The Real Sir Robin 4/24/22 The Real Sir Robin 4/24/22

A Day On The Beach With The Leica Q2 Monochrom

Finally, it was time again to take out the Leica Q2 Monochrom to the beach for a day of street photography. I was still in Puerto Vallarta and this time I was shooting the combo I used a lot in 2021. To me the red filter is ideal for that type of environment and it gives me exactly the kind of results that I am looking for. Unlike Mazatlán, Acapulco and some other beach towns in Mexico that I’ve visited, Puerto Vallarta feels very westernized which can be good and bad at the same time. I probably prefer those other places just because it’s more chaotic and that makes it in my eyes more fun to shoot but nevertheless it can also be a great experience shooting in Puerto Vallarta.

The Real Sir Robin 4/17/22 The Real Sir Robin 4/17/22

Some Fuji X-E4 Street Photography in Puerto Vallarta

Well, after shooting the Fuji X-E4 in Acapulco in the last episode it was time again to shoot the same combo but in a different location. Puerto Vallarta is way more westernized in comparison and of course way more touristy too. Especially western tourists seem to love Puerto Vallarta and I can easily see why. Since it is also a beach town, most interesting things are happening around the beach and that is where I was mostly shooting at.

The X-E4 and Voigtländer 21/1.8 combo is really nice but I wish the lens would be a little bit smaller. I think I might have to look for a more compact m-mount lens to pair the Fuji with in the future. A 21/4 also from Voigtländer might be the ideal choice for daytime street photography where I barely open up the aperture beyond f/8. Of course, only if I decide to keep the Fuji and I haven’t really made my mind up about that.

The Real Sir Robin 4/10/22 The Real Sir Robin 4/10/22

Working With Layers In Street Photography

When you are getting into street photography further or later you will come across the concept of layering. To me, this one of the most important skills that you should try to master together with being able to get close to your subject. Why I think it is important is that when you don’t want your photos to be just one dimensional, working with layers in your photos will help you with that. The photos you take will get more complex and that can make them more interesting to the viewer. Since it isn’t easy to achieve, it can be very rewarding when you manage pull off a shot that contains multiple layers of interest.

When I was in Acapulco, I filmed a video shooting the Fuji XE-4 to demonstrate how you can practice to get more layers into your photos. The beach is a great to learn that skill and I think in the video you can clearly see why.

Mounted to the camera was the Voigtländer 21/1.8 Ultron which is an M-Mount lens and on the Fuji that roughly translates to 32mm. To me, the sweetspot for layering is a focal length somewhere between 28 and 35mm (full-frame) but it can of course also be done with other lenses.

For eding the photos I used my Lightroom Presets/Color Profiles and you’ll find them in my shop in case you are interested.

The Real Sir Robin 4/3/22 The Real Sir Robin 4/3/22

Orange Filter At Night? Shooting the Leica Q2 Monochrom in Puebla.

One of the main benefits of using a Leica Q2 Monchrom is the ability to shoot at very high ISOs but with only minimum noise. Modern color sensors are already good and most of the time more than good enough when shooting in low light. However, Leicas Monochrom cameras take it a step further and let you do things that seemed impossible just a few years ago.

When I shoot street photography at night I can usually shoot at 1/250 and freeze the action but still won’t get too much noise in my images. So, I had the idea that I might as well use an orange filter at night to see what kind of results I would get. The filter that I own is cutting down one stop of light which isn’t that bad and might make it a reasonable choice for night time street photography.

What I’ve learned from that experience is that the effect of the orange filter is not that dramatic at night compared to when shooting in the daytime. And because the filter let’s less light onto the camera’s sensor that it also negatively influenced the autofocus of the Q2 Monochrom and it got a little less reliable.

Nevertheless, it was worth trying it out and here the photos that I included in my video.

The Real Sir Robin 3/27/22 The Real Sir Robin 3/27/22

Shooting the Fuji XE-4 at night in Veracruz/Mexico

So, here are the photos from my brand new video that I filmed in Veracruz Mexico at night. It was my first time using the Fuji XE-4 for street photography. I’ve had a play with it before but that was rather for a session of more casual shooting. I was very curious to see how I would cope with using the Voigtländer 35/1.2 because it not just only is a new lens to me but on top of that it’s a focal length that I usually don’t prefer for street photography. You probably know that I much rather shoot a wider lens and most preferably a 28mm on film or a full frame camera like the Leica Q/Q2 Monochrom.

Despite the fact of the “wrong” focal length I had a great time shooting the episode. The combo of Fuji XE-4 and Voigtländer 35/1.2 is very lightweight and is very well balanced in the hands, especially with the optional grip and thumbs-up installed. One benefit this lens has over adapted manual focus vintage glass is thanks to the native X-Mount you’ll have access to all the manual focus helping options the camera offers. In my case, I was only using focus peaking but that helped me out greatly to acquire spot on focus, at least most of the time. Yes, there is also the option to have the camera to punch in the image by only turning the focus ring ever so slightly but I find that feature rather distracting because I can’t see my composition anymore. I’d love if Fuji would offer a picture in picture option like Panasonic does.

While filming the episode I mostly relied on using the viewfinder on the camera but when I wanted to use the screen I encountered a rather odd problem. The camera would turn the image upside down when I pulled out the screen which is mega distracting. I showed the issue in the video and even now I have no idea why this is happening. The problem occasionally also appears when wearing a black t-shirt and even when pulling out the screen and then flipping it. For me this is almost a deal breaker since it could happen at any time and it might make me miss out on great shots.

For editing the RAW files I used my Color Profiles/Presets for Lightroom. Check them out if you like what you see. You can find them in my store.

22. 1/60 - f/1.2 - ISO1250 (no video footage for this one)

The Real Sir Robin 3/6/22 The Real Sir Robin 3/6/22

An awesome day out with the Leica Q

Before my trip to St. Petersburg last year I hadn't used the Leica Q for street photography in a while and that the reason for it might be obvious to some of you I guess. Yes, the Q2 Monochrom that I picked up a little over a year ago. Most of the time I try to travel as light as possible and therefore I won’t bring two Leica Q cameras on a trip. In this case it wasn’t a problem to bring more gear since I stayed in the same city for a couple of weeks. And in the end I was glad to finally shoot the original Leica Q out in the streets again. For my wedding work I’ve used the camera the whole time and I’d love to see what the shutter count on the camera is after almost 7 years of heavy usage.

In this episode I went out very early in the morning to be able to shoot in that glory morning light shortly after sunrise and it was totally worth it. A little later I met up with my friend Micha and we had a great day of shooting together.

When filming an episode I always have to make it work and taking no photos isn’t an option but on that day it was fairly easy to get good shots. There is especially one shot (#18) that I am very happy with and it’s the one from the bus stop with all these reflections and the shadow of a guy that looks like a ghost in the middle of the frame. It might be one of my favorite shots from last year. There are so many layers in that shot and so many things to discover. A big print of the photo made it onto my wall at home and that doesn’t happen very often.

For editing the photos I used my new presets/color profiles for Adobe Lightroom. If you are interested you’ll find them in my shop together with my street photography zines.

The Real Sir Robin 3/4/22 The Real Sir Robin 3/4/22

Shooting the Hasselblad X-Pan with the phenomenal 30mm f/5.6 in Istanbul

Last time I was in Istanbul I was meeting up with my friend Oscar who I initially met in Istanbul a year before that. It was a funny coincident because it is very rare to meet someone shooting a Hasselblad X-Pan out on the streets. So, when he told me that he would go back to Istanbul I asked him to bring his newly acquired 30mm f/5.6 lens.

It’s a lens I wanted to try out for a while and finally I had to chance to. He gave me the lens for a few hours and after shooting a few rolls I fell in love.

To me, it’s the perfect lens for street photography on the X-Pan. Just to give you an idea… In terms of height the frame is similar to a regular 28mm lens but it horizontally it is much wider and more like a 18mm. Because of that you have to use an external viewfinder that comes with the lens.

I had a blad shooting the lens and I’d love to get one for myself but unfortunately it is very expensive and not that easy to come by.

If you are curious about the settings I was using - as far as remember I was shooting between f/8 and f/11 and let the camera pick the shutter speed.

Developing and scans by the awesome folks over at https://carmencitafilmlab.com

Hasselblad X-Pan, 30mm f/5.6, Fuji Superia 800

Hasselblad X-Pan, 30mm f/5.6, Fuji Superia 200

Robin Schimko Hasselblad-X-Pan-Superia-200 — Hasselblad X-Pan, 30mm f/5.6, Fuji Superia 200