Lights in the Night

GXR A12-M, f5.6, 1/12, ISO 200, RAW, 127mm (Jupiter-9 f2.0 85mm L)

Yellow and Red

GXR A12-M, f2.8, 1/1410, ISO 200, RAW, 53mm (Jupiter-12 f2.8 35mm L)

Coffee and Cigarette

GXR A12-M, f2.8, 1/330, ISO 200, RAW, 53mm (Jupiter-12 f2.8 35mm L)

Waiting to Board

GRD IV, f2.5, 1/760, ISO 80, RAW

I don't like airports and waiting around there for my flight to leave. Airports are so inefficient and it would be great if I could board a plane as I board a train.

Steel

GRD IV, f3.2, 1/870, ISO 80, RAW

I was going back and forth between converting this to b&w or leaving in colour, in the end the colour version won due to the nicer tones.

View

GRD IV, f3.2, 1/1410, ISO 80, RAW

This has been quite a common view for me recently and today it's back in a plane and off to Frankfurt.

Narrow

GRD, f4.0, 1/200, ISO 400, JPG b&w

A rainy day in London before heading to Frankfurt in the morning, did not have much time for photography but with the GRD on my side I always get a few shots on my way to work.

The DOM

Before taking the train back to Amsterdam for my return flight to London, I had some time in Cologne and went up the Dom in Cologne and also for a wander inside the cathedral.

Bridge over the River

GXR A12-M, f8.0, 1/870, ISO 200, RAW, 21mm (Voigtlander Heliar f4.5 15mm L)

Although I spent most of the day at Photokina, I decided to write the whole report in one post so here is one of the pictures I took after breakfast on my way to the fair for today's post.

I took it with the Heliar 15mm lens and have to say that I really love this lens on the GXR, if you have  GXR you have to get this lens but make sure you get the screw mount version as it's smaller, cheaper and looks nicer.

Photokina 2012 Report

This year's Photokina was all about the unexpected and innovative releases from Sony, Leica and Samsung, it was about the expected releases from Fuji and Olympus, the boring releases from Panasonic, Canon and Nikon, the good and interesting releases from Pentax, Voigtlander and Zeiss and about the ugly releases from Hasselblad and Sigma. 

It was about a lot of new, exciting and also about some boring things but what it was not about is Ricoh.

But lets look at each of these individually and keep in mind that I don't care at all about dSLRs so can't say anything about any releases.

Amsterdam

GXR A12-M, f8.0, 1/330, ISO 200, RAW, 42mm (Ricoh GR f2.8 28mm L)

After an early flight I arrived to a rainy Amsterdam, lucky for me the weather changed later in the day and the sun came out to make it a nice day.

This is a quick one day stop to relax a bit before heading to Photokina to have a look at some of the new announcements. Mostly I am interested in the Sony NEX-6, the RX-1 and the RX-100 but also the new Fuji cameras and also to see what Leica has done with their first ever live view capable M camera. Of course I am hoping to get some info from Ricoh on what they are working or if anything is coming out from them.

Mind the Gap

GXR A12-M, f2.0, 1/203, ISO 200, RAW, 53mm (Voigtlander Nokton f1.2 35mm)

SF Fashion

GXR A12-M, f6.3, 1/470, ISO 200, RAW, 53mm (Voigtlander Nokton f1.2 35mm)

The last picture from San Francisco, it is time to head back to London.
I will not stay long in London though and be on my way to Amsterdam and then Cologne for Photokina in the coming days.

I will miss San Francisco, it is a great place to see and explore and I had a great time there.

The Rock

Today, I went to the Rock. Alcatraz is probably the most famous and well known prison in the world.

I have seen lots of movies featuring it, so it was great to step on the island and see what is left of it with my own eyes and step through the cell blocks. The only problem is that I did not have enough time, you need to plan at least half a day for it but better more to really see and take in everything, despite a lot of it being in ruins.

I have enjoyed my time there and unlike the prisoners there, felt I needed more time on the island and would like to return.

There is a lot of history and myth behind the walls so it should be on anyone's list of things to see while in San Francisco.

Streets of San Francisco

Took it easy today, just been walking around the Haight and Mission areas. It was not the best day photographically but I got some good street photographs.

San Francisco Road Trip - Day 3

The last day of the road trip through the wine country started in Lucern this morning. I stopped at some wineries along the way before spending some time in Sonoma and then heading back to San Francisco in the evening.

It was a great trip and I enjoyed seeing the different places but also diving aound the countryside, next time I need to make sure I rent a better car though with a bit more power to get and even better experience.

San Francisco Road Trip - Day 2

After spending the night in Bodega Bay, I left in the morning heading for the wine country around Sonoma.

The coast was fogy and chilly but as soon as I got inland along the Russian River, it  became warmer and the fog disappeared.