San Miguel Mexico with Just the X100F

When I wrote that lens thread about having 14 XF lenses and traveling with 7 or 8 of them, about ten of you suggested I go out for the day with just one lens and the XH-1 and make it work, or maybe just shoot the X100F for a day.

So I went out for a full two days of walking all over beautiful and colorful San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and I took only the X100f. I shot about 200 shots at 23mm. I really liked about 50 of them. I did feel somewhat limited because I kept seeing things I wanted reach on and a few things I really wanted wider on, but that camera is very satisfying and fun and I need to shoot it more.

Plus is felt kind of strange not having a bag of lenses on my shoulder and the XH-1 around my neck. I felt kind of naked.

These are not full-size JPEG exports from LR. They are about 5 MB each because my WiFi is slow here.









































Greg Johnson, San Antonio, Texas

Greg Johnson, San Antonio, Texas

--
Greg Johnson, San Antonio, Texas

Those are some very nice images! A very good advert for the camera.

Greg, hope you're okay?

Jokes beside, I like your pics!

Very nice set. These sets show off the town well.

Did you take any shots in the evening with it?

markusw said:

Greg, hope you're okay?

Jokes beside, I like your pics!

Click to expand...

Hi Greg,

Your X100F pictures are stunning examples what can be done with a fixed lens only camera without the arsenal of all the XT bodies and lenses


One positive side effect is a more spontaneous approach which increases creativity and composition up to a great extend.


Very well done! Just go on and show us more pictures!

--
Stefan

Great job with all of these and although 99.9% of the credit goes to the photographer, you gotta love that X100F.

I agree the fixed focal length isn't always the perfect lens but I still like the X100 series cameras very much and have owned 2 X100S cameras and now the X100F.

Not sure I'd recommend the X100F as an only camera but I do think it's about the best compact camera a person can own.

Nice images Greg. Thanks for sharing. Any withdrawals (lol)?

It is difficult to adjust to a single focal length but the X100F is usually the only camera I carry on work trips, and although you’re miles ahead of me with your skills I think I’m starting to adjust. I’m actually surprised at some of the landscapes I’ve come away with. When at home I usually carry around the XT2/55-200 and just the X100F. Personal travel, . . . now that’s another story.

Good luck with your MF journey.

Great shots! Love those colors!

scst48 said:

markusw said:

Greg, hope you're okay?

Jokes beside, I like your pics!

Click to expand...

Hi Greg,

Your X100F pictures are stunning examples what can be done with a fixed lens only camera without the arsenal of all the XT bodies and lenses

One positive side effect is a more spontaneous approach which increases creativity and composition up to a great extend.

Very well done! Just go on and show us more pictures!

Click to expand...

Hey Stefan,

You are correct. I am trying to be more spontaneous, but I am to be honest, not really a skilled street shooter (in terms of candid people shots). I am working on it.

I am skilled technically after decades of study and shooting, but I have said many times I don't think I have an artistic eye.

Sure, I know how to spot good light and how to frame architecture and street scenes, but I'm bad at getting people doing interesting things or with great expressions.

I'm also shy about shooting people, especially here in Mexico where they do not like it.

Take for example the two old guys on the bench. I stepped right in front of them with the X100F on a neck strap which was adjusted to be at about my belt. As you know, the X100F is very small and not that noticeable. I held the camera tight against the strap at waist level and pointed at them (or I thought it was pointed at them). I did not look at them. I looked up at the church tower above them and pretended I was looking at it. I snapped 8 shots of them but they were all badly framed and crooked. The one I attached was off too but I was able to rotate it a bit in post.

Maybe when I shoot the GFX 50r with that huge lens on it I will just walk up and point it at them and hope the women don't scream at me or the men try to beat me up.

Well done - San Miguel looks interesting - Thanks for sharing.

Very nice photographs, Greg, and a nice tour.

Quite the novelty going that spartan, eh?

Great pics, Greg! Have been silently admiring your work for a while....and these are further proof of how great the X100F can be if in the right hands.

Greg7579 said:

scst48 said:

markusw said:

Greg, hope you're okay?

Jokes beside, I like your pics!

Click to expand...

Hi Greg,

Your X100F pictures are stunning examples what can be done with a fixed lens only camera without the arsenal of all the XT bodies and lenses

One positive side effect is a more spontaneous approach which increases creativity and composition up to a great extend.

Very well done! Just go on and show us more pictures!

Click to expand...

Hey Stefan,

You are correct. I am trying to be more spontaneous, but I am to be honest, not really a skilled street shooter (in terms of candid people shots). I am working on it.

I am skilled technically after decades of study and shooting, but I have said many times I don't think I have an artistic eye.

Sure, I know how to spot good light and how to frame architecture and street scenes, but I'm bad at getting people doing interesting things or with great expressions.

I'm also shy about shooting people, especially here in Mexico where they do not like it.

Take for example the two old guys on the bench. I stepped right in front of them with the X100F on a neck strap which was adjusted to be at about my belt. As you know, the X100F is very small and not that noticeable. I held the camera tight against the strap at waist level and pointed at them (or I thought it was pointed at them). I did not look at them. I looked up at the church tower above them and pretended I was looking at it. I snapped 8 shots of them but they were all badly framed and crooked. The one I attached was off too but I was able to rotate it a bit in post.

Maybe when I shoot the GFX 50r with that huge lens on it I will just walk up and point it at them and hope the women don't scream at me or the men try to beat me up.

Click to expand...

Hey Greg,

I understand your feelings but believe that you do very well using the X100F which is such a great camera. I really enjoyed your pics and would like to encourage you to use the X100F more often

I hope Fuji will come out soon with the next generation X100 xxx like a Leica M10 which I definitely will purchase without hesitation

Greg7579 said:

scst48 said:

markusw said:

Greg, hope you're okay?

Jokes beside, I like your pics!

Click to expand...

Hi Greg,

Your X100F pictures are stunning examples what can be done with a fixed lens only camera without the arsenal of all the XT bodies and lenses

One positive side effect is a more spontaneous approach which increases creativity and composition up to a great extend.

Very well done! Just go on and show us more pictures!

Click to expand...

Hey Stefan,

You are correct. I am trying to be more spontaneous, but I am to be honest, not really a skilled street shooter (in terms of candid people shots). I am working on it.

I am skilled technically after decades of study and shooting, but I have said many times I don't think I have an artistic eye.

Click to expand...

Greg,

It is more speed and quickness than "artistic eye." That is all Henri Cartier-Bresson's "decisive moment" really is. HCB would often find a spot get ready to shoot. He would have it prefocused and the exposure set. He would lie in wait like a hunter in a stand or blind. When a subject would come into the trap he sit - he fired. HCB often said that the camera should not be up to the eye for more than a second. The Leica (and Pro2) is exceptional good for that type of photography because your viewfinder is larger than the image frame.

Don't over think it - don't be obvious or else you will become the subject as you will distract your subjects. You won't get them to doing interesting things - they do those on their own. You need to spot it and quickly raise and fire - else the decisive moment has come and gone. You got about a second.

Greg7579 said:

Sure, I know how to spot good light and how to frame architecture and street scenes, but I'm bad at getting people doing interesting things or with great expressions.

I'm also shy about shooting people, especially here in Mexico where they do not like it.

Take for example the two old guys on the bench. I stepped right in front of them with the X100F on a neck strap which was adjusted to be at about my belt. As you know, the X100F is very small and not that noticeable. I held the camera tight against the strap at waist level and pointed at them (or I thought it was pointed at them). I did not look at them. I looked up at the church tower above them and pretended I was looking at it. I snapped 8 shots of them but they were all badly framed and crooked. The one I attached was off too but I was able to rotate it a bit in post.

Maybe when I shoot the GFX 50r with that huge lens on it I will just walk up and point it at them and hope the women don't scream at me or the men try to beat me up.

Click to expand...

--
Truman
www.pbase.com/tprevatt

Nice shots Greg. I have read that HCB never trimmed his toenails. This was apparently part of why he was such a photographic genius: because he had such good traction, he never slipped and fell while capturing the Decisive Moment. And so, naturally, you should stop trimming your toenails as well.

Happy New Year!

I like your work Greg. You certainly do like to punch up the colours and make an already stunning place even more welcoming.

However! I have spotted at least two pictures with people using smartphones in them. I thought that was a big no-no in the Greg book. Ts Ts Ts.

Thanks for sharing the pics. IMO, they have nice colours, but in terms of composition they are not very interesting. Sorry, this is my honest opinion; also the light is too harsh, if at all possible it is preferable to shoot when the light is more interesting and softer/golden.

Nice series of photos!