City House

RD1, f1.7, 1/111, ISO 1600, RAW, 53mm (Voigtländer Ultron f1.7 35mm)

3 For 2

RD1, f5.6, 1/74, ISO 200, RAW, 53mm (Voigtländer Ultron f1.7 35mm)

Green

RD1, f2.0, 1/500, ISO 200, RAW, 53mm (Voigtländer Ultron f1.7 35mm)

777

RD1, f5.6, 1/891, ISO 200, JPG, 53mm (Voigtländer Ultron f1.7 35mm)

Walking

RD1, 1/1000, ISO 200, RAW, 53mm (Voigtländer Ultron f1.7, 35mm)

I always wondered why there are not that many pictures taken in portrait orientation with rangefinder cameras and I got my answer today. The ergonomics of a rangefinder camera make it very difficult and cumbersome to take pictures in portrait orientation and focusing is a pain.

Taking the RD1 for a Spin around Greenwich

Doing street photography with a rangefinder is like waving a big, flashing sign around with "Smile For The Camera" written on it. I am sure rangefinders were all the hit in the 60s and 80s for street photography but today, they just stand out too much.
The best cameras for street photography are not rangefinders or rangefinder lookalikes like the X100 but small compact cameras like the Ricoh GRD. Nobody cares if you take pictures with a compact camera but as soon as it's bigger people notice it and the shutter noise does not really help either compared to the silent shutter on a compact camera.

This is a small series from my trip around Greenwich market with the R-D1, I have to say I did not enjoy it as much, having to raise the camera to my eye to take a picture just interrupts the flow and attracts a lot of attention. The pictures were not as good as they could have been with a smaller, live view capable camera.

Taking a Break

RD1, f2.0, 1/1098, ISO 200, RAW, 53mm (Voigtländer Ultron f1.7 35mm)

Just a Rose

GF1, f2.0, 1/50, ISO 400, JPG, 50mm (Voigtländer Nokton f0.95 25mm)

Not a great picture but it was raining the whole day so I was not inspired. Instead I just wanted to see if I can edit a full-size picture from the GF1 on the iPhone 4 using Photoshop Express.
After importing it using the Photo Sync app, it opened just fine in Photoshop Express and although there was a bit of lag in all operations it handled processing it very well. Saving it was again no problem and it saved it at the actual resolution.
You can see the result on the top and the starting image below.

Alone and Waiting

GRD, f2.4, 1/20, ISO 400, JPG b&w

The Posse

GXR A12 50mm, f5.6, 1/570, ISO 200, RAW

Sitting next to the Red Door

GXR A12 28mm, f5.6, 1/810, ISO 200, RAW

Spire

iPhone 4, f2.4, ISO 80, JPG, Hipstamatic app

Two Up and Two Down

GXR A12 28mm, f5.6, 1/1740, ISO 200, RAW

The Scribblings on the Wall

GXR A12 28mm, f2.5, 1/18, ISO 3200, RAW

Empty Fridge

GXR A12 28mm, f2.8, 1/660, ISO 200, RAW

"What's with the funny hat?"

GXR A12, f2.8, 1/470, ISO 200, RAW

Steel and Glass

GXR A12 28mm, f6.3, 1/270, ISO 200, RAW

On the Way to the Dinner

RD1, f2.8, 1/2000, ISO 200, RAW, 53mm (Voigtländer Ultron f1.7 35mm)

Did not get the focus in the right place but I quite like it anyway. I am still trying to get to know the Epson R-D1 and focusing with a rangefinder is not as easy as focusing with the magnified view on the GF1.

Two Sides

RD1, f4.5, 1/21, ISO 200, JPG, 23mm (Voigtländer Heliar f4.5 15mm)

Rainy Funfair

GF1, f8.0, 1/50, ISO 200, JPG, 50mm (Holga f8.0 25mm)

The Woman in the Tunnel

GF1, f8.0, 1/10, ISO 3200, RAW, 50mm (Holga f8.0 25mm)

Between the Darkness and Light

GF1, f8.0, 1/160, ISO 400, JPG b&w, 50mm (Holga f8.0 25mm)

I might have got a bit carried away with my eBay purchases recently but I always wanted to try a Holga lens on my GF1 and since they are very cheap on eBay it's worth getting one for fun. It is actually very good and I like he results.

Crossing the Street

RD1, 1/239, ISO 200, RAW, 23mm (Voigtländer Heliar f4.5 15mm)

Waiting for the Photographer

RD1, 1/1783, ISO 200, RAW, 23mm (Voigtländer Heliar f4.5 15mm)

A new addition to my camera range arrived today, my new Epson RD1.
It's a camera I always liked but never had the need or use for. In the spur of the moment and while looking at Fuji X100 prices, I decided to bid on one on eBay and got it for a very good price including the Voigtländer Heliar 15mm lens. I am looking forward to taking it out some more but now I will probably end up spending even more money on lenses.

Blinded by the Sun

GRD, f8.0, 1/800, ISO 400, JPG b&w

Bonnie Banks of Loch Venachar

LC1, f4.5, 1/1000, ISO 100, RAW, 28mm

I planned another series for today but decided that one picture is enough and did not want to post too many similar landscape pictures.

From Loch Ness to Loch Tay

A shorter series today with pictures taken on Loch Ness, the Glen Affric falls and the last is from Loch Tay.

While taking pictures at the Glen Affric waterfall, both cameras got completely drenched by the spray and I probably spent more time cleaning the water from the front of the lens than actually taking pictures but it was worth it and the cameras fared very well in this situation. Guess it shows that you don't really need a weatherproof camera if the build quality is good enough.

From the Trossachs to the Highlands

The landscape in Scotland is simply breathtaking, the only problem is with the roads that don't allow stopping in the right places and the speed limit which is way to high to really enjoy the scenery. My suggestion would be to lower the speed limit to 40 mph and allow people to really see the landscape but also to create more opportunities to park the car and take pictures.

I have taken lots of pictures and did not do a very good job at selecting only 5 so instead I just posted a full series on Flickr, so sorry for people with Apple devices which don't support Flash content and won't be able to see anything.
The pictures are taken with the LC1 and the GXR A12 28mm and are all processed RAW files, it is surprising how well the LC1 5MP RAW files hold up against the much bigger 12MP APS sensor in the GXR.

Visit to Scotland

LC1, f2.4, 1/60, ISO 100, RAW, 90mm

Back to Scotland would have been the more appropriate title since I used to live here for 12 months when moving to the UK. But this is quite a while ago and then I did not even own a camera or had any interest in taking pictures. So thanks to another bank holiday in the UK I managed to get back there and go to see some of the places I never had time to visit and also take pictures of the fantastic landscape there.

The cameras I decided to take along was the LC1 and GXR with 28mm A12 module. Initially I only planned to take the LC1 along since it was due for another outing and I just like using the camera but then decided to take the GXR and A12 module for the higher DR and to have a smaller camera along. Both cameras performed very well and survived getting wet in the rain, from the spray of waterfalls and both at the same time even.

I had a great time there and quite miss Scotland even though living in Paisley was not really being in the nicest part of Scotland. The next days will see some series from my travels around the Trosachs and Highlands so be prepared for some landscape pictures.

Old Street Station

GRD, f3.2, 1/160, ISO 400, JPG b&w

Yellow Leaves

iPhone 4, f2.4, ISO 80, JPG Hipstamatic app

Checking the Tire

GRD, f5.6, 1/640, ISO 200, JPG b&w

Walking to the Pond

iPhone 4, f2.4, ISO 80, JPG Hipstamatic app

Knole Visit

A series from Knole in Sevenoaks, pictures taken with the GXR and A12 modules. The A12 modules make for a great and light travel combo and complement each other very well.

Rochester & Whitstable

Just a two pictures from my day out in Rochester and Whitstable, both taken with the GXR A12 50mm module.

Flying in the Clouds

GXR P10, f11.2, 1/1320, ISO 100, JPG high contrast b&w

All Hands Up

GF1, 1/30, ISO 400, JPG (Wanderlust Pinwide)