p.3 #3 · Upcoming trip to Paris: what am I bringing?
Hey, new adventure, new bag! I don't get to travel all that often, so it's exciting to talk shop on the decision making process and how people approach their travel shooting. I'd been deciding between a handful of bags over the last few months, narrowed down to a couple in the last week or so, then decided on the PD 3L Everyday. Like I said in my last post, the smallest size I have currently is a 10L Thinktank that is perfect for taking all of my kit out somewhere local, but too much bag for what I'm want to carry on travel.
At one point got an Ona Bowery bag in cognac leather, but ended up returning it because I couldn't see traveling with that. Well made and gorgeous, but too heavy and expensive. The PD 6L Everyday sling was in the running as well, but it wasn't too much smaller than my existing bag. The Peter McKinnon Nomatic sling was considered; great design and organization, but still a little over my budget and size preference.
p.3 #4 · Upcoming trip to Paris: what am I bringing?
Mid-way through the trip. Both the X100VI and X-T5 + 16-55II are seeing good use; I could probably do the entire trip with just the X100, but man, the 16-55II is absolutely fantastic for this setting. The weight/bulk hasn’t been as annoying as I had anticipated, and when I’ve just had the camera out on the strap (vs taking it in the PD Everyday 3L), it’s not been a nuisance at all. The X100 has been clutch for dinners out and casual street shooting, though like with any prime, it’s often not the right focal length for a shot I’m envisioning (yeah, and water is wet). Thoroughly enjoying both setups, though there have been times I’ve missed my 35 1.4 and 18 f2.
The city itself is great, haven’t once felt unsafe, even the threat of pickpockets has been quite a bit overblown. Most nervous I’ve been so far was driving the rental car back to the hotel, and navigation took us around the Arc du Triomphe. Felt like the scene in John Wick 4
Photograph results.. meh, I don’t have the eye for street photography, all my shots feel utterly pointless and boring. Shots of the city are a ton of fun though; will have some to share after return.
p.3 #5 · Upcoming trip to Paris: what am I bringing?
MatthewK wrote:
Mid-way through the trip. Both the X100VI and X-T5 + 16-55II are seeing good use; I could probably do the entire trip with just the X100, but man, the 16-55II is absolutely fantastic for this setting. The weight/bulk hasn’t been as annoying as I had anticipated, and when I’ve just had the camera out on the strap (vs taking it in the PD Everyday 3L), it’s not been a nuisance at all. The X100 has been clutch for dinners out and casual street shooting, though like with any prime, it’s often not the right focal length for a shot I’m envisioning (yeah, and water is wet). Thoroughly enjoying both setups, though there have been times I’ve missed my 35 1.4 and 18 f2.
The city itself is great, haven’t once felt unsafe, even the threat of pickpockets has been quite a bit overblown. Most nervous I’ve been so far was driving the rental car back to the hotel, and navigation took us around the Arc du Triomphe. Felt like the scene in John Wick 4
Photograph results.. meh, I don’t have the eye for street photography, all my shots feel utterly pointless and boring. Shots of the city are a ton of fun though; will have some to share after return. ...Show more →
Glad that's working for you.
(My alternative when I bring along a 16-55 on urban travel with the XT5 is to accompany it with the little 27mm f/2.8. That way I get roughly the functionality of both the X100vi and the XT5 in one body.)
As to street photography, expect to make a LOT of exposures that won't excite you. That's kind of par for the course with much street photography. Part of it is that things happen so fast that you have to just shoot quickly, anticipating what might happen... and then it doesn't. Another element is that shooting street, especially if you usually do other kinds of things, requires some practice and some time to start to develop instincts of it. Of course, you are in a great place to do that! Don't give up!
Dan
One of my favorites from Paris, from Le Marais... "Je Suis Bleu"
p.3 #6 · Upcoming trip to Paris: what am I bringing?
Finally made it back home yesterday, got unpacked and uploaded all of my shots, and have had a chance to go over my photos from the trip. I
gdanmitchell wrote:
Glad that's working for you.
(My alternative when I bring along a 16-55 on urban travel with the XT5 is to accompany it with the little 27mm f/2.8. That way I get roughly the functionality of both the X100vi and the XT5 in one body.)
As to street photography, expect to make a LOT of exposures that won't excite you. That's kind of par for the course with much street photography. Part of it is that things happen so fast that you have to just shoot quickly, anticipating what might happen... and then it doesn't. Another element is that shooting street, especially if you usually do other kinds of things, requires some practice and some time to start to develop instincts of it. Of course, you are in a great place to do that! Don't give up!
Dan
One of my favorites from Paris, from Le Marais... "Je Suis Bleu"
Thanks, Dan, that's some much-needed motivation. I should be a bit more lenient with myself, as this is basically a totally new genre for me, and I shouldn't expect to hit ringers with every shutter press. The challenge I'm facing now is that I have a pile of photos of random people with blank face stares or hunched over their phones along the street, and I don't have any idea if there's anything decent in the lot. I changed up my approach as the trip progressed and worked to include the amazing architecture and unique setting into the compositions, which was actually really fun, but still kind of left me feeling clueless whether or not I made anything worthwhile. I don't know, it just feels as though there's no connection to the subjects in the frame?
At a random store there, I found a photobook about Saul Leiter, and seeing his work was both inspiring but also depressing haha His photos are also showing random people, but there's a point to them, while mine are random people but with no point or interest whatsoever.
Anyway, I'm sorta timid about sharing any of my shots, but here it goes:
p.3 #7 · Upcoming trip to Paris: what am I bringing?
Hey, I'm glad you are working on it and realizing that, well, it does take work and that there will be a lot of challenges and failures along the way. (I have files full of banal shots that did not work... for every one that does work.)
I think you are on the right track with those photos, and good for you for getting up close with human subjects. Keep it up!
p.3 #8 · Upcoming trip to Paris: what am I bringing?
So, are you more of a walk and "shoot from the hip", or do you prefer to set up somewhere with a scene/light and wait for a subject to enter? I tried both methods, the former yielding unpredictable results but providing more opportunities.
p.3 #9 · Upcoming trip to Paris: what am I bringing?
MatthewK wrote:
Mid-way through the trip. Both the X100VI and X-T5 + 16-55II are seeing good use; I could probably do the entire trip with just the X100, but man, the 16-55II is absolutely fantastic for this setting. The weight/bulk hasn’t been as annoying as I had anticipated, and when I’ve just had the camera out on the strap (vs taking it in the PD Everyday 3L), it’s not been a nuisance at all. The X100 has been clutch for dinners out and casual street shooting, though like with any prime, it’s often not the right focal length for a shot I’m envisioning (yeah, and water is wet). Thoroughly enjoying both setups, though there have been times I’ve missed my 35 1.4 and 18 f2.
The city itself is great, haven’t once felt unsafe, even the threat of pickpockets has been quite a bit overblown. Most nervous I’ve been so far was driving the rental car back to the hotel, and navigation took us around the Arc du Triomphe. Felt like the scene in John Wick 4
Photograph results.. meh, I don’t have the eye for street photography, all my shots feel utterly pointless and boring. Shots of the city are a ton of fun though; will have some to share after return. ...Show more →
I'm not surprised you like the 16-55II, its my most used X lens. I don't find the size obtrusive and the AF seems better than most other X lenses, both speed and accuracy. Wide open it gives some decent back ground isolation and the min. focus distance is pretty short. Its sharp at any aperture of focal length. I also shoot Gfx and have the 45-100 which is the best general purpose zoom I have used. But the 16-55 is surprisingly close with a broader focal length range.
p.3 #10 · Upcoming trip to Paris: what am I bringing?
You might want to try converting a couple more of your street images in mono. Woman with the umbrella and crop it a bit, and the one below that with the woman looking from the corner of the frame. Bicycle and scooter could work too with a contrast bump. I think it might draw more attention to the human in their environment.
p.3 #11 · Upcoming trip to Paris: what am I bringing?
Jack Flesher wrote:
You might want to try converting a couple more of your street images in mono. Woman with the umbrella and crop it a bit, and the one below that with the woman looking from the corner of the frame. Bicycle and scooter could work too with a contrast bump. I think it might draw more attention to the human in their environment.
Man, I appreciate any tips/insights on making these street shots work better Interestingly enough, the last day of the trip I switched over to shooting in Acros, and feel that I started having more fun with things.
