robvisual - photography

Today my new strap and shutter-release-button have arrived! My X100s definitely needs some extra magic to make it look more personal. If you use your camera often it becomes a part of you. ;-) I have chosen an Artisan & Artist RED LABEL in red/greed made of acrylic fabric and a very tiny amount of leather (I try to keep this little because I am a raw vegetarian). And I ordered my favorite red aluminum shutter-button again. The strap also has a little Velcro covered lens-cap-holder that comes in very handy. You can also use it to hold other things like the lens hood etc. So you never gonna miss an important part of your equipment lost in your bag.  BTW: I don´t get paid by Artisan & Artist. I just looked for nice straps without too much leather and vivid colors. And this extra feature to store your lens-cap or other little things made me buy this one.

Most photographers are hunting for stunning images that make it to the top. But if you look at the work of well know photographers like Eisenstein, Bresson or Vivian Maier you will also notice that they were interested in documenting life as it is without searching for oddities or strange situations. Just raw life. Because there is something fascinating about the simple things and the every day routine. We don´t think about the most things we do every day because we are used to it. Street photography makes every day life visible and adds an artistic standpoint to it. The viewer has the possibility to overthink his every day routine by looking at the resulting images. This is one of the many great aspects of art. cargo - (X-PRO1 18mm @ f8.0)

When you know what the title means you are a Fuji-nerd. Today is firmware-day. The new FW 4.0 is ready to slip into the flash memory of your X-T1 to give you better AF performance and some new features like wide-tracking of objects. Get the firmware here: http://www.fujifilm.com/support/digital_cameras/software/firmware/x/xt1/index.html Read more about the firmware and best settings here at Fujirumors: http://www.fujirumors.com/download-now-the-amazing-new-fuji-x-t1-firmware-4-0-share-your-first-impressions-on-fujirumors/ I had to think about how important the update is for me. No big deal. But when I´m traveling I always take my X-T1 with me. It is more versatile for this kind of photography and has built in WLAN (and a tilting screen etc.). And when you do travel photography there are situation were you need a fast AF to track moving objects. For street photography I don´t need this update. I use mostly zone-focusing together with my X-PRO1 so I can concentrate more on framin...

Last weekend my wife and I did a little trip to Lübeck (the old hanseatic city of marzipan). We discovered a new shop that was offering tailor made clothes and a new (organic treated)  haircut in one shop. We had a good time there and I ask the two owners if I can take a portrait of them. I had my X100s with me and I used the incoming light from the window to illuminate my subjects. The great thing about a small rangefinder style camera is that you can look (with one eye) at your subjects without a big cam in the way. There is more intimacy between the photographer and the other persons. So we had a lot of fun and I took a little series of shots and picked this one. I love the warm light from the lamp at the right and the depth of the background. The fabric on the table and the measurement-band tell us who of the both women runs the tailor part of the shop. I do my portraits always spontaneous without to much buzz and hectic. Most of the times people know how to look good and i...

When I was young I was a very shy guy. I can´t look into other peoples eyes and had trouble doing simple things like buying a cinema-ticket. And then I made some new friends and started with skateboarding. That gave way more self confidence. After that I were a new wave/goth for a longer time. I did my own parties and become a DJ and later a VJ. About 10 years ago I discovered photography and all the possibilities and tried all kinds like studio, architecture etc. But as I saw the work of great street photographers like Henry Catier Bresson I was fascinated by their work. And then Ricoh (500GX) and Fuji entered my life and changed the way I take photographs with a camera that is always with me. These small cams are not between me and the subject I want to take shots of. A great start to take better photos in the streets without a bulky cam. Today I met this great guy who is a real rocker who lives his alternative lifestyle. TOM - a real rocker (X-PRO1 / 18mm @ f2.8) I saw him...

Today's photo collections are not physically around you in form of negatives, albums or larger developed photos on your wall. They are stored on a hard disk or presented through an online services only. But it is not the same quality like a high quality print, a real photo-book etc. There is nothing to touch or feel. So be your own gallerist. A real good photo should be worth the time to print and put it in a book or hang it on the wall. If not, it is not a good photo! Trust me. If you see your own work and art hanging in front of your computer you are way more motivated to get on with your passion! Castle Schwerin - (X-100S)

love the colors - (X-T1 35mm) Do you like rules? Street photography should be black and white! Candid street photography is always blah blah blah! Most people talking about the freedom of art and rules at the same time. I don´t care about that. I think there is no exact rule when it comes to street photography. It is more like a study or a visual diary of the things you saw. Without all the different approaches of thousands of photographers trying to document all aspects of human life there would be no variety when you take a photographic look into our past. And photos without people can document how the surrounding world looks in detail or as an overlook. When you walk down the streets hunting for the decisive moment it is also important (for me) to get into the mood by documenting the surrounding architecture, streetart and other things. It helps me a lot it is a good contrast to the stealth ninja like hunting for good images. Maybe you want to make a book about the streets ...

Yesterday was fantastic. The sky was overcast so I had perfect light. It was warm enough to feel comfortable and I walked just across the city without a destination. My entry point was the warehouse district (Speicherstadt) were I took this shot after waiting for something good happening at the long end of the bridge. And it happened! cyclist passing by - (X-T1 / 60mm @ f2.8) The I decided to head over to St. Pauli by and then Karolinenviertel that is very close to St. Pauli. There is a place called Schlachthof (sloughterhouse). At the backyard I met a funny guy. I saw him and he asked me to take a photo of him. He had a bit of rest-alcohol in his veins. He smiled at me and I decided to take some photos. After taking the first shot I asked him to stand up. So he did and opened his jacket and showed me the little sock he pulled over his knob. I instantly laughed and he smiled back. What a crazy guy. Then we talked about the musical genius Michael Jackson and I gave him my card ...

Sometimes an open aperture is great to give a architecture photo more visual punch and make it look more 3D. I love the different colors in this photo. But with an open aperture focused on the VSN-tag in the middle of the scene it works even better. The vanishing point does the rest. X-PRO1 (35mm at 1.4)

When people ask me what´s so fascinating about street photography is say it is the awesomeness of the world and all the beings and things in it. Yes, there is also shadow in a world full of bright light. But the dark side of life is also interesting. Without pain there is no joy. And without shadow there is no contrast in terms of photography. And this is what makes this world so colorful (or black and white!). Every day is a new day when it comes to photography. I love to walk the same streets on and on and see new details or something unexpected in a well known place. That is some kind of meditation. So you don´t need to travel far away to see something new. cargo bike (X-PRO1 / 18mm)

One reason for me to buy a Fuji camera was the strong support of the customers. Back to my Nikon days I had some problems with no light measurement with manual lenses on my D60. So I wrote to Nikon and I even created a public petition without any success or answer. After buying my X100 there were also some quirks that annoyed me. But Fuji listened and tried to eliminate them with some firmware updates. I never had such an experience with Nikon or Canon. And Fuji also put some new features into some of the updates that made me even happier. And now I have a "Deja Vu" again. Fuji is releasing the 4.0 firmware for the X-T1 in the next days. If you followed  Fuji-Rumors recently you will be well informed about what´s coming with the next big update. The biggest change for me beside the new auto focus features is focus speedup for the 35mm 1.4. There is no focus-pumping anymore. If you can trust the early testers you will have a whole new lens on your X-T1. Great news for me. I...

Is it just me who is a bit disappointed about all this tech-reviews out there without a real life part? Most of the time there is one individual sitting in front of a camera and talking about that brand new thing he or she is holding in their hands. They go trough all menus and buttons without showing how to use that damn thing in the wild. When it comes to cameras and lenses I like the digitalrev -channel on youtube. The videos are always out in the streets or in a studio. And they are a mix tech-talk, taking photographs and entertainment. At the end of the vid I have a better picture in my mind how this thing works. Sitting in your living room and talk about gear for half an hour is great when you hypnotize other people or just try to force them to sleep. ;-)

Because a good photo is just a second away from you. If you see something you should be able to react in a short period of time. Here are my tips to not miss the most shots: take your camera out of the bag - in the bag it is too far away from your eyes and hands to react quick enough. hang the camera around your neck or us a small strap and hold it in your hand - I love to let my camera hang on the height of the left hip with a long strap around the neck. Just grab the cam and get your left arm out of the strap and pull the camera to your eye. Bam! If you are approaching a scene hold it already in your hands. I always turn my camera on when I grab it. Today's digital cameras are fast enough to be ready half the way you drag them to your eyes. use zone-focusing to avoid missed shots - when you draw your camera quickly to your eyes the scene could change in a short period of time. So in most situations you don´t have the time to do this (re)focusing-thing. I set my x100s to ...

On this day I was hanging around in the Hafencity district (harbour city) in Hamburg. I gave the underground station there a little visit. Nothing was happening. But then a family with two kids entered the station. The son was pointing his little plastic gun at nearly everything and everyone. I had my camera ready to shoot as the kid tried to shoot in a bit more artistic style. I love the result. There are no other people in the frame. He is all alone doing his thing on a chess-board like floor.

Are you waiting for the X-PRO2? Full or medium format? Super-IQ? Sony has released a little beast of a mirrorless full frame camera some days ago. It can do nearly everything except a good cup of coffee. Do I need all this stuff? ISO 50.000 or 100.000 are always nice numbers written on a tech-sheet. In real life most photographers don´t need that in most situations. I don´t want to say it is useless. There are some use cases for better technology but it won´t make better photos. Many people are suffering from GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) and think that their "old" camera is not up to date. When I look at my Minolta XD-7 from the seventies a little smile will light up my face. Yes. You can do a lot more things with actual cameras. But a button to take a great photo is not jet invented. It is your imagination that creates the photo. The camera is just a tool. And you don´t always need the newest model. Taken with my trusty old Ricoh 500GX rangefinder camera (400ISO/BW...

Today I was doing a after-work-skateboarding-photowalk-thing. And this is one of my favorites. He was looking at some graffitis and this what I got after he was finished. The scene looks a bit scary but it was taken on a sunny day in a beautiful park. Photography is not reality. It is jus a slice of reality. Of your own interpretation of reality. stripes by Nils Kuelper (robvisual) on 500px

Is it possible? With the x-t1 it is a bit like gambling. If you´re lucky you get a perfect photo. When you press the shutter-button the screen will lag for a small second. But if you own a x100(s/t) or a x-pro1 you have the OVF that gives you the ability to follow your subject without noticing any shutter-actions. It is also great if you want to keep your eye uninterrupted at the scene without any distraction. If you don´t want to care about focusing you can work with zone-focusing. speedy motorbike - (X-PRO1 / 18mm @ f8.0)

Back in my Nikon-days I bought me a Crumpler backpack to store all that heavy stuff in it. I still own this bag. It´s great to carry your whole lens-park and stuff for bigger adventures. But for every day use I am more the messenger-bag type of guy. I own a classic crumpler bag that goes everywhere with me. I can throw my x100s (in its leather case) into it and everything is fine. But for my other cameras I like to have a bag that is made for storing lenses etc. So I did some testing by shopping a Matin  ballade bag . This bag is a cheaper copy of the retrospective-thinktank-series and was a little disappointment for me. The canvas with that zipper on the back was a bit aggressive to my clothes and the whole bag looks very used after only one year of normal use. What I need is a nylon-messenger-bag that is made for camera-use. And I found a promising one (also) at Artist & Artisan (no sponsoring!) here . You can use this one as a simple messenger-bag. There is an option to ...

No. This is not about analog film. It is more about the organic look of the Fuji high ISO files. The grain looks great and smooth. In black and white it looks awesome. I did not applied too much sharpening to the following photo. Just some adjustments to get the right bw-look I wanted. standing still (x-pro1) When you look at the grain between the cabins it looks just great. The photo was taken at ISO 3200 with my x-pro1.

A look into my inbox and the heartbeat gets stronger. My new strap and shutter-release-button are ready to brush up my newest addition to the Fuji-park. Red is my favorite color. So I ordered a red strap and button. For the strap I´ve choosen the Artisan & Artist RedLabel. It is very bold in width but soft at the same time. It feels great around the neck. And it also has a little holder for a lens-cap. What a great idea. I hate to put the lens-cap into my pockets or back into the photo-bag. With this strap you have it right where you need it. Red fits perfectly to this black beauty for my taste. What kind of strap, button or case are you using? And what kind of lens-hood should I use? Is there a better one than the one from Fuji? You will find more information about this wonderful strap  here . It is not a sponsored link. I don´t want to make money from this blog. It is a link to the manufacturer (no shop).

http://www.fujirumors.com/game-over-for-the-zeiss-touit-lenses-no-more-touits-this-year-and-maybe-not-even-in-2016/ The linked  article is about the possible death of the "Touit" brand for Fuji cameras. I personally own the Touit 12mm and I'm absolutely satisfied with it. Yes there is that loose aperture ring without a real click-feeling, but for me a lens is about delivering good image quality. And this is a discipline were the Zeiss is shining. I think that Fuji is doing a great job with their own lenses but there no room for much competition. Only when it comes to the price. But Fuji x-series-shooters are not the ones who look for a cheap bargain. I can recommend my Zeiss 12mm. It is a great ultra-wide lens that delivers great even wide open. Give it a try after this price drop. You won't regret it.

train (x100s) I took this shot under a building that leaves a gap for the underground train tunnel near the town hall in Hamburg. I love the framing of the building and tonal bandwith of the scene in black & white.

Because there is always a better faster one around the next corner. I think it would be better to slow down the release cycles and focus on quality. And more on the quality of the lenses. Believe me, the glass is more important than the sensor. The lens has to deliver excellent micro-contrast, great colors, good resolution and a good auto-focus-performance. So Fuji is doing a good job by not releasing to much new models every year but throwing some awesome lenses on the market.

Sometimes you see a great backgrop like this mountain-scape. The only thing to do is setting your camera right and wait for the decisive moment. vacation (x100s)

work is over (x100s) Right time, right place. I was exploring the backyards of St. Georg (a district in Hamburg).

windows by Nils Kuelper (robvisual) on 500px On my way home from work I took some photos to test my newest addition to my Fuji-park, the x-pro1. What should I say? The camera doesn´t feel like a toy in your hands. The size and weight is just right for serious photography. If you need a better grip, there are many solutions out there for your taste. I don´t need one because I have small hands. It looks fantastic. Don´t put me in the same line with all that hipsters who always want to look good with their gear. But I love good design and Fuji did it right. It feels sturdy and handcrafted. Only Leica and other high quality brands can beat this. But for a different price ;-) The image quality is just the same as from my x100s or x-t1. Yes...the autofocus is slower as on my x-t1. But it is very accurate and not too slow (read this article from Marco Larousse ). And for the most things I shot I don´t need a blazing fast autofocus (and I use zone-focussing in the streets). I will grab ...

We just can´t get enough! We love our cameras and Fuji did a great job in enhancing the experience for all customers by listening to what the say. Scott Bourne and Marco Larousse launched a new podcast to talk about Fuji and thinks they like and dislike. There also special guests like other photographers and even people from Fuji. Clicke here to listen to this podcast Enjoy the show!

A good question. I was a shy guy more twenty years ago. I was always in fear of rejection etc. But then I made some new friends and we loved to loose some rubber on the streets with our skateboards. That made me more self confident. I did skate-videos at home and later I became a DJ and a VJ. That helped me a lot in overcome my fear to get in contact with other people. You have to go out and do something you love. Always imagine how great a portrait could look like and how much fun it could be to post process the images. That gives you power! "best friends" - (fuji x100s) Here are my tips when you want to take a portrait of a stranger: know the law - in many countries it is forbidden to take portraits without a contract (if your want to use them in commercial way) etc...so do some research. When you know your rights you are even more confident. have a reason - don´t say: "can I take a photo of you?". There is no reason. Say: "Hey! I love your style a...

And do it with style and sustainability. Fujirumors did a great job in creating a very good looking t-shirt that is only made with sweat but no tears. Order your shirt  here .

A hot topic for all Fuji-Fanatics out there ( look here  / fujirumors). I would buy one (if I had so much money). But in most cases you don´t need to. Because there is a great way to get the same look (and even more) without the need of a new device. You can use the Brenizer method to archive the medium format look. That means that you use your lens with wide open aperture to create a shallow depth of field. And then your took some surrounding images and stitch them together to get a wider field of view. Brenizer goes Schwerin castle-park! (x-t1 with the 60mm at 2.4 / 4 images stiched in Lightroom 6) I love this technique. It creates this unique look. When you crop the photo to 1:1-format the illusion is perfect. And the resulting photo has a lot of detail because the pixelcount will raise after the images are glued together. That is perfect for large format prints. I will test that in future. This is one of the many benefits (more me) to shot digital. You can do things l...

This is a snapshot in evening-light. I did some pp in lightroom to lower the exposure of the sky and bringing out some details. castle schwerin (x100s edited in lightroom)

the x-pro1 UPS hit the doorstep this day and now I´am a proud owner of a Fuji x-pro1. And yes, this camera is from 2012. It should be sluggish without the newest functions, blah blah blah. I don´t care about that. In the last blogpost I wrote about my cheap Ricoh 500GX rangefinder that produced great images in the streets. I bought it on ebay for the price of two beers and a some french fries. Some functions can come in handy, but they are not producing better images. And the sensor is still the same as in my x100s or x-t1. So the quality of the resulting images should remain the same. Only the autofocus is slower. But in the streets I use zone focussing and I don´t do sports photography. And I would use the x-t1 for that kind of photos. I´ve updated the firmware to the newest release (3.40) and made all the settings I need out there in the wild (no beep noises, raw, auto-ISO etc.). Now I wait for the leather case to arrive. This is great when you want to carry your Fuji without ...

They header sounds a bit bold. But I was using Nikon gear vor years and I wasn´t satisfied with the gear. The cameras were just too bulky and heavy. My interest in street photography was growing. But a small Leica was way too expensive. So I decided to buy an old Ricoh 500GX rangefinder on ebay. I bought some film rolls and the photos coming our of this cheap cam blew my mind. It was a whole different way to take a photo without being noticed in the first way. And the fixed lens made me work the scene. There was no zoom. Ricoh 500GX I was using a cheap old SCSI-slide-film-scanner and the results were far from perfect. But there was some magic. The camera was tiny and had an optical viewfinder that allowed me to focus the Leica-way. Just a bit cheaper. It has a light-meter in front of the lens that is very simple and there is no way to set a precise shutterspeed-aperture-combination. But the results were awesome. Ricoh 500GX But I must confess that I´am a lazy guy when ...