On a lovely sunny June evening a walk along the sea path past Pickie Funpark at Bangor is a pleasant way to while away an hour or so. Here’s a few shots made on the Fujifilm X-T30, using the excellent Acros Film Simulation.
Dateline: June 11th 2020
Lockdown prayer – socially isolated of course!
Fujifilm X-T30, Acros Black and White film simulation mode.
I love Black and White, the images have a timeless quality about them, and the lack of colour seems to make the mind work harder to interpret the image, a provocative gestalt. But does it work in the studio, under studio flash lighting? It does for adults, – but what about for kids? And does studio monochrome always have to be so noir?
Scarlett visted the studio this evening with her mum and her little sister to make some lovely photographs and memories, and among them was this little black and white portrait.
So, does this image work for you?
It works for me!
Bittles Bar, Victoria Place, Belfast.
An unusual street corner building.
Part of the original Victorian architecture of the city, now snugly surrounded by the modern commercial city.
Fujifilm X-T30 F=10mm (sees the same field of view as a 15mm lens on a full frame DSLR). f/5 @ 1/125th sec on ISO400.
I’m back at it again. Skulking round the wee dark alleys and passages of Belfast, waiting for an unsuspecting suspect to make a silhouette.
This was November 1st, a cold wet day in the city, and this passageway leads up to a carefully tended and maintained courtyard at the front of a restaurant and bar.
Silhouette- Church Lane, Belfast.
Fujifilm X-T30 F=18mm, f/2.8 @ 1/125th sec on ISO800. Shot using Acros Film Simulation
If you are fortunate enough to ever visit Belfast, Northern Ireland, you can get around the city easily and quickly on a ‘Belfast Bike.’ Download an app, pay a small fee, and borrow a bike! Take it from one side of the city to the other, and park it at the nearest bike-park! Easy!
A rack of public-access bicycles at Botanic Gardens, Belfast.
I found this scene when wandering around the Botanic area of Belfast on Saturday morning. Someone has chained a bike to a pole, and an advertising sign above the bike reads, “Take me home!” What a challenge for a would-be bike thief!
Fujifilm X-T30. F=181mm, f/9 @ 1/60th sec on ISO400. Shot in Acros Film Simulation mode.
I found these two memorials in Ballintoy.
A very traditional way to mark a life…
And a more humorous take on memory and commemoration…
Which would YOU prefer?
An interesting aspect of documentary photography is that human influence and interaction can be implied, rather than overt.
Even if people are not actually in the photo, the human element is still present and the human story is still told.
This gable wall in Belfast points us to events on the other side of the world, and indicates the desire of locals here to show solidarity with their fellow students there. There is a significant Chinese community in South Belfast, many of whom are students at the university, and many of them would have Hong Kong origins.
Fujifilm X-T30 shot in Acros film simulation.
F=22mm, f/11 at 1/60th sec on ISO400.
With a slack afternoon in the studio I decided to do some experimentation – and I even volunteered to be my own guinea pig! I did a selfie!
Watch the vid…
