fujifilm

Fujifilm X100 Original

cambodia, cameras, Fujichrome, fujifilm, opinons, thoughts, photography, pictures, street, Travel

A great little old camera, 12 years old to be exact. I have not used it for a while as the old batteries had died and finding new ones here in Phnom Penh proved difficult, but not impossible as I eventually found 2 but in two different shops. Glad I did as I had almost forgotten how good the JPEG images from this camera can be. The images seen here were taken yesterday on a short walk (10 km) around the city. The camera is so lite that this is easy to do, easy on the back but not on the feet.

The X100 wasn’t designed to replace a professional DSLR. It wasn’t trying to be the fastest camera on the market, nor the most versatile. It asked something different of the photographer.

It asked for patience.

Kids Dental Service is a Voluntary Effort.

cambodia, cameras, fujifilm, Lenses, opinons, thoughts, photography, pictures, Travel, voluntary

The new incarnation of KIDS International Dental Services was first brought to Cambodia by Dr Bob Renner and now trying to re-emerge from Covid restrictions, under new leadership, to bring Dental volunteers teams to Cambodia again.

The fundamental mission of Kids International Dental Services (KIDS) is to provide pro-bono dental care to impoverished children in developing countries. Other aspects of our mission include: (a) providing a platform for young dental professionals to perform community service world wide, (b) providing an opportunity for young adults to part take in social service and encourage them to innovate projects to serve disadvantaged youths in developing areas of the world. 

Film Rises Again —

film, Fujichrome, fujifilm, opinons, thoughts, photography

Perhaps the most puzzling trend I have seen in photography since I became immersed in it in 2014 is the rising popularity of film photography. The digital revolution essentially killed the still film photography industry in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Storefronts and labs closed, film production ceased, makers like Kodak essentially went out of business. […]

Film Rises Again —

A Trip to Kampot, Cambodia

cambodia, fujifilm, Lenses, opinons, thoughts, photography, pictures, street, Travel, Uncategorized

Kampot is a city in southern Cambodia and the capital of Kampot Province. It is on the Praek Tuek Chhu River southeast of the Elephant Mountains and around 5 km from the Gulf of Thailand. Kampot was the capital of the Circonscription Résidentielle de Kampot under French rule and Cambodia’s most important seaport after the loss of the Mekong Delta and before the establishment of Sihanoukville. Its centre is, unlike most Cambodian provincial capitals, composed of 19th-century French colonial architecture. The region and town are known for high-quality pepper, which is exported worldwide. It is also known for its Kampot fish sauce, and durian. The government and the Ministry of Culture and Fine Art have been preparing documents to nominate The Old Town of Kampot for admission to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list since 2017.

In recent years since 2010s, Kampot has been subject to extensive tourism development with the development of a tourism port worth US$8 million under the Kampot Provincial Tourism Department’s master plan. The development of the tourism port includes the construction of a 42-storey multi-purposed twin tower which will be the tallest building in Cambodia outside Phnom Penh when completed; widening and improvements to National Road No. 3; a seaport that carries passengers to and from nearby Cambodian islands, Thailand and Vietnam

According to the 2012 census, the population of the municipality of Kampot is 49,597. Historically, there has been an important presence of Khmers of Chinese descent in Kampot. Recent years have seen an important inflow of foreigners, European, Vietnamese, and Chinese. A significant part of the population is Cham, a minority Muslim group. The Sa’och tribe, an ancient population group in the province, is on the brink of extinction, however.

Sadly the worse thing about Kampot is the private ZOO situated about 20 km from the center of the city. It house wild animals, as seen above, in very bad conditions, small roughly made cages will little thought to the needs of a living creature. I would advise not to visit this until things, hopefully, change.

The PEOPLE are Kampots attraction as is the remaining Colonial architecture.

Photography is not about gear.

cameras, Fujichrome, fujifilm, Lenses, opinons, thoughts, photography, pictures, street, Travel, Uncategorized

To me, photography is not about the gear you use to make an image but about the image you make. Yes, it is nice to use a beautiful camera and a superb lens but if you get stuck on that merry-go-round your pictures may suffer. The old saying ” the best camera is the one you have with you” holds true. I always have tried to use what I think is the best camera, that I can afford because it pleases me, but it does not have to be the most expensive on the market. These days ALL cameras can make good images.

Taking photographs is about the ability to see an image using the equipment you have at hand, be that an iPhone or a Leica or any one of a hundred cameras in between.

Learning to see and anticipate is much more important than the actual camera you may choose to use. Each of the images here was taken with a different camera, either Canon, Nikon or Fuji, can you tell which I know I could not if I did not already know.

Certain types of photography such as sports or wildlife demand the use of certain types of equipment, long prime or zoom lenses, for obvious reasons, it would be next to impossible to shoot these kinds of subjects with a traditional point and shoot camera. These professional genres demand the use of professional equipment but this does not outweigh the skill of the photographer, knowing the game or the animal enables he/she to anticipate shots.

Specialised equipment is not always needed, and is not always available as with the pictures of the surfer which were taken with a Fujifilm X Pro2 mounted with the only long lens I had with me the XF 50mm f2. Placing yourself in the best position (on the pier closest the action) and with a little good anticipation (and judicious cropping in post) you can still make some good images.

Its is not always about equipment or camera but more about the skill of the photographer to know how and when to make the image.

Variation of themes in Photography

fujifilm, Lenses, opinons, thoughts, photography, pictures, street, Travel

Taking all kinds of pictures presents different challenges every time you use a camera. What do I want to say with the image, what lens should I use for best effect, is the image viable, ethical and possible.