Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

A few to remember with

Spring graduation is the best time of the year to be around campus. There’s so many graduates roaming about in their caps and gowns, capturing graduation photos to remember. Shoutout to the budding photographers following these graduates around. I guess in a world of smartphones capable enough to capture the moon (Samsung fakes it, apparently), the value of a “proper” camera is still pretty evident. For a once in a lifetime thing, you’re not handing off your iPhone to a cousin to do the job.

You wouldn’t hire a wedding photographer that shoots with smartphones, right? (Or maybe you should…)

It’s good to see the pro-Palestine protest camping has come to an end, after reaching an agreement with the university. Before this, some of the protesters defaced the San Francisco State University signage at the corner of 19th Avenue and Holloway. This tiny monument thing is where graduates like to take pictures in front of (during graduation week there can be lines). How awful it is then to have that beautiful scene ruined by graffiti. Though I guess any good photographer can photoshop that out (or those A.I. magic erasers in Android smartphones). Moot point: the markings have since been painted over.

I wonder what is the popular photographic aesthetic these days, vis a vis these graduation photos. If I had to guess: retro is definitely in. Technical perfection is out of style. People buy older iPhones to take pictures with, simply for the “vintage” look (modern iPhones do over-process the image, I have to say). Fujifilm absolutely cannot make enough X100VI to keep up with demand, because the TikTok/Instagram crowd has hyped its film simulation to the sky. Heck, I bought a Fujifilm X-T5 because I wanted the retro film vibes.

Photographer: “What picture style would you like?”
Client: “I would like the photos to be slightly shitty.”

Big spending season

It’s September already, and that means big spending days are coming ahead. The $250 annual fee to host this very website on Squarespace is coming due. So is the $1,100 six-months insurance premium on my BMW M2 Competition (I’m just glad it didn’t increase). On top of that, the $600 California license fee is due on the BMW. A surprise to nobody: it’s expensive to own a high-dollar sports car. At least maintenance is still free this year (also this month), the final one of three.

Traditionally, September is new iPhone month as well. As a person who’ve bought a new iPhone ever year since the iPhone 7, I’m staring at yet another thousand dollar outlay (spread over 24 months, whatever, all the same) on top of the aforementioned. But perhaps not? I’m kind of considering not making the upgrade this year.

The reason I’ve been buying new iPhones annually is because of the camera improvements on every new model. I’m sure the forthcoming iPhone 15 will be no different. However, this year I bought a Fujifilm X-T5 camera, and I’ve simply fallen in love with using that wonderful device. I’ve fallen back in love with photography, too. Now that I’ve unencumbered myself of any arduous editing, my desire to go out and shoot photos have increased dramatically.

What does this have to do with the iPhone? Well, I’ve come to dislike the photos taken with my iPhone 14 Pro. The iPhone’s over-sharpened, high-dynamic range look compares poorly to the warm and sultry tones of the Fujifilm. It’s a throwback to the early days of smartphone cameras: for the serious stuff, you want to take the photos with your “real” camera. Nowadays, I want to take photos with the X-T5 as much as possible.

It’s not the iPhone’s fault: computing power can only do some much against the laws of physics (much larger sensor in the X-T5, obviously). Apple will have to wow me plenty come next Tuesday to entice me enough to upgrade this year.

I need it

Did I already buy another lens for my newly purchased Fujifilm XT-5 camera? Yup! Looks like gear acquisition syndrome is in full bloom. I mean, what’s the point of an interchangeable lens camera if I only have one lens? Granted, if I were to have only one lens, the Fujinon XF 23mm F2 would be it. A compact walk-around lens at my favorite, most-used focal length: 35mm full-frame equivalent. Obviously then the 23mm F2 was the first lens I bought along with the XT-5.

Soon to join that lens is its close cousin, the Fujinon XF 50mm F2. At a 76mm full-frame equivalent, it’s ideal for portraiture, and when I want to punch in a bit during photowalks. Shooting down urban streets, the 50mm can compress the background and block out the peripherals stuff that a wider lens would otherwise get in the frame. During the photowalk in Chinatown last Sunday, I was limited in what I can do when photographing straight down Grant Avenue, carrying only the 23mm. I actually took out my iPhone to use its 77mm full-frame equivalent telephoto lens instead.

Won’t have to do that anymore! With the 50mm F2 in tow for the future I’ll just have to quickly swap between the two lenses should I desire a different perspective. You know what is really baller, though? The professionals that carry multiple camera bodies, with different focal lengths of lens attached to each. Therefore, instead of swapping lens, they just swap between the bodies during a shoot. In a money-no-object world (or a I actually make a living from this hobby world), I would have a second XT-5 attached to the incoming 50mm lens.

Another reason for buying the XF 50mm F2 right now is I want to take photographs of my friend’s newborn twins. Not only is 50mm a more flattering focal length, but I can also get the shot I want without being super close to the babies. Trust me, I’m not spending money simply to have more shiny objects on my bookshelf! (Though that’s very nice too, admittedly.) Everything I buy these days must serve some utility.

JPEG shooter

This past Sunday I got a chance to take my new Fujifilm X-T5 camera out for some first time test shooting. A photowalk around San Francisco Chinatown in the afternoon was called for. After reading the manual front to back and adjusting the custom buttons to my liking, it was time to see what the X-T5 camera can do. (Pairing it with a Fujinon XF 23mm F2 lens.)

Perhaps it’s the substantial money I dropped on essentially switching to a new system (Sony to Fujifilm) talking, but I was pretty immediately smitten with the X-T5. A touchscreen on a camera is so useful (My old Sony A7R2 did not have one). On the Fujifilm I can touch to lock focus on a subject/object and it will do so until I tap again to cancel. It honestly feels kind of cheating to me. I remember the old days of having only eight focusing points on a DSLR, and needing to perform the focus and recompose technique.

Now I can simply touch almost anywhere on the frame and it will lock focus automatically. Magical.

Fujifilm’s famous film simulation modes is as advertised. After seeing how each of them look, I chose Nostalgic Negative as my go to. Nostalgic Neg has the bump in saturation I typical do for my own RAW edits, plus a warm tonality that I prefer over something cool. Set white balance to automatic, and I simply let the X-T5 do its own interpretation of the scene vis a vis the colors.

Kind of funny how I’m essentially treating a “DSLR” camera as a point-and-shoot. It’s like going back to the days of instant film cameras: I don’t control how a film roll will look coming out of development. Being able to get interesting and usable JPEG files straight out of the camera makes me want to go shoot more. Because upon returning home, all I do is transfer the JPEG files off the X-T5 and onto my Mac’s Photos app. That's it! I’ve not touched any of the RAW files from the Chinatown photowalk - there’s really no need.

At some point I might even shoot only in JPEG…

Pursuit of imperfection

Perhaps going from a full-frame sensor Sony a7R II camera to an APS-C sensor Fujifilm XT-5 would indeed be a downgrade. You can’t beat laws of physics, right? Given the same situation, the larger sensor Sony will always capture more light, with better resolving power, than the Fuji. I don’t suppose it’s typical that a photographer goes back down a step in terms of sensor size. Once they get to full-frame, they either stay there, or wait enough years to pay up for an ever larger medium-format camera.

I have my reasons for going back to an APS-C sensor, of course. As someone who is wholly satisfied with the pictures my iPhone outputs, I am not concerned about sensor size. A photograph is capable of telling a story no matter the tool that it was taken with. Physical limitations are something work around, rather than lament the lack of. The iPhone can never match the bokeh of a proper DSLR/portrait lens combo, but I can still be creative in how I frame the subject. It’s a sort of creatively that breeds from limitations.

The modern full-frame camera is simply too good. Most units from a major manufacturer can output pin-sharp photos in crazy high resolutions. There’s so much dynamic range, so much leeway to edit a file that the capture process almost seems secondary. Why care about getting the proper exposure or framing something just right when it can all be fixed in post-processing? And because you can get a photo to be even more perfect in post, editing becomes a necessary chore. You have to, because you can.

The reason I bought the Fujifilm XT-5 is because I only want to shoot. To use the JPEG images straight out of the camera (got to love those Fuji film simulations) - because I’ve already put enough thought to exposure and composition at the moment of capture. The point is to shoot more, and not spend hours in front of the computer editing. I am perfectly happy to give up some fidelity in pursuit of this. (Near) perfection is overrated anyways. A picture with blown highlights and or crushed shadows can tell a story just the same as one with the utmost amount of dynamic range.

Limitations breeding creativity.

Clearing the slate

Last week, I noticed a coworker checking out bicycles (of the self-pedaling kind). I asked if he’s looking to buy, or merely window shopping. Somewhat meekly he replied that he really shouldn’t be looking to buy, because he’s already got a bicycle that he spent a relatively significant sum on. Alas, the upgrade treadmill comes for us all. We’re always looking for the next better thing, aren’t we? This is why I’ve yet to keep a car longer than three years. (My BMW M2 is coming up to that threshold in September…)

Another coworker chimed in with a tip: if you truly wish to replace something with a new/better of the same, you should sell the one you already have first. That way, the slate is clean, and you’re once again deprived of the thing you want. (Ignore the depreciation, obviously.) Coincidentally, the coworker looking at bikes said he actually did put his old bike up for sale! And soon as it sells, he’ll have no reservations about buying the newer, shinier replacement.

Inspired by this, I decided to give my old Sony A7R2 camera (plus two lenses) to a photography enthusiast friend of mine. For free. I cannot be bothered to put it up for sale, wasting time with tire-kickers and having to go to a UPS store for shipping. I’ve had the camera for seven years, it’s served me well; it’s time to let it go cleanly and smoothly. Never mind the fact I hardly use the camera these days. By offloading the camera to my graciously accepting friend, I am now free to make a move for a newer camera.

I’ve been admiring the Fujifilm XT-5 for awhile now. It’s not an easy decision to switch from one camera brand to another, because you essentially have to re-buy everything that isn’t the memory card. The draw of the XT-5 (and any Fujifilm camera) is the film simulation: essentially a filter on your shots that replicate how old film cameras would look. No editing, just straight out of the camera. An easy button for when I don’t want to spend hours editing hundreds of RAW files.

Now I just need the XT-5 to go on sale…