So first of all sorry it has been a little while since my last post, as it does sometimes life has gotten in the way of the fun stuff recently and sitting down to the keyboard had been put on the shelf a while, however, back to it now..
I figured seeing as it will be taking a rather prominent part in the trip I should probably mention photography. Those who know me will know of this fixation, and if you ever visit my house and look in my fridge you will be more than aware due to the stacks of roll film, 35mm film and developing chemicals taking up the place food should be living.
When I first thought of the trip I had hoped to get over to Japan with at least one of my film cameras, ideally my 120mm roll film Bronica that I love for the sheer insanity of the size of it along with the stunning image quality it’s capable of.
The best excuse for stopping for a rest on hikes – Bronica ETRS
And the reason I take it on hikes – Bronica ETRS on Kodak Portra 160
However once I started to get serious, buy luggage, and start weighing my stuff I quickly realised that I needed to be realistic, even though the Bronica can be used as a weapon in self defence should the opportunity arise it just isn’t practical to strap it to a bike and haul around the rolls and rolls of film I would want to take, reluctantly this meant I would have to stay using Digital for my trip.
Don’t get me wrong I love my digital setup and the Nikon D7000 that has been my workhorse for so long (including two Japan trips, one when the Bronica broke), but film has a special place in my heart and digital just never quite hits that same mark I can get with emulsion.
So I started to weigh my Nikon kit, debating each lens, the shots I wanted to take, what I could compromise on, what I couldn’t, and pretty soon I was back in the same boat as my Bronica, great images but needing a team of Sherpa’s to follow me around and hand me lenses. Sadly this option was a little out of my budget.
Yes I know its sad, yes there is a spreadsheet, no I don’t care, would a man who knows how much his socks weigh care?
This is where the really tough call had to be made, I needed to downsize my gear and I needed raise cash to do it. My Nikon was the sensible choice to be sold as it was the most valuable, but it is also my main camera for Motorsport photography meaning that I wouldn’t be able to shoot the Historic Formula 3 championship I have been involved with for a long time. They are good people and have been very kind to me over the years but this is something I may only get the chance to do once so I took the plunge and listed my Nikon gear on eBay, I can always rent a camera and lens for a race I guess.
Visit http://www.1000ccf3historicracingassociation.org.uk and http://www.f3historic.com/ to find out about some great racing and some lovely people, Also you can see some of my photos..
So what to replace it with? I started looking at mirrorless cameras with an eye on the Olympus micro four thirds system and their OM-D bodies, but the cost of the Zuiko glass I wanted to put on it was a little prohibitive even used. So I started to look at Fujifilm. Now I had heard great things about the X-Trans sensor they use in certain bodies and the sample images I found looked great, plus the styling is pure film camera, Manual dials, metal bodies, and on the X100S I was eyeing up there is a nifty hybrid rangefinder viewfinder giving the best of old and new.
I soon tracked down a lovely little X100S in the Ltd edition black finish and have been very pleased with the results. It’s small, inconspicuous, has amazing Jpeg processing and filters that are actually usable (a rarity for me), plus it will sit in a bag on the bike without causing any issues. The Images speak for themselves I think.
Now to just get it to Japan and take some photos…
Three months in japan 