So… That time of year… no matter who you are and where you fit into the ecosystem of the internet… You’re probably preparing a Year in Review type post.
And I’ll be no different…. I’m not sure yet when you’re going to read it! I’m typing this on the 21st of December. Logic and order suggests it might fly better on New Years’ Eve… But maybe it can run on Christmas Eve, I’ve nothing else in the pipeline
I thought that Fuji might have got the ‘late December’ X-Pro2 FW update out by now and I could of written about that. But not so far (unless they’re releasing now while I slave away at this)
(Edit: Of course it came out a day after I wrote this. I’ve had a quick play. The histogram improvements seem very worthwhile. There’s apparently a bug re advanced filters + compressed RAF = camera lock up, I’ll look at it properly later, it’s a busy weekend this weekend 🙂 )
I’ve selected 12 of my favourite street shots of 2017.
It’s been quite an interesting curation, noting dates and lenses used… I seem to have had a long spell with not getting many shots that qualified (the first 6 months of the year) and the XF23 has been more represented than I thought it would be. Also a third of them are in monochrome and I reckon to be a colour shooter!
But I think all of that is for me to mull over, not you!
So here we are, in chronological order, with a few words on each about why I like it.
X-Pro2 and XF35 F1.4. “Lunch Break Lottery” Taken on January 23, 2017
There’s two schools of thought on titling your work. The ‘yes you should’ and the ‘NO – the picture should speak by itself’
I can see both sides.
The little girl manly hidden in the background so you can’t really see her, so you’ll have to look hard as that’s what the picture is about is a crap name for a picture, but then again so is DSC12345 🙂
This picture is called Lunch Break Lottery just to share the time of day and to make a play on the fact they’re all looking at their lottery tickets… if one of them has a big win, then we can assume the days of hard craft with paint and building work are over. A true lottery of a way out of a hard working life and this could happen during your lunch break.
X-Pro2 and XF35 F2. “Beach Ghosts” Taken on March 18, 2017
The sun was low and the shadows long. The reflections appealed to me more than the shadows and people. Hence the image flip.
X-Pro2 and XF23 F1.4. “The Dude” Taken on April 12, 2017
This guy just oozed an air of coolness. The world was busy around him and he was so chilled, I asked for a shot and he agonised a while, which gave the yellow bus enough time to arrive to match his shoe
X-Pro2 and XF23 F1.4. “Pride” Taken on July 1, 2017
Porto’s Gay Pride day was as you’d expect (if you’ve any notion – which I’m sure you do – of what a pride march is)
There’s something about people being proud and open about who there are and how they look that is a shear joy to photograph
X-Pro1 and XF35 F1.4. “Her Eyes Only” Taken on July 27, 2017
As you may know, I got the X-Pro1 back in my life! The joy of this camera certainly seems to be tangible to me – seven of the remaining eight photos are shot with it 🙂
Zone focused and shot from the hip, I was immediately drawn to this high contrast scene, with its three pairs composition and the single guy with eyes for only the one lady
X-Pro1 and XF35 F1.4. “Walking/Watching/Playing” Taken on August 6, 2017
I was looking after the bags while my family played in the sea. I started shooting ‘street’ (beach street it’s a thing) then I started to look at ways to layer the frame and pick out people from a crowded scene.
X-Pro1 and XF23 F1.4. “O Pintor” Taken on August 25, 2017
The Painter in English. I got chatting to this Spanish street artist as he spent several days creating a large mural near our home. We got on well enough, spoke about painting and photography from the street, and ultimately let each other get on with how we both liked to work
X-Pro1 and XF23 F1.4.”On the Way Down” Taken on August 31, 2017
The light. The opposing diagonals. The guy walking against the direction of the arrow. I only had to wait about three minutes, and I was prepared to wait a lot longer 🙂
X-Pro1 and XF56 F1.2. “Seeing Red / Speaking Red” Taken on September 1, 2017
You might notice that my street stuff usually contains a lot of environmental context… Occasionally though so little is needed to show part of a story, the right person, the right colours, the right mood.
X-Pro1 and XF35 F1.4. “The Black Anémona” Taken on September 28, 2017
Speaking of environmental context 🙂 A foggy day, lots of geometric shapes to play with, tiny figures – and all tied together by the huge installation
X-Pro1 and XF35 F1.4. “Easy Like Sunday Morning” Taken on October 8, 2017
I was on a client shoot, we stopped in the middle of no where for a snack and a break. Zone focused and shot from the hip, I was drawn to this for the soft colours, softer light and the serene nature of a guy having an easy Sunday morning in an empty café.
X-Pro2 and XF35 F1.4. “Looking to the Future” Taken on November 18, 2017
I got excited to take this the moment I saw it – even down to the crop it would need. Two pairs of three, a juxtaposition of young and old and a mix of light. No matter our age, we like to hang with our friends and the path from youth to wisdom is directed by the light. And what is the wisdom of age? Well… the kids looked bored, not even interested by their football, but the older generation, they’re happy and engaged in conversation.
So there you have it! Twelve street shots that I’ve enjoyed taking with the Fujifilm X-Pro range that I love to use.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these images and me sharing some of the thoughts that I put into capturing them…
As a difficult 2017 draws to a close, it’s time to turn attention to the coming year.
I sincerely hope that you have had a great 2017 and that your coming year will be everything you hope.
The cover shot, that shows the path to 2018…
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The X-Pro Series Content: Referenced and All In One Place
The X-Pro Series Content: A Contents Page with Page Numbers and a Brief Description
Adam Bonn Fotografia 