 50, 5.70mm (26mm at 35mm)
Port Authority building, Antwerp. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 25 sec at f/5.6, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Scheldt River. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 30 sec at f/16, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Scheldt river. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 30 sec at f/16, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Scheldt river. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 25 sec at f/16, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Second trip to the city. 2 big agendas on my mind
The first photo is from the roof of my office building which while a pretty photo I still don’t think I have cracked the best angle. The night photos are first Dumbo and then Pebble beach overlooking Manhattan and the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges in the foreground. With a wider lens or maybe a articulating tripod I could have gotten a much better and broader view but I am happy with these. Gives me something to aim for next time.
The last photo is just a reminder of a fun day
Taken with Apple iPhone 13 Pro, 1/520 sec at f/2.8, ISO 32, 9mm (77mm at 35mm)
Dumbo, Brooklyn. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 30 sec at f/14, ISO 100, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
NYC Skyline led with the Manhattan Bridge. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 40 sec at f/16, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
New York City. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 40 sec at f/16, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 40 sec at f/9, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 30 sec at f/14, ISO 100, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 40 sec at f/16, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
Taken with Apple iPhone 13 Pro, 1/14 sec at f/2.2, ISO 2500, 2.71mm (23mm at 35mm)
This was a trip to SF after a long while so mostly was about meeting people and Mexican Food. My friends live right across the Bay Bridge so it made for some excellent photos also. This was also an interesting trip at a personal level. You recognize the connection of city to people and memories and when they change suddenly the city looks very very different. Weird personally great for taking photos and new perspectives
The Abraham-Sethi house view. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 30 sec at f/10, ISO 100, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)
This was day 3 in Turkey and my anxiety on not getting a hero image in this amazing city was hitting its peak. I really need to fix this anxiety before it starts making me hate photo taking. I was really banking on Blue Mosque/ Hagia Sofia to be the hero images but that was not to be. The setup there is not great for the photos I like to take although Hagia Sofia was beautiful from the inside. The Blue mosque was a disappoinment though but in its defence that is my only half decent photo of that area.
If ever I am back there I want to be there with a tripod and I think there is much better photo of Hagia Sofia possible. I have the worse version somewhere and might just addit here.
The last photo was in Ortaköy close to midnight. I really like that photo and once I took it I knew I had my hero image. The last 2 days were so much more fun then that I couln’t even bother adding photos from those days here.
Hagia Sofia, Istanbul, Turkey. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30 II, 1/4000 sec at f/1.4, ISO 80, 23mm (35mm at 35mm)