Throwback: On Rialto Bridge at night, Venice, Italy

Shot with X100S with WCL converter.

Such a beautiful city, day and night. On the Rialto Bridge, just looking out the river as far as my eyes can see and the lights that light up the city. I remember eating pasta and pizza next to the river. Pasta and pizza sounded cheesy.... italy = pasta n pizza. well literally it was cheesy.

Time for updates

I sold my X100S and now i'm missing the X100 series. Now i'm GASing for X100T. Why not? the X100S was after all my all time favourite camera. Its simple. One focal length to rule them all. Of course it cant do all types of photography. but for my type of photography, eg. portraits, landscapes, streets, the X100 series is great enough. With the new T model, i hope it fixes and improves all the niggles of the S series. To be honest, i sold the S so i could upgrade to the T. or should i wait for the F series? YOu may wonder why F? because F stands for Fourth but also stands for Five, i'm not sure whats the next naming convention. I'm sure you know that T stands for third? You dont? i dont blame you.... nobody cares what it actually calls. Anyway, i'm not sure if the T is sold here locally. i guess my best next bet is Singapore. but i'm not going to Singapore anytime soon.

I knew i'm gonna get the X100 series again because i kept the wide converter lens. I just love that camera. Awesome IQ, classic looks, although at times i wanna smash it to the ground because it keeps back focus (focus the background instead of subject). But now with face detection available, i hope it does what it does and be good at it. What else is there to be GASing about the T? Wifi implementation.... at first i thought of it as a good feature but not important but then i realised i loved transferring my recently took photos to my tablet and phones and upload it to instagram or just for viewing. I always do that with my Sony Rx100iii. it was indeed convenient! Large LCD is always a good thing. although non tilt, i dont think thats a deal breaker though.

As a taking still pictures tool, the T IS GREAT. but for video? based on reviews its bad although i wont probably noticed because i dun really know wat to look for in video quality. as long its not choppy i'm alright.

I brought the X100S for a trip to Italy last year. and i loved all the thousands of images that i took but i have to admit i kinda tired lugging it around. but the images taken was worth it.

I can also take pictures like above because the X100S is so damn quiet. Thats what i like about the X100 series. Suddenly i have guts to take candid photos. just because i'm stealthy. Because its basically mute. No sound! You cant do this with a Leica. unless you have balls. I dont. I also respect people's privacy. unlike certain Eric K.  but that's just me, different people different thinking. whatever to get your pictures.

I love this picture. This is how useful and stealthy the X100S can be. I was sitting on the opposite side when i noticed this man reading a book and at times looking out of the window. His face has got that character, the lines, the age, what is he thinking? is he heading home to his loved ones? is he going to work? thinking of the grand children? its a mystery. but from his face you can see he is definitely thinking of something.

Some people may not understand why i took pictures of strangers or why photograhers take pictures of strangers but thats what street/candid photography is all about, they were never your friends or families, just strangers running their daily business, their emotions, just characters, subject of a picture. Its like questioning why Monalisa?

What i dislike about Fujifilm is their aggressive noise reduction. if only we can control the NR manually. Its great to have noise free images but sometimes skins looked like mannequins and thats bad.

Why not X-T10 you say? Sure, its new, classic SLR looks, interchangeable lens, something about the X100 series is just so simple. no need to worry about focal lengths. and size wise the X100 is shorter? the lenses on X-T10 will be bulkier and longer.

I put up my two Leicas for sale. My M8 and M9. and i sell them cheap. especially the M9. too cheap. i think i wanna upped the price a bit. actually i felt a bit of regret selling those. Its a Leica. and i might never owned one of these again. I'm selling my M8 with Voigtlander 15mm about SGD$3000. and my M9 with Voigtlander 40mm at SGD$4200. Actually i'm having second thoughts about selling them but i believe i needed the money. SO far no buyer and i'm not desperate selling.

I love Leica, its like owning a Ferrari. but owning a Ferrari is over the top? not justified? i cant find the words here. any car can go from point A to B, just like a camera, it just take pictures. Leica is too expensive. i can get 3 or 4 Fujifilm and have one Leica.

One reason of selling it is i'm not really good at that rangefinder focusing. i'm just too slow. trying to aligned the patch sometimes it took me a while and the photo opportunity just gone. especially taking pictures of them kids. You cant ask them to stand still. and if you can its not natural. i like candid and natural expression. not created. i'm better off with a camera that can do fast autofocus just like a X100S. Shooting wide open at 1.4 with the M9 is harder for me. if i didnt get the eye to focus the pictures will become blurry or at least the nose is sharp. thats a bad photo in my book. With the M8 is okay because of the smaller aperture at 4.5.

But but but, this Leica M9 that i purchased has a very low mileage. the last picture i took was only at 473 shutter actuations!!!! its a steal! Its in pristine condition. I want to keep it for collection but then i might need money too. Confusing times. I wanna sold off just the M8 but the pictures it took was amazing too. super sharp. although need to put IR cut filter or else all black shirts becomes purple. uweeekkkk... and the M8 is in silver. its super sexy retro look!

Should i sell or should i keep?

I brought my M8 to New Orleans with the 15mm. 

This is where Nicholas Cage is heading when he'll rest peacefully. He's not dead yet. but very much owned this part of the cemetery. 

Jackson square New Orleans taken by Liam Neeson...Not... by Leica M8

The only thing Fuji cant take is sunstar. Correct me if i'm wrong. but i never got the light to burst into a sunstar with my Fujifilm X100S but with the Voigtlander there she is....

And just look at that color noise on the M8. but why peep when you can just watch and look at the picture of the alley.

Oh.... such tough times. 

To sell or not to sell the Leicas.... 

To buy or not to buy the FUjifilm X100T.

GAS comes and goes.

From London to Italy and Leicester ...... (Part 3 Venice)

20th July 2014

So this is Venice, or as the italians called it Venezia, during my younger days i've been dreaming about this place, people say its boring, they say its only buildings on water and gondolas but so far i've enjoyed it. And here i am. Its kinda surreal. But i am in venice. I only used to see Venice from TVs, travel channels and pictures, now, here i am. First impressions compared to Milan is definitely different and interesting. This place is beautiful! I love old buildings and this checked in my check list. The moment you stepped out of the train station, you're greeted with water taxis. This is the main transportation of Venice, boats, gondolas and water taxis. The water taxis worked similar like the metro trains in Milan. But here its 7euro per trip. The Metro in Milan costs only 1.50euro. Bummer. Venice is certainly more expensive than other parts of Italy. A tourist traps they say.

I reached my destination at St.Angelo and meet the apartment owner, Alessandro. Very italian but speaks good english. I think he's making good money for renting his apartment here in venice. Roughly about 120euro per nite, good for 3 to 4 adulto. The room is spacey, it feels like home and i am already liking Venice. No view of the grand canal but i'm closed enough to the point of interest areas. Great deal.

My apartment, and that couch is a cool sofa bed

This is definitely a tourist place. I'm not sure if i'm seeing Italians or a tourist. Everyone looks like a tourist. And they said Milan is a shopping city but Venice is definitely a shopper's paradise too. I think Italy is a shopping paradise. Definitely a lot of shops here in Venice. All the big brands located nicely behind the no.1 top spots in Venice, the Piazza San Marco. For you inglessia, (that's english by the way) its St.Marks square. Me, parlo non italiano (I dont speak italian). I'm picking up little italian. Souvenirs, leather bags, handbags, there is H&M, (H&M is everywhere!!!), there are 2 hard rock cafe shops, a lot of cool tees. You can also buy the gondola's tee shirt as well which looks like the old cartoon prisoners stripes shirt.

Piazza San Marco

Shopping in Venice

I spent a lot in Venice compared to in Milan, somehow this beautiful place made me feel like spending. You know how a place can give you a feeling of spending/getting something, "I want to get something from here so i can remember/treasure this place" sort of feeling. Souvenirs, key chains, tees, and i should have buy a fridge magnet even though in my experience it always got broken played by my 2 highly active kids.

I had dinner in one of the restaurants near the Rialto bridge, although a bit expensive but this place is really romantic, at night, everything just glows with bright amber lights by the canal. i'm thinking this is a great place to bring your significant other. A Honeymoon. Dinner by the grand canal. Kissing on the Rialto bridge. Venice is indeed special.

Rialto Bridge

Gondola by the Grand Canal

i find my mind is at peace here. Its relaxing. Peaceful. A good retirement home.

One thing to note, all the towers in Venice are leaning, not just the famous leaning tower of pisa. "What is up with that?" Most of the towers. What are the italians thinking? Probably back in the days, when they worked their way up the tower, it looked straight from down below, not until they almost finished the tower they then realize it was leaning but its too late to turn back or redo, they just leave it as it is.
And the world thought it was genius! Its either the architect is a genius or the world is a fool!
I'm joking, of course i'm joking...... but am i??

Piazza San Marco