Back to NYC part 2

   No trip to New York is complete without visiting Grand Central Station. It's like no other train station that I have ever been to. One of the reasons for that is that half of the people that are there, have no intention of boarding a train. They are there, like me, for another reason...to take pictures of the station itself and the busy traffic of people going in all directions.

35mm 1/30s, f/4, ISO 1250

Carrying a small tripod has advantages, but here I found it difficult to use because it is so short, the only way was to lay on the floor. Which turned out to be a sight for most people in the station, some guy rolling around on the floor trying to take pictures..

35mm 1/100s, f/4, ISO 2000

This is where the Fuji x100s excels - Shooting with shutter speed under 1/30s , where most DSLRs will have a hard time.

35mm 1/8s, f/5,6, ISO 1250

  When you go outside you see buildings everywhere. Grand Central Stations is surrounded by all kinds of glass and concrete facades. I am glad it's still there, unlike the sad fate that befell the old Penn Station...

35mm 1/100s, f/5.6, ISO 640

To be continued....

Back to NYC

    NYC is such a unique place. During the summer I had the chance to visit again, and this time it was for a longer period of time - 4 days, compared to the few hours I spent there when I first came to the United States. Last time around I was lugging a very heavy bag with a bunch of lenses and a heavy tripod, but thanks to my x100s all I had with me was my Billingham Hadley Pro filled with some batteries, the x100s and a JOBY tripod.

35mm 1/250s, f/8, ISO 500
A view towards Manhattan from Brooklyn

    The first day started with an early morning walk around the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. There were only some joggers around and it was incredibly peaceful. The weather sadly was dull, and it remained murky and rainy for the length of my stay which in turn lead to my decision to shoot black and white from this point on.

35mm 1/250s, f/2.8, ISO 1250
The subway train at City Hall station

  The best way to travel around New York is the subway, although it's not always comfortable. you could be waiting at the station and the temperature can easily be around 30 degrees celsius, and then the moment you get inside the train you are greeted with a chilly 15! There is no middle ground, it's always very hot or very cold (at least in June).

35mm 1/125s, f/4.5, ISO 800
Canal Street Subway Station

   Next stop - Canal Street, known for China Town and Little Italy right next to it. Many people have heard about the fake Prada and Gucci bags, but the reality is that you won't see more than some souvenirs and trinkets. What I found really interesting was the people that live and work in that area. I wanted to capture them as they are without them being affected by the presence of my camera, and the x100s was just perfect doing that. With its almost silent shutter, I just left my camera dangling on my neck and started taking pictures without looking in the viewfinder.

35mm 1/1000s, f/4, ISO 640

35mm 1/500s, f/4.5, ISO 640

35mm 1/500s, f/4, ISO 640

To be continued...

Morning Sunshine

          After an unexpected trip to the Customs Office I found myself  close to the South Park of Sofia. And since the x100s is always with me I went in search of some early morning landscapes. Parks are usually packed with so many people, you cant really appreciate their beauty. Early Monday morning meant there were only some joggers around, and I had the park all to myself.

1/125s  f/8 at ISO320

1/160s  f/4 at ISO640

I decided to try the macro mode on some maple leafs, finding an interesting one proved to be a difficult task, since most of them were quite dry, but I think I ended up with a good one.

1/60s  f/5.6 at ISO500

           The light kept on changing from long shadows to glowing light in the crowns of the trees.

1/125s  f/5.6 at ISO500

          This pond was absolutely gorgeous, not a ripple in the water and a perfect reflection, I immediately regretted still not having a CPL filter on a 49mm thread, but I had to make due without it. It turned out to be one of my favourite pictures I've taken so far with the x100s. The more I think about it, I realise that I wouldn't have taken any of those pictures with my old Nikon D700 because it would be in my bag, at home. Having the x100s with me all the time, makes it the best camera I've ever had.

Looking for treasure - Part 1

            As promised in my last post, this week I went in search of Sofia's forgotten architectural treasures. I started at Macedonia square and immediately found something interesting.

1/60s  f/4 at ISO640

               I am fascinated by old doors, and I like taking pictures of them wherever I go. There is always something beautiful and different in every one of them. This one has the Cyrillic letters "Г"(G) and "Х"(H) in the bars protecting the windows, meaning that those were the initials of the person for whom this house was built in the beginning of the 20th century.

1/80s  f/5.6 at ISO400

            I like passing by this house a lot, but sadly it has received some new additions with time. A concrete balcony and a satellite dish...Leading me to concentrate more on the street number than the house itself.

1/125s  f/4 at ISO400

            On the other side of the street I found this one peaking through the curtain of leaves.

1/160s  f/5.6 at ISO400

            Further down the street I saw this old beauty, and I just fell in love with the attic window and its wooden decorations. It was difficult to find a good point of view because of the fence in front of the house, luckily the Fuji x100s has a small lens...

1/60s  f/4 at ISO400

                                In front of another entrance - the letters "В"(V) and "Ч"(CH).

1/60s  f/4 at ISO640

1/80s  f/5.6 at ISO400

           Solunska str. has many beautiful buildings, but I think that these columns are it's most well kept secret. If you are just walking on the street without looking up you will never see it. I can't remember how many times in  I've crossed this street in my life, and I think I saw those columns only 4-5 years ago.

1/30s  f/2.8 at ISO1000

            I found another interesting door and while I was taking this picture, an old guy came out of the building and asked me if I wanted to buy the house! "1000 leva (500Euro) deposit and we can talk about sale" he said. I replied that I would absolutely love to buy it and restore it, but sadly I am missing a few millions to invest in it...

1/60s  f/1.8 at ISO1000

1/60s  f/4 at ISO1250

          This workshop was in the basement of the building, quiet 50's music and a soft warm light was coming out of the small window at street level.

1/125s  f/4 at ISO800

1/125s  f/4 at ISO640

         Squeezed by two socialist style apartment blocks and surrounded by glass, steel and a bunch of shops, it's  unclear how long this house is going to last...

A short walk

             First on the list for my walk this morning was the building of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Build in the 1920's and designed by prominent Bulgarian architect Nikola Lazarov.

1/250s  f/16 at ISO250

                It was build on the site of the former Christian and Jewish cemetery, which was moved to the Orlandovtzi cemetery before the construction began. In the beginning of the 20th century the building was playing host to the District Court and later tо the Court of Auditors. After 1944, the Ministry of Agriculture was moved there. It's one of my favourite buildings in Sofia, sadly it is mostly obscured by trees and you cannot see the whole building.

1/60s  f/4 at ISO320

              An old booth that used to sell magazines and newspapers more than 20 years ago.

1/250s  f/11 at ISO320

             Continuing on Alabin street you can see the contrast between this gorgeous building from the early 20th century and the dull apartment building next to it with an advertisement for a company that probably disappeared long ago, but nobody bothered to remove it.

1/250s  f/16 at ISO320

One of the lions in front of the Palace of Justice standing guard and looking towards the Saint Sunday church.

1/500s  f/16 at ISO200

      The Palace of Justice itself, a very imposing building that you cannot miss in the center of Sofia. The first design that was chosen was again of architect Nikola Lazarov, but after the Balkan War, it was decided that the priorities for the nation have changed, and the current project was not to be realized. Instead they chose architect Pencho Koychev, who was later fired and retired.

1/125s  f/4 at ISO500

I met this nice lady on the other side of the street in front of the Palace of Justice. She was surrounded by more than 20 pigeons who were eating seeds of her lap. In a way she reminded me of the old lady in Central Park from Home Alone 2.  

1/125s  f/8 at ISO500

The hands of a statue in front of the City Art Gallery, I thought that a forced perspective will be more interesting than just a picture of the statue itself. You can see that the color  of the tip of her finger is different because of the many kids, and probably adults that have expressed the desire to hold on to it.

1/160s  f/8 at ISO200

         I am not sure if this statue represents a historical figure or just the author's vision, but I think it's supposed to be somebody important since it's holding the globus-cruciger (symbolises Christ's (the cross) dominion over the world (the orb), literally held in the dominion of an earthly ruler). Most emperors, tzars and kings had one.

1/500s  f/8 at ISO200

        This one I remember from my childhood, growing up near the City Garden where those statues are. My grandma used to tell me that those statues represent peasants in the early 20th century and their reaction when they first saw an airplane. 

1/250s  f/11 at ISO200

1/1000s  f/2 at ISO 200 with a 3 stop ND filter

   Next time I will visit the small backstreets of Sofia in search of forgotten architectural treasures...

A Lovely Morning

       I had to drop some documents in the center one morning and I jumped at the opportunity to take some more pictures and continue with my exploration of Sofia. After you get out of the metro on Serdika Station you end up before the Saint Sunday church.

1/250s  f/11 at ISO400

It used to be called Saint King, but after it was blown up by the communists before WWII and its reconstruction was finished it was renamed to Saint Sunday.

1/125s  f/5.6 at ISO400

Passing through one of the side streets behind the Saint Sunday church, I found a dragon on a column! Guess where? On the entrance of another church!

1/500s  f/8 at ISO400

 Sofia's center is a mix of all kinds of architecture and I particularly like the statues carrying the weight of huge decorated balconies on their shoulders. This building has been renovated a few years ago so it's in pretty good condition. Sadly there are many others that are falling apart because the owners of the apartments in the buildings don't have the funds to maintain them, or because they are waiting for it to fall apart so they can demolish it later.

1/125s  f/16 at ISO200

The building of my old middle school, the 127th school. One of the oldest if not the oldest school in Sofia.

1/250s  f/11 at ISO200

The right light can make even the most greyish and neglected buildings look pretty. I am not sure where this kind of design originates but Sofia's center is full of apartment blocks like these.

1/160s  f/11 at ISO200

The colors on the back of this building were a nice refreshment to the greyish monotone of that part of the city, and I don't think that there is another one like it in Sofia.

1/250s  f/11 at ISO200

                    Memories from the socialist years. Smiling and looking towards a bright future.

1/320s  f/11 at ISO200

I loved the light so much this morning but sadly I had to cut it short because it was time for work...

Rekindled Fire

        In the year before I found the x100s, I barely took my camera out of the house. Photography was starting to take the back seat, and I really hated that. Somewhere between switching between a few jobs I lost my desire to just get out there and take pictures. I would remember with fond nostanglia when I was walking on the street and my eyes kept on framing different shots. Taking pictures is one of the great joys in my life and I wasn't ready to give it up because of extenuating circumstances. If changing that would take selling all of my lenses then so be it.

        A month later during the first time I got out for a walk in the center with the Fuji, my eyes started darting again, looking for the elusive frame, something nobody else will see. I was starting to feel it again, my love and passion for photography  was back. Now lets see where its going to take me...

48 Hours with the x100s - Part 1

            On my way to the farewell party of a friend of mine I stopped by an antique bookshop, where they have piles and piles of books, but its dead quiet, and incredibly tight. I didn't want for the owner of the shop to know that I am taking a picture, and the x100s was there to help me. I would never have taken my DSLR there, and the loud "CLICK" in that bookshop would have sounded like an explosion.

1/100s  f/2.8 at ISO400

It was already 8pm outside so there were a lot of people going through the underpass, and that was another opportunity to try out some low speed handheld shots of the crowds.

1/4s  f/8 at ISO800

There was another "guy" who was looking at the passing people with interest, but he was probably hoping for some food or a good scratch behind the ears.

1/15s  f/2.8 at ISO800

At the party I heard that there going to be fireworks, and I started thinking about the tripod that was sitting at home. But hey, maybe the Fuji is going to surprise me again and deliver some decent shots, after all...why not? It's handheld capabilities have been something that I was quite impressed with so far...

1/15s  f/2.8 at ISO1000

The next day I met with some friends at the Mall. They had their little daughter with them, and as all other kids she loves going to the rides, and since we were there anyway I decided to take some shots (handheld again). This one was my favourite.

1.3s  f/16 at ISO250

to be continued....