Friday Street

GRD II, f4, 1/50, ISO 80, RAW

Hey, it's Friday! So what better to do in London or the UK for that matter other than going to a pub and having a few drinks. After having to call t-mobile 4 times in 4 days since taking on the contract, I really needed some drinks. It could've been so easy to just set up the account properly but somehow it does not seem possible with them. Anyway, this is sorted now and I got what I wanted.
If you need a cheap data and phone contract the Flext25 + web'n'walk for 12 months with the additional web'n'walk+ option and specific mention of the free wifi hotspots will get you everything you need. To get this all properly set up could however be a painful process and involve a considerable amount of complaining.

The Fish and Tate

GRD II, f2.4, 1/200, ISO 100, RAW 1:1

This title sounds like the name of a pub but hey, I'm in the UK so this is fine. Took the picture today while out for a walk, enjoying the sun and complaining to t-mobile once again. This must be a record for me to complain every day now since taking the contract. They really need to get their act together and have clear details on their offers and contracts. Still, if you complain enough you get what you want ;).

One thing I noticed about my blog is that I never provided the EXIF information so I have added it for all pictures now. If you were interested on the settings I use you can now go back and revisit the images.

Red Dragon

GRD II, f2.4, 1/50, ISO 100, RAW 1:1

Took this picture after work while on my way to get a coffee. I used the 1:1 mode and changed the levels to get this look.
I finally managed to get my plan set up properly with t-mobile so now I have unrestricted hsdpa from my mobile phone and can use it just fne from the Q1U via Bluetooth or USB. Another nice touch is the free t-mobile hotspot subscription that allows me to surf faster from a lot of locations. Now I really have no excuse for not updating the blog in time ;).

Fire in the Hood

GRD II, f5, 1/320, ISO 100, RAW

'or: Why you should always have your camera with you at ALL times. ;)'

There are days when I hardly manage to take the picture for the day, on some days I take one picture and know this is THE picture for the day. On days like today I have too many pictures or as here a full series of pictures to choose from. Took the pictures while on my way home from the station. While this guy was not the driver he was good fun and fits perfectly as a contrast in this image. While taking these shots I was very glad about the GRD II RAW write speed and buffer.

First I thought I would not have any picture to show for today since I spend most of my free time complaining to t-mobile about the speed restriction they put on their plans. Of course they do not mention this anywhere when you take on the contract so I need to shop around and see what I can get out.

One Nation Under CCTV

GRD II, f4, 1/320, ISO 100, RAW, 21mm

I finally did it, after 4 years I decided to replace my aging Nokia phone for a more up to date version with 3G and quad band. Reason was primary to use HSDPA when on the go from my UMPC without the need of an additional modem and me being annoyed that I could not use my phone in Korea or Japan. So I got a Nokia E51 since it has a proper keypad and all other features I wanted, like mini SD-card suport (would've preferred normal SD or MMC but anyway), Bluetooth, wifi and a radio and MP3 player.
Long story short, on my way to get this in Oxford street I saw this big writing on the wall and decided to check it out and take a few pictures. Yes, it is a Banksy and I believe one of only 2 or so that I've seen. This is one of the pictures taken with the 21mm lens, since 28mm was not wide enough to show the real size, and the GRD II.

Council Flats at 1600

GRD II, f2.4, 1/13, ISO 1600, RAW

The title refers to the ISO setting I used and this was a test more than anything. It is the first time I used this on the GRD II and I can say that I definitely need a different processing for this. I knew quite well how to process ISO 1600 files from the GRD I to make them look acceptabl even in color but the GRD II is more difficult since it has a different noise pattern. The picture in b&w did not really look better so I need to find a way to get more out of the files. Was a good experiment though and you can even see the "Ricoh Blue" in the sky, a feature that I really like and unique to Ricoh cameras. Overall the image is not great and shows the limits of the small sensor but for an experiment quite good. I have to say that the GRD I performed better at this ISO in b&w and color at first look. Need to make a few tests on this for my review.

Rain is Coming

GRD, f7.1, 1/640, ISO 200, JPG b&w

After all the recent street shots I think something simple is good to have on the blog. Yes, I could not resist to use the GRD I again for some b&w work. Had it out while going into town today and took this picture while waiting for the train. Really need to do a side by side comparisson of the GRD I and II in b&w to show the differences.

The Police

GRD II, f5.6, 1/500, ISO 100, RAW

Took this picture while out for a walk during lunch today. It's not quite as good as the pictures I took recently but I still like it.
As you might've noticed I took all pictures this week with the GRD II and all are streetshots but only one is b&w. I mentioned it before but I believe for b&w work the GRD I is much better and the GRD II shines for color work. All pictures from the last days have been taken as b&w jpgs but I've left the RAW conversions in color since they work much better.

Looking through my recent posts I completely forgot to mention that I've been asked to contribute to Armin's 'Serious Compacts' page. I am very glad about this opportunity and am looking forward to. The site provides all the information about interesting compact cameras. Since I would never use any camera that does not fit in my pocket, so serious or advanced compact cameras are very interesting to me and I hope to see a lot more models in the future. But enough of me talking about the page, just go and have a look and make sure you check out the Flickr group for some great images taken with compact cameras.
seriouscompacts.com and flickr.com/groups/seriouscompacts

Ossie's

GRD II, f4.5, 1/320, ISO 100, RAW

Took this picture today when going for lunch here. Ossie's is a great Cafe near St. Paul's in London and the best address to have lunch in the City. The staff and service is great and food very good without costing much, I usually go there once or twice a week for lunch and am one of the regulars :). The post is not meant to be advertising but just a tip where to get very good food and great service while in the City.

I first wanted to use the picture in b&w but although nice it did not work for me, neither did the color version converted from RAW. What I tried to do is to have a mix of the "50's American Diner" pictures and Joel Meyerowitz's work. With the curves tool I got it to look the way I wanted and am very pleased with the result. The only other modification is a slight cropping at the bottom and left side.

In the Mood for Coffee

GRD II, f2.4, 1/30, ISO 566, RAW

Yes, it is another "streetshot" but then I want to see how the GRD II performs at this. As mentioned before I'll use the GRD II exclusively this week to see how it performs for me compared to the GRD I. So far I am quite impressed although there are things I miss or do not quite like about the GRD II.
This picture is again inspired by Wong Kar Wai this is the reason why I chose this title. I used the reflection in the window on purpose and made curves and color balance changes to give it this blue-ish look. While not everyone will like this picture I have to say that I really like the result and it is again a shot where I experimented more with, both while taking the shot and also during post processing.

The Three

GRD II, f4.5, 1/400, ISO 100, JPG b&w

After writing very long (winded) posts recently I won't write much today other that I took this picture when going out for lunch. It is a straight out of camera jpg from the GRD II without any post processing. While I still prefer the GRD I jpgs for b&w work I think it is pretty good. The latest firmware update improved on the jpgs so I hope for further updates in the next firmware updates.

One Way

GRD II, f2.4, 1/60, ISO 100, RAW

Well, holiday is over so it was back to work today. Takes some getting used to after a long holiday, definitely makes picture taking more difficult.
After using both the GRD I and GRD II with the 21mm and 40mm lens on holday I decided to only take one camera and no extra lenses with me for this week. Want to keep it simple and focus on the camera alone. I took the GRD II since it delivers overall better mage quality, although the GRD I will still remain my main b&w street camera. The GRD II is great and delivers better image quality when developing the RAW files but the b&w quality no match for the GRD I jpgs. I like the high contrast and grainy look the GRD I jpgs provide and see no reason to spend time developing RAW files and converting them to b&w since it offers no real advantage. As it is I am still not 100% taken over by the GRD II and still need my trusty "old" GRD for certain tasks before it can retire ;).
Took this image after work on my way to the train station. I saw this place before and always wanted to take a picture there. Sometimes if you see a place you have an idea for a picture in mind but need to wait for the right time and moment to take it. This happened here but this is not the shot I saw and had in mind. Still, I liked this shot so much that I decided to post it for now and retake the original planned image at a later time. Cropped the image slightly to achieve almost the 1:1 ratio.

The Big Sleep

GRD II, f2.8, 1/160, ISO 100, RAW

Holiday is over and it's back to London and work tomorrow but I'll come back to Japan, love this country and the people here. Tradition and moderne merge together and create a unique experience. Japan is not only technologically advanced but also socialy. I can only recommend a visit here, especially a stay in Kyoto. Depending on the time I might write a little report on my blog about this but I have other things to get on with first so it also depends on my interest after finishing the other things.
Since I'll be spending over 15h in planes, trains and at airports I won't have much time for taking pictures so this is the first picture I took today and really liked. It was on the train to Narita Airport and taken with the GRD II. It will probably reflect well on how I'll look for most of the time ;).

Closer Look

GRD II, f2.4, 1/50, ISO 100, RAW, 21mm

After a 5h journey with the Shinkansen from Hiroshima I got back to Tokyo today. After some last minute shopping I went to Ginza to have a look at the '7th Ricoh Exhibition'. It was very nice and well worth the visit. Ricoh decided to print and display not only the winning pictures but all entries (about 1,100). This was great news since it included my picture and pictures from Wouter and Pavel.
Another cool thing was the posibility to see prints from almost every Ricoh camera. An interesting observation at this that for the displayed A4 prints straight out of the camera the jpgs from the GRD, GX100 and GX8 were best followed by the R6 and R4. The GRD II jpgs looked even at this small size smeared. While processing the RAW from the GRDs and GX100 will produce better prints (Ricoh have a few A1 prints of the GRD I at Yodobashi on display and these do look impressive), I was very surprised at how well the Rx cameras performed.
There were also some bigger prints from various photographers on display and a few were from the R8 and looked pretty good considering the camera. I am sure for holiday snapshots and normal use the R8 will deliver for most people. It is a very popular camera in Japan and seems to do well considering all the shelf space it recieves at the big camera stores and there were always people trying them out.
Before I drift off too much let me get back to the exhibition report. The Ricoh representatives were really nice and quite surprised to see non-japanese showing up. Were particulary impressed to see me walking in with both GRDs and started laughing when I showed them my GR1 ;). Now I am 'officially' a extreme Ricoh user :). This prompted me to log a few compliments but also complaints about the GRD II with them. The focus priority got noticed but a fix is unclear, unfortunatelly the phase detection will not come back in the next cameras :(. Regarding my complaint regarding the rear wheel versus the rocker switch now they were reluctant but saw my point and said "maybe" to bring back the wheel. It does not look like they will put real leather on the handgrip though. I asked this because they had thee really cool new GRD bag on display made out of very nice leather. The GB-1 bag is really cool but the price is with around £180 a bit high even for the great all leather finish. Well, since I did not really speak Japanese and their English was limited we just continued to have some small talk and looked at my picture before I left. Overall a very nice experience and as mentioned before well worth the visit. Was really impressed that Ricoh really printed all entries of the competition. Also with the lack of advertising or brand placement at the exhibition. There was only one Ricoh logo at the entrance and a small table with current camera models plus accessories, even the Pictures only mentioned GR Digital etc. and never Ricoh.

Watergate

GRD II, f9, 1/2000, ISO 80, RAW

This is the famous Torii gate on Miyajima that stands in Water at high tide. Last full sight seeing day in Japan before heading to Tokyo for some shopping and the Ricoh exhibition.
Took this with the GRD II and the screen turned all green in the process, funny thing is that both the GX and GX100 have this problem in bright light but not the GRD I. The pictures turn out fine though so just a nuisance while taking the shot.

Reminder of the Past

GRD, f4.5, 1/320, ISO 64, RAW, 40mm

Arrived today in Hiroshima and after visiting the museum and taking pictures in the Peace Park, I decided to use this image for my blog. Took it with the GRD I and 40mm lens in b&w but this is the processed RAW file. I added noise to it and overexposed the image even more to give it a gritty look.

Tradition

GRD II, f2.4, 1/200, ISO 80, RAW, 40mm

Last day in Kyoto today and there is still so much to see here. This is the second time I've been here and everytime I want to spend more time here. Need to come back.
Took this while sightseeing today with the GRD II and 40mm lens. I used the GRD II almost exclusively aside from a few b&w street shots I took with the GRD I that is mainly set to b&w and display off these days. Really happy to have both GRDs and adapter lenses with me. Makes for a very versatile combination and I can continue shooting when the memory card is full on one camera. This happened a few times although I had the Q1 Ultra with me all day but sometimes there is no time to copy pictures over.

Green

GRD II, f3.2, 1/50, ISO 80, RAW, 21mm

After a few days I managed to find another place with stable Wifi connection :). I will try to respond to all posts today but if I don't manage I will do so as soon as possible.
Who said that small sensor cameras have problems capturing details in trees? I really like how this shot came out and the details it contains. This also explains why the converted jpg is 9MB. The GRD II did a great job with the 21mm lens although there is minor fringing visible which I did not correct due to time restraints.
The GRD II is becoming more and more my main camera, the fast RAW writing, higher dynamic range and better colors all attribute to that. I also found a way to post process the files and get more out of them, it's amazing how much you can get out of the RAW files of the GRD II. Another nice thing is the slightly improved jpgs with the new firmware 2.0.

Leap of Faith

GRD II, f3.2, 1/320, ISO 80, RAW, 40mm

Got to Kyoto in the morning and while the weather was pretty mixed with sunshine and rain, the city is simply amazing. I spent one day here 4 years ago and always remembered it for being very nice and I wanted to come back. Now I just have to come back again and I did not even leave yet. Spend all day walking in the Gion district and sightseeing. The way tradition blends with the modern life is great. The cherry blossoms are in bloom and the city is pretty much packed. Took literally hundreds of pictures till late in the evening. Again I can only recommend a visit here. Before someone asks, I am not paid by the Japan tourist board ;).
Now I chose this picture before all others because I had a title in mind after taking it and I like the movement in the shot. Gone over now to take most color pictures with the GRD II and all b&w streetshots with the GRD I as the focus is faster if I don't use the Snap mode. The GRD II is however so much nicer to use and more responsive, writes RAW faster and the battery lasts longer so I just started to use Snap mode more to be able to use it for street shots. This shot was taken using spot AF a second after cursing it for having me miss a shot. I just hate it when the camera waits to take a shot till it finished focusing. Ricoh, please fix this and fast.

Rain

GRD, f4.5, 1/400, ISO 100, RAW, 40mm

Arrived today in Himeji to see the castle but it was not as great a day as expected. First as you can see on the picture it was raining all day and second the hotel booked through Hotelclub was closed for over a year. The good news is that getting a new hotel to stay the night was not that hard and the castle is even in rainy weather simply amazing. I'd recommend everyone to see it if the chance exists.
The shot was taken through the cool seethrough umbrella I got and represents my view for most of the day ;). I know, I tell how great the castle is but don't post a proper picture. Well, I do not think the castle looks all that amazing on the pictures and they also don't convey the grandeur of it very well. Aside from that I just wanted to try something new :).

A Thousand Paper Cranes

GRD II, f4.5, 1/400, ISO 80, RAW

"An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane."

Yes, I start again with a qoute, this time from Wikipedia, but I don't have that much time to write a lot in my entry for today. I really like the title and have heard of this legend a few times in the past. Also I think the picture came out very well with the GRD II.

Finally managed to catch up with updating my blog. Tomorrow's off to Himeji and then Kyoto so not sure how it will look there with wifi connections.

The Cat

GRD II, f2.4, 1/400, ISO 80, RAW, 40mm

While in the Hama garden I've come across this cat posing and chilling on the small hill. It was a bit cloudy so this is why the sky is washed out but the nice side effect is that the fur of the cat seems to be glowing. The GRD II did a great job with the 40mm lens and even created a little background blur but thankfully not too much so you can still see the cherry blossoms. For this picture a 75mm or 85mm lens would've been better though since I cropped the image slightly.

The Kid

GRD, f3.5, 1/160, ISO 400, JPG b&w, 40mm

Went to Kamakura today to visit all the great temples and shrines there. The place is really worth a visit and while the Daibutsu (Great Budha) is the main attraction I think there Is a lot more to see. Although this was my 2nd time there I still haven't managed to see even half of the temples there.

This picture is from the incense burner in front of the Daibutsu and this kid had his head in there blowing on the incense. Took it with the GRD I and 40mm lens but was lucky that he was busy there for a while since I had to wait 13 sec. for the GRD to finish writing the previous picture. As soon as I had the shot I knew this is my picture for the day.

Updated the firmware of the GRD II and I have to say the Ricoh engineers are great, to implement an option to turn off the power LED is genius. Means I don't have to use a black marker or tape for it :). Now they only need to release one to fix the jpg smoothing and change the camera to shutter priority and I'm completely happy.

Big Fish

GRD II, f2.4, 1/200, ISO 400, RAW

Been out to visit the Imperial Palace and walking around Tokyo but I won't post a picture of the palace today. Instead I decided for this shot. Took it with the GRD II and the standard 28mm lens. I was so close to the fish with the camera to the fish that the yellow one jumped out and grabbed the lens. I pressed the shutter the same second but the damn focus priority of the GRD II made me miss the shot. Now I can live with the crappy jpg quality but Ricoh has to fix this really fast, the GRD I and GX100 are perfect in this respect. I need to send an email to Ricoh regarding this as for me it's a big limitation.
While I might sound that I don't like the GRD II let me say that this is not the case. It's great but I am setting high standards and expecting a lot. Once I am back from holiday I will write a review of both. So far I am using the GRD II more but it can't replace the GRD I for me, good that the cameras are small so I can have both with me.

Flower Viewing

GRD, f5, 1/640, ISO 64, RAW, 40mm

"In the Kamigata area, they have a sort of tiered lunchbox they use for a single day when flower viewing. Upon returning, they throw them away, trampling them underfoot. The end is important in all things."

I start today's entry with a quote from one of my favorite movies 'Ghost Dog - The Way of the Samuray'. This is because I took the title from there and I think it fits.
Hanami or flower viewing is a tradition in Japan when old and young people go to their beautiful gardens or parks and take pictures of the Cherry blossoms. Even people on their way home from work and during lunch either have a camera or use their mobile phone to take pictures.
I am impressed and really like this as photography is alot more accepted and respected here than in Europe.
Took the shot with the GRD I for no reason other than I had it ready and the 40mm lens mounted on it. Cropped slightly to give it more of a panorama feel.

Memento Mori

GRD II, f3.5, 1/15, ISO 400, RAW

It's more difficult than I thought to find free wifi hotspots in Tokyo, guess it's not necessary here since all phones have HSDPA. So I don't think that I'll get round to update my blog very often in the next week or so. Will do a batch upload when I get the chance though so keep checking the blog for more.

Anyway, todays picture is the first GRD II picture and shows the Mori tower with the famous spider in front. The GRD II is great, fast and very responsive. One thing I really don't like are the horrible jpgs that are full of artefacts, I need to adapt my post processing for it. Also the focus priority instead of shutter priority is really annoying and needs fixing fast. Aside from that it's great though. Hope a firmware update to fix these things will be available VERY soon.

Tokyo is a great place and very far ahead of any other country I've been to. People are fantastic here, very nice and helpful.
While I thought it would be easy to get great street shots here it is more difficult as it is crowded and very fast paced. There is a lot happening all the time and interesting people are everywhere. Think it takes me getting used to this but Kyoto and Hiroshima should be different in this respect.

Tokyo Movement

GRD, f3.5, 1/250, ISO 200, RAW, 21mm

Got to Tokyo yesterday afternoon but it was not easy to find free wifi hotspots. Took this picture after checking into the hotel and like it as it shows Tokyo life where people are always on the move. Another reason is that like Seoul it features a street crossing.

Happy Easter to the people who celebrate it today! As a present I got myself the GRD II today for a very good price :).

Dunk-in-Coffee

GRD, f3.5, 1/100, ISO 64, JPG b&w

This was the second picture I took but I knew that it is going to be my shot for today. Really liked the mood and light. Cropped it slightly and overexposed one area to improve the overall image.

Tomorrow it's off to Tokyo in the morning and with a bit of luck I will have the Ricoh GRD II by the end of the day. Hope there will be more and reliable Wifi hotspots there so I can maintain the blog better.

Metro

GRD, f2.4, 1/5, ISO 64, RAW, 40mm

No, not the rubbish free newspaper we have in the UK ;). It's another non-photography picture for today. I quite like the dynamic and movement in the image. Been shoping for gadgets so I did not take that many pictures today. I have a few other pictures I like but this is my favorite. While I wanted to add noise to it I did not do it since the smoothness adds to the image.

I know I have been late with uploading for the last days but the Wifi connections here are not that reliable and it takes me a few tries to upload the pictures.

Guard Change

GRD, f5.6, 1/1000, ISO 64, RAW, 21mm

Took this picture today while visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace. Came across this while on the way out. The colors of the costumes were great so this is why I chose this as my picture for today. No changes other than some slight cropping at the top to get a 16:9 feel.

Street Crossing

GRD, f2.4, 1/60, ISO 800, RAW

Took this when going for a walk after checking into the hotel. Seoul is a cool city and great for street photography. Liked the colors and the scene when I saw it. It is a ISO 800 shot using Snap focus.

Airports

GRD, f2.4, 1/25, ISO 400, JPG

Don't you feel that sometimes your time at airports feels like a blur? That aside from the hassle and queuing at security there was nothing memorable about it? And is Heathrow not one of the worst airports when it comes to this? In some sense it's good since you'll be even happier to leave ;).
This is what I wanted to show with today's picture, took it using manual focus and ISO 400.

The Essentials

GRD, f3.5, 1/13, ISO 64, RAW, flash

If you always wanted to know what I take with me when I travel, I will show you, and if you don't, I'll show you anyway ;).
Since I'll be going to Korea and Japan tomorrow for the next weeks I might not be able to update my blog on a regular basis but don't worry, I will take a picture for each day and upload them whenever I get the chance. This should make for some interesting pictures, since Japan is a great country full of great photo opportunities and Korea should be similar.
Well, since I need to pack and it was a boring day today I have this picture to show. These are the essentials I will always take with me (in this order):

- Ricoh GRD plus 21mm and 40mm lenses, OVF, spare battery, charger and case
- Samsung Q1 Ultra UMPC plus spare battery, an external HDD for backup and power supply
- Ricoh GR1 plus spare film for the "box of chocolates" shots (or "you never know what you're gonna get") ;)
- Mobile phone plus USB charger since it's a lot smaller
- USB Key with 512 MMC card for the sake of carrying with me, never know when (if) it might be usefull
- And last the power plug converter since in all the years we could not decide on a worldwide standard for this which is plain stupid if you ask me (btw, I am in favor of the EU standard plug since it's the smallest and the UK plug needs to go).

Anyway, this is lots of writing for not much to say and I need to get packing so enjoy the picture and keep checking for the next updates.

Abandoned

GRD, f2.4, 1/20, ISO 800, RAW, 21mm

It is gray and rainy today but I think this adds a certain light and mood to pictures. The world looks different and I am also in a diffrent mood so this makes for interesting pictures. I took this on my way shopping, the light was great and I really liked the scene when I saw it. It is heavily processed and shot at ISO 800 plus added noise in Photoshop to give it a different feel and to make it stand out from the pictures I posted in the last days. First I wanted to have it in b&w but I felt the colors added to the scene (plus I also had too many b&w pictures recently).
While I really like street photography, I think it is important to experiment a bit. Afterall this was the reason I started this blog.

Happy Together

GRD, f3.5, 1/200, ISO 200, JPG b&w, 21mm

Since it was Saturday I did my usual, going for coffee and taking pictures in town. But today I also went with a friend to buy an Ricoh R8. It is a very nice camera with great build and a lovely screen. While the IQ won't win any awards or allow you to print A1 posters it is good enough for this kind of camera.
Saw them when I got out of Camera Cafe to go and get the R8, unfortunatelly they were too far ahead and I had my 21mm lens on the GRD so I had to crop to get this image. I really like it as I captured the right moment but I think it would've been better with the 40mm lens. Hey, you can't have it all and I like being forced to make a fixed lens work for me no matter what focal length it is.

Cameo

GRD, f5, 1/710, ISO 200, JPG b&w

Another street shot today after the macros of the last days. Took this picture after my lunch break. When I first saw this guy peeking behind the lamp post he reminded me of Stan Lee so this is the reason for the title. I cropped it quite heavily and left the skewed perspective as I think it adds to the composition.

Why Macro?!? - The Return

GRD, f2.4, 1/5, ISO 100, RAW, 40mm

Ok, I know what most of you will think now. Why is it yet another macro and very uneventful picture? Well, there are 2 reasons for that. First I messed up a really good streetshot today because I was in a rush and did not frame it properly, second because I am working on a report about the Samsung Q1 Ultra I am using and needed to take some pictures for it anyway. The report will be ready after the weekend I hope and I will post the link where you can find it. So this is kinda the Teaser for it :).
The screen on the Q1U is much better than it looks here but with the protective and touch sensitive filter in front it is not easy to take a good picture from this angle since you always have the reflection in there. The reflection is not a problem when working with it however and even outside in bright light it is quite usable. Now if you ask why did I not take the picture from an angle where you don't have a problem with the reflection, this is because I wanted it to look more interesting ;).
This might not be a great image but I learned a lot while trying to take it.

The Light

GRD, f2.8, 1/15, ISO 200, RAW

Ok, after all the b&w street photos recently I needed something different and "calmer". So today a pretty uneventful shot that I chose in favor of a more interesting street photo. But I do not want to always post street shots so I think a macro every now and then is not too bad. This is a shot without any cropping and besides from removing some noise it is unprocessed. Not much to write either today so just enjoy the shot.

Old Bailey

GRD, f5, 1/400, ISO 200, RAW, 40mm

Took this picture today while walking back to the office after lunch. It is definitely very nice to work in the City since it allows me to take some interesting pictures during lunch or on my way home after work. I had the 40mm lens attached as it was raining on and off so the adapter lenses make the GRD a bit more weatherproof ;).
I cropped it slightly and changed the contrast after converting it to b&w. I like the result and it makes for a nice street shot in my blog collection.

I've also updated the links to "Other Blogs & Pages" today so go and check them out, too.

50 Days and 51 Pictures

GRD, f9, 15sec, ISO 64, RAW, 40mm

Today is the 50th day since I started this blog! :)

I posted 51 pictures under the "One Day, One Picture" theme. Judging from the comments left here and in other forums quite a few people seems to follow the blog. Thanks to all who are reading and especially to the people who have left comments!!

When I started it I did not think many people would read it and I just started it as an incentive for myself to take more pictures and improve on my photography. I mean if you never leave the house without your camera it is a shame not to try and use it every day. What I found out is that I did indeed started to take regular pictures and it did indeed improve my photography since I tried out new things and am always looking for photo opportunities everywhere I am. One thing it did not do is have me take more pictures, on the contrary I take less pictures now but I like the pictures more and think the pictures are generally better.
Initially I thought it must be easy to take one picture every day and while this is easy it is quite difficult to take a GOOD picture every day that you can post.

Well, what is left to say other than I hope you are all enjoying taking pictures with whatever camera you have. And if you want to take more pictures try doing something similar and force you to take at least one picture every day.

This picture while set up this way is exactly what I wanted in order to have the number 50 and to fit it in with the first picture I posted. I did something similar for the "Time" contest in the Ricoh Forum.

Hope you all enjoyed this blog over the last 50 days and will continue to do so.

Below is a selection of my "Top 5" pictures so far.

Legs

GRD, f2.4, 1/20, ISO 400, RAW, 40mm

Took this picture while at Starbucks today trying to book a hotel for my upcoming trip to Japan. She really stood out with pink shoes, handbag and tights. Although she stood out because of the pink she wore I think the image works better in b&w. Cropped the image and changed the levels and contrast.

Tea Time

GRD, f4, 1/200, ISO 400, RAW, 40mm

I know, I am late again with uploading my picture. Think I really need HSDPA so that I am more flexible with uploading the pictures. Either that or London really needs more free Wifi hotspots.

Took this picture today near Spitalfields Market and it is great. When I saw it, I knew this is the picture for today. Some shots you only get once and this was one of them (although I had time to take 2 shots including the RAW write time of the GRD I). I used the 40mm lens but cropped it slightly as I was on the other side of the street and did not want to get run over by a car. First I wanted to use "Light Luncheons" or "52" for the title but decided that I need something more "British".

Not London Bridge

GRD, f3.5, 1/8, ISO 200, RAW, 40mm

This is another picture out of my London sights series and it is the Tower Bridge. Hope it's not too boring and slightly different from the usual shots of it. Some people think this is the London Bridge as it is the most famous in London but London Bridge is not that cool.

I took a similar shot before but was not too happy with the composition. This is much better and I really like the colors as the last one was in b&w. Took it with the 40mm lens but cropped slightly to get rid of the flare. You can't always avoid it with this lens but I guess it's the price to pay. It is handheld at 1/8th and ISO 200.

The Three Ricohs

GRD, f2.4, 1/40, ISO 400, RAW

On some days I have a pretty good idea of what I want to take a picture of or what I want to try out, on some days I have a title in my mind and try to get a picture to fit and on most other days I just see what comes along. Today was one of the days where I had a title in mind. I wanted to use the title "The Three Ricohs" and take a picture of all three Ricoh cameras I own plus accessories. In other words to show off ;). But how do you take a picture of three cameras if one of those has to take the picture. Well, my lift shot yesterday brought me on the idea to use mirrors for that so I tried to improvise something that would work. I had something slightly different in my mind but unfortunatelly I do not have the mirror set-up necessary for that. This is one of a few shots I took but the one that does not look too much like a still life or studio shot.

Lift Up

GRD, f2.4, 1/4, ISO 154, RAW, 40mm

Now, what is wrong with this picture or better what is right with it? Since I am getting close to have 50 posts on my blog I think I have to try something new every now and then. The picture is not straight, not in focus, is blurry and noisy but I still like it. I believe a picture can be "good" (as in interesting) even if it's not technically perfect. This is the reason I chose it over other more ordinary pictures.
This will likely be the only picture where I am in so you can also see it as a portrait shot :).

Intermission

GRD, f2.4, 1/4, ISO 400, RAW, 21mm

It's been at night at the theatre for me today. Went to see "Absurd Person Singular" a British comedy that is very nice although better suited for Christmas given the timeframe in the play. Theatre makes for a nice change for me as I usually go more to the cinema.
Took this picture during the intermission. First I wanted to use some architectural shots instead but it felt empty without people in the shot. Only post processing was to convert the RAW and remove the noise. The people are slightly out of focus as the focus point was on the ceiling, I like the colors and the 21mm lens perspective distortion really adds to the shot here.

A Little Bit of Industry

GRD, f5, 1/320, ISO 100, RAW, 21mm

I like taking pictures of industrial facilities and buildings as I think they look cool. So it should come as no surprise that my favorite building is London is the Battersea Power Station. While this clearly is not it, it's the Lewisham Hospital instead. Having said that I will take and post a picture of the Battersea Power Station at some point.
A funny story is that I got one of the "Terrorist suspect" stop and search warrants by the police here while taking pictures of the, now unused, Greenwich Power Station (another cool building in London by the way).
The picture is taken with the 21mm lens and developed from RAW with changes to the contrast and adding some noise to it.

Sundy Coffee

GRD, f4.5, 1/10, ISO 200, RAW

A lazy Sunday afternoon and what better to do than go out and have a coffee. I like the picture and used a slow shutter speed to capture the steam rising.
The tite is not a typo but a reference to Sundy Coffee a rip-off bar in Shanghai where "students" try to take you and have you pay a lot of money for their drinks. While we did not go inside we managed to take a picture of the drinks menu and believe me it is very expensive. So if you're in Shanghai on Nanjing Road do not follow "students" to this place and take them to Starbucks instead, a lot more fun and cheaper ;).
You can see a picture of the menu here.

Fill It Up

GRD, f4, 1/100, ISO 64, JPG

This is exactly why you should have a camera available at all times. Saw it while walking past and had to stop and take a picture.
Cropped slightly and increased the contrast and the saturation for red.