My First Shots with the Fujifilm X-E1 and 18-55mm Zoom

entropic remnants

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John Griggs
Well, I love this camera even though I'm not very good with it. I missed a lot of shots as I fumbled for this or that -- it's just different enough than the X100 to throw me off but I still got some nice "keepers". Had a great time shooting it and I think this camera and I are going to be more than just friends, lol. All the photos in this set are from camera JPG's -- NO RAW!

These shots are from a very exciting time for me, and for my home of Kennett Square, PA. Our world-famous mushroom festival is beginning with parade, we have the "First Friday Art Stroll", and the re-opening of the improved concert venue in town known as "The Flash" or "The Kennett Flash". 9 pieces of my photography are hanging as the sole decorative images in the venue so I'm psyched.

Here's some photos starting with one showing some of my work hung. The piece in the middle I made a special trip back to an abandoned asylum to get because the director really wanted it and the other one I had was not suitable for large printing (in this case 24x36 inches). The two pieces flanking it are older shots of mine. Then there are some shots from the parade, which I only attended briefly, then some from the opening night of "The Flash".

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X-E1 Test: Some of My Work Hung by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: Panda Girl by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

This lovely lady next up is one of my clients when I was doing weddings and I did both her engagement and wedding shoots. She always looks good with NO retouching! I just happened to run into her on the parade route.

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X-E1 Test: Lovely Michelle by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: Ticking off Some Points by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: Classic Iron by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

I usually just act with chutzpah. I stepped out on the parade route like I was an "official photographer" and the pretty EMT on the old engine told the driver to stop so I could get a shot. Thanks!

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X-E1 Test: Accomodating by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: Lincoln U. by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: Great Marching Band by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: Spats and Nike's by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: Recording Engineer by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: Kenny Does a Final Check by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: Blues at the Flash by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: Some Melton's and Guests by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: Blues Legends by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: Melton Drummer by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: You! by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: Lily Belts it Out by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: Hitting It Hard by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: Lily Gives it Her All by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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X-E1 Test: Lily Performs an Original by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr
 
Very nice shots as always! Nice job on getting the fire engine to stop ;)
What was it about the original Kroeger shot that made it unsuitable for large printing?
 
Very nice shots as always! Nice job on getting the fire engine to stop ;)
What was it about the original Kroeger shot that made it unsuitable for large printing?

Thanks!

I shot it with very low depth of field and printed large it looked weird with only 2 or 3 keys in focus and the rest blurred. It was intended to just be part of an HD slide show so it didn't need to be a large print and I went for "mysterious" over "presentation". It might have worked, but I think the new one is better for large presentation. It's a judgement call on my part and not an objective thing, lol. In redoing it I lost some elements of the original perspective, but gained in other ways.

The director of the venue really liked the new one though so it's all good!
 
John

I especially liked the sound engineer picture, and the ones taken at the "Flash", which I presume were taken without it (the flash). They show your photographic skills and sensibility, but also how cameras have advanced in just a few years - I doubt we could do it with film, probably not without a lot of smearing and grain. As to your pictures in the exhibition, I cannot help wondering whether they would work best in black & white when framed and displayed like this.
All the best
 
John

I especially liked the sound engineer picture, and the ones taken at the "Flash", which I presume were taken without it (the flash). They show your photographic skills and sensibility, but also how cameras have advanced in just a few years - I doubt we could do it with film, probably not without a lot of smearing and grain. As to your pictures in the exhibition, I cannot help wondering whether they would work best in black & white when framed and displayed like this.
All the best

Thanks, Luis!

You are right on the march of tech for sure. I have a passion for "available light" photography and no flash was used at The Flash, lol -- or for any other shots. I've been experimenting at home with setting the ISO to 3200 (where this camera is still very clean) and using the onboard flash tilted back for bounce flash illumination and it works -- if you'll pardon the pun -- brilliantly. I would use this for indoor people shots without hesitation where with most of my cameras ISO 3200 isn't this clean, and the flash can't be tilted back and I'd have to use a bigger flash on the camera. This rocks!

As to black and white: we all have our own vision, Luis. If you saw them totally in context I think you'd find the color "works" -- but of course one might prefer black and white presentations... just not THIS one, lol.

I much prefer very spare framing and no mattes as I believe it more befits the subjects generally, and they form an "eye border" that bounces you back into the picture. I've heard people say that to properly frame you need white matting which is just silly for dark pictures. They become holes in a white glare. I hate that look for my industrial shots.
 
I do not necessarily prefer black-and-white. I just thought the ones shown might work better in black-and-white, or at least as good as the ones in colour. It was nothing more than a personal opinion/suggestion, but the one that really matters is of course yours, since you are the artist :)
 
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