NIKON Z 8 (28mm, f/2, 1/250 sec, ISO125)

There are not many portraits of my friends on this blog with one exception. Harald. He appeared here a couple of times. Time to have a dedicated blog post.

I first met Harald on dpreview in the Nikon DSLR forum back in 2003. Eventually we met in person since we both lived in Vienna. He works as a scientist in the NMH (Natural History Museum) which is one of my favourite places to try out new camera gear. So every time I got a new camera I went to the museum, worked myself through the rooms in the second floor and met Harald in his office or for lunch in a nearby cafe. And because Harald has a very photogenic face of course I took some portraits of him. Here are my personal favourites.

For the image below I borrowed his Nikon AF 28/1.4. What a great lens. Back then I shot on my Nikon D2H. Now I’m finally back to Nikon and got a poor mans version of this lens. The really good Viltrox AF 28/1.8 Z. And since I’m now on a full frame sensor Nikon Z8 subject separation will be exactly the same. Btw below shot was taken in my favourite cafe  in Vienna, the Cafe Griensteidl, which sadly closed a couple of years ago.

NIKON D2H (28mm, f/1.4, 1/80 sec, ISO400)
Canon EOS 5D (135mm, f/2.8, 1/500 sec, ISO200)
NIKON D3 (85mm, f/2.2, 1/125 sec, ISO400)

As I mentioned many times here before: when my camera gear got stolen in 2007 I used to opportunity to switch to full frame. Unfortunately back then there was no sign that Nikon would go full frame so I got the Canon 5D and started to take more portraits especially with the great Canon EF 135/2 L and the EF 35/1.4 L.

But of course Nikon shocked the world with the fantastic Nikon D3 just months after I switched to Canon. I didn’t switch back of course because at the time I already invested all the insurance money in Canon lenses. Damn it Nikon. I should have waited.

But in fairness to Canon I really liked the files of the Canon 5D and later 6D. Back then the skin tones looked more natural compared to Nikon. And I really loved the 35L and the 135L for portraits.

Canon EOS 5D (35mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO400)
Canon EOS 5D (135mm, f/3.2, 1/125 sec, ISO400)
Canon EOS 5D (35mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec, ISO1600)
Canon EOS 5D (35mm, f/2.8, 1/50 sec, ISO1600)
FUJIFILM FinePix X100 (23mm, f/2.8, 1/105 sec, ISO200)

I really loved the 35L on my Canon 5D but the package was huge. So when I saw this small silver retro camera from Fuji in a shop for the first time I had to get it. That was in 2010 and the camera was the Fuji X100. Now its 6th iteration is on short supply months after it hit the market. Fuji has created a legend.

The image above I took on the very first day with my new camera. It is still my favourite portrait of Harald by far for a couple of reasons: First the light from the hallway windows was just perfect. Second: the background is visually striking. A cabinet filled with skulls. A controversial display that has been removed from the exhibition years ago and was placed in one of the hallways in the office part of the museum. And last but not least the fact that such a small camera can produce such an image.

Below an image with the Sony RX100. Also an amazing camera when it came out. I truly compact camera with an 1 inch sensor. I tried to copy myself but failed because of light and because of the fact that I had to get too close for comfort to get some subject separation. Learning: the sensor should be at least APS-C size for these kind of shots.

SONY DSC-RX100 (15.1mm, f/2.8, 1/200 sec, ISO400)
FUJIFILM X-Pro1 (35mm, f/1.4, 1/125 sec, ISO800)
FUJIFILM X-Pro1 (35mm, f/1.4, 1/125 sec, ISO640)

The Fuji X100 was a legendary camera and was with me all the time. Back then smartphone cameras still sucked. If I met a friend that I haven’t seen for some time I took the X100 with me. I also shot the group photo of a class meeting. My school mates thought that this is an old school camera but were stunned to learn what image quality it provided in poor light where their compact cameras failed.

The X100 was great but what really changed everything for me was the Fuji X-Pro1. I got this camera second hand with two lenses and despite it was as slow as the X100 I immediately loved the shooting experience and the results. Above are two shots with the XF 35/1.4 R. One of my favourite lenses and one that I still own despite the fact that my main camera is the Nikon Z8 now. The portraits are not my favourites too because they were taken in winter on a dark day. No light from the windows and that ugly cardigan didn’t help ether but it showed that smoking was still fine back then in the scientists break room.

The two images below are proof that the lens is more important than the sensor. Those were taken when I got the Panasonic GM1. I super small compact camera with interchangeable lenses and a m43 sensor. I bought it with the ultra compact kit lens but later added three lenses. The GM1 was a lot of fun and especially with the Panasonic 45/2 lens it could produce impressive images. If you look at the images below you don’t think at compact camera. AF was super fast too. Something I was not used to back then. I also got the Panasonic 14-140mm lens. That was a 10x super zoom (28-280mm equ.) the size of a compact prime lens and only 265g heavy. I love the small Panasonic even though I have large hands but when I finally reduced my camera gear substantially it had to go because of the lack of an EVF.

Panasonic DMC-GM1 (45mm, f/2, 1/100 sec, ISO640)
Panasonic DMC-GM1 (45mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO2000)
FUJIFILM X-T1 (23mm, f/1.4, 1/60 sec, ISO640)

At one point I owned way too many cameras but in reality the Fuji X system was the clear number one. I took it on my many business trips to Asia and also on my vacations in the USA, though most of the time as a side shooter (evenings, museums, city walks).

When the Fuji X-Pro2 came out in 2016 it was time to clear my camera cabinet. At that time I had a Canon 6D, a Sony A7R (which I used with my Canon glass), a Ricoh GR. the Panasonic GM1 and of course my Fuji X-Pro2 and X-T1. I sold all cameras except the Fujis and fully bought into the Fuji X system. For the next 8 years I shot exclusively with Fuji. I owned the Fuji X-H1 at one point but my favourite camera remained the X-Pro2.

Btw the image above and below is taken in the famous Cafe Bellaria that also closed a couple of years ago. For a city that is so proud of its Kaffeehauskultur Vienna let those great old cafes die easily. It’s a real shame.

FUJIFILM X-T1 (56mm, f/1.8, 1/60 sec, ISO800)
FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (35mm, f/2, 1/60 sec, ISO1250)
FUJIFILM X-Pro3 (23mm, f/2.8, 1/120 sec, ISO160)

The image above shows Harald right after he got out of hospital. He went through a rough time and it shows. We had lunch in the Cafe Bellaria nearby the NHM/his office. He lost a lot of weight and I really worried about him.

Fast forward to last week. We met again after some time. He just returned from a three week “bug collecting trip” in the North of Vietnam. He looked good, he felt good and it shows. We talked about life and camera gear and of course I took some images with my new Nikon camera. On the entry picture I used my Viltrox AF 28/1.8 Z and on the image below the dirt cheap Nikon Z 40/2. Both lenses are great and the fast eye-AF makes life easy now. We agreed that today’s cameras are almost too good. It feels like cheating.

There you have it. 20 years of portraits photography of one guy but with many different cameras and lenses. It started with a big fat Nikon and a 28mm lens and it ended with a big fat Nikon and a 28mm lens. Full circle if you will. We are still in an old cafe, we are still talking about life and camera gear and I hope that will never change.

NIKON Z 8 (40mm, f/2, 1/250 sec, ISO160)