Giant dividers

This is my first attempt at an HDR on the Fuji X100 using auto exposure bracketing. Processed in Photomatix and then tweaked in Lightroom. One of the original shots is below to show how it looked before processing.

FinePix X100, f/2.8 @ 23 mm, ISO 200

Original shot:

Chanel

Chanel lit with a 70cm beauty dish above camera and slightly to the right. Two standard reflectors firing in from the sides and slightly behind.

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, f/11 @ 85 mm, 1/200, ISO 100

Fag break

An X100 innocently sitting around the neck makes a great street photography tool. I was pleased with focussing accuracy given I was walking when this was taken and it is @ f/2

FUJIFILM FinePix X100, f/2 @ 23 mm, 1/950, ISO 400, No Flash

Angelic Luke

My colleague, Luke, had a this fun idea for a photo! Really had to push the X100 to the limit for this shot - ISO 3200 due to night conditions & used slow-sync flash to give some exposure for the background whilst lighting Luke.

Despite pushing the little X100, the resulting photo is surprising clean unless you start pixel-peeping.

FUJIFILM FinePix X100, f/2 @ 23 mm, 1/40, ISO 3200, Flash

Bus pass candid

FUJIFILM FinePix X100, f/2 @ 23 mm, 1/680, ISO 400, No Flash

Christina and Sally

A couple of portraits on my new acquisition - the Fuji X100. These ladies were kind enough to pose for me while I fumbled my way round the still unfamiliar buttons on the Fuji.

Despite not being really used to it yet, I'm rapidly falling for the Fuji - I wouldn't take it in preference to an SLR but it is great for street photography and it is refreshing to be able to get quality pictures without lugging round lots of gear.

FUJIFILM FinePix X100, f/2 @ 23 mm, 1/350, ISO 400, Flash,

FUJIFILM FinePix X100, f/2 @ 23 mm, 1/280, ISO 400, Flash

Tammy Turns Away

Lit with a single softbox above camera left.

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, f/11 @ 58 mm, 1/125, ISO 100

Jessica thinking

Isolated Jessica from the background with a combination of a wide aperture and some graduated sharpness filters in Lightroom set to -100.

Canon EOS-1D Mark III, f/2 @ 35 mm, 1/200, ISO 200, Flash

Kajafax article

Back in December 2008 I had the pleasure of photographing #Kajagoogoo at the Stables in Milton Keynes. Kajafax, the main fan-site for the band, asked if I'd answer a few questions and share some shots from the shoot.

The article is here: Kajafax article about the shoot

The full set of photos is here: http://www.philhackettphotography.com/kajagoogoo

And here is one from the evening:

Canon EOS 40D, f/1.2 @ 85 mm, 1/320, ISO 400, No Flash

X100 Panorama

This is a panorama taken at Summer Leys this afternoon. Summer Leys is a nature reserve in Northamptonshire, UK.

The panorama was taken using the special mode on the Fuji X100. You choose the angle (120 or 180 degrees) and then carefully pan the camera. It stitches several shots together seemlessly to create the final image.

It's worth clicking - through to see this larger!

FUJIFILM FinePix X100, f/3.6 @ 23 mm, 1/280, ISO 400, No Flash

X100 First Play

Sacrificed a lesser-used lens to fund a Fujifilm X100. It is so small and discrete you can snap away right next to subjects in the street!  Camera was round my neck at the time of shooting.

FUJIFILM FinePix X100, f/2.8 @ 23 mm, 1/1100, ISO 800, No Flash

Moth!

I wanted a very diffuse background, but enough of the foreground in focus so decided f/5 would be the right compromise. Some fill-flash helped to avoid distracting shadows.

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, f/5 @ 135 mm, 1/1000, ISO 100, Flash

Prop

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, f/2.2 @ 35 mm, 1/2000, ISO 100

Live performance

Taken wide open at f/1.4 as light was low and I needed as high a shutter as possible. This makes focussing difficult, but managed to nail focus on the eye despite the dancing!

Canon EOS-1D Mark III, f/1.4 @ 85 mm, 1/160, ISO 800, Flash

Spider against the sky

Spider and web lit by flash, negative exposure compensation to darken sky.

Canon EOS-1D Mark III, f/3.2 @ 35 mm, 1/2500, ISO 100, Flash