North Island Holiday - Part One.

I don't get out much.

Seriously - it seems the older I get, the less I want to leave the comfort of home. Twenty years ago I would have been out most weekends, up at the crack of dawn, chasing the good light - and the good images. But not anymore.

And I certainly don't go away on many holidays. I could practically count them on one hand.

To some extent, this comes down to the fact that holidays are so damn expensive - and getting expensiverer (yes, I know that's not a word) every year. And I'm not even talking overseas. Travelling in your own country, paying for accommodation, and eating out, can be eye-wateringly costly.

But then again, what price do you put on experiences? Or relaxation (not that travelling is all that relaxing necessarily - but I digress). Yes, it costs too much. But I do know that when my wife and I have bitten the bullet and gone away together for any extended period, 'on holiday', we have thoroughly enjoyed it.

So maybe I should. You know. Get out more...

Mawheraiti Rail Shed, West Coast. Fujifilm X100. f/5.6 @ 1/750th, ISO 400

So I did. 

My wife and I finally took a trip we had been talking about for at least a couple of years. We'd never quite managed it for all sorts of reasons - and almost didn't go at the last minute this time either (but that's another story that I'm not going to tell). But in the end, the Ferry was booked, accommodation sorted, the dog was kenneled, and off we went - to explore the central North Island. First stop - a night in Blenheim (so we could catch the Bluebridge Ferry and cross to the North Island early the next morning).

I didn't get far - about 30 minutes into the trip - before I wanted to stop and take a photo of the above shed (see, it's working already). Shot on the Fujifilm X100, it's just the kind of image I love taking. Little did I know at this stage in the journey that there would be a lot more images like this over the next two weeks!

Lake Rotoiti - Nelson Lakes National Park. Fujifilm X100. f/5.6 @ 1/1250th, ISO 400 

The trip to Blenheim takes you past the Nelson Lakes area, and in particular Lake Rotoiti - which is just a five minute diversion off the main highway. It's a beautiful lake, with stunning scenery in all seasons and in all weather. Although if you are there on a beautiful hot day in summer the mosquitoes will eat you alive! I was outside for all of about two minutes before I headed for the relative safety of the car. They really know how to ruin a good day....

The above photo, taken on the X100, has been cropped to square - simply because I didn't stay out with the mosquitoes long enough to compose perfectly, and also because in the original 3:2 image there was nothing happening on the left hand side. So I cropped it later in post. Ironically, when I had a Bronica film camera that used the square format I found it a real struggle composing 1:1. But now I tend to 'see' images in this format quite a lot. Go figure.

Wairau Valley Garage. Fujifilm X100. f/5.6 @ 1/1250th, ISO 400

Eventually we drove through the Wairau Valley - wine growing country - only 30 minutes outside of Blenheim. Again, I had to stop and take a photo of this abandoned garage, even though the light was dreadful! This would be amazing with soft light, or early morning light streaming into the front of the building. 

But I didn't have that kind of light, did I. I had very bright, mid afternoon, harsh light and shadows that were a nightmare to get detail from. Despite this, the X100 has done extremely well. It also helps that I shot it in RAW so I could push and pull detail out later on.

No, it's not great (or even good) light, but it is a great subject. I certainly wasn't going to hang around for a few hours for the light to get good. And that's another thing about being on holiday. Sometimes it will be the only time you will ever be at a particular location in your life, so golden light be damned! Just get shooting. And when light gives you lemons.... (or something like that).

Etrich Taube (Dove) - Aviation Heritage Centre. Lumix S5 with 20-60mm. f/5.6 @ 1/30th, ISO 3200

Our ultimate destination on day one of the trip - apart from our accommodation in Blenheim - was to visit the Aviation Heritage Centre. It houses the personal collection of WWI and WWII memorabilia of Sir Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Rings fame), as well as several full-scale diorama's built by Weta Workshop (more on them later).

We had somewhat limited time, so decided to concentrate this visit on seeing the WWI exhibition. We will definitely go back at some stage and see the WWII exhibit as well.

Since this is a photography blog and not the history channel, I won't go into great detail about what planes are which, where the were made, what battles they were in etc. But I will say that the exhibitions are a lot of fun (and a challenge) to photograph. Although I had been using the Fujifilm X100 up to this point on the trip, for the exhibition I switched to my Lumix S5 with 20-60mm - for a couple of probably obvious reasons.

Siemens-Shuckert D.IV. Panasonic Lumix S5 with 20-60mm. f/5.6 @ 1/200th, ISO 3200

Firstly, I was going to be dealing with a lot of low-light. So I wanted two settings to help me get sharp images; a high yet clean ISO setting, and image stabilisation. This the S5 has. The X100 - not so much.

Second, I wanted a bit more 'reach' at both ends - wide and telephoto. The fixed 35mm of the X100 was going to be too limiting in confined spaces. The Lumix S 20-60mm was perfect. The above images at ISO 3200 are fantastic - sharp and with very little noise. An excellent result.

Not a lot of people know this, but my 'other' hobby is building military scale models and putting them in dioramas. So getting to see these full-size dioramas from Weta Workshop up close was truly amazing. If you are in New Zealand, and find yourself anywhere near Blenheim, I highly recommend spending a day at the Aviation Heritage Centre.

Aviation Heritage Centre, Blenheim. Lumix S5 with 20-60mm. f/5.6 @ 1/800th, ISO 100. 65:24 ratio

For our first day on holiday, I'd say it was a great success, and an excellent way to start the trip. It wasn't a 'photography' holiday as such, but my wife is well aware of who she married - and we had scheduled our time to include creative stops along the way. As a matter of fact, she just happens to be a very good photographer herself, with an excellent eye for an image. And although she used her iphone the whole time, at least half of her photos are practically identical to mine! I would often get to a scene and start to get ready, only to find that my wife would already be standing in the exact spot I wanted to stand in! And now she's even talking about getting a 'real' camera! I approve....😊

So that's day one. We were away for 12 days. More posts will follow....

Adding Grain to Jpegs

Yes it's arrived. And yes, it's gorgeous!

Ok, slight context.... I've recently purchased a Fujifilm X100 (original) as my lightweight 'travel' camera (see last two posts) instead of carrying around my full-frame S5 with numerous lenses. And it arrived yesterday. And it IS gorgeous. 😁

In my previous post, I also discussed how I would use the X100 to challenge my photography in 2026. To use it:

Okarito Schoolhouse. Fuji X-E2. Grain added

• as a one camera, one lens set up
• with a fixed 35mm focal length lens
• shooting in jpeg only

Call it a New Years resolution if you will. And, like all New Years resolutions, we'll see how long it lasts?

I haven't used the X100 for any serious photography yet (it only arrived yesterday), but I have set the camera up for how I like to shoot, and I'm sure I will tweak this once I get a few excursions under my belt.

Initially I have it in aperture priority (choosing the aperture on the lens), single shot, central AF point, beep turned off, fine jpeg and auto ISO. I will play around with the optical vs electronic viewfinder, but initial thoughts are that I quite like the optical viewfinder with the information overlay. No, you don't get to see the changes you make to the image in real-time, but you do still get to see a histogram so you can nail exposure and can see what your current settings are. As with all range-finder setups with the viewfinder off to the left, the camera lens does protrude a bit into the bottom right corner, but not excessively. And it will be even less apparent without the lens hood attached.

With all that out of the way, my thoughts turned to how I was going to 'process' the images from the X100. Yes, I realise that if I am going to commit to shooting jpegs all year, then the camera does all the work for me. I should just be able to use the images SOOC (straight out of camera). After all, isn't that the point?

Donovan's Store, Okarito. Fujifilm X-E2 with gain added in Nik Color Efex Pro 4 (before & after)

Well, yes, I suppose it is. Shooting jpeg - especially when applying a film recipe - means that you are getting the 'look' you are after without having to go through the RAW editing process later. And the 'look' that I am after, is a 'representation' of film. 

I added italics to my last statement because I know that shooting digital is not, and never will be, the same as actually shooting film. But I'm happy with that - because I don't actually want to shoot film. But I do want to use the X100 to photograph in a similar way to shooting film, and achieve a similar look. And with the Fuji film recipes, I'm 90% there. What's the other 10% that's missing? Grain.

Lake Mapourika, South Westland. Fujifilm X-E2 with grain added in Nik Color Efex Pro 4

I recently ended my subscription to Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, and since then I've been using Affinity Photo (which I paid full price for a few months before they made it free for everyone! Don't get me started...). While I don't for-see a lot of post-processing required to the jpegs from the X100, I do want to add some grain to the final images. In later camera models (the X-E3, X100V etc) grain can be added in-camera as part of the film recipe. Unfortunately not so in the X100.

I looked around at possible software solutions (of which there are many), and as amazing as some of them looked, they all needed an ongoing subscription to use them. Not happening.

Then I realised that I still had the Nik software suite from when Google owned it and they offered it for free. Nik's Analog Efex Pro 2 seemed just the ticket, so I fired it up and played around with making my own 'camera' grain settings. After playing around for a while, I couldn't seem to achieve the look I was after. The software really tries to overplay the old camera effect - it doesn't do subtle. All I really wanted was just some simple grain added. In the end I gave up on Analog Efex and opened Color Efex Pro 4 instead. And bingo - there it was. A simple 'grain effect' filter.

I have created my own custom effect that I can apply to all the images I want to add some grain to from the X100. Yes, it adds another step, and yes, it counts as post-processing on a workflow that is supposed to be SOOC - but I won't do it to every image - just the ones I want to post/share on the blog. The effect can be seen on the images above - all shot with the Fujifilm X-E2. The middle image of Donavan's Store shows some of the 'before and after', where prior to the red line in the image is the 'before'.

I like the look of the grain in the image (and yes, I know it's not grain as such, but simple added texture /noise) which completes the illusion of creating a film-look from a digital camera. And that's good enough for me. It's the closest thing to shooting film, without actually shooting film.

I'm looking forward to taking the X100 out for it's first official shoot. I've already programmed three film recipes into the camera, and will try them out with the film grain added in Color Efex Pro 4 and post these next time. Then it's bring on 2026!

One camera, one lens, in 2026.

In my last post I discussed my recent purchase; the Fujifilm X100. I had hoped it would have turned up in time for my birthday, but alas that was not meant to be. It’s actually due to arrive on December 23rd (this Tuesday at the time of writing this). To say that I’m looking forward to it arriving would be something of an understatement. I’m pumped.

For those of you who may have been following along at home (and if you have been then ‘thank you’), you will know that this is not my first foray into the Fujifilm ecosystem. In 2019 I invested heavily in the XE1 and XE2, taking a deep dive down the film recipe rabbit hole. I enjoyed every minute of it back then, and I have a feeling that I’m going to be doing the same soon. I’ve already started re-reading some of my old posts to familiarise myself with some of the film recipes that I created for the XE1, and I think that these will port over to the X100 quite nicely.

I’m also hoping that the X100 will help rekindle my love affair with photography. I had been recently mulling over what I might be able to do in 2026 to get me back into photography again, and the X100 might just be the answer. In a few ways.

Firstly, the move back to a rangefinder-like shooting experience is something that I am really looking forward to. I loved the handling of the XE cameras I owned, which from someone who was brought up on SLR bodies was very surprising. In a good way. I’m also looking forward to experiencing the hybrid viewfinder on the X100. I have become used to using evf’s (electronic view finders) and the myriad benefits that they bring. I don’t even mind a lower resolution evf like those on the XE1 or Olympus EM5. But an optical viewfinder, with an electronic overlay that gives some shooting information,may be the perfect blend between digital convenience and optical clarity? Using the optical viewfinder option also helps with battery life, which on the original X100 isn’t all that impressive (apparently).

Secondly, 2026 may see me embrace the ‘one camera, one lens’ philosophy with the Fujifilm X100. It will be fascinating to see what using just the X100, with its fixed 35mm focal length lens, will do for my photography. Especially since I’m a self-confessed zoom guy. In preparation I’ve been watching a few youtube videos extolling the virtues of the fixed 35mm focal length. Some even refer to it as the ‘goldilocks’ focal length. It had better be if I’m going to shoot it exclusively for my images in 2026. We have a North Island holiday planned for the start of 2026, and we also may go to Australia towards the end of 2026 - so I had better fall in love with the 35mm focal length and the images it produces, or the one camera, one lens philosophy may be somewhat short lived? But I’m certainly keen to give it a go…

Speaking of giving it a go, the third and final decision with using the X100 is around file types. Given that I really loved Fuji’s film recipes last time I used the system, and given that I’m already thinking of what recipes I can programme into the X100, I’m also thinking that in 2026 I will concentrate on shooting jpegs only!? If there is any system that warrants shooting only jpegs, it’s Fujifilm. With its retro styling, film-like handling, and basic (2010) technology, the camera is as close as it gets to a film-shooting experience in a digital camera body. Right up my alley.

If I go through with all of the above (one camera, with one fixed 35mm lens, shooting jpegs only), then 2026 could be a very interesting year for me - photographically and artistically speaking. Bring it on…..