100X100 – episode 9

Calling the X100 an ideal camera for architectural photography would be more than exaggerated. That doesn’t mean though that it won’t capture the grand views – exterior and interior – of ‘big’ buildings (churches and others) while traveling.

Some samples from the recent Cologne city trip to illustrate the X100’s capabilities.

Cleaning the famous Kölner Dom

Looking up inside the Dom

Hotel Maritim: the glass covered hall

Great Saint Martin Church

Great Saint Martin Church

Note how well Lightroom 3 corrects for lens geometry flaws automatically (using a built-in lens profile). Add some manual perspective correction and – where needed – extracting the max out of the RAW data (no HDR this time), and there’s your picture postcards!

Gear notes: Fujifilm X100

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Covering the base (part 2)

We continue out tour of the ground level at the Val-Duchesse castle (see earlier posts).

Our next stop is the Flemish Room. Typical for this dining room are the oak paneling extending into bookshelves and the fireplace with screw-shaped marble column, Delft ceramic tiles and a bas-relief on top. The stained glass windows here carry scenes from Lafontaine’s fables. Also note the intricate ceiling and the checkered floor.

The Flemish Room leads on to the majestic Gothic Hall, topped by an arched ceiling. A wooden winding staircase leads up to the first floor. The floor tiles feature a labyrinth pattern. The many decorations – sculptures, carvings, paintings, stained glass windows - feature scenes from the history of the priory.

Gear notes: D700, 13-35/2.8, 24-70/2.8, 16/2.8

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100X100 – episode 8

More from the recent family trip to Cologne. The city’s historical buildings and the grim weather conditions begged for selecting black&white shots, including some rather pushed post-processing courtesy of Silver Efex Pro.

No surprise: the X100 does very well in these varying light conditions, and there’s absolutely no need to be reluctant to push ISO settings all the way to 1600.

Gear notes: Fujifilm X100

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