Routine check

This picture showed on my Facebook today, as a reminder of what I posted a year or two years ago. In fact I was in Peru in 2013, but the picture had to wait over a year to actually be edited.

At the time of editing I was experimenting heavily with Nik Collection and the result was making a version with Analog Efex (see the second picture). However, seeing this picture today I thought it is a lot better than I initially thought and remade it using just Lightroom. I also (finally!) straighten it up :)

Nikon D5100, 52mm, 1/2500s @ f/2.5, iso 100

Same photo, old edit

Summer day

On the last day of our US trip (yes, I'm starting backwards) we encountered a weekend paradise for people from New Hampshire and neighbouring states - a river "beach" in the White Mountain Forest. Sun, water (cold, I admit), rocks, little waterfalls and fresh air - that is all one needs to relax and prepare for the coming week.

The image was taken "casually", with the iPhone 5s, upon departure.

iPhone 5s, auto

Spaceport Earth

iPhone 5s, auto, default Camera app

This one waited a long time for the edits... I took it at the beginning of my winter escape to Asia and I was so eager to get there I almost missed the chance for this shot. Instead of getting my camera from the backpack, I just used my phone. The result was a very dirty frame, with lots of noise.

Nevertheless, the eerie, artificial feeling (and creeps!) this photo gives me were worth very effort at making it usable. Enjoy!

Lost in winter

Nikon 7100, 75mm, 1/60s @ f/14, iso 125

Choices, choices... 

The moment I imported the photo into Lightroom I knew it has to be black-and-white with a colour accent. Few adjustments later I ended up with the picture #1 (below). The problem was, even though the red is strong, it wasn't enough to make the subject stand out from the background.

I thought blurring with a radial filter was the answer (picture #2). But the blur was looking very artificial, like I tried to fake a DOF very clumsily, as some of the critics noticed. Oh, I posted those two photos to the Street Photography group on 500px looking for tips.

After a bit more pondering, I finally toned down the background a bit, but without blurring it too much. A bit of shadows brightening, a tad of contrast and voila! The end result is exactly, what I was trying to show.

I had two good titles actually three) for this photo:

1. Lost in winter
2. Looking for summer
3. Which way to summer?

Ended up using the first one. What do you think?

Sharp (#1)

Blurred (#2)

Postcard from Krabi

Sony RX100M3, 24mm, 1/40s @ f/11, iso 125

If I wanted to send a postcard from Krabi, it would probably be this picture.

Sidenote: if I could make all the people look in the same direction the boats do, it would be a great photo. Now it's just a nice one.

Za sałatą

Nikon 7100, 75mm, 1/200s @ f/4, iso 2000

A loose allusion to a commercial popular in Poland. An expression (the English translation would be: behind the lettuce) that was repeated then in various social contexts. Not as big of a hit as "kopytko", but still...

The picture was taken at the Municipal Food Market in Ubon. Very nice and a very busy place in the morning. Vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, cooked food to eat there or take away, but also some clothes and toys. Lots of friendly and genuinely interesting people.

And they had the most spicy papaya salad I have ever eaten.

Fruitarian paradise

Nikon 7100, 75mm, 1/50s @ f/5.6, iso 3200

Walking the streets of Thai cities leaves a little wonder why for example Steve Jobs became a fruitarian. Of course, there are countless opportunities to eat something else (and usually uber-delicious), but you can live off fruits without problem. Some of them you've never saw before...

Why me?

Sony RX100M3, 40mm, 1/50s @ f/11, iso 1250

Back to black-and-whites...

This picture was taken when a storm was hitting the Cleveland's lakeside. The same summer storm which was chasing me from Detroit and I just manage to arrive 20 minutes before it caught up with me.

Fun! But not as much fun and those guys packing instruments had.

Superman

Nikon D5100 35mm f/1.8, 1/40s @ f/5.6, iso 200

Do your job, and do it well. This little man on streets of Lima certainly didn't mind his physique, when advertising a restaurant in Superman's costume. And great job he did.

Green escape

Fujifilm X100s, f/16, iso 200 HDR

Three posts with temples in a row? Time to return to Hong Kong then!

After a week of hard work, after a busy Saturday night (don't ask) there is hardly a better place to rest your tired eyes and body than Hong Kong Park. You can sit on a bench, watch fish and turtles, go to  the aviary and watch birds or go to the tai chi court and watch Chinese people trying to catch imaginary spiders.

Grace in the move

Fujifilm X100s, 1/150s @ f/2.8, iso 800, B&W+Green filter film simulation

Fujifilm X100s, 1/170s @ f/2.8, iso 400, B&W+Green filter film simulation

Fujifilm X100s, 1/210s @ f/2.8, iso 800, B&W+Green filter film simulation

Ok, where should I start?

There is this Shambhala Japanese festival going on in Chiang Dao, Thailand every year since 2009, getting bigger and bigger each year passing. Lots of Thai people, even more foreigners (how do they even know about it I wonder).
I had an utmost pleasure to be there for one night only and it was fantastic! The atmosphere was anything short of amazing. Nice events, cool music, good food & drinks and great crowd.
On the pictures, a girl practicing in the daylight for the later light dance performance. In the background: Chiang Dao Peak - the second highest mountain in Thailand.

Some things never change (much)

Fujifilm X100s, f/5.6, iso 800, HDR

This holidays I finally visited my hometown after almost 2 years. And it feels like I were off for only few days. Same buildings, same people, same birds, same events (people are waiting for "just married" to emerge from city hall). Only the christmas tree is new/different.
And however boring Zielona Góra may be long term, still it was nice to wander the streets of my childhood. See also Nostalgic Zielona Góra 2013.

Famous Schwartz's smoked meat

Fujifilm X100s, f/5.6, iso 800, HDR

There is a place on Saint-Laurent Boulevard where there is almost always a line of people waiting. Nobody can quite explain, why they lining up to this particular charcuterie, as there are two others equally good nearby.
But Schwartz's is listed in every possible guidebook about Montreal as a "place to visit". The smoked meat sandwiches are indeed pretty good. And the staff is so proud of working there for years, that you can almost feel like they're saving the world.
I thought it would be funny to capture the line on the picture. The HDR developed pretty well (and yes, I was too lazy to remove artifacts created by people in motion), but I went a step further and tried  to make it look like it could happen 100 years ago in a similar sunny winter morning.

Silhouette(s)...

Fujifilm X100s, 1/800s @ f/11, iso 800

Halloween is near

Fujifilm X100s, 1/640s @ f/2.8, iso 200