Brussels 2017 ft. Mr. Oizo’s Flat Beat

Pharaoh

Shot with Nikon D5100 AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR | Camera settings: 45 mm, f/5.3, ISO 1600, 1/25 sec, 0.00 eV | RAW processed with Lightroom 5, Silver Efex Pro 2 and TrueGrain (2012, New York)

Walking by the seaside

The old ‘kit’ lens still performing well. Shot with Nikon D5100 AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR | Camera settings: 35 mm, f/5, ISO 200, 1/2000 sec, 0.00 eV | RAW processed with Lightroom 5, Silver Efex Pro 2 and TrueGrain (2016, Egmond aan Zee)

Seaside Walk

I’m trying to reinvent my photography. I mounted the Nikon kit lens on my D5100. I like the lens because it is light and easy to zoom. I shoot in RAW. To keep as close as possible to the analog photography of the past, I only worked on the light aspect of the ‘flat’ RAW. Contrast, Shadows, etc. But I did not use any sharpening or any noise reduction. I used the RAW (or DNG, ‘Digital NeGative’) as if it was an analog negative. In analog photography you can not ‘sharpen’ the print. And I guess you can not perform ‘noise/grain reduction’. So, no sharpening, no noise reduction. The noise of the sensor is retained and works a bit like the grain of film. I know noise and grain a somewhat different, but if you let the noise just be, and refrain from sharpening the picture, you get a nice soft image, which does resemble the analog film feel. Shot with Nikon D5100 AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR | Camera settings: 55 mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/4000 sec, 0.00 eV | RAW processed with Lightroom 5 and DxO FilmPack 5 (2016, Egmond aan Zee)

Waiting for the boat

Shot with Sanyo Xacti J2 | Camera settings: 38 mm equiv, f/7, ISO 200, 1/380 sec, 0.00 eV | JPG processed with Lightroom 5, Silver Efex Pro 2 and TrueGrain (2007)

Holy Trinity

Inside the Musée Goya (Musée d’art hispanique) in Castres (Fr.). Shot with Nikon D5100 + AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR | Camera settings: 18 mm, f/3.8, ISO 1000, 1/13 sec, -0.33 eV | RAW processed with Lightroom 5 (2013, Castres, France)

The reason I bought a good camera phone …

… is because I wanted to be able to make shots like this one. My mother was visiting us. She is ill. So good, pleasant shot opportunity are scarce. My wife, kids and our dog Charlie were sitting around my mother. The sunlight fell perfectly through the window. I needed to capture that moment. No time to get hold of the big Nikons, or other cameras in the house. No, no time to loose. So I took my Lumia 930, and made the shot. It came out perfect. I’m really impressed. Don’t argue over the last pixel detail. The shot itself is perfect. The composition and the smiles. And the quality is way above average. It is a true keeper. Shot with Lumia 930. DNG processed with Lightroom 5 (2016)

Walk in Chinatown

Shot with Nikon D5100 + AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR. Camera settings 40 mm, f/5.3, ISO 200, 1/250 sec, 0.00 eV. RAW processed with Lightroom 5, Silver Efex Pro 2 and TrueGrain (2012, New York)

Caveman

Shot with Nikon D5100 + Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC (OS) HSM. Camera settings: 17 mm, f/8, ISO 100, 1/640 sec, 0.00 eV. RAW processed with Lightroom 5, Silver Efex Pro 2 and TrueGrain + Kodak 400 TMAX film (2014)

Carrousel

Shot with Canon S95, 6 mm, 1/40 sec, f/3.5, ISO 80, 0.00 eV, RAW, Lightroom 5 (Efteling, 2015)

The power of post-processing

The power of post-processing. A picture from 2003, shot with my old Sanyo Xacti compact camera. 3 MP. A good camera when there is enough light so you can shoot in ISO 100, but when there is not enough light the performance is dramatic. Nevertheless you have to do with. This shot was in low light, ISO 400, so a lot of noise, and an exposure of 1/8 sec. I was lucky to have a stable shot. The resulting JPG is not top. White balance problems, and noise, but the focus is ok.

At the time I had to do with this resulting JPG, but now I can post-process the same JPG with Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro 2. The same shot, even from a old basic 3 MP compact, gets a complete new dimension. Classy!

Shot with Sanyo Xacti J2, f/3.6, ISO 400, 1/8 sec, JPG, Lightroom 5, Silver Efex Pro 2 with Agfa APX 400 film (2003)

In Action

Charlie in Action. Shot with Nikon D40 + AF-S DX NIKKOR 35 mm f/1.8G, 35 mm, f/2.8, ISO 200, 1/250 sec, 0.00 eV, RAW, Lightroom 5, Silver Efex Pro 2 with Agfa APX 400 film (2015)

Sidewalk 5th Ave

Shot with Nikon D5100 AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR, 55 mm, f/5.6, ISO 400, 1/50 sec, -0.33 eV, RAW, Lightroom 5 (2012, New York) *NYC

Thomas the Roman

Thomas as roman soldier, in discussion with Ceasar. Shot with Nikon D5100 + Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC (OS) HSM, 50 mm, f/4.5, ISO 1250, 1/60 sec, 0.00 eV, RAW, Lightroom 5, Silver Efex Pro 2 (2015)

After the performance

Thomas after the group 7 ‘breekpunt’ performance at school. Shot with Nikon D5100 + Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC (OS) HSM, 32 mm, f/4.5, ISO 1250, 1/60 sec, 0.00 eV, RAW, Lightroom 5, Silver Efex Pro 2 (2015)

The weird rock ‘Le Peyro Clabado’

The rock is called ‘Le Peyro Clabado’. It is located in the Sidobre mountains, in the south of France. Shot with Nikon D5100 + AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR, 18 mm, f/3.5, ISO 400, 1/320 sec, 0.00 eV, RAW, Lightroom 5 (2013, Castres, France)

Well kids, that’s a Picasso

Inside the Musée Goya (Musée d’art hispanique) in Castres (Fr.). Shot with Nikon D5100 + AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR, 18 mm, f/4.5, ISO 1000, 1/80 sec, -1.00 eV, RAW, Lightroom 5, Silver Efex Pro 2 (2013, Castres, France)