Close-up photography compared -- 4 cameras and 4 lenses.

You can tell I'm beginning to go a little stir-crazy being cooped up in my apartment recuperating from my surgery and I start doing projects like this. Nonetheless, something that has always interested my is why I prefer one camera/lens combo over another for certain still life subjects.

It is one thing to get so hung up on equipment that it becomes an end in itself, more an impediment to creative thinking than an asset.  It is another to make equipment choices more specifically based on the aesthetic results you can achieve with a particular camera/lens combination in the varying photographic situations we find ourselves. Many photographers use a very modest assortment of gear. This often because they mainly photograph the same subject type, and a sparse combo allows them to master one thing and apply the characteristics intuitively without the interference of equipment decisions. I understand this point of view, but in my career I am faced with such a vast variety of subject matter that I have learned to marry my equipment choices to particular tasks.

At any rate, that is why I found myself with four cameras and four different lenses to test on some variegated roses - that and the fact that I am getting bored sitting around my apartment for the past week.

The results below are more about the lenses and less about the cameras. All were taken with back lighting from a window and no front fill. A situation like this is naturally going to impart some softness and low contrast to the scene.  This is going to exaggerate the soft quality of lenses that already have a soft quality to them, like the Macro-Switar, and Fuji 23mm when used at f/2.

Leica M 240 with Kern Macro-Switar 50mm f/1.8:

This is an old lens I had adapted over to Leica M mount. As an older lens it has not been designed and coated to work best with modern digital cameras. Consequently, it delivers a very soft effect, especially at open apertures. Coupling this with a relatively long focal length and very wide open f/1.8 aperture it can really throw the background completely out of focus.

Fuji X-T1 with Zeiss Touit 50mm f/2.8:

The Zeiss Touit 50mm is the only true 1:1 macro lenses in the group. It and the Kern also have the longest focal length. The macro quality allows me to get in as close as I want, while the long focal length coupled with an open aperture produces a very pleasing bokeh effect on the background.

Fuji X100T with Fuji 23mm f/2 lens:

This combo is rapidly becoming one of my favorites for close-up photography. There are three reasons for this: First, it allows me to get in close with a moderate wide-angle focal length making it easier to create relationships between the subject and its environment. Second, it has an f/2 aperture resulting in a selective focus that isolates the subject from its out-of-focus environment. Third, it produces a soft effect when used close up and wide open. Of all the lenses I tried this one allowed me the most versatility in exploring the subject by altering the relationship of subject to background.

Sony RX100 IV with Zeiss Vario-Sonar 8.8-25.7mm at f/2.8:

I would normally not choose this combo to do close-up photography, The RX100 is a camera I have with me when I don't want to carry anything bulky. It does have a close-up feature that extends its versatility and I thought I'd see how the results compared to the other lenses. The close-up feature only works at the widest 24mm equivalent focal length. This is a really wide angle to be using in tight and naturally delivers more depth of field than the other options. I used it at f/2.8 here, but probably should have kept the aperture wide open.

I do not find any of these close-up combos to be better than the other. What I was trying to accomplish with this experiment was to discover how they differed and what this difference did to my approach to the subject.

Summer sun shower in the city - with the Sony RX100 IV

It lasted for about 15 minutes late in the afternoon. The day had been hot and close with blue skies and large billowing clouds passing through when suddenly a rain cloud opened up enshrouding the city in a fine mist. The sun shining through the mist from the left gave a ghost-like appearance to the scene.

I had been testing the new Sony RX100 IV and had it handy so I grabbed it to capture the scene. The RX100 has only one zoom lens equivalent to 24-70mm. The 24mm was not nearly enough to capture the whole scene so I turned the camera on its side and took three photos from left to right, and combined them later into one panorama. The Sony has a 20.4mp sensor so the resulting merger of three shots into one is quite large where the rain drops can actually be scene against the background of the buildings.

"Two very old documents 1742, 1768" -- close up photography with the Fuji X100T

The title of this post is taken from the eBay auction listing where I found two antique letters from the 1700's. The price was right so I picked bid on them to use as props for shooting still life. I have always found eBay a good source for finding old props with some character to them. Things like worn letters have a nice patina to them that lends itself to use as a background with character.

I am still home-bound and having to photograph simple subjects using modest props and setups as part of my "Rear Window" project.

I began this series by mounting the Zeiss Touit 50mm macro lens on my X-T1, but in a few minutes found myself picking up my X100T to see how things would look through the close-up 23mm lens. One look and I was off and running. I love shooting close-ups with the X100T. Using the lens wide open at f/2, as I do most of the time, imparts a softness to the subject that I like. When I want the image sharper, I just go one stop down.

I wanted to capture the beautiful texture and color of the antique paper so I resorted to one of my Custom Settings where I have the camera set for Classic Chrome and -2 Color to mute the colors. I always shoot my Fuji X cameras to capture both RAW and jpg at the same time and usually use the jpg image as a reference while processing the final image in RAW. For this series, the camera settings hit the mark for the look I was trying to achieve, and in this rare instance I went straight to the jpgs.

Sometimes known as a fleaglass, this early, collapsible pocket magnifier was carried into the field for close up observations of insects and plants. 

This antique Stanhope magnifier is made from one piece of glass curved on both ends -- one end having more of a curve than the other. The slightly curved side can be placed very close or even in contact with the subject to be magnified. 

Fireworks in New York with the Fuji X-T1

In yesterday's post I discussed taking photographs of fireworks with a Fuji X camera. Last night I put my own advice to work and captured the fireworks display from the roof top of my apartment building. I am still home-bound recovering from a hip replacement so this is all part of my "Rear Window" series. This is an instance where the compactness of the Fuji X system came into play. There is no other way I could have carried a heavier camera and lenses to take these photos. Just like in "Rear Window" I couldn't have done this without the assistance of a beautiful woman -- in this case my wife, Faith.

I assembled the photo above from three images taken last night. First I used the Fuji X-T1 and 18-135mm lens to record the patriotic colors of the Empire State Building at dusk while there was still some blue color in the sky. Afterwards, I switched to the Fuji 55-200mm zoom to record the fireworks. My intent all along was to combine the fireworks photos to create other images so I zoomed in and out to capture them at varying sizes.

The exposure for the fireworks was f/16 at 5 seconds. Later in the evening, as the smoke built up and brightened the display, I decreased the exposure to f/22. The ISO was 200 and the camera set to manual focus at infinity. This is exactly the prescription I proposed in my post of yesterday.

Using Photoshop, I added the two fireworks as layers to make a red, white, and blue composition.. Because the backgrounds were completely black, I simply changed their layer mode to "screen" to blend them into the Empire State Building photo, and then tweaked things a bit to blend them in. I placed a mask over the Empire State Building to put the larger set of fireworks behind it.

How to photograph fireworks with a Fuji X camera

The method for capturing exciting, and colorful displays of fireworks are very much the same for all cameras. In this post I will be referring specifically to the settings using a Fuji X camera. You will need a steady tripod for your camera, a remote release to hold the shutter open, and a lens that will enable you to fill the frame with the fireworks display. A zoom lens is best because you can modify the cropping to suit. Since you will be using the lens stopped down, you won't need a fast aperture lens. I would suggest the Fuji 55-200mm variable aperture, or the 18-135mm.

When photographing pure fireworks with no other subject, I always try to fill up the frame with the bursts so there are not too many dead black areas. 

Set the camera to its lowest ISO of 200. Try an aperture of f/11 or f/16. Fireworks can vary in intensity, especially as the smoke builds up. So keep an eye on the results and adjust as necessary. It might even be necessary to stop down to f/22.

The camera should be on manual focus mode. I usually auto-focus at some infinity point, and then switch off the AF to obtain the correct focus.

The shutter should be set to B so it will stay open as long as the cable release is pressed. You want to keep the shutter open long enough during the burst so that it the light "paints" itself on the camera sensor.  This will give you the fullest color. Too short a shutter speed will only record a small part of the burst.  You want to record as much of the burst as you can without over-exposing the photo.  The length of exposure depends upon the brightness of the burst and the sky.  If you have set your camera up properly, you can release the shutter as soon as you see the firework begin its upward motion.  Keep the shutter open during the full burst.  This is usually between three and eight seconds, but could be longer if the sky is really dark. 

Finding a subject to silhouette against the fireworks can make the image more unique. 

Rear Window - #2 Double Exposures with the Fuji X-T1

Continuing on with my "Rear Window" project, I was playing around with the Fuji X-T1.  I accidentally switched it into double-exposure mode and took a few photos. I ended up liking what I saw and decided to explore the feature some more.

First problem with the double-exposure feature is that it only records in jpg, and I would have preferred a RAW image so I could tweak the it later in post-processing.  What I ended up doing is using the double-exposure feature to pre-visualize the image, and then switched over to record in RAW for a final capture of two images that I later combined in Photoshop. This gave me much more control of the color, contrast, and positioning of the two photos.

This image was an actual in-camera double exposure. I liked it the way it was and left it that way. 

For this image I played around with some double exposures of the scene for placement of the Empire State Building upon the scene. I then took two separate photos and combined them so I could fine-tune the adjustments. 

"Rear Window" photographs

The classic Hitchcock film, "Rear Window", came out in 1954 and starred James Stewart as a photographer who had broken his leg while photographing. His leg cast makes him immobile while he is confined to his apartment during recuperation. From the rear window of his apartment to pass the time he observes the daily life of city dwellers in nearby apartments, and at one point begins to believe that he has witnessed a murder.

I had reason to re-watch this film recently because I had an operation to replace a hip a couple days ago and now find myself a home-bound photographer for my initial recuperation. I wanted to keep the blog going and, remembering "Rear Window" decided to take photos using the light or scenes from my apartment windows for the brief period I will be recuperating and unable to venture out to photograph. Ahhh...the things we do to keep occupied.

Below is one of the first photos I planned, two glasses of wine reflecting a view of city and Empire State Building upside-down at dusk.

Taken with the Fuji X-T1 and 50-140mm f/2.8 lens wide open. 

If you haven't already seen "Rear Window", I highly recommend it as one of the best films ever made. I watched it again on my tablet while still in the hospital recuperating.