New website

I am now moving over to a new website with the URL: www.larsnl.com I have been working on it for a while, and I am quiet pleased with the result. It's a bit more minimalistic than this site, so the picture can "breathe" more. Have a look if you want :)

10 lessons Eric Kim has taught me about street photography

Marceille, France. 2012 © Eric Kim

Eric Kim was the first photographer I started following. He is also the reason that I started with street photography. Therefor I think it's appropriate to write my first article about him. This is going to be about the most important things Eric Kim has taught me, and my thoughts around it.

(My english is a bit bumpy, but bare with me)

1. Let your pictures marinate.

Hong Kong, China. 2013 © Eric Kim

"It takes about a year (or even longer) for me to decide whether I think a photo is good or not." - Eric Kim

Emotionally detach yourself from your pictures, and be able to be critical to your own work . After letting the picture sit for a while, its like looking at another persons work. 

"I often confuse the emotions of when I took a photo thinking it was good" - Winogrand

This is something that happens to me when I don't marinate my photos long enough: I pick a photo I'm satisfy with, show them to my friends. But the response is not what I was hoping for. They don't get the story, because they weren't there when the photo was taken. 

Sometimes it's the opposite way. When I look through some of my old work. Now that I see it with different eyes, I find some of them (Back then I didn't think of them as any good photos) to be quiet decent. Some of them I don't even remember shooting. A good tip from Eric: Never delete or throw away our old photos. 

Invest in a external hard disk, and/or file your negatives. Plus make a system so it's easy find to find what you're looking for in the future. 

"Less is more"

When editing a project, portfolio and so on. Don't go mad when it comes to number of photos to use. It's better to use 10-15 great pictures than 50 not so good ones. 

2. Work the scene.

Los Angeles, 2012 © Eric Kim

If you have the chance, and think the scene is worth working with, move around and shoot till you get the shot you want. But at the same time, don't overshoot.  

Take a look at the masters' contact sheets. Very often they took more than one shot of one scene. 

I'm not very good at this. And when I go to sleep, I start evaluating the day where I go through the situations mentally. Sometimes I get frustrated over the scenes I didn't work enough. In my case, this has often to do with fear of interrupting peoples life. I am working on it :) 

3. Shoot film.

Tokyo, Japan © Eric Kim 2013

Eric's article and videos about shooting with film is one of the reasons I got back to film. 

There are pros and cons when it comes to shooting with film. But for street photo, I think the benefits weighs heavier than the downsides  (of course if you are a sport photographer there is really no point in shooting film).

It makes me slow down. 

One reason is because film costs quiet a lot of money. I think: "is it worth it" before I actually press the shutter. Another good thing is that it prevents chimping after taking a photo, i.e. I am ready for the next shot without interruption. 

Analog cameras also makes me worry less about the gear. For instance ISO-performance, AF-speed and megapixels can be very distracting. 

Film forces me to let the picture marinate longer. 

When shooting digital, as soon as I got home from shooting, it was all about transferring the photos over to the computer, and browse through them. Often hundreds of photos taken in just one day. Sometimes I didn't bother go through all of them. It became overwhelming. 

Even with hundreds of photos, the amount of good or great shots is not higher compared to shooting film. Even the mass is much smaller. The success rate is therefore higher with film then digital. I use digital for some other work, and I think shooting with film helps me get better at shooting digital. 

4. Travel is good, but shooting in your own neighborhood is important.

Tokyo, Japan. 2011 © Eric Kim

Although traveling is important for meeting new people and cultures. It's really important to have a home to go to. When soothing away from home, places you've never been before, it's easy to get overwhelmed and shoot all over the place. It may be good pictures, but often not very interesting. When you know the place, and are personal connected to it, it's going to shine trough to your photos. You see details that people new to the place do not see. 

Every time I travel thinking; You have to travel to see how unique your home place is. This is something I think everyone that travels experience. For me, this is a good thing. There is always something interesting to photograph, you just have to look close enough.

5. Interact with people, don't be sneaky.

Tokyo, Japan. 2011 © Eric Kim

"When taking a photo of a stranger, a smile goes a long way." - Eric Kim

This is probably the the most important thing I've learned from Eric. Not just the theory behind it, but seeing the way he shoots on the street (following his youtube channel) has helped me a lot. To see how much a smile, a wave or a thank you can do is inspiring. 

The worst thing to do is being sneaky when taking photos of people on the street. Because if you then get "caught" taking someones photo, it's much worse than being open about it. They may think you are up to no good. When I say sneaky, I mean like using a tele lens, shoot from the hip, hiding behind a tree and so on. Most people doesn't see what lens you are using, so if you are standing far away, they may think you're using a tele even if you are using a 50mm. So get in the zone, smile and be confident about what you're doing. 

6. Equipment is not all. Be grateful for what you have.

Korea. 2012 © Eric Kim

It's not what you shoot with, its what you shoot that matters. Many of us are suffering for GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). I have been experienced this both as a musician and photographer. For a long time, I wanted a canon L lens. Thinking that if I just bought that lens, my shots was going to be much better, plus I was going to be more happy. I may get a bit more edge sharpness, faster AF and more durability, but is it worth the price? Will it make me a better photographer? Probably not. 

A little experiment Eric Kim is talking about in is blog, is to imagine loosing something. Like for instance your wallet. I think we've all been there, running through the house looking for it. Your heart start pumping, you start sweating. You would do anything to get it back, and saying to your self "I promise, I will never loose it again". When you find it again, you realize how important your wallet is to you. Same thing with your camera. 

Put things to perspective. We are fortunate just to have the opportunity to use a camera. People around the world are starving, and the last thing they would think about is more megapixels, faster AF. They'd be thrilled just to use a camera. I saw a documentary a while ago. Cant remember who the photographer was, but he was in this east europe prison, giving away disposable cameras to the prisoners. I don't think any of them had used a camera before, but they were in heaven that day. this may have made their life a bit more livable. At least for a little period. Think about it; we are lucky to do the thing we love. 

It's more important to know your gear, than to have the best gear.

7. Shoot for yourself.

Santa Monica. 2010 © Eric Kim

I think this has two sides. One of reasons I do street photography is to get out of the sofa, get fresh air, meet people, and collect memories. But I also shoot to make another person feel and learn something when he or she sees my photos. Photography has also helped me to understand humans better. The way they react to things, how they think and how they move. 

I feel more confident in public areas carrying a camera (I've herd other photographers saying the same). Though its hard, I try not to share too many photos on social media. I only pick out the ones that I find to be the best (often consulted by other photographers). 

Carrying a camera is also a good excuse to do small talk. Especially when using an old analog camera. I use it as an icebreaker. 

8.  Don't worry about the number of followers. Its the quality, not the quantity that counts.

Michigan. 2013 © Eric Kim

I'd rather have 10 people that are interested in my work than 1000 people that does not care about who they follow. 

Who sees your work is more important than the number of viewers. Do they actually care when they look at a photo. Do they reflect, feel something, and have a meaning about it? How long do they look at the photo? This is something that's far more interesting than how many followers you have.

9. Receive and give critiques.

                                                                            Tokyo, Japan. 2011 © Eric Kim

"A harsh critique is better than a pat on the back." - Eric Kim

In the beginning when I started sharing photos on the internet. This was before Facebook-time. I thought the people who gave harsh critiques were mean. It seemed like they gave critiques just to find something wrong about my photos (when I look at those photos today, they're not that good… So I see why they wrote what they did). However, after I began to learn how this was done, and started write critiques my self, I saw that I were exactly as "mean" as they were to me back then. Now that I know how to do it, I know how to appreciate it. I think that both giving and receiving harsh critique is a good way to become a better photographer. 

It's also important for the editing process.  

10. Street photography is 99,9% failure.

Santa Monica. 2010 © Eric Kim

"Street Photography is all about failure. 2-3 good shots a month, 1-2 great shots a year" - Eric Kim

This is something that is easy to forget from time to time. The keyword here is to be patient and don't get frustrated when having a period with crappy shots. Many of the great photographers are known for just 5, max 10 of their photos. There is a reason for that. Street photography is very hard, it takes a lot of skills and little bit of luck.

"The decisive moment" 

One moment everything lines up, if you don't press the shutter at the right time, the moment has passed, and never comes back. We can't control what people do, but we can anticipate what they will do. That, I think is the art of street photography, and separates the best from the good street photographers.

www.erickimphotography.com

Feel free to leave a comment below :)

My new project - "Markets"

I'm starting up a project parallel to my "Workers" project. I call it "Markets". It will contain photos from places like supermarkets, flea markets, food markets and so on, and life around it. I find markets to be very interesting, with a lot of things happening.

People doesn't seem to matter about me taking their photos when they're at the market. Also, it will be a good way for me to practice and gain more confidence when it comes to approach strangers on the streets.

I'm exited to see how this project takes away :)

Four days trip to Italy.

The view from the apartment balcony. Alghero, Sardinia, Italy.

Just got home from the Italia trip with my family. Photos in this post is taken with my cell phone, cause I just shot film. I will have the rolls developed in a couple of weeks. Think I got some keepers. But as they say: You'll never now before you see the negatives. This post will mostly contain a summary of what we did day to day.

The departure day.
A three hour flight down to Alghero, Italy. The plane landed 9.30 pm, 25 minutes before schedule :) We picked up the rental car (a nice little Lancia), and drove in to the city (10 minutes) to start looking for the apartment. We struggled a bit, but after about 15 minutes of driving around the blocks we finally found it. Even at this hour, the owners was waiting outside the building, to welcome us, and help us with our luggage. Very nice people. The place we stayed was called "Appartementi Sole". At Via Lido, Alghero. Here's a link: http://www.alghero-appartamentisole.com

Day 1.
I was up 8.30 am this morning. My father and sister went out to by some food for breakfast. The bread was so much cheaper down there than here in norway! About 1/3 of the price. So we ate a lot of bread while we were there :) We headed out 10.30 am, to have a look at the old town of Alghero. 

I am so fascinated about the narrow streets they have in Italy. Some of them are so small, you can't drive a car through them. And after walking up a small street, you suddenly get to a nice little square, but large compared to the streets around. These squares was filled with restaurant, cafés and Gelato (Ice cream) shops. So nice. I felt like walking around a film set. So different from what we have here in Norway. 

We picked out a Pizzeria, sat down, and ordered one pizza menu each (A 1 foot pizza, salad and a coke for 10 euro). The pizza was gooood :) 

By now we were pretty exhausted, walked around for 5 hours. So we figure we should go home to take a swim in the sea and relax. 

Untill now I had been using Portra 400. So at this time, the afternoon of day one, I loaded the Ilford HP5+ 400. 

I brought my OM2 everywhere I went. Even in the supermarket. No problem shooting the two rolls I brought.  

My Father and Sister and I decided to take a evening walk down the beach promenade, and have a look at the market. Every evening between 5 pm and 12.30 am there is a market for local sellers. A good way to reach the tourists better. Especially the ones that got lost in the small streets in centrum :p And as always, I brought my camera. 

At the market, people didn't seem to care about me taking their photos. They just smiled and nodded. But some people in the old town were a little more skeptical. A guy even asked me if I was going to post the photo on Facebook :p

Day 2

Capocaccia lighthouse at the end of the mountain all the way to the left.

Was up a bit later this day, due to exhaustion last day. This was the day for a road trip in the Lancia. Not so much to say about this day. Drove north to Sassari. The biggst town in the north of Sardinia. The traffic was so crazy, even in the middle of the day. I couldn't find a free parking spot, so we went on and drove through some small nice villages. On our way back to Alghero we visited Capocaccia Lighthouse. A lighthouse we could see from our apartment (photo no. 2.). 

Another thing I have to say, is that Italians is crazy drivers. The worst thing is that after a while, I started driving like them myself. Especially in the city traffic. The flow is very different from what we have in Norway. Who ever gets into the junction first can drive :p And do not ever hesitate. 

This day we made our own dinner in the apartment. Fresh pasta with pesto. Very Italian, and very good. 

We had a little walk at the market this evening too. I figure this was a good place to take photos down there, so I visited the market every day. 

Day 3. 
this was the day for relaxation, due to even more exhaustion the day before. Some sun bathing on the beach. Ice cream and pizza consumption. 

For dinner this day I had suckling pig with roasted potatoes. A traditional Sardinian meal. Never tasted meat so tender before. A restaurant with sea and sunset view accompanied with accordion music and nice waiters.

Shot the last frame on the second and last roll this day.

Leaving Italy - Back to good old Norway
We didn't do much this day. Packing, cleaning the apartment, eat the rest of the food, and drink the rest of the coke and water. Plus a lot of waiting at the airport. 


Ryanair may be slow, but it's cheap :) 

On our way home - The Alps in France/Switzerland. #Ryanair

My project: Workers - Every job is equally important.

Image from my on going project "Workers"

Ever since I started with photography, I've mostly been taking random photos. I guess nature photo was my main thing, but there was no structure to what I did, or why I did it. So now after i started reading about photography, and got deeper in to it, I figured I should start a project to be more focused on what I want to shoot. 

As Eric Kim so nicely phrased it in his article about projects: Why projects vs single images?

"You can make a statement with a single image, but when put together in a series or a project, they make a much more powerful impact to the viewer." 

Of course if I see something interesting thats not in the "frame" of my project, I'll take the photo. I want a goal, and a reason to go out and take those photos.

So I sat down and thought about what I find the most interesting to shoot, and if there was a pattern in the theme of my photos . After a couple of days, I decided to concentrate on people who are in work situations.


The project.
I think it's important to appreciate what every man and woman do for a living. Take for instance the cleaning ladies/men. No offense, but maybe not the most attractive job. If it wasn't for them, how would all the schools, offices and official buildings look like? I don't dear to think about the consequences if the garbage mens/women weren't doing their job. Put somewhat extremely: Just think about the long term consequences without the cleaning personal or garbage workers. Deceases will be spread much faster. Even chemicals that may be harmful, not only to the people who comes in direct contact with it, but there will also be a ripple effect. Chemicals will sink in to the ground, be taken up by animals, and eventually, end up in our food. How ever. I know there is a lot of garbage and chemicals floating around out there. Especially out in the seas. But thats more related to the every day man throwing garbage in the nature, and not the garbage men doing a bad job. That's really a completely different discussion.

The project is not all about garbage workers, and cleaning personal. What would happened to the world economy if the stock traders stopped doing their job? Or the farmers stopped producing food?
Even the girl behind the desk at Starbucks is doing an important job. Serving coffee, so that the people who grow the coffee beens also have a job. It's really a big circle the whole thing. And if one link gets weak and snap, it could cause more damage than we want.

There is nothing political about this project (at least not at this point). I just want to document workers, and hoping that people starts to think about, and appreciate every working man and woman out there.


In summary.
I think we're taking too many jobs for granted. And I want to document people that keeps the world going. And show that the importance of peoples job, is not always proportional with how much they get paid. 

My intention is not to put well paid workers in a bad light, but rather put low paid workers in a good light. This is what I want to achieve with this project.

I'm hoping to get my own eyes opened to. And learn while the project goes on. Cause who knows. Many I'm wrong (I hope not). That's what I'm gonna find out.

So from about six month to a year from now, the project will be published. I'm not sure how and where yet, but the time will show. The series will contain about 15-20 images.

Thanks for your time. More to come :)

What's in my camera bag?

Thought I should do a quick post about what I got in my camera bag. As I said before, I've converted to 35mm film cameras for my street photography. Actually I got two bags. One for digital, and one for analog. This is about my analog bag. The digital bag, is not that interesting. But still, I think I'll keep my digital gear. At least for a while. Sometimes it's just required to have the images done the next day.

Anyway... My analog bag is something like this.

Camera

Olympus OM2sp with winder.
Yashica FR

Optics

Olympus 28mm F/2,8
Olympys 50mm F/1,8
Olympus 135mm F/2,8
Yashica 50mm

Films

I've been using Fujifilm Superia 200. My next roll will be Kodak Portra 400. And Ilford HP5+ 400 for black and white.

The Olympus OM2.

Olympus OM2sp. Here with 50mm, 28mm and 135mm.
And four rolls of film

So this is my dear OM2sp. The way I got to know the OM2, was through a friend of mine, who also own a OM2sp. Some years ago, in high school (about 2007), I had the privilege to loan his camera. The first thing I noticed was the huge and bright view finder. I haven't seen anything like it before or after. It's like looking through a big shopping window:) At that time, I was all in to DSLR. I had just bought my second DSLR before I tried his OM2. So I was like "The view finder is so huge and nice, but its film...."My head was in the digital world. Plus I was working in a local paper at this time, so film was no option for my use.

One of the image from the first roll. Taken with the OM2

When I got in to street photography, I saw the benefits of using film. And got convinced by many street photographers. Especially Eric Kim. Who also is a huge source of inspiration for me.

I'm still a student, so I can't afford the street photographers dream camera, Leica M. I guess I had that view finder, and the feeling of the OM2 in the back of my head for some years.
Then it was time to start the hunt for a OM2. In Norway, the OM2s are pretty high priced. About $300-350 for a body and 50mm in good shape. And when I found this OM2sp with six lenses, winder and 10 filters. Everything in two camera suitcases, for $250, I had to have it.

The Olympus OM 2 with the OM lenses, film rolls,
Yashica FR and it's case.

I bought it from a photo enthusiast who had had it since it was new in 1985. Back then he gave $3500. Thats about $7500 in todays value! The camera and lenses is in almost mint condition, and I believe $250 was a good deal.

The winder is very fun to use. It makes so much noise when i shoot, that people turn around on the street :p When they see the camera, they smile at me (in a nice way).

The first roll with the OM2, was basically just for testing the camera. That the light meter works fine, and that everything is OK.

Low light test photo. ISO 200

My Father's Yachica FR

Yashica FR

When I was about 13 years old, my dad introduced me to his Yashica FR. This was my first experience with SRL, and I got hooked right away. Earlier I had been using a Canon Ixus digital compact camera. So my Father gave me a crash course with the basics of photography, and I was ready to shoot. I did shoot a couple of rolls, and realized it did cost money to take pictures. What was that all about? So here is where it all went wrong. I bought a DSLR...

I love this camera. The images has a nice vintage feel to them.

This is actually the very first photo I took with the Yashica.
Not that great :p But I guess the exposure isn't that bad.

Shoot with film

Shooting film - Back to basic. 

The last couple of weeks, I have been shooting film exclusively . My Canon 7D sits safe in it's "digital" bag. I will use digital for school work because it's more convenient. 

Japan Camera Hunter (Bellamy Hunt).
Selling 10 slot film cases with assorted rolls.
http://japancamerahunter.com/shop/bikkuri-film-cases/

For film I use my newly bought Olympus Om-2sp mainly with Zuiko 50mm F/1,8 for streets. I got it for a reasonably price, so I thought I should give the good old 35mm film a retry (I used film before I bought my first DSLR in 2005). Back to the roots of photography. Also, I have heard good things about the Om-2 and Zuiko lenses. A lot of photographers that shoot film have often used digital cameras for a while, and then they want to return to film. The reason is quiet simple. We want to slow things down, get back to the roots, and be more critical and aware of what we shoot
This is something I instantly noticed. I'm on my second roll now, and have been shooting for about two and a half week. This is a huge contrast to what things used to be.

Every day I came home from shooting, I hook up my camera to my computer, downloaded the photos, and started to browse the photos. Literally a several hundred photos from one day. 

Since I'm now on my second roll (Fujifilm Superia 24 exp.). That makes it about 50 photos in two and a half week (this is very few!). I can already tell that my shots are a lot better (just developed one roll). I have to think more before I take the shot. Plus, I also don't want to waste any film, which makes me even more critical before I actually take a shot. One reason to the few shots is that when I'm working on a project, I am more selective about whats interesting and not (more about this project later).

Another great thing about using film is that my photos can "marinate" for a while before I look at them. When I first look at them, after a while (developing plus I shoot several rolls before I send them to developing), it's like looking at some others photos. And then you get more critical to your own work

I guess the essence of this post is: Be critical to your own photos, and what you shoot. Get out there and take pictures every day you got the chance!

Take care.

Early Morning Photography

Bestemte meg for å ta en tur ut idag tidlig. Nærmere bestemt halv seks om morran. Kunne jeg finne noe interessant på denne tiden av døgnet på en lørdag?

Stod opp 04.45, og var klar til dyst ca 05.30. Det var faktisk mye lysere enn jeg hadde trodd såpass tidlig. Allerede da jeg stod opp hadde sola gått meg i forkjøpet og stått opp før meg, så fikk ikke helt følelsen av "grytidlig" må jeg innrømme. Eneste forskjellen var at kroppen var i en slags sovemodus, og ikke helt klar for en gåtur på 3 timer. Men uansett. Har hatt lyst til å prøve dette en stund. Og tror jeg kommer til å gjøre det mer. Muligens enda tidligere på grunn av lyset, eller vente til etter sommeren når sola står opp senere.

En annen ting er at det er lørdag. Så med andre ord, veldig lite folk i gatene. Lyset var heller ikke spesielt spennende. Men som sagt, tror jeg kanskje en litt annen tid på året vil lønne seg, samt en hverdag hadde vært mye mer spennende, med folk som løper rundt og skal rekke jobb. Uansett har jeg bevist for meg selv at jeg overlevde den tidlige oppvåkningen, selv om det er ca 5t tidligere enn vanlig :p

Må også nevne at jeg tok en del bilder med mitt analoge kamera, Olympus OM 2, så må vente et par uker på fremkalling før jeg får se bildene (noe av sjarmen med film). Bildene får da ligget og mørnet seg som det heter. Man ser altså annerledes på sine egne bilder etter det har gått en stund (typisk en mnd), og klarer å være mer kritisk. Av og til kan man finne igjen bilder man ikke var fornøyd med da man tok dem, men som etter mørning faktisk kan være ganske bra.

Et par bilder må til.

Første her er fra Nationaltheatret togstasjon. Vi ser her siluetten av person i midten av bildet. Alene på perongen. Kanskje han venter på toget etter å ha jobbet hele natten, eller kanskje ikke?

Bilde nr 2. Når gatene er tomme, får man mer tid til å se hva som faktisk er i butikkvinduene.

Nasjonal fotovandring mm.

Hei og hopp.

En god stund siden forrige innlegg nå. Jeg har for det meste vært opptatt med skole, i tillegg til å ta bilder. Nesten hver dag de siste tre ukene har jeg og kamera-kammerat Daniel vært ute å tatt gatefotografier. Jeg har også fått igang mitt eget prosjekt.

Det er for det meste kategorien gatefotografi vi har lagt oss under i det siste. Etter jeg så youtubevideoer med Kai Man Wong (Digitalrev TV) og Eric Kim (erickimphotograohy), ble jeg så inspirert at jeg fant ut at jeg ville prøve meg på gatefotografi. I starten var det ganske skummelt, og ganske langt utenfor komfortsonen. Men etterhvert som man tar bilder av folk, merker man at de fleste synes det er helt ok å bli tatt bilde av. Noe som gjør at man får bedre selvtillit, blir mer avslappet og føler seg mer komfortablel med det man gjør. Noe som igjen smitter over på de man tar bilde av. For hvis man smiler, hilser og takker, blir ikke folk så mistenksomme.

Det er selvsagt noen som ikke synes det er greit å bli tatt bilde av. Da er det bare å unskylde seg, og evt. slette bildet (hvis man skyter digitalt).

Jeg har også funnet ut av at det har mye å si hvor man tar bilder. I Oslo f.eks. virker som det er stor forskjell på steder der det pleier å være mye turister, og der det ikke er mye turister. Folk reagerer ikke på samme måte alle steder.


"Dagens bilde" akam.no.

Må også benytte muligheten til å skryte litt av meg selv. I dag ble et av mine bilder kåret til "dagens bilde" på akam.no

Her er bildet: Vi gikk rundt på Aker brygge, og så at Independence Of The Seas lå til kai. Så vi gikk utover for å ta litt bilder av båten. Og da båten skulle dra, så jeg plutselig noen som stod å vinket til noen ombord på båten.

Prosjekt.

Jeg er også igang med et prosjekt jeg kaller "Workers". Jeg ønsker ta bilder av folk i arbeid. Uansett hvaslags jobb, er den like viktig som andre. Ser for meg at jeg kommer til å bruke ca 6 mnd. på dette. Mellom 15 og 20 bilder kommer til å inngå i denne serien. Bildene kommer til å gå under kategoriene gatefotografi og mennesker. Mer oppdatering om dette kommer etterhvert.


Nasjonal fotovandring.

Lørdag 25. mai var det nasjonal fotovandring. Fant ut at jeg ville melde meg på dette, da det også involverte en konkurranse. I Oslo var vi ca 200 fotografer (proffe og amatører). Ca 2000 totalt i norge.

Man kunne velge mellom 5 ruter i byen som man fulgte, og tok blilder langs. Så leverte man inntil 3 bilder innen 5 dager for å delta i konkurransen. Bedømmingen begynner 1. juni. Temaet var "tett på". Noe som passet rett inn i det jeg driver med om dagen.

Her er et av bildene jeg tok:

En ettermiddag med litt av hvert.

Å jadda. Etter jeg var ferdig med eksamen formiddag, var det bare å komme seg hjem og hive i seg litt mat... Etter det var gjort, gikk jeg ut for å ta bilder. Jeg tok med kammerat Daniel, som også er fotointeressert. Vi fant ut at vi skulle sirkle litt rundt i sentrum for å se om det dukket opp noe interessant å ta bilde av. Det første vi fant var en FotoVideo-butikk. Måtte jo selvfølgelig sjekke ut innholdet her. Jeg fikk da for første gang testet Canon 7D (og den del andre, men er liksom Canon som gjelder). Sammenlignet den med 5D mk2, og kom vel frem til at jeg likte autofokussystemet og 8 fps burst mode på 7D. Søkeren og ISO-kvaliteten på 5D, er det jo lite som slår...

Uansett. Vi kom oss ut til slutt, selv etter å ha blitt oppholdt av et 50% tilbud på stativer i et kvarters tid. Vi bestemte oss nå for å gå til Karl Johan for å ta bilder av mennesker. Det var mennesker på Karl Johan, men å plukke ut de som ser mest interessante ut er ikke alltid like lett. La oss se....

Mann med trekkspill på Karl Johan

 Så et par bilder av kammerat Daniel

Levitation

Jeg rakk akkurat å ta bilde før bussdøra lukket seg.
Mannen i forgrunnen var en fin kontrast til de to i bakgrunnen

Nå er jeg bare trøtt...

Field trip til Maridalen

Idag hadde jeg egentlig ikke tenkt meg ut. Været var dårlig fra morran, og så ikke ut til å bli så mye bedre. Da klokka slo sju kom sola frem. Så jeg bestemte meg for å ta en tur ut og benytte meg av det fine lyset. 

Gikk ut døra, og sirklet litt rundt før jeg bestemte meg for å gå i retning nord. Tilfeldigvis kom 54 bussen forbi da jeg var ved et busstopp, så jeg hoppet på den og tok den til jeg ikke gadd mer. Da jeg gikk av var jeg ikke helt sikker på hvor jeg var. Så jeg begynte å gå. 

Plutslig så jeg en barnesko på et gjerde.
Jeg måtte jo selvfølgelig ta bilde av den

Det var ikke lange turen før dette åpenbarte seg... Jeg skjønte da at jeg var i Maridalen. Så jeg bestemte meg for å lete etter de gamle ruinene. Jeg har sett de på bilder og TV, men har ingen anelse om hvor i Maridalen de ligger.

Jeg sier ikke at det er en sammenheng,
men jeg møtte mange landeveisyklister på veien...

Mitt første HDR-bilde. Dette huset så litt forlatt ut,
så jeg tenkte det ikke gjorde noe å ta bilde av det.

Bondeidyll. Veldig fint lys denne kvelden må jeg si.

Plastikgererasjonen. Noen kaster søppel rundt,
og andre tar bilde av det.

Nice veistandard

Final destination. Gåturen endte på busstoppet "hammeren
i Maridalen. Da jeg kom hit, var det bare 3 min. til bussen kom

Selv etter en gåtur på ca en time, hadde jeg ikke klart å finne disse ruinene... Jeg har en mistanke om at de ikke er så langt ifra der jeg stoppet, men jeg fant ut av at det å vente på bussen en time til ikke var aktuelt.

Nå er jeg bare tørst...

Holmenkollstafetten 2013

Fant ut av at det var Holmenkollstafetten idag. Da måtte jeg benytte sjansen til å få testet den nye Sigmaen blandt folk.
Da jeg testet linsen i veldig dårlig lys på kvelden, virket det som den hadde litt problemer med fokusen. Noen ganger klarte den rett og slett ikke "feste" fokus. Men sånn som linsen presterte idag, må jeg si det veier opp for problemene i mørket. Fokusen er stille og presis. Hvis den bommet, var det somregel min egen feil. Alt i alt, veldig fornøyd. Både med linsa, og dagen.

 Militærpolitiet var på plass.

Ny linse

Idag ble det ny linse på meg. Sigma 30mm f1,4 EX HSM.
Har ikke hatt tid til annet enn et par testbilder med den, men jeg liker det jeg ser. Jeg er vant til å bruke 17-50 f2,8, så denne åpner en helt ny verden. Nå må jeg tenke med på komposisjonen av bildet. I steden for å bare zoome ut og inn som det passer, så må jeg bruke beina. Og det får meg til å bli mer kritisk til snittet. Eller hvertfall bli bedre på det :p

30mm passer veldig bra på sensor med 1,6x crop. Det blir som 48mm i fullformat, og altså det nærmeste man kommer standardlinsen 50mm (fullformat).

Gleder meg til å få testet denne skikkelig på gata. Pluss nattbilder.
Jeg tror den også vil egne seg veldig godt til portretter.

                                                        Først et bilde av selve objektivet

                                        Så litt testbilder. 

f3,2 1/8000 ISO 250

Her får vi en smakebit på hvor 

god "bokeh" denne linsen har.

(Kommer litt mer om dette senere)

f1,4 1/160 ISO 250

f1,4 1/200 ISO 250

f1,4 1/250 ISO 250