One more Invader

Seen any Invaders?

Paris, 2010 - Leica M8, 1/750, ISO 160

Past time paradise

Lamai beach is a nice resort area with white sand and a bit more peace and quiet than Chaweng, the main tourist area on Koh Samui. Parts of this laid back beach are perhaps a tad too laid back:

Lamai Beach, Koh Samui, 2011 - Ferrania Solaris 100

Seeing Invaders

Browsing through some of my Bangkok photographs I came across one with a mosaic Space Invader character. These little creatures are the work of a French artist (you can read more in a wikipedia article about the Invader and the characters inspired by the Space Invaders game), although I assume there are some copycats, too. I remember seeing many an invader during my travels and often photographing them. Here are some I could find from my archives.

Let's start with Paris, where the Invader started his project in 1998. These two photographs were taken with the excellent Sigma DP1 camera, which I have since sold.

Paris, 2008 - Sigma DP1, 1/500, f/7.1, ISO 200

Paris, 2008 - Sigma DP1, 1/160, f/8, ISO 100

The next two photographs I composed with some colour repetition in mind. The first one connects the invader to the person walking the road below via repeating colours. The second photograph is the one from Bangkok that inspired this blog post. The yellowish orange colour of the wrist band is repeated in the mosaic. In addition, the pattern of the legs is repeated in the tentacles of the invader. Not the greatest framing, but I quite like it.

Lausanne, 2008 - Canon 30D, 1/640, f/4, ISO 100

Bangkok, 2011 - Leica M8, 1/180, ISO 160

Bangkok transportation

Some photographs from the busy streets of Bangkok:

Bangkok, 2011 - Leica M8, 1/180, ISO 320

Bangkok, 2011 - Leica M8, 1/180, ISO 640

Bangkok, 2011 - Leica M8, 1/250, ISO 640

Bangkok, 2011 - Leica M8, 1/250, ISO 320

It rains on Koh Samui

While the unrest in North Africa and Middle East as well as the earthquake, tsunami, and the resulting nuclear crisis in Japan understandably grab most of our attention, Thailand is also facing some severe problems. The heavy rains in the south of Thailand have resulted in flooding that has so far killed at least 15 people, and already some 80 districts in eight provinces have been declared disaster areas. Last year about 200 people were killed in the floods in the south of Thailand.

One of the areas that has been hit the hardest is the popular holiday destination, Koh Samui, where more than 10 000 tourists are currently stranded. What western media usually fails to mention is that there are also about 50 000 local residents on the island. Having left Koh Samui about two weeks ago, this was the worst of rain I faced. A fortnight later things have changed.

Bo Phut, Koh Samui, 2011 - Leica M8, 1/180, ISO 160

Chaweng, Koh Samui, 2011 - Leica M8, 1/125, ISO 160

CV 75/2.5 at the Bangkok Grand Palace

As you have perhaps seen in my latest post I have planned on using the Cosina Voigtländer 75/2.5 Color-Heliar telephoto lens on the Leica M8. The goal was to have fun with this lens and especially test its usefulness for travel photography. The playground for this little experiment is Thailand, and below you can find a small set of photographs at the Bangkok Grand Palace.

A short telephoto lens is often seen as a portrait lens. Certainly, the CV 75/2.5 fits the part. For someone looking specifically for a portrait lens, there is a another good Voigtländer alternative: the new 75/1.8 Heliar. While the CV 75/2.5 is sharp across the aperture range, the CV 75/1.8 is said to give a softer look wide open. A razor-sharp portrait is seldom appreciated. You don't want your portraits to look like this:

2011 - Leica M8, 1/500, ISO 160

CV 75/2.5 as a travel lens

Few of us enjoy a large and heavy kit for travel. The CV 75/2.5 is only 64.5 mm long and weighs merely 230 g. The newer CV 75/1.8 is hardly that much bigger at 73.8 mm although at 427 g it weighs almost twice as much as the tiny 75/2.5. For travel any reduction in bulk or weight is however warmly welcomed.

In addition to portraits, a telephoto lens is useful for excluding unwanted distractions from your photographs, photographing details, and compressing landscapes and distant views. Below you can find examples of all three. It would have been difficult to avoid the crowds of tourist in the first photograph with a wider lens. Much the same is achieved with a telephoto lens in the third photo. More importantly, the scale of the buildings is better perceived due to the compression effect. I have included 100% crops of both close and more distant details to give some idea of the lens sharpness (see the links). I can say this is one sharp lens even wide open.

2011 - Leica M8, 1/1000, ISO 160

2011 - Leica M8, 1/750, ISO 160

2011 - Leica M8, 1/1000, ISO 160

Perhaps the only minor gripe I have about this lens is its close focus distance, which is unfortunately limited to 1 m. A 0.7-m limit would make it much more useful, especially for travel when you wish to get by with as little gear as possible. The CV 75/1.8 focuses down to 0.9 m, so it is only slightly better in this respect.

2011 - Leica M8, 1/250, ISO 160

Photographic déjà vu

Already seen, already photographed. I sometimes hear the argument that everything has been photographed. Why would you then take a picture of the same scene, building, flower, bug - or even person - which has already been photographed a million times before? To see how it looks when you click the shutter yourself I guess.

Sometimes you know that not only has a similar photograph been taken before by many others, but you have taken it yourself at least once. This is often the case with scenes close to home or your favourite destination, even more so with pets and portraits of family members. Sometimes it's however something mundane far away from home, like this scene in Rethymnon, Crete, which I photographed twice. I have to admit the second image was simply a snap that I quickly took, when witnessing a moment of photographic déjà vu.

Rethymnon, Crete, 2008 - Canon EOS-30D, 1/500, f/7.1, ISO 100

Rethymnon, Crete, 2010 - Leica M8, 1/250, ISO 160

The lens on the Canon 30D was the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM. On M8, I believe it was the Voigtländer 35/1.4 Nokton SC. Note the difference in quality of light. Neither is excellent, but the difference is huge. The photo from 2008 was taken in late morning light, the photo from 2010 in the middle of the day beneath the hot Mediterranean sun.

More cats from the islands

Nothing more than a bunch of random cat photos from the Greek islands.

Oia, Santorini, 2007 - Canon EOS-30D, 1/320, f/5.6, ISO 400

Amorgos, 2010 - Leica M8, 1/250, ISO 160

Amorgos, 2010 - Leica M8, 1/500, ISO 160

Amorgos, 2010 - Leica M8, 1/250, ISO 160

Amorgos, 2010 - Fujifilm Superia 200

Amorgos, 2010 - Leica M8, 1/360, ISO 160

And finally a more urban cat:

Iraklion, Crete, 2010 - Leica M8, 1/90, ISO 160

The photograph with the Canon was made with the Canon EF 70-200/4L lens. The rest? Your guess is almost as good as mine. I think I see at least the Voigtländer 35/1.4 Nokton SC there. The film shot is a pretty heavy crop.

Amorgos City

Following the visit to Naxos it was time to see Amorgos. This small island, the easternmost part of the Greek Cyclades island group, has a population of perhaps 2,000 or so. Amorgos is a great destination for some peaceful beach life and nice hikes. Here are a few pictures from and around the town of Amorgos (or Chora).

Amorgos, 2010 - Fujifilm Superia 200

Amorgos, 2010 - Fujifilm Superia 200

There are cats everywhere on the Greek islands. This one was a bit annoyed after an invading photographer ruined a perfect moment of relaxation.

Amorgos, 2010 - Fujifilm Superia 200

I believe the alleyway above is pretty much downtown Amorgos. This is however not the peak business hour. During the peak hour you may actually see the cat above walk through here.

Amorgos, 2010 - Fujifilm Superia 200

All these photographs were scanned from the negatives using the Epson V700 scanner. Not much was done in terms of post-processing, basically just some straightening and removal of a few dust particles. No cropping, as you can see from the uneven borders.

Film shots from Naxos

Some more pictures from Naxos. These are all unedited, uncropped, almost straight from the scanner. The obvious tweaks are removing of most dust spots and resizing for web. That's it. I used an Epson V700 flatbed scanner for scanning. It is a fairly affordable option for film scans and it sings with larger film sizes. These images were made using 35-mm film in my Voigtländer Bessa R2A, so for optimal quality one should use a dedicated film scanner. For medium size prints, a good flatbed such as the V700 will do. For web images like these, it is even seriously overkill.

Less talk, more pictures.

Naxos, 2010 - Fujifilm Superia 200

Naxos, 2010 - Fujifilm Superia 200

Naxos, 2010 - Fujifilm Superia 200

Waffle house, Naxos, 2010 - Fujifilm Superia 200

Did someone tell you film is dead? Perhaps they meant some other film.

Room with a view

Countless movies present a view of a famous landmark from the bedroom window of an apartment or a hotel room as if yelling something like "Look, we are in Paris! Check out the Eiffel tower!" In the real world many of those views cost quite a lot, nor are the hotels always located in the most photogenic neighbourhoods. Sometimes you can get lucky, though.

The balcony door in the bedroom of this 30-euro-a-night (at the beginning of the high season, no less) apartment hotel in Naxos, Greece gives a calming, unobstructed view of the sea with the island's most famous landmark, the lonely temple entrance, Portara reflected on the glass:

Naxos, 2010 - Leica M8, 1/125, ISO 160

Close to the centre of Naxos town, this hotel offers not only a nice sea view but all the restaurants and other services within a walking distance. If you are looking for nice and affordable accommodation, I can highly recommend Magic View Studios & Apartments for your stay in Naxos.

Stay tuned for some more, probably film, images from Naxos.