All posts filed under: Links

Kandapara brothel →

Truly a riveting article and amazing documentary photography. The photographer of this story did a wonderful job at documenting the reality that these women have to endure in a day to day basis. A truly gut wrenching situation. I personally had no idea a place like this existed and much that its 200 years old. Bangladesh is one of the few Muslim countries in the world where prostitution is legal. The Kandapara brothel in the district of Tangail is the oldest and second-largest in the country — it has existed for some 200 years. It was demolished in 2014, but has been established again with the help of local NGOs. Many of the women were born there, grew up there and didn’t know where else to go when it disappeared.

Days of Innocence

Last weekend I time-traveled back to the early 70s. I visited a nuclear plant which is located just about 25km away from my home but I don’t need to worry: We never turned it on! But lets give you some historical facts. The plant was constructed in 1969 and built in between 1974 to 1976. After a 2 years of pre-checks it was time to ask the people of Austria if it should go in full operation. To the puzzlement of the government the people decided not to do so. It was a very close vote (50,47% against the plant) but it was final. The plant remained closed.      Continue reading this amazing post by “little big traveling camera” filled with a glorious set of images and one helluv of a story – here. Enjoy.     Photo Credit: littlebigtravelingcamera.com

Fujifilm Documentary Photography

I couldn’t be happier to have one of the best documentary photographers in the world join the Origami Collective. I’d like to introduce you to Yves Choquette, a Canadian documentary photography (also an Official Fujifilm X Photographer) that truly excels at he does ― reportage.

Portraits and Lens Distortion

With the recent release of the Fuji 56mm 1.2 and other native XF mount lens like the Rokinon 85mm 1.4 I must say that portraits have been on my mind quite a bit. I’m still debating how much I would actually use a lens in the following focal lengths ie. anything from an effective focal length of 85mm to 150mm. To be honest, I don’t think I would be using quite often but more specific projects.  With that said, I’m actively looking for a legacy lens somewhere in the aforementioned effective focal lengths that will serve as a pinch hitter in my kit when I seek that focal lengths. Take the jump and check out how the various focal lengths affect portraits and how the lens distortion is quite varied as well.

Rokinon 85mm 1.4 XF Mount

Well look who arrived in the XF scene to brighten up our days. The Rokinon 85mm 1.4 in native XF mount. No more adapters to fumble with. I was chatting on Twitter with Riley Joseph in terms of the size and guess what, its 17mm shorter than the XF 55-200mm. The 85mm 1.4 comes in at 78 x 101 mm versus the XF zoom at 75 x 118 mm. So not bad at all for a portrait lens at 1.4. There are some portraits and images of the lens mounted on an X-E1 over at the Fuji X Spot forum here.

OVF Magic with the X-Pro 1 & X100

I recently joined the OVF side of Fuji Xseries cameras and this post clarified a lot of my questions. Just when I was looking for answers this post popped out. Its a two part series so be sure to follow with the next one once your there. I shoot fujifilm exclusively; I use two X-Pro 1’s and a X100s for my wedding work and travels. This set up works for me, however there was a learning curve involved, as the concept of these X-Series cameras were different from the D-SLR’s that I was used to. The biggest challenge I faced was learning how these cameras acquired focus, I spent hours online seeking relevant information and even more time applying what I read and testing things out.

Fuji X100S print capabilities 80×18 ft

If folks have any doubts that the Fuji X100s can be used successfully for commercial work under the right conditions, then Mark Kitaoka’s work should appease many of you out there. My X100S was utilized in a commercial shoot for Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s 2014 Beethoven Festival Banner (80 feet by 18 feet) which hangs on the side of their building. I chose to make the image with this camera due to its leaf shutter.