A day in Frankfurt

It isn't really "fair" to Frankfurt since I haven't written anything about it considering I spent almost two months there last year and I'm going to be there again soon. So here it goes...

If you have only one day in Frankfurt, you must visit Römer. It's a small square with traditional old houses in German style, near to the river Main and the city's biggest shopping center.

The sky on that Sunday was absolutely beautiful although it had been cloudy for the whole week. That saved me a lot of post-processing actually ;). Below is the statue at the Fountain of Justice in the center of the square, one of many tourist attractions here.

It was a Sunday afternoon and there was a group of Christians praying at the square. They prayed in English with banners in German, but they were all Korean. I wasn't sure why.

Late afternoon, I left the square to go on a boat cruise along the river Main, towards Offenbach. Honestly, the scene was not that fantastic, but enjoying German beer, the cool breeze and the warm summer sun was quite worthwhile.

I particularly like this shot. When the boat almost passed the building, I was kind of waiting for something catchy as it didn't seem right to shoot the building alone. Then the two ladies suddenly looked to the right in one direction and that was it. The composition was complete.

These kids sat in front of me during the cruise. The boy seemed to be moody, which you don't often see on kids' face.

Well, I have to pack my stuffs now. I have tried to delay this task all these days... More blogs about Frankfurt at night will come later.

Cheers,

Analox
(Photo taken using Olympus E620, Zuiko 12-60mm SWD)

Musée du Louvre on a rainy night

We came back to Lourve one night to see how the pyramids were lightened at night. The Louvre Pyramid was like a big shining diamond surrounded by the stillness and beauty of the old palace.

We walked through a side gate and were greeted by well-dressed gentlemen playing a beautiful melody with his cello (if I'm not wrong). The place was so empty and quiet and the only thing you could hear was the sound of music flowing and moving in the air. We just wanted to stay just a little bit longer but was too eager to see the pyramids so we moved on.

Shortly after we walked around, admiring the beautiful scene, taking a few pictures, all of sudden, it started to rain. A sound of saxophone stopped us to stay and listen. It wasn't quiet as there were a dozen or two of people sheltered from the rain. But rising above all the noises from the talking and the rain, the tune was sad, lonely, and touching. It was 'The Autumn Leaves'.

(Canon 40D, 85mm f1.8)

This is a photo of my friend, who accompanied us when we were in Paris. I hadn't met him for like 7 years, or more. I'm not sure at that moment, he was in a moody kind of place but for me, it was a memorable shot I had of him. The photo was not technically perfect, not sharp, and noisy. But who cares?

(Canon 40D, 85mm f1.8)

People rushing in to shelter from the rain...

(Olympus E520, ZD 12-60mm)

...and out again when the rain stopped. So did we.

(Olympus E520, ZD 12-60mm)

After the rain, I took some more photos before we went back to our hotel.

(Olympus E520, ZD 12-60mm)

(Olympus E520, ZD 12-60mm)

And these are the only photos of Paris at night that I took :)

(Olympus E520, ZD 12-60mm)

Analox & Admiré

6x6

It was fun to be able to see and compose a photo in square ratio (6x6 film) directly in the "viewfinder". Things appear in different orders, in some ways, more... geometrical to my eyes. Yes, you can crop anything (2:3 or 3:4) to square ratio later in post-process, but it would be different, trust me!

When the OM 50mm f1.8 arrived, since the lens is so compact, I decided to try a small "project": I brought the lens on E620 with me everyday to shoot in 6x6 ratio. Only the "square" composition is shown in my E620's LCD screen (LiveView mode). Rotate the ring to focus. Recompose. And shoot.

The photos here are not so fantastic. The lens is not as sharp as my digital ZD lens. But I hope they reflect my experience of manual focusing & shooting 6x6 to you :)

Equipments: E620 + OM 50mm f1.8

The construction site on my way back home

Near by my block

Level 4, Blk 9xx...

Another day when I went back from work

Analox
(Photo taken using Olympus E620, OM 50mm f1.8)

Macro photography: my first attempt

Equipments:
- Olympus E620
- Olympus OM 50mm f1.8 + OM to 43 adaptor + extension tube
- FL36R

Stuff I knew BEFORE the session
- Use small aperture, like f8, for sufficient depth of field
- Because of f8, flash is necessary to light up the scene
- Manual focus in this setup, meaning focusing by moving myself. Focusing ring doesn't help!

Stuff I realized AFTER the session
- DoF is so shallow, even at f8, due to a small distance to subject. So, it's very easy to get the focus wrong.
- At f8, the viewfinder is pretty dark. Harder to know when it is in focus. Guess experience and practise are definitely useful here...
- Working space is so limited. Strobist info is simply on-cam flash so far. Have no chance to try any off-cam flash.
- Need to "zoom in" a lot to find an interesting subject. And I truly mean that... And same as other type of photography, you need to know your subject to get a good picture too! (thanks Hoa` for your help!)
- Last but not least, shorts and slippers are wrong choice. Bugs and itchy!

Analox