Pause for Thought
The City
Apple Concentrate
The Apple store on George street is always interesting from a people-watching point-of-view.
The glass walls and free wifi means there are always groups of people concentrating on their devices to photograph.
It makes me think of the store as a combination of temple and social meeting place.
Time Passes
An early meeting took me into the city, with my new Fujinon XF14mm 2.8 R lens on my X-E1.
First impressions are really good. Actually, great. It feels precise and well made, and the manual mode is fantastic. You slip the focus ring back to go from auto focus to manual, which reveals distance markings allowing you to set the depth of focus. Although it is electronic focus, it feels mechanical, with end stops. If Fuji can produce their 35mm equivalent lens with this manual method, then zone focussing will be a doodle,and they will have a wonderful street photography option.
Distortion is incredibly well controlled (this is 21mm equivalent), and it produces really sharp results with good colour saturation.
This is up to my old Canon L glass standards.
I can’t wait to use this for some long exposure seascapes.
Mechanical stork
This crane rose amongst the Docklands offices, a reminder of the original use of the site. It made me think of a giant mechanical stork.
Cross that line
Weekly Photo Challenge: (Love)
On the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, lies the Heart of Midlothian.
From Wikipedia:-
Visitors to Edinburgh will often notice people spitting on the Heart. A tolbooth (prison) stood on the site, where executions used to take place. The heart marks its doorway: the point of public execution. Some people spit on the Heart. Although it now said to be done for good luck, it was originally done as a sign of disdain for the former prison. The spot lay directly outside the prison entrance, so the custom may have been begun by debtors on their release.
Song Dong: Waste Not
I attended an exhibition this week by Song Dong, as part of the Sydney Festival 2013:-
From his family home in Beijing, to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Waste Not is a transformative installation by one of China’s pre-eminent artists, Song Dong. Conceived by the artist following the death of his father, the work represents his mother’s process of mourning and remembrance. Consisting of the entire contents of her house, Waste Not reflects a journey of hardship and grief, resulting in a display of personal resilience and ultimately a celebration of life.
It was a memorable experience, and prompted me to think of how we remember those who have died, and how much we consume during our lifetime. Although the exhibition was almost entirely made up of manufactured goods that were anything but personal in isolation, when collected together they seemed to tell a unique story.
Riding The Wave
City Hall, London, England.
Mike Baker | Photography 