London Calling
A couple of trips up to London this month means an early blog post for August, and another excuse to take the X100V out and about.
The weather while I was there can only really be described as biblical, making settings a real challenge as the weather went from blazing sun, to pouring rain about every 10-15 minutes or so. Undeterred I tried my best to fit in some full on London tourist street photography.
Millenium bridge man
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
After a bit of trial and error, I have found myself leaning more and more toward the ‘classic negative’ film simulation. I love how it renders an image, with deep rich tones and just the right amount of saturation. The image above shows this off really well and became my favorite image of the time I was in London.
London Views
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
I took a slow meandering walk across london as the sky became more and more ominous. This did make for some great images over St Pauls however which the X100V captured really well.
London views
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
London views
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
St Paul’s Cathedral from the tate modern side
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Moody skies - St Paul’s cathedral from Millenium bridge
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic Chrome
Southbank colours - Stairs
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Southbank colours - staircase
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Architecture
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic Chrome
Building front
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Building side
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
London Skyline - Elephant & Castle
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Elephant & Castle - Tower view
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Elephant & Castle - Tower view
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
I also tried my hand a little more at the ‘fishing’ technique, which I would employ several times across my time in London. I find being able to stop and take in my surroundings helps with this way of letting the image come to you.
Candyfloss carousel
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
One such moment that was perfect to use the fishing technique was when the clouds parted, and the sun created some intense shadows under a bridge at embankment station. I turned the camera to black & white to really show the contrast in dark and light as people walked through the pools of harsh midday light. I simply composed my image and waited for the pedestrians to enter the frame.
mirror image
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - ACROS
Shadows
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - ACROS
Traveler
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - ACROS
However by far my favorite way of capturing the streets is simply by walking, spotting an interesting character to photograph, checking my exposure and observing what is going on around me. I am then able to quickly compose and move on before anyone has even noticed me taking a photo. I find using the flip screen on the camera a huge plus when doing this as I can keep the camera at chest height and still be able to compose and take the shot.
Bricktop?
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Woman
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
London beach couple & pigeons
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - ACROS
Begging
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Buggy mayhem
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - ACROS
Gossip
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
The most angry looking cat in London
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Ringed Necked Parakeets - St James’s Park
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
I was also able to test the camera at night with a walk around the neon lined streets of soho. Again the camera performed admirably even when the ISO was pushed to a level I would usually not go near. the compact nature of the camera also made taking the images a lot easier for me.
Night time street ‘taxi’
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Long time no tea
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Lone Moped
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Land Rover
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Ferrari
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Flowerpot
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Seating lines
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Shakespeare by Jimmy C
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Buckled
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
leaf
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - ACROS
Chair
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
The London Underground is of course another area of rich pickings, and with the discreet X100V at my side, I was again able to snap away almost unnoticed as I travelled around London.
Underground Station
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
Tube ride snaps
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - Classic negative
like a Yo-Yo I will be back in London again for some wedding action at the end of this month so hopefully the weather isn’t quite as crazy as it was this time around.
Finally I must not forget a special mention, and a huge congratulations to Edie & John, who I had the privilege of photographing on their wedding day recently. It was my first wedding using the new Fujifilm X100V. I shot the wedding in RAW and JPEG, but to be honest I ended up having to just tweak the JPEG images in lightroom which meant I could get the images out much faster than normal which is a game changer once again. I used the FujiFilm Pro 400H film simulation recipe I had made to complete the vintage film feel which I think works really well.
Bride & Groom
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - FujiFilm Pro 400H
Bride and Groom
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - FujiFilm Pro 400H
Bride and Groom
Camera - Fujifilm X100V
Film simulation - FujiFilm Pro 400H
FIN
