PHOTOGRAPHY MAGAZINE
SOUTH EAST ASIA
VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 2
Cover Photo
Seize the Moment Jan Gonzales
Family Affair Vineet Vohra
A Beautiful Accident
Ivan Joshua Loh
Writing Stories in a Photo Paper
Trung Nguyen
Gaea as Seen Behind the Camera
Isara Samuanpho
Freeze the Moment and Preserve it for all Eternity SC Shekar
FEATURED STORY
6 Reasons why Mirrorless Cameras are Better than DSLRs FREE COPY
EDITOR’S LETTER SOUTH EAST ASIA
PHOTOGRAPHY MAGAZINE
SOUTH EAST ASIA
VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 2
Editor-in-Chief Keitaro So Media Consultant Geric Cosuco Deo Macaraig Derick Venzon Creative Director Arman Bioc Writer/Researcher Hafsha Masorong Christopher Bioc Adora Lyn Bernas Giovanni Panganiban Gyn Mendoza Production Manager Jaspher Alfonso
PREVIOUS ISSUE PHOTOGRAPHY MAGAZINE
SOUTH EAST ASIA
VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 1
Defining Culture Gathot Subrato
Redescovering Passion
Jessica Chan
Creating His Own Legacy Keith Low
Finding Your Image Le Kim Hung
Timeless Photographs Lito Sy
EDITOR’S LETTER Year 2014 became the unforgettable year for FUJIFILM. Since we launched X-T1, more and more professional photographers start looking at us in a more serious note. Some professional photographers used X series, but mainly as a back-up camera only, sitting in their camera bag for most of time due to its small size and light weight. But X-T1 becomes one of the choices as a main camera, thanks to its D-SLR like style and overall performance. In this sense, we call X-T1 as the “Game Changer”.
that we can give you a better understanding about the system and hope this could help you on your personal judgement.
Becuase of this, some camera brands starts introducing the serious mirror-less cameras into the market and we feel that photographers’ mindset against Mirror-less cameras also starts changing and becomes more flexible. We see more photographers make a practical decision based on their priority regardless if its “D-SLR” or “Mirrorless”. Most importantly, because of the collective effort of introducing Mirror-less cameras, more photographers enjoy their experience exponentially.
Finally, as 2015 unfolds, we promise to challenge ourselves to deliver more benefits to our fans and photographers. We hope to give better technologies with faster AF speed and new advance features on our new products and new firmwares for our patrons.
“Mirror-less” is the new technology. In this issue we took time to feature the advantages of Mirror-less cameras compared to D-SLRs. With this, we hope
And as always, we would like dedicate this editorial to our esteemed X photographers for their continious support to our products and brand. We hope that this issue’s collection of stories and images from your fellow talented artists from South East Asia can inspire you more to be better in your craft.
Once again, thank you for all the support you have given to FUJIFILM.
Keitaro So
Regional Marketing Manager Electronic Imaging Division FUJIFILM Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.
A Picture’s Value Torwong Salwala
FUJIFILM X Magazine is an editorial that aims to showcase the magnificent works of Fujifilm Meet Asia’s finest photographers and know how satisfied they are with Fujifilm X Series Cameras
X - Photographers all over the world. This is the one of the many ways of Fujifilm to give tribute to our beloved artists, not only for the support that they have given Fujifilm, but mostly for their excellent job of being an agent of change through their craft. FUJIFILM X Magazine is also intended to educate our readers with the importance of photography in shaping our society and hopes to be an instrument that can influence people.
We hope that FUJIFILM X Magazine could inspire photographers to better polish themselves in their craft and hope to fuel their passion for photography.
6 10 14 16 20 24 26
TABLE OF CONTENTS SOUTH EAST ASIA
30
4
33 34
FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY
Seize the Moment Jan Gonzales Philippines
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
Family Affair Vineet Vohra India
FEATURED STORY
6 Reasons why Mirrorless Cameras are Better than DSLRs COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
AIvanBeautiful Accident Joshua Loh Singapore
STREET LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
Writing Stories in a Photo Paper Trung Nguyen Vietnam
FEATURED STORY
Fujinon XF 50-140mm f2.8 R LM OIS WR CULTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Freeze the Moment
and Preserve it for all Eternity
SC Shekar Malaysia
MACRO & NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
Gaea as Seen Behind the Camera Isara Samuanpho Thailand
FEATURED STORY
Up Close & Personal FEATURED STORY
Fujifilm X-A2: Your Selfie Partner ISSUE 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS SOUTH EAST ASIA
JAN GONZALES PHILIPPINES
Seize the Moment Fashion Photography with JAN GONZALES
JAN GONZALES PHILIPPINES
Before photography, Jan Gonzales always wanted to be a pilot. In fact, he did actually fly one and got a (PPL) Private Pilot License. He is a daredevil and always seek for the thrill of living on the edge. He raced a lot, from Jetski Racing to GoKart Racing, he has done it all. He excelled in what he loves to do and bagged few awards from the sports he joined. Jan literally begs for the adrenaline rush from conquering his fears and lives every moment to the fullest. He is a competitor and he wants to be extraordinary.
6
Much can be said when Jan decided to trudge the world of Photography. He has a distinct style not common to many. The way he projects his images really stand out from the rest and always have that treatment in every photo that would make any spectator drop his jaw. He is brave to do things in his own way and he never looks back. Carpe Diem would
ISSUE 2
best describe him and his style. Jan seizes the moment and preserves them in every snap he takes. Not a single element in the shoot would be left out and Jan would always make sure that you will feel the story in every pictures he takes. Jan, indeed is different. Jan easily gets the attention among his peers. Nowadays, he is one of the most sought after fashion and portrait photographer in the Philippines. He started his photographic journey in 1995 and was self-taught in the craft. But even before photography, Jan had done a lot of creative things already by doing few design works. The transition for him with photography comes naturally, especially when digital age for cameras started relatively. Being well versed with digital creation tools helped him a lot in his new craft. This being said, Jan does all of the post production and retouching for his own photos.
Patience, experiment and experience are his key ingredients in creating great photos and these what led him to where he stands now. His images have been published in few international books and magazines, and Jan has reaped a lot of rewards already in regards with photography. He frequently gets jobs from stateside which he sees as great opportunity too since not most of the photographers from a 3rd world country gets the same chances. For these, Jan knows to himself that photography will always be something he will never regret in his life. Photography will always be with Jan, it is in his system already and the world should be ready for him. The lad has so much to offer and he doesn’t have any plan on stopping now. Lucky for us, this daredevil is still eager in taking more photos to inspire us.
JAN GONZALES Philippines X100 X100T X-E2 X-T1
JAN GONZALES PHILIPPINES ISSUE 2
7
JAN GONZALES PHILIPPINES
Patience, experiment and experience are needed in creating great photos. It takes a lot of effort to do something special. However, even how hard it is to get there, the result will always worthy and give you an ecstacy like no other.
JAN GONZALES PHILIPPINES
Fujifilm in the Fashion Industry
8
Jan’s first taste on the Fujifilm X Series Cameras was back in December 2011. He had just received an X100 and totally got his attention with its retro appeal. By the time he did his first few shots, it was instant connection as he fell in love on how the system captures all the colors. 3 years later, Jan has all the X Series cameras already and lenses. For him the improvement on the features and technology of the series is remarkable and meets the needs of photographers.
ISSUE 2
Nowadays, Jan uses his X-T1 in most of his fashion and portrait shoots. At first, people around him question the capability of the camera and if it could bring the result needed. After showing them what the system can do, his peers would be greatly satisfied and amazed. Among his cameras, his most favorite one is the X-T1 with the 35 1.4 and 56 1.2 apd. For the fixed lens, X100T would be his choice cause of its leaf shutter.
JAN GONZALES PHILIPPINES
9
ISSUE 2
VINEET VOHRA India x100 X-E2 X-T1
Family Affair Street Photography with VINEET VOHRA
VINEET VOHRA INDIA
Born in Delhi in 1973, Vineet Vohra spent his childhood under the guidance of his father and his father’s elder brother. Both were respected artists in their time; one being an applied artist and the other was a noted sculptor. They have both introduced arts to Vineet at a very early age and being surrounded by artists in his family, it was hard for him to fight against the creative genes that runs through his veins. Vineet as expected grew up to be a curious young man. He was always intrigued by how his family saw and perceived things differently, how they saw faces in the half eaten apples and how they see different images formed by clouds. He was an artist even before he was born. It was just a matter of time of when and how he will paint in the canvass.
10
Vineet cherished all the moments spent with his childhood heroes. His father and uncle taught him things he couldn’t learn from school. He spent every single day expanding his knowledge in different arts and hoping to live to the expectation. Then in one day, his eyes had laid upon into a camera. In an instant, he knew from that moment on that he had found his instrument to channel his passion. Photography was the solution he was looking for on how he can contribute to the legacy his family is building. It was perfect. Now he can freeze the moments permanently.
ISSUE 2
Now he won’t see a moment and will just let it fly by. Now he has a way to preserve those goose bumps. Now he has an art of his own. Ultimately, he pursued his passion. He graduated from College of Arts Delhi and did specialization in Photography and later on, he launched his own magazine “The APF” with his brother. For him, photography is a constant journey to travel. It was a learning & unlearning experience every day, and he thrived to improve himself in his craft every time. Vineet specializes on Street Photography and always thought that this genre could help him more to give something back to the society. Shooting the normal daily lives gives him great satisfaction and waiting for that special moments to happen around him offers him immense pleasure like no other. Street Photography allows Vineet to be himself and that makes it extraordinary. To get close to people and manage to be in sync is the happiness the genre could give. Vineet continued on his conquest and had gone a long way already in his photographic journey. For starter, he graduated on top of his class. He had been featured and published in different editorials including the National Geographic. He was named as one of Fujifilm’s X Photographers, an achievement that he treasured the most. For him believing in the brand and being acknowledged by the company is a great honor.
VINEET VOHRA INDIA
VINEET VOHRA INDIA ISSUE 2 11
VINEET VOHRA INDIA
VINEET VOHRA INDIA
When your passion becomes your job then everything is satisfying.
12
ISSUE 2
Fujifilm in the Street Vineet’s first romance with Fujifilm X Series Cameras was with an X100. He remembers that he had to stand in queue in Hongkong to buy it. The exterior dials are which I fancy the most, I feel Fujifilm makes cameras for photographers, each and every need of a photographer is kept in mind very carefully. He loves the I.Q. and responsiveness of the series. When it comes to his clients, he knows that he get them satisfied for the results. He even made big hoarding prints from these little beasts so he is really happy with the cameras. If ever he leaves photography, Vineet hopes to work on some concepts with Fujifilm; Probably as a lecturer for Fujifilm in Photokina so he can show the world that Fujifilm is making extraordinary cameras to shoot on street
VINEET VOHRA INDIA ISSUE 2 13
FEATURE SOUTH EAST ASIA
6 Reasons
Why Mirrorless Cameras are Better than DSLRs As time passed by, camera technologies improve drastically. Additional features are visible every time and innovation can be seen thoroughly as new camera comes one after another. Revamp and introduction of new systems will always be present and inevitable. Compare from early years, we now have more luxury to study and understand how photography actually works. Professionals soon learn how each parts affect the image and the experience in taking pictures. These understandings result to the introduction of Mirrorless Camera in the market.
FEATURE SOUTH EAST ASIA
Probably the easiest way to define Mirrorless Cameras is that it is what you get when you blend a compact camera with a digital SLR. Mirrorless Cameras are compact almost like some point-andshoot cameras but have interchangeable lenses like SLRs. In was introduced in 2008 and had become a popular choice nowadays for photographers due to its ability and features. So let’s take a look why Mirrorless Cameras have become a favorite choice for the most and compare it against the DSLRs.
14
ISSUE 2
1
Small & Light
Mirrorless Cameras have smaller than any DSLRs today. This is the result for removing the mirror inside SLRs making it more compact and lighter than the later. Fujifilm’s X-T1 camera body weighs about 440g only (excluding accessories, battery and memory card) and features a dimension of 129.0mm (W) x 89.8mm (H) x 46.7mm (D) only while the Nikon D810 doubles its weight at 880g (excluding accessories, battery and memory card) and sports a bigger body of 146 mm (W) x 123mm (H) x 82mm (D). With this much said, it is a given that bigger SLRs brings more toll to photographers when they carry them around to shoot because of its weight. A lighter camera makes for less strain on your shoulders and neck during a long day of shooting and allows you to move more conveniently around. Smaller cameras also gives you the opportunity to bring your gear more often as you could easily pack them in a smaller bag. When shooting on street, Mirrorless Cameras are easier to conceal compared to bulky DSLRs. Smaller cameras also allows you to mingle in your surrounding easier as if you are just a tourist only taking pictures around you rather than standing out from the crowd with your big DSLR that makes you look like a professional photographer who, most common than not, makes most people uncomfortable.
2
Quiet & Discreet
With the removal of the mirror on DSLRs, Mirrorless Cameras have omitted the noise from DSLRs caused by the moving mirror as well. In the reflex design of SLRs, light travels through the lens, then to a mirror that alternates to send the image to either the viewfinder or the image sensor. This mirror adjusts every time and moves to let the light reach the sensor when the shutter button is pressed creating loud thwacks on the process. Simply removing the mirror lessen the noise from the camera that allows you to shoot more quietly. This is very important especially when you are shooting intimate events such as wedding ceremonies or press conferences. Having a more quiet gear allows you to work more discreetly and avoids unnecessary attention drawn to you. As you work more silently, you could ultimately get those special moments easier as your subjects can move freely and unconscious of you and your camera.
3
More Accurate Focusing
Everyone claims that DSLR have superior AF Speed, no doubt about that. DSLRs have better Focusing Speed than any Mirrorless Cameras. But when it comes to single shot, Focus Accuracy, Mirrorless Cameras have done far better in this integral part. So let me tell you why Mirrorless Cameras win in this category. Since SLR cameras have mirror between the sensor and the lens which flips to reflect the light and image to the prism and to the View Finder, this space for the mirror tends to create wider gap between the lens and sensor which ultimately alters the light path and focus of the camera, thus making affecting the focus of SLRs. Mirrorless Cameras don’t have this problem. Without the mirror between the lens and the sensor, light travel shorter in Mirrorless Cameras, making it more accurate than DSLRs.
4
Free from Shock & Blur
Again let me explain the concept of how mirror works inside the SLR. The mirror is placed in between the lens and the sensor. This mirror is positioned in an angle in which it can reflect the light and image first to the prism to your view finder so that you can see your subject. When you press the shutter button, this mirror flips to let the light and image pass through from the lens to the sensor. Though it is just a fraction of seconds in which the mirror flips and do its process, this fraction still contributes on your stability and movement of the camera that creates shock and blur while shooting. Without this mirror in Mirrorless Cameras, we also eliminated that fraction of seconds created by the flipping process of the mirror thus transferring the light and image to sensor in faster manner.
5
EVF is More Useful
While Mirrorless Cameras omit the optical viewfinder (OVF) since there would be no use for it now that the prism and mirror is gone, higher-end models such as Fujifilm replace it with an electronic version (EVF). EVF is a camera viewfinder where the image captured by lens is projected electronically into miniature display. EVFs works just the same of OVF, it allows you to have a live preview of how the sensor is going to record the image, letting you see exposure and white balance results before you shoot. But since Mirrorless Cameras have removed the mirror in this process we could say that EVFs are more accurate than OVFs. The advantage of electronic viewfinders is you get to see exactly what the camera’s sensor sees and your view of a scene is never obstructed when taking a photo (your view is momentarily blocked when taking photos on DSLR cameras). Some cameras also augment the EVF display in various ways, such as by highlighting areas in focus (‘peaking’ autofocus), simulating the motion blur you’ll see if you take a photo and automatically boosting brightness when shooting very dark scenes. Fujifilm boats its high-resolution 2.36million dot OLED display, and the world’s highest magnification ratio of 0.77x*, the FUJIFILM X-T1’s Real Time Viewfinder allows a true connection to your subject and a purely immersive shooting experience. The viewfinder achieves a wide angle of view of 31°, and with the display’s lag time of just 0.005 sec — less that a tenth of conventional cameras — you’ll immediately see any changes to your composition, keeping you in touch with whatever you’re shooting.
6
Latest Technology & Lens
Mirrorless camera systems offer an impressive range of lenses. The Micro Four Thirds mount alone boasts more than 60 compatible lenses. Fujifilm has quickly built up a roster of superb quality lenses for its X Series Camera lineup with 22 Fujinon lenses. Venerable lens makers like Zeiss have come out with mirrorlesscompatible lenses of their own. And because these lenses are all much newer than the optics for DSLRs, you get conveniences like the camera’s ability to automatically correct for lens distortion and chromatic aberration. And since there is no mirror that create gaps between sensor and lenses on Mirrorless Systems, companies can produce lenses that have less complicated structure in order to cover the difference created by the mirror. That means less glass, less coating and ultimately less pricing.
FEATURE SOUTH EAST ASIA ISSUE 2 15
IVAN JOSHUA LOH SINGAPORE
FINAL OUTPUT
16
ISSUE 2
IVAN JOSHUA LOH SINGAPORE can set up the sceneria THIRD STEP
SECOND STEP
FIRST FIRST STEP STEP
03 FINAL EDITING
02 CORRECTION & ADJUSTMENTS
01 TAKING RAW IMAGES
After doing the adjustments and corrections, adding and removing of unnecessary elements in the picture was done. For this image we removed the water stopper in the floor and added water splash to emphasize more on the track where our subject had ran to.
Once your raw images are ready, the file goes for color corrections and adjustments to editing softwares such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. For this image, minor editing was only done and mostly filling up the upper portion of the image with blue color to emphasize the sky.
Commercial shoots always starts on scripts and story boards. Once you get the whole story, iand set up the shoot for the needed scenario you can easily take those pictures and produce raw images.
True can be told for our lad from Singapore, Ivan Joshua Loh. He wouldn’t be into photography if his mother have just loaded the film correctly in his point and shoot camera during one of his field trips when he was younger. By those times Ivan does not know anything with the magical box and couldn’t load film by himself, instead he had asked his mother to place the film for him inside the camera. The result, not a single shot from the trip was developed in the lab and probably the unpleasant experience had spark the curiosity that pushed Ivan to learn more. After then, Ivan studied photography by himself. With an old SLR camera and 36-72 mm zoom lens he goes through all the dials and knobs. The whole learning process was time consuming and expensive as films back then comes with a hefty price. But it was all worthy and opens a whole new horizon for him.
commercial photography is the most exciting genre and a very rewarding one. There was no dull moment and he was in his comfort for every project and every single shoot that he made.
A Beautiful
ACCIDENT Commercial Photography with IVAN JOSHUA LOH Some great things start from accident. Just like how Sir Alexander Fleming invented the Penicillin when he noticed a contaminated Petri dish he had discarded contained a mold that was dissolving all the bacteria around it. He would never knew that molds can be used as antibiotic if he did not threw his unsuccessful test in the garbage. It was a marvelous result that couldn’t have been if not for his previous mistakes and we wouldn’t have Penicillin nowadays to cure our disease.
Sooner than later, Ivan found himself working as a photographer in a make-over studio. It was a great place to practice shooting people in all shapes, ages and sizes. It became his stepping stone and learning ground before diving into the world of commercial photography. At start, it was a constant struggle for him to prove himself and build a decent portfolio. But he never regrets the decision. For him
When asked for his secret behind all of his amazing shots, Ivan pointed out his passion for the craft plays the most important role for the recipe of his success. He loves shooting people in funky and quirky ways and sometime people do say it’s funny too. When it comes to shooting people, he doesn’t dwell too much on technicalities and equipment. He believes that one doesn’t really need a lot of lighting to get a great portrait, rather what we need is to be a genuine communicator. Once you are able to talk with your model genuinely, they will definitely open up to you. To date, Ivan and his works had been spread out all over the print media. From billboards to magazines and other materials, Ivan’s shots can be seen all throughout. He had won many international awards as well through the years. His most recent achievement was a gold medal for a picture taken using an X Pro 1 with 35mm lens at the 2014 PX3 (Prix de la Photographie, Paris).
IVAN JOSHUA LOH SINGAPORE
BEFORE
AFTER
For me X Pro1 is the sexiest from all of the Fujifilm X Series camera. You have to spend some time with it to understand this camera do have a soul! It’s a camera I could grow old with.
CondE Nast Traveler
IVAN JOSHUA LOH SINGAPORE
Condé Nast Traveler is a Luxury and Lifestyle Travel magazine published by Condé Nast and founded in 1987. The magazine is globally regarded as one of the most authoritative and independent editorials written for travel guide. It is Internationally recognized with industry awards and accolades and has won numerous National Magazine Awards. Condé Nast Traveler is produced in different countries with different editions. The magazine is consider to be one of the most prestigious magazine worldwide and being involved as a contributor or photographer for the editorial is a great achievement considered by most artists. In this special Singapore issue by Condé Nast Traveler India, Ivan Joshua Loh used a Fujifilm X-T1 to take the raw image for the cover of the magazine.
18
ISSUE 2
BEFORE
IVAN JOSHUA LOH Singapore X100s X- PRO1 X-E1 X-T1
Fujifilm in Commercial Works AFTER
IVAN JOSHUA LOH SINGAPORE
Ivan has been using Fujifilm X Series Camera since 2012. He has been using X Pro1 and X-T1 for his commercial works since April 2014. At first, he wasn’t so sure of the result the Fujifilm camera can offer but he had the chance to test it during his shoot for the number 1 Radio Station in Singapore back then. After sending a TIFF file taken with Fujifilm Camera and verified by the Designer who is handling the project, Ivan went for the actual shoot and the images taken were used for national newspapers, magazines & posters. From then on he sold all of his Canon system and took all of his Commercial shoots with Fujifilm X Series cameras. He took photos of MNC to high end restaurant, CEO’s of listed companies and even celebrities. Ivan recently shot campaigns for 2 local radio station and the photos for this campaign will be printed across on public buses.
ISSUE 2 19
TRUNG NGUYEN VIETNAM
TRUNG NGUYEN VIETNAM
20
ISSUE 2
TRUNG NGUYEN Vietnam X100T X-M1 X-PRO1 X-T1
Writing Stories in a Photo Paper Street Life Photography with TRUNG NGUYEN Trung Nguyen has always been contemplating to great photos. He can spend hours in just looking at the pictures, trying to imagine the scene where the photo was taken and explaining to himself why the photographer took it in such way. He has always been fascinated not only about the picture, but the significant stories behind it for the photographer and his subject. Unwittingly, Trung was into photography already even right before he actually did one by himself.
Trung’s first picture was taken while his wife was playing with their little girl. Though it wasn’t
as well. However, his favorite achievement until now is the picture that he took in Spratly Island. This picture has been licensed by many organizations, which is currently exhibited at the Vietnam Youth Museum. Though Trung had achieved so much already, he still thinks that the truly exemplified photo with great achievement in photography is yet to come. Hopefully that future is near to come.
TRUNG NGUYEN VIETNAM
As a kid, he grew up with a passion into writing. He used to dream of becoming a lawyer or criminal novelist and he loves writing about stories, unfolding every mysteries his curious mind could lay upon. As years progress, Trung took the earlier path than the later. He became a lawyer and ended up working for a bank. At least one of his childhood dream was fulfilled, but still for him something is missing. He urge for an outlet for his creativity that his job could not afford to give him. And then one day he turned back to photography again. Trung realized that a camera can become a “pen” that could help him record life according to his own perspective and transfer part of his thoughts and opinions on his own life. Furthermore, photography can give him faster result than transcribing every words he need to utter to express.
the best picture he had ever done, it is valuable for him since it was a recording of a priceless moment of his love ones. The facial expressions of his wife and his daughter when they saw the picture was the greatest motivation for him to improve his photographic skills. Trung continued to better himself with his art and though he did not had any formal education to photography, he learned everything that he knows now through experience. He had watched a lot of tutorials and documentaries about the craft, he attended meet ups and seek advises from seniors and participated to short-term courses about photography. Trung was dedicated, and was rewarded for his passion. Many of his photos were published in Photography Journal and magazines/ newspaper in Vietnam. He also became an admin of some group/websites that specialize in street-life and travel photography. He had participated and won some photography competitions and had been honored as one of the first two X-Photographers in Vietnam.
ISSUE 2 21
Fujifilm in Street Life Most of the pictures taken by Trung are taken in streets. He loves to approach characters and scenes as close as possible. For that very reason, he favors fixed lens with 50mm focal length or below. He especially loves the interactions and the humor that happened on street and try to records them with his shots. In early 2012, he had his first Fujifilm X Series Camera which is the amazing X100. Trung was awed with the color, the sharpness and the quality of its raw file. The sexiest feature of Fujifilm camera for him is the elegant, nostalgic look of the series and its lightweight. Personally, he thinks Fujifilm camera was born for street-life and travel photographer. As a street-life and travel photographer, he is very much satisfied with the astonishing job of Fujifilm Cameras. Trung saves his snapshot under 2 formats only: JPEG and RAW. While Fuji’s JPEG file is excellent with options to emulate interesting film colors which is suitable for street-life photography, Fuji’s RAW file is large with enough data to restore details and pictures’ quality where light situation is too complex.
TRUNG NGUYEN VIETNAM
Another thing he would like to share about the experiences when using Fujifilm is that the camera has the ability to allow him to shoot using live view. The light weight feature of the device has made this easy and it helps you to become “invisible”, and “safe” with all the characters you are approaching. You will look like a traveller or a photo player rather than a professional photographers or photo journalist.
22
ISSUE 2
TRUNG NGUYEN VIETNAM
“It is amazing if you have a chance to be trained and have sufficient conditions to become a professional photographer. However, if not so lucky, all you need are: passion, ability to learn and most important is to dare to try new things.” TRUNG NGUYEN VIETNAM ISSUE 2 23
Fujinon XF 50-140mm
F2.8 R LM OIS WR The Fujinon XF 50-140mm F2.8 R LM OIS WR is a new professional weatherresistant telephoto zoom lens for Fujifilm’s X-series interchangeable lens cameras. The lens boasts an angle-ofview range similar to that of a 76-213mm lens in a 35mm system and features a constant maximum aperture of F2.8 throughout the range. The lens has a 1/3EV step aperture ring and 5-stop optical image stabilization.
Exterior Built
Interior Built
Focal Range & Focusing
The Fujinon XF 50-140mm F2.8 R LM OIS WR is the largest, longest and heaviest XF lens currently available weighing just 995g (without the tripod collar foot) dwarfing any of the interchangeable X Series camera of Fujifilm. Though it is undeniably heavy, it’s about 30% lighter and smaller compared to its Canon’s equivalent of 70-200mm f2.8/L IS II USM which is 1490g. The overall build quality is excellent and sturdy. The lens boast a metal exterior including the aperture and focus rings. It has a traditional aperture ring on the lens barrel, which allows you to set the aperture in 1/3 steps, and unlike some of Fujfilm’s other variable-aperture zoom lenses, this one is clearly marked with the 7 full aperture settings that run from f/2.8 to f/22 and it has a hard stop at either end. The aperture ring is nicely damped and makes a distinctive click as you change the setting.
If you think the outside was a beast then you should know what is inside. First thing to mention in regards with the lens is that it is the world’s first Triple Linear Motor which enables quiet and high-speed auto focus, an optical construction with 23 elements arranged in 16 groups including 5 ED lens elements and 1 Super ED lens element with low dispersion characteristics. Fujifilm applied its unique HT-EBC (High Transmittance Electron Beam Coating) to the entire lens surface that ensures flare and ghosting are controlled for sharp, clear images. The newly developed Nano-GI (Gradient Index) coating technologies given to it alters the refractive index between glass and air and reduces incident lights.
At the 50mm end of the zoom range, the Fujifilm XF 50-140mm F2.8 R LM OIS WR lens has a wide angle of view of 31.7 degrees and narrowest angle at 11.6 degrees. With a minimum working distance of 1m for the entire zoom range, this lens is also great for close ups. Focusing has been improved greatly as well. With a new Inner Focusing System and mounting the Triple Linear Motor at intervals of 120° into it, the lens gains high-speed AF. The IF mechanism also allows the front of the lens to not rotate on focus that makes it quieter. An inner zooming mechanism also means the lens does not change length so the lens’ balance remains the same throughout the zoom range.
FEATURE SOUTH EAST ASIA
Weather Resistance
24
Probably one of the best things about the The Fujinon XF 50-140mm is weather resistance. Fujifilm has applied seals to each portion of the barrel making the lens dust and water proofed. It can withstand working in harsh environment such as light rain and sandy area and can even perform well in -10°C lowtemperature sorroundings, making it the perfect companion for the X-T1, which has the same levels of protection.
ISSUE 2
SC SHEKAR MALAYSIA
freeze the moment and
Preserve it for All Eternity Documentary Photography with SC SHEKAR SC Shekar sees photography as an essential part of his life. It has played an important role for him when he was growing up and in his heart he always knew that he would be a photographer someday. Probably that is why he had always believe that a camera is a righteous tool that should be used with all honesty and with a purpose. It should reflect only what your eyes lay upon and relay the message with all purity. It is what it is build for and should just preserve the moment as it is. Unfortunately, the craft can easily be manipulated as well. A photographer can always find away to twist the truth and relay a different message by the way he arrange his composition. This is the saddest truth in the world of photography.
SC SHEKAR MALAYSIA
SC’s fascination with photography simply stems from the idea of being able to freeze a moment and preserve it for all eternity. It started when he was given a camera (Kodak Brownie) at the age of six. Unlike most children of his age, he didn’t really care about the camera itself but rather the little black and white prints his father would bring back from the lab after work. He would stare over them, studying the expressions on the faces he had photographed, then run around the neighborhood showing it to all of his friends and making fun of them. It was so much fun and I had discovered a way preserving and recording my memories.
26
Coming from a typical Asian lower middle class background, coupled with the fact that his parents didn’t have enough money for his studies, SC’s options for getting a good education were rather limited. He was not an “A” student and he never did get any scholarship. He had to work hard to support himself to go to school until a series of events took placed that changed his life. When SC was 15 years old, his lower secondary school became instrumental in shaping his life to what it has turned out to be today. His school had a tradition of photographing all the students in school in their respective classes and all the sports houses and school clubs would also do the same. These pictures were then used in the annual school magazine and sold to the students. The photographic prints were also sold to the students. The photographer engaged to do this was an old Chinese man who had a little photo
ISSUE 2
studio not far from school and SC used to watch him do this every year. SC knows that learning photography could help him raise some money for his studies, thus he tried to emulate what the old guy is doing. One occasion, SC went next to him and took photos with his camera, exactly what the old guy was photographing, copying his aperture and shutter speed settings. SC processed the film in the darkroom in his school and made a print that very night. He thought it looked great, so he decided to approach the school’s headmaster with a business plan, where he would take all the school’s pictures for free and in return be allowed to sell the prints to all the students for a small profit. It was a winwin situation and the headmaster gave me his approval. The school had over two thousand students and he sold the prints to them for $1.00 each, 50cents cheaper than the old Chinese photographer before him. SC found a way to finance his university education and the rest of the history followed. Now, SC specializes in Ethnographic Portraiture and Documentary Photography. His interest in ethnographic portraiture comes from his constant reminder to himself of how good photography was to him and its purpose. Another reason probably, is that the genre has a lot to do with the fact that he’s always been curious about people and communities, especially the distant ones. After spending months (sometimes years) within communities and photographing their everyday lives, he eventually grows deeper affection for them. When you spend long periods of your time within these communities, eating with them, and actually living their lives and trying to understand their culture, you’ll be drawn to photograph certain individuals or families whom you feel represent the community as a whole. The whole point of this photographic study is to allow those photographed and those eventually looking at the photographs to connect in a subliminal way. The subject offers himself to the camera and the viewer allows himself to absorb the subject, his lifestyle and his environment through this photographic medium. Through his documentation, SC hopes that he gives justice back to the art of photography - using it to bring goodness rather than misunderstandings.
SC SHEKAR MALAYSIA
ISSUE 2 27
MALAYSIA
SC SHEKAR MALAYSIA
SC SHEKAR
28
ISSUE 2
Documentary Photography & Fujifilm The photography SC had practiced all these years obliges him to travel to the most remote areas around the world and to live within rural communities. This is one of those instances where small cameras like Fujifilm X Series Cameras could be handy and advisable. One example is his trip to Myanmar. For the last fifteen years SC has been visiting Myanmar and photographing the country and her people. When he first started, it was closed to the outside world, especially to photographers and journalists. He could never get a visa even though his passport didn’t reveal his profession (Journalist & Photographer). So one way around this problem was to cross the borders illegally, a big risk in which being caught would mean a guaranteed time in prison. Although he didn’t used Fujifilm cameras those times, SC travelled with a similar small rangefinder camera with only two lenses, a 28mm and a 50mm with about 20 rolls of film on each trip. The reason for this was that the equipment has to be light, unobtrusive and not intimidating to anyone, especially the authorities. He managed to make repeated trips in and out of the entire country without raising any suspicion and slowly built up a body of work. The images of Myanmar photographed over this period of time are valuable because they record and preserve the change (albeit slow) occurring within the country during her darkest period. Things are much better now in Myanmar with the government opening up their borders and allowing free trade and unrestricted access to foreign investor and visitors alike.
MALAYSIA
x100 X-PRO1 X-E2 X-T1
SC SHEKAR
SC SHEKAR Malaysia
ISSUE 2 29
30
ISSUE 2
ISARA SAMUANPHO THAILAND
ISARA SAMUANPHO THAILAND
Gaea as Seen
Behind the Camera Macro & Nature Photography with ISARA SAMUANPHO
Isara Samuanpho is a free spirit in nature. He had always been fascinated of his surroundings and the beauty of mother nature. He travels a lot and accompanied by a camera, he sees to it that he can record the magnificent environment and later on share not only the images but his experience when taking the pictures. Coming off from an ordinary family, Isara grew up like any normal kids. He loves sports and going out. He is at extreme happiness especially when he visits places with his family and friends. Isara was living an ordinary life and couldn’t even remember if he excelled on any arts or craft. But what he knows is that he always had an eye for extraordinary things around him. He admires pretty things especially the nature and believes that he is at one with them. Photography seems to be a perfect match for him. It allows him to show people how he see things and express his thoughts freely. He was able to understand its ways and it is one of those few things that he really became interested of. Isara has always been a fan of pictures and the little box behind it. He was fascinated of how cameras record the moment and images around him.
ISARA SAMUANPHO Thailand x100 X-A1 X-E2 X-T1
It was a perfect tool for him to document his travels and expeditions, and was a perfect tool to preserve nature at its best even its just in photographs. In his first attempt in taking pictures, Isara humbly admits that he didn’t achieved his vision. The first shot he took was too wide and not as interesting as he supposed it to be. It has no dimension and the light was not even. Though Isara failed he did not faltered. He polished his skills by learning through any materials possible. He tried to learn how professional photographers such as Steve McCurry, Art Wolfe and photographers from National Geographic Magazine do it and arrange their compositions. From his hard work, soon he became competent in his craft. Nowadays, Isara runs his own magazine. Sharing his knowledge through the magazine is one the biggest achievement for him. Being able to pass his experience and advise fellow photographers of the principle and techniques of photography gives him extreme pleasure that can never be replicated by anything else. He hopes to continue this and share the beauty of the world the way he sees it behind the camera.
ISARA SAMUANPHO THAILAND
Nature Photography & Fujifilm
ISARA SAMUANPHO THAILAND
As a Travel and Nature Photographer, Isara admires the built quality of Fujifilm X Series Cameras. Being light and compact, he can easily bring a body and few lenses with him in trips. The weight doesn’t give any toll to his body and he can shoot all day (given if he brings extra battery with him). Isara commends the Hybrid Viewfinder as well of the camera. You can easily shoot images and see exactly what it would look like. The file quality of Fujifilm camera is another special thing. You can get less noise even while shooting at high ISO such as ISO 1600 or ISO 3200 and still have a colorful, natural pictures.
32
ISSUE 2
Up Close and Personal
Fujifilm had extend its venture to Macro Photography by introducing a Macro Lens in 2012 compatible to most X Series. The Fujinon XF 60mm f/2.4 is an aspherical 90mm-equivalant macro lens with superior optical performance. This lightweight allmetal lens has no visible distortion, focuses super-close, is super-sharp right out to the edges at f/2.4, has no lateral color fringes, has no visible light falloff even at f/2.4 and has superb bokeh — and it focuses so close that a subject 31 x 47mm (about an inch tall) fills your screen.
Fujifilm also introduces 2 Macro Extension Tubes, The MCEX-11 and MCEX-16. Both Macro extension tubes are inserted between the lens and the camera body and increase the distance between the lens elements and the sensor enabling users to focus on subjects much closer to the camera.
FEATURE SOUTH EAST ASIA
Macro Photography is extreme close-up genre of photography, usually done by taking images of very small subjects such as insects and smaller living creatures using special equipments and techniques. Macro lenses are the most common tool in practicing the craft. These special lenses are specifically designed for close-up work, with a long barrel for close focusing and optimized for high reproduction ratios. Extending the distance between the lens and the film or sensor, by inserting either extension tubes or a continuously adjustable bellows, is another equipment option. The farther the lens is from the film or sensor, the closer the focusing distance, the greater the magnification, and the darker the image given the same aperture. Tubes of various lengths can be stacked, decreasing lens-to-subject distance and increasing magnification. Due to advances in sensor technology, today’s small-sensor digital cameras can rival the macro capabilities of a DSLR with a “true” macro lens, despite having a lower reproduction ratio, making macro photography more widely accessible at a lower cost.
ISSUE 2 33
FEATURE SOUTH EAST ASIA
PARTNER
FEATURE SOUTH EAST ASIA
Today, everybody just appears to be a fan of doing a self-portrait photograph or most commonly known as “Selfie”. As the digital era comes and cameras seems to be in every technology such as hand held digital cameras or camera phones, it is no wonder how people can just do it anytime and anywhere. Add to the fact that the rampant social media nowadays such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram allows you to share those photos instantly, thus making selfie a trending activity worldwide. With this said, Fujifilm introduces its latest technology to meet your demand, a mirrorless camera dedicated to help you have a better selfie.
34
The Fujifilm X-A2 is a new entry-level compact system camera designed to take better selfies, thanks to its 175° tilting LCD screen with face and eye detection. Key features of the X-A2 include a 16.3-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, newly-developed Eye auto focus (AF), Auto Macro AF and Multi-Target AF, 5.6fps burst shooting, built-in wi-fi, EXR Processor II, a pop-up flash and external hotshoe, a range of film simulation modes and creative effects, Classic Chrome film simulation mode, Full HD video recording capabilities at 30 frames per second, and a multiple exposure mode. The Fujifilm X-A2 is available in silver/black or brown bundled with the new XC 16-50mm II (24-76mm) F3.5-5.6 OIS zoom lens at a kit price of 550 US dollars.
ISSUE 2
In lay mans term, Fujifilm X-A2 is an outstanding digital camera that delivers outstanding image quality, better than camera phones and point-and-shoot cameras while still being handy that a DSLR cannot offer. The X-A2 has a rear screen offers a three-inch, 920,000 dot LCD that can tilt up or down from a forward-facing 175° angle to a low 90° angle, perfect for selfies, overhead and low-down shooting. When you flip-up the screen to 175°, the camera automatically detects both face and eyes to help ensure that the main subject is sharp, and there’s a new Portrait Enhancer mode to make skin look brighter and smoother. The X-A2 has a bulit-in wi-fi connectivity also that can allow you to transfer files easily. The camera also boast a healthy selection of creative options. You can emulate the look of classic Fujifilms from days gone by, with Film Simulation modes including Velvia, Astia, Provia, Sepia, and Black & White available, but this is now supplemented with Fuji’s newer Classic Chrome film simulation. There’s also an Advanced Filter function which provides access to eight effects: Toy Camera, Miniature, Dynamic Tone, Pop Color, Soft Focus, High Key, Low Key and Partial Color. You can also superimpose two shots upon each other, using the Multiple Exposure function. Lastly, Fujifilm X-A2 has interchangeable lens mount allowing you to use different kinds of lenses for the camera.
You can also send photos directly to the instax SHARE Smartphone Printer SP-1 for easy printing.