The city that never sleeps

Nobody reads this blog nowadays, but I felt obliged to post here as it is an experience that is hard to forget. This is my first time in the states, and it is definitely an eye-opening experience.

Starting off with NYC, a place bustling with stuff going on. No wonder so many famous street photographers were born here. There is just so much going on that I regret not having the reflex and skills to cover them.

Street shots were taken mostly using the Nokton, but my range estimation skills still need loads of polishing, so is my ability to frame without looking through the viewfinder.

Although I brought a tripod, it wasn’t always useful. For the above shot, the entire bridge was vibrating from traffic, and a tripod would have little use. The OIS however, was a life saver, allowing me to handheld down to 1/6th of a second for this one (and my hand was shivering from the cold).

The Nokton saves the day again on this one. The lighting was minimal (only a small lamp on the floor). No tripods allowed. Winds were strong and chilling, driving other photographers back down into shelter. The Nokton with impressive OIS from the E-M5 allowed a clear shot at ISO1600, maintaining the dynamic range and color reproduction not possible at higher sensitivities.

The D300 did its job too. But it’s weight and heft made me re-think if it was really needed. Its dynamic range also pales in comparison with the E-M5’s. The F2.8 lens also feels much slower compared to the excellent primes on M43, and focus accuracy is way off for some reason. Guess it is time for it to retire.

More to come…