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A very cold idea..

The idea had been growing for a while: to do a photoshoot of a sailing ship from in the water. A few years ago I took a picture of a small ship in between two waves, which gave a unique view, and which I wanted to replicate. Easier said than done, as the camera at that time received some ill-timed waves for its troubles. Not something to repeat often, then. An underwater housing seemed to be the solution, but most professional cases cost more than my camera, and I was not prepared to lay down that kind of money. 

My inspiration.

Then I came across the brand Seafrogs, and a website that sold cases (for my camera) from inside the European Union, avoiding the hassle and costs of importing it from Singapore. A purchase of a Seafrogs case and lens dome for my X-T2 was duly made, and a few weeks later two carefully packaged boxes arrived.  There the project stagnated for some time. The first reason: as I would be in the water, and the boat would be sailing close by me, I wanted a crew I could trust not to kill me, and bringing the people together that I needed proved difficult. Secondly I must admit that the project was not at the top of my own priority list in the spring, and so by the time we started planning in earnest, it was June. We found our opportunity in July, and while most factors were ideal, on the day itself there was one big issue: there was no wind.

“The idea was to do this in July. Not November..”

The weather forecast was around 13 to 24 knots, so easily enough wind for some good sailing shots. The wind direction was favourable, and we hoped for waves to make the photos even more spectacular. Rain was also forecast, but this did not worry me much, as I would be in the water anyway, and the camera would be protected by the case. 

Finding another opportunity turned out to be harder than I expected, and I had almost given up for this year (as my drysuit had been proven to be leaky last year, I needed a water temperature acceptable in a wetsuit: doable in early autumn, not so much in spring). Then out of nowhere, we all were available in one weekend in November. Logistical difficulties regarding (rescue) boats were overcome by some improvisation, and we gave the project a go.

The Technical aspects: the camera used for the project was the Fujifilm X-T2. Launched in 2016, it is now a bit of a dinosaur in camera-land (that said, I’ve been using it for 6 years now, and it is still one of my favourite cameras ever). The autofocus is good, but not spectacular. Especially the continuous autofocus is a bit lacking. Then why did I choose this camera? Well, I reasoned that if the case failed, I could always buy a second hand X-T2 for cheap and still be able to use the case in the future. To overcome the autofocus issue, I decided to switch to manual focus. Paired with the Fujinon 10-24 mm wide angle set at 11 mm, an aperture of f/5.6, focused at 1,5 meter, everything from .65 meter to infinity should be more or less sharp. Not a great recipe for large amounts of ‘bokeh’, but a good focusing solution (I hoped).

The execution: as the day dawned I picked up my base of operations (a Valk, a type of sailing ship) and sailed it to our chosen location on the Kagerplassen (a series of interconnected lakes near the city of Leiden, The Netherlands), while my colleagues readied my subject, an RS500 skiff, and did some testruns. After anchoring, I checked the settings on the X-T2 one last time, as some settings could not be changed once the camera was in the case, and secured the Seafrogs case to my lifejacket. A bright orange buoy was placed 10 meters from the ship to indicate my general location to the RS500 and I launched two bodyboards to help as floatation devices, as well as to hold the camera above the water while not in use (the case itself is quite heavy, this saved a lot of energy). Testing the water in my wetsuit was a bit of a shock. It gave me a new understanding what people go through when they fall in freezing water and then have difficulty breathing. After relaxing a bit and getting used to the temperatures, I took my place next to the buoy, and signalled for the RS500 to begin their runs..

Beforehand, we imagined that the low water angle would be suited for shooting into the boat from the leeward side, giving a good view of the crew and the impressing gennaker. After several runs and some reviewing, we switched to the windward side. The angle the leeward side presented was not as impressive as I expected it to be. After some 30 minutes the cold became quite severe, and we decided to take a break. At this point I decided that I would go into the water only one more time, limiting the time I was in the water after the break to another 30 minutes. We tried a few different angles and also did some video shots, before calling it a day. Layering up with warm clothes, I still had to return the Valk home before we could warm up properly and see what the day had brought.

Some lessons for next time:

Do this in July

Wear a helmet, not a cap. We were acutely aware that there was an element of risk involved in this shoot. For me it was not as scary as I expected, as I viewed the world through a wide-angle point of view, but the RS500 came pretty close to me at high speeds. A helmet is a simple addition that will increase safety for next time (on the safety aspect, the RS500 can easily be stopped by capsizing her, but preferably not with me below her)

I used the 10-24 mm to get impressive wide-angle shots of the boat, but the case can also hold the Fujinon 18-55 mm lens, which might an option to try as well. Manual focus will be more difficult with this lens, so we might have to try the autofocus for this.

The wind did not have the opportunity to generate large waves, which made for a rather boring foreground (but made photographing much easier). Waves will probably present a whole other level of challenge, but will increase the awesomeness of the photos. The only waves we had now were created by the RS500 itself, and were therefore only visible on shots of the boat after it had passed.

Rain was more annoying than I anticipated: to avoid water spots on the photos I dipped the dome into the water just before I started photographing, but raindrops still ended up on the dome, and spots were still visible on most of the shots.

Some results, more on the website.

Waves make the foreground more interesting, but because of the direction of the wind, the only waves present were caused by the ship sailing past me.
Another spectacular wave. This kind of photo was what I envisioned.
Spectacular sailing shots, but a rather boring foreground. Something to work on!
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A trip down camera lane

Phew, I managed a new post without waiting a whole year! The truth is, I would like to put my work out into the world, but I’m not quite sure how to go about it. Social media, a blog.. Still working on this.

However, this was not what I wanted to talk about.
Ever since the Fujifilm X-E1 was launched in 2012, and I sold my Canon 5Dii, Fujifilm has been my main camera system. New generations of camera’s have been presented every few years, with the recently the newest of the family, the Fujifilm X-H2(s). Two cameras that are the ultimate in speed (X-H2s) and resolution (X-H2). As I’m mainly shooting with the X-H1, which is ancient in camera terms, being announced in 2018, and is still only a toddler in autofocus speed, I am sometimes tempted to upgrade to a newer, faster camera. The X-H2s, with a stacked sensor, is the speed king, but is way too expensive for me. The X-H2, which is slightly more affordable, is no slouch either. Both have a larger grip, which I have come to prefer over the years for professional use, and have an autofocus system which is more than sufficient for what I use my cameras for (let’s be honest, the X-H1 is already managing quite nicely). What’s keeping me back for now are the costs, and the fact that both cameras have a fully-articulating rear display instead of the excellent flipscreen that the X-H1 had, and which I prefer for photography.

What this mental discussion about autofocus speeds and megapixels is clouding, however, is that for most situations, those things are not necessary. I’ve managed perfectly well for many years with the X-T1, X-T2, and X-H1, with both of the latter cameras still very much in use! To drive this point home to myself, for the past few days I’ve been taking the original Fujifilm X100 with me on my daily walk. This camera was launched in September 2010, and has become something of a classic. Its a tortoise compared to modern hares, it misses many of the handy upgrades Fuji has added to the ergonomics in later cameras, but it is still a solid camera, and, handled well, it is still capable of taking great photographs. If anything, the process of photography is even more enjoyable, because you are not helped by ai-processing and eye-tracking, but have to think for yourself (there are some, as there are for any camera brand, that maintain that the Fujifilm X100, like for instance the original Canon EOS 5D, has some magic sprinkled over its sensor, and that the images from this camera have something special over their successors. This might be a result of the fact that these older sensors usually have a lower resolution, and therefore slightly larger pixels?).

I don’t know if this is the case. I know that in some situations I can enjoy the files that come out of a Fujifilm X100 very much, and that there is a certain feel to these first generation files that later cameras do not give me. Mind you, only in certain (wel lit) situations. Does this mean I’m not tempted by the Fuji X-H2 anymore. Of course not, but I’ve enjoyed this trip down camera lane very much, and my resolve to wait has certainly been strenghtened (at least I should wait until the announcement of the X-T5, which may bring back the flippy screen instead of that fully-articulating monster).

I’ll not bore you further, but will share some of the photos I’ve been taking the past few days.

A walk near home, taken with the Fujifilm X100 (yes, the original one)
Jpeg, straight out of the camera, as I forgot to set the camera to RAW+JPG
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It is that time of year..

And with THAT, I don’t mean the time of lockdown or COVID-issues. I mean the time of early nightfall and darkness, of wetness and harsh winds. But also of lights, in the trees along the canals, and behind the windows of houses. While cold and dark, it also brings along a feeling of nostalgia and coziness.

The Koornbrug in the city center of Leiden, with the cafés on the waterside, is always a good place to be during blue hour.

My apologies for this being only the third post of the year (being November, that is not a lot). I hope to do better in future.

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The early bird… (in the snow)

It has been a bit quiet on this Blog this year. My apologies for that. I have taken a lot of photographs this last month, but not much that I considered worth sharing. Yesterday, however, was a day full of snow. Snow! Last year we got a little sprinkle in Januari, and that was it. This year it’s a full 20 cm in the garden, and the cold weather is expected to last for at least another 6 days. The word iceskating is on everybody’s lips. The Elfstedentocht has been cancelled in advance because of Corona, but the expectations are rising. I could not resist this opportunity and went into the city centre yesterday to document the wintery landscape.

I was looking for a mix of snow, ice and lamplight to give it a bit more ambience than just a white blanket over the streets. Therefore I had to get there early. The added advantage is that you are mostly the first at the scene and are not hindered by large groups of people or snow that is already disturbed. As I couldn’t sleep I was even earlier than the alarm clock and I was out of the front door at 5:15. The main roads had been cleaned somewhat and I had no problems navigating the snow with my bike.

[Geartalk] In my enthusiasm I may have brought a bit too much gear. In addition to my main camera these days, the Fujifilm X-H1, and 2 weather sealed lenses (16-55, 50-140 mm) I brought a wide angle 12 mm lens. Because I really like how the lens renders nightscapes I also brought the Voigtlander 15 mm f/4.5 Heliar in a last minute decision. I also took along the Fujifilm X-T2 as a second body, and to top it all of the Leica M9 and Fujifilm X100 just for fun. It turned out that because it was snowing (and blowing) the entire time, I did not use the non weather sealed lenses. I did end up using the non weather sealed 15 mm Voigtlander. A lot! It worked magically!

First stop: the Leidse Sterrenwacht, or Leiden Observatory. To render the lights in the photographs as ‘sunstars’ I wanted to photograph at a smaller aperture. The voigtlander has the most beautiful stars of any lens I ever come across (one of the main reasons for me to take it along). Because of the hard wind and snow I ended up changing lenses as little as possible, with the 16-55 and 50-140 on the X-H1, and the Voigtlander stuck to my X-T2. I took several shots at the observatory at f/16, ISO200 and a shutter speed of 2 minutes. This long shutter speed also caused the water to ‘glaze over’. A visage not dissimilar to ice, although a more thorough glance would probably fool nobody.

The Leidse Sterrenwacht. f/16, ISO 200, shutter speed 2 minutes. Notice the water and the sunstars in the lamps.

The next stop was a small alley off the singel with a lot of old houses and traditional lamps. A very nice spot, but with the hard wind and horizontal snow, the 16-55 soon got issues with water on the front lens that even the most thorough wiping could not remove. It was also a bit useless to clean the lens if 2 seconds later it would be wet again by new snow. Photographing at larger apertures was useless at this stage, as the flare on these droplets was horrible. The voigtlander curiously appeared unaffected by the snow. I switched to a larger aperture on the X-H1 and zooms, but kept the small aperture and sunstars on the X-T2.

A picturesque side canal of the Singel, also with the Voigtlander. f/16, ISO 200, shutter speed 2 minutes.

The Rapenburg, one of the famous canals of Leiden, was only a few minutes walk away, but there the winds were funnelled through the streets and even my 50-140 mm with its massive lens hood managed to get its front lens wet in seconds. I did capture a good example of the snowdrifts through the canal though.

Showing the hard wind and snow combination. The 50-140 mm could not be kept dry in this kind of weather.

My main aim of the trip was the Burcht and Hooglandse Kerk, a medieval fortification and church on the other side of the city centre. I hoped to arrive there around dawn, so that the light would be better, but the streetlights were still on to give me the ambience I was looking for. Planning this was a bit tricky, as my watch was hidden under 4 layers of clothing and my phone did not work through two layers of gloves, so my only indication of time were the church-bells that rung every half hour. Very old fashioned! En route to the Burcht I came across a few other interesting locations: the Pieterskerk, het Gerecht, de Breestraat and the Koornbrug.

By the time I reached the Pieterskerk it was becoming obvious that it was getting closer to a time a regular guy gets out of bed, as a group of students almost managed to position themselves for a selfie in the middle of my photograph. I offered to take the selfie for them if they could just wait 40 seconds until my photo was done, and continued on to the Breestraat. This usually busy shopping street was white and deserted at what I’m guessing was around 7:30 AM. A very surreal view!

A photo at the Pieterskerk and het Gerecht. It is getting lighter, almost Blue Hour at this stage. f/16, ISO 200, 2 minutes.

Finally around 8:00 AM I reached my final destination, the Burcht. By now dawn was fully here, but with the snow still falling the light was filtered and still not fully there. I took several photographs from my favourite location outside the Burcht, then headed in for some more shots. By this time people were starting to appear who had the same idea, and I had to manage my shots carefully to avoid disturbance. Mind you, the 1 minute shutter speed with the Voigtlander helped in this regard. As long as people would not stand still, they would still not appear in the final image. When I descended the stairs to the plaza below the street lights cut out, and I could congratulate myself with timing it well, and look forward to getting home, getting warm and getting coffee.*

The main prize: the Hooglandse Kerk from the Burcht. The streetlights add ambience to the photo in my view.
Compare the two shots: while I like the second for its composition, it certainly doesn’t have the warmth of the first image. White balance is also in play, of course, but the lack of lights is clear!

I hope you have enjoyed the photographs and story. For me it was a great morning, albeit a cold one!

*The bike ride back along paths not cleaned was a workout..

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Startrails in the city center

In my memory these past few weeks have been grey and dreary. Sure, there have probably been a few dry, nice and even sometimes sunny days as well, but on the whole, my impression has not been good. The forecast for the next week and Christmas is just as bad, I’m afraid. However, when my girlfriend took out the garbage on Friday night, she casually mentioned that the skies were clear, and she could see a lot of stars. She didn’t know what she started, but as I hadn’t seen a clear night sky in a long time, I was on my bike to the city center to execute a photography plan I’ve had for some time (fortunately the latest in Corona measures did not include a curfew).

Smack in the middle of the city center of Leiden is ‘The Burcht’. It’s an old medieval castle, and one of the main attractions of the city. I’ve been wanting to capture a milky way shot over this castle, or, if unsuccessful, startrails. However, the weather was threatening to disrupt my plans right from the start. I wasn’t even five minutes out before noticing threatening clouds on the horizon. A quick check of the wind confirmed my suspicions: they were moving my way. I would have to be quick!

On location I quickly fired off a few test shots. Unfortunately, these confirmed my expectations that a milky way shot was not in the cards. The spotlights illuminating the Burcht were so bright, that I would not be able to illuminate the night sky enough to capture a milky way without over exposing the building. Plan B then: Startrails. I had brought both the 9 mm Laowa and the 12 mm Samyang but decide to stick to the 9 mm to capture as much sky as possible. After quickly deciding on a composition, I put the camera on continuous shooting, plugged in my remote shutter release, and the appropriate exposure settings (in this case: f/2.8 and 30 seconds, at ISO200) and started the exposures.

And then we wait…

In my experience, a total exposure of an hour is a good length for startrails. 90 minutes would be better, but I almost never can get myself to wait that long. Fortunately, I brought a second body (the X-Pro1) and could entertain myself shooting in the vicinity while my main camera (the X-T2) was busy with the startrails. The clouds I had seen moving in arrived after about 10 minutes, but were thin and disappeared quickly, giving me a total exposure time of an hour before I decided to pack up, go home and go to sleep.

The next morning, I started to process the photographs. Because one photograph exposed for one hour would have been hugely overexposed the building of the Burcht itself because of the bright spotlights, I chose to take 120 separate exposures of 30 seconds and combine those in photoshop. There is an easy way to place the images into a stack, convert them into a smart image, and merge them with only the brightest parts (the trails) of an image showing in the final photograph. All it takes is patience and a large hard drive. Because of white balance differences between the lighting on the Burcht and the surrounding area, I also merged a photograph of the Burcht with a different (correct) white balance to the combined startrail image and got my final result.

I was a bit sad to see that Plan A could not succeed, but from the start I had feared as much. I’m happy Plan B did succeed, and the weather did not sabotage my plans. The final image is what I had expected and I’m happy with it. The only thing I think I could have done better in hindsight is setting the lens to a smaller aperture. This would have had 2 advantages: the image quality would have improved (the Laowa is not at its best at f/2.8), and two: the shutter speed would have increased. This is an advantage because with a longer shutter speed less photographs would have been needed to fill an hour, leading to less processing time in photoshop. A lesson for next time. You never stop learning.

So what’s the fuss al about? See below..

The final image: startrails over The Burcht. A total of one hour of exposures with the Fujifilm X-T2 and the Laowa 9 mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8.
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[Snapshot] Light pollution

In the area around Leiden there are a lot of greenhouses. During the day you don’t notice them much, but at night, on a cloudy moment, you can easily pinpoint their locations by just looking for the light they emit. It is a beautiful sight, even if it is basically light pollution.

Light pollution above the Boterhuismolen in Leiderdorp
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[Snapshot] Backlit city

The Hooglandse Kerk in Leiden, with significant backlight.

On a quick trip into the city to collect my Leiden Marathon medallion and get some Christmas presents I came across this archway that was brightly backlit. The lady with the bike completed the photograph. There was very little colour in the photo, so converted to black and white.

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About assignments

An old tradition that is slowly starting to disappear due to the fact that most bridges are now remote controlled. The man controlling the bridge will swing a wooden shoe, or klomp, towards the boat in which you can deposit the money owed for opening the bridge.

December has begun, and that means the end of 2020 is in sight. A strange year, and in many ways a bad year. I cannot pretend that I personally have been hit very hard. I do not work in the entertainment or in the catering industry, nor in any other business dependent on large groups of people inside. We bought our new house at the end of 2019 and were fortunate enough to move just before the ‘intelligent lockdown’ in March, so had plenty of space and nature close by. That is not to say that I did not feel its effects. From March on all photography assignments dried up. Not being dependent on just photography for a living helps, of course, and my other graphical work could easily be done from home.

While the new ‘lockdown light’ is in progress and will probably continue until March 2021, this week I had my first assignment since a very long time, for Zeilen Magazine. It felt strange to do a sailing photoshoot, after so much time, but familiar at the same time. Of course the day in question was one of the coldest and wettest of the year yet, but hey, in these cases you don’t get to pick and choose. The assignment was the first time I could test my now not so new Fujifilm X-T4 in the field, and I was not disappointed. The only thing, and that is a major thing, is still the flippy screen, which is annoying. I’m still not a 100% convinced the camera is right for my kind of shooting, maybe more on that later.

So, while I do not expect a lot of assignments in the near future (winter usually is quiet anyway), it was nice to be out and about again. No photos of the job, as the magazine will not be out until February, but an iPhone shot of the day at the Bridge of Sloten can be included!

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Our daily walk

Spectacular clouds during sunset at the local windmill.

Ever since the start of the corona measures in the Netherlands, which, incidentally is also since we moved and live in our new home, we’ve started taking daily walks. To compensate for the gym being closed and the loss of our 15-20 min bike ride to work, but also because it is a fun way to relax and get out of the business of work. Our goal is to reach the 10.000 steps each day. I usually win, as my watch is less conservative about what constitutes a step, but I think I also do make more steps in general. We are fortunate to live close to the edge of the city and have this view just a 5 minute walk away.