Fuji Don't... blink...

Lightmancer

Legend
Location
Sunny Frimley
Name
Bill Palmer
Look, it's not my fault, okay? I'm not allowed to drive at the moment, due to having had a minor op. Thus I am confined to a daily constitutional around Sunny Frimley and it's environs. Trouble is, they are not particularly photogenic environs. I am therefore finding myself lurking around the cemetery at St Peter's Church; it is about the only place worth exploring in detail, hence the sudden superfluity of angels and Celtic crosses.

My confinement has coincided with the re-acquisition of a Fuji X-M1. I had one in the past, when I had my X-E1, as a backup to same, but when I acquired my X-T1 and X-Pro1 it seemed a trifle extravagant. Well, one came up at a good price, and I could actually see the benefit of having a smaller X-mount body in the stable, so I snaffled it and have glued my 27mm to the front. This has proven to be an excellent rehabilitation choice (my op was on my right shoulder; I need to exercise but not stress it) - it is small, lightweight and, with optional grip and cheapo thumbs-up clone attached, quite good in the handling department. The 27mm, which I have had for a while now, is no speed demon itself and the close focus leaves a lot to be desired, but I can see that once I am back to my fully irritating self again I shall be able to continue to use the combination as a bit of a demon set-up for street.

Anyway, in the interim I have been amusing myself, shooting stuff that can't move faster than I can. I hope you enjoy:

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Celtic Cross 3 par Lightmancer, on ipernity

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Celtic Cross 2 par Lightmancer, on ipernity

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Weeping Angel 4 par Lightmancer, on ipernity

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Weeping Angel 2 par Lightmancer, on ipernity

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Weeping Angel 6 par Lightmancer, on ipernity

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Madonna 1 par Lightmancer, on ipernity

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Weeping Angel 1 par Lightmancer, on ipernity
 
Well who knew what treasure St. Peter's contained? I could probably walk here but instead I've visited every other Church both here and abroad :) Nice details, the angel looks a little similar to the one in Windlesham Parish Church.
 
Great work, Bill. Your shoulder doesn't seem to be having a negative impact on your technique or creativity. BTW, how is working with the X-M1's rear LCD in daylight? I ask this of many XM1/X-A1 users. I have an unused 27mm pancake myself and keep thinking this might be a cheap way to put it to use.
 
Bill,

I really like these pix, perhaps they remind me of pushing Tri-X back in the day to get low light performance and that grainy/documentary look was part of the result.

Anyhow, a question: many of these pix have a kind of graininess to them. I presume that is part of the inherent look of the subjects (but maybe not). Did you do anything special to the images in post to bring out that look? If so, details, please.

Cheers, Jock
 
Thank you all, greatly appreciated.

@Biro - I saw your question first over on FujiXspot, so this is a copy answer for the benefit of those who are only here. I'm really not a fan of rear screens; I'm a VF man, either E- or preferably O- but I have to say that with both this and my GR, the rear screen is acceptable. Both are quite contrasty to start with, but it is worth noting that the X-M1 allows you to boost brightness in really glary conditions. I haven't had to do that yet and I can't see that I would under most circumstances.

That 27 is a lovely, under-rated lens and the X-M1 is a great "end cap" for it. One thing I realised/discovered today is that if you are set to manual focus, you can turn the camera off, drop it in your bag, knock it about a bit then get it out, turn it on and focus distance has not changed. This is one area in which fly-by-wire has an advantage over good ole' manual!

@Jock my processing is a mixture. I use Elements 10 as my starting point, and all of these were straight from jpg. There are however two processing variants, best seen in the difference in rendition between "Weeping angel 6" which is SOOC with a minor bit of dodging and burning in PS, and "Weeping angel 4" which was passed through Topaz Labs B&W Effects 2 as well. The latter gives a more grainy, high contrast look that I think suits some subjects better than others.
 
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