Fuji X-Pro 2 & Fuji 16mm f/1.4 in Harlem: January Photowalk
A good friend is in town from Paris for the holidays, and I thought I’d shoot some quick and dirty photos on our way to lunch in Harlem with a challenge in mind: no post processing.
In other words, I would use only straight out of camera JPGs –– with no editing, coloring, no cropping, no exposure adjustments, nothing. Easier said than done.
Time to get vulnerable with my audience!
A school in Harlem. Fuji X-Pro 2, Fuji 16mm f.1,4,
I’ve been having a lot of fun with film simulations lately, thanks primarily to the custom recipes on Ritchie Roesch’s frequently updated publication FujiXWeekly, and I’ve made a habit out of putting his creations to the test.
I’ve even been compiling my favorite film simulations here on Shark & Palm as an homage to FujiXWeekly (so yes, I’m a big fan!).
For this walk, I decided to key in Ritchie’s Superia 800 emulation recipe. It’s a vintage, green-tinted, fuzzy look that I find complements urban compositions quite well. I recommend shooting around an -1 EV if you’re using this recipe for maximum moodiness.
The atmosphere today was oppressive and heavy. The clouds choked out almost all of the light even at high noon, giving a sort of American Gothic feel to the images.
Let me show you what I mean.
Riverside drive. Fuji X-Pro 2, Fuji 16mm f.1,4,
Before we headed out, I guilted my friend to crawl out onto the fire escape for some quick test shots – and I’m grateful that she was a good sport about it!
It turned out to be harder than I thought to capture a decent portrait out there.
It was cold, wet, and the light only cooperated if I was shooting her towards the building. One of my biggest frustrations when taking quick, casual snaps is that light still matters – maybe more than ever! – and it doesn’t always feel worth it to spend 5 minutes staging and testing to get that perfect shot when you’re just trying to have some fun.
The bigger frustration is when you know there’s a strong shot, but you can’t seem to nail it perfectly as you’ve pre-visualized it in your head.
I think the first two I grabbed are usable – the third, totally underwhelming – so I decided to settle and get moving.
For this short walk, I only wanted to bring a single lens out of the house, and I thought a wide angle would be a little more practical.
Of course I reached straight for my Fuji 16mm f/1.4 (as most of you know, one of my very favorite lenses). The streets were still wet from the morning rain, the trees had long since shed their leaves, and the sky was a cool grey.
The body of choice was my Fuji X-Pro 2. Some may say it’s getting a little long in the tooth, but the dynamic range, color rendition, and handling are still top of the line. The X-Pro 3 is a fine camera, but I don’t need to upgrade just yet.
Because I didn’t allow myself any post processing for this photo walk, I think it shows some pretty impressive capabilities of both the X-Pro 2 and the Fuji 16mm f/1.4.
Claremont Avenue. Fuji X-Pro 2, Fuji 16mm f.1,4,
First, the colors straight out of camera are mind-bogglingly good — and even with the crushed and flattened dynamic range of the film simulation I plugged in, the dynamic range is still impressive without having to push or pull any RAW data in post.
Most impressive is the lack of chromatic aberration, distortion, or vignetting on the Fuji 16mm f/1.4 These are usually one-click-fixes in Lightroom anyway, but knowing the lens is getting it right without any modification or additional work is one of those little photography things that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Just me?
Anyway, it was on to the train station
It’s at this point in my self-imposed photo challenge that I realized just how poor my geometry is when I take shots. I rely heavily on Lightroom’s auto-leveler, and it shows!
Granted, these photos were essentially taken from the hip at light-speed – we had a train to catch! – but the slanted horizons are rough to look at.
User error aside, look at those colors. I mean – wow. The skin tone even in mixed fluorescent lighting still holds up, and the clothes look so textured and micro-contrasty you can almost feel them from your skin. The yellow light splashing on the bricks has that classic New York vintage look. These settings are such a thrill!
We got the platform just in time to hop on the train, so I tried my best to grab a shot before the doors closed and we pulled out.
Take one:
A misfire. Fuji X-Pro 2, Fuji 16mm f.1,4.
Not quite... but it’s still kind of comfy. Take two?:
125th St Station in Harlem. Fuji X-Pro 2, Fuji 16mm f.1,4.
Well, not perfect, but I can live with that! If I could just level it in Lightroom… but nope, I’m taking this challenge seriously, and we all have to suffer through it.
Once we got off the train, we headed to lunch and stumbled upon some sort of bizarre miniature installation (that I leave up to the reader to interpret) on the steps of a school.
What do you think this means? I’m at a loss.
When we arrived at the restaurant, I put my camera down and enjoyed the food.
Work life balance!
I’m looking forward to more photowalks this year. Hopefully, I can accommodate one every week, testing out different bodies, lenses, and settings and honing my ability to compose on the fly.
If there’s any specific gear you’d like to see my try out, drop a comment and I’ll do my best to pick it up. Happy new year, fellow photographers — let’s make it a productive decade!
