Photography – Shaun Madill Photography

Fujifilm X-Half, a half review for half a camera.

I can’t believe I haven’t written anything here since April. It’s been a roller coaster couple of months with the arrival of our new granddaughter, Nellie. A complicated delivery, and prolonged hospital stay for mum and daughter and time flew by.

So, to photography. Last week I picked up the new Fujifilm X-Half. After a few days here on Anglesey I’ve gathered some thoughts. I don’t have the technical knowledge to write reviews, so if you want a qualified review, head over to DP Review. This is just my experience as an amateur.

I should start this by saying I knew this wasn’t comparable to my X100 cameras, or my Ricoh GR3s’. I knew this would be more a of a family snaps style camera.

Why did I buy this camera? I like the idea of a film like work flow. The film mode should make it so you choose a film sim and set the number of exposures you want to take. Then the camera locks the user out of changing any settings other than aperture (the camera has aperture priority, or auto modes). Once you’ve taken the full roll of film, you ‘develop’ your exposures in the app.

So far, I’ve tried three times to use this experience, twice it’s failed and gone back into normal shooting mode. The one time it worked, I found the ‘developing’ process an unnecessary gimmick. It takes a while, and serves no purpose. If you could change the look of the final image during processing, then that would be fun. It would be educational tool on how film development works.

How does it work as a camera? It’s ok. But, just, ok. The most frustrating thing is the lag. There’s a seriously annoying lag from pressing the shutter to the ‘click’ of the image being captured. This needs addressing in an update. My wife took several photos and she couldn’t tell if the camera had worked.

The rear screen is very poor in any shade of daylight. You can’t see it at all. Which, isn’t an issue if you use the optical viewfinder to compose, but in film mode you can’t see how many exposures you have left, or if it has moved to the next frame (when it works).

The images aren’t great. I expected the same or slightly better quality than my iPhone 16. My expectations were too high. My iPhone is infinitely better. There’s no RAW, but I knew that before I bought it. Fuji’s jpegs are generally brilliant, so I didn’t mind. Maybe it’s the one inch sensor? Sony did a decent job on one inch sensors though.

A lot of this wouldn’t really be an issue IF this camera didn’t cost £699. If I’m honest, this acts and feels like a toy camera. It should be called ‘my First Fuji’.

If I was asked to name a price to buy this, I’d say £100 a most. Do I feel a bit ripped off? Absolutely.

Out of curiosity I looked at what I could have bought for £699.

– A Canon EOS RS100 with an 18-55mm, for only £529
– A Lumix TZ99 for £469
– A Sony ZV1A for £649

That’s just three of a much bigger selection. I had to stop looking because the more I looked, the more I felt like I’d wasted my money.

If you’re looking for a small, fun camera then look at a second hand Lumix GM1. You can get one with a decent lens for less than this.

Can the issues in the X-Half be fixed? Maybe an update can fix the lag and the film mode failures. Maybe it could improve the final images. The screen will always be rubbish.

I’m tempted to sell if before the world realises how bad this camera is. Fuji, I expected a lot more from you.

Update; I ended up selling this camera to MPB, at quite a hefty loss. Lesson learned? Probably not.

2nd Update. I changed my mind and kept it. Maybe I didn’t give it enough of a chance.

3rd Update, it’s gone. Hated it.

Overcoming Visually Impaired Challenges in Photography

My aim this year has been to take more photographs, and while I have actually done that I haven’t taken anything worth sharing. What I have found that is worth sharing is a Youtube video from Thomas Heaton.

I’m a big fan of Thomas and I’ve followed him for years. But, this is my favourite video of his to date. As someone that is visually impaired I have had my battles with sticking with photography, but a few years on I have found a way that works for me. Gary (the star of the video) has a similar method where he looks for contrast, which is what I also do. It’s why I’ve made the move to black and white, because I see the shapes and the contrast more than the colour and the details.

Gary’s work is amazing. A real inspiration.

Steel City

I love Sheffield. I think it’s a bit of a forgotten city, even here in Yorkshire people think Leeds or York are where it’s at. But, Sheffield has such a lot going on and a nice friendly atmosphere. I was there the other day to meet some friends for lunch, so I decided to go a little early and capture a few images, and as is usual these days my Fuji X100VI went with me. I was short on time, and didn’t get to explore as much as I’d have liked, but it’s only down the road so I will make the time to take a trip there just for photography.

This was an instant click of the shutter button. As soon as I saw this scene. I loved the trolley being parked up while the bloke had his break.

I saw the girl in the coat a little too late, so she’s out of focus. Let’s pretend she’s moving really fast and it’s intentional.

I would have prefer just the Crepe stand, bt it was so busy. But, the point of street photography is to capture what’s going on.

I love older couples, I’m an old romantic. She was helping him get the lid on his coffee, after losing patience with him. It reminded me of my wife.

I need to go back and take this again. There’s better framing to be had.

What did I learn? Well, nobody cares if you’re taking photographs, so I don’t need to stress about street photography as much.

I need to change the focus modes on my camera. I’m still in landscape mindset, so autofocus isn’t set to ‘continuous’ and my focus is on fixed central point. Every day is a lesson.

That’s all 2024…

Time flies, doesn’t it? It feels like just yesterday we were celebrating Christmas, but here we are at the end of 2024.

I didn’t have any specific photography goals at the start of the year. I’m not really one for New Year’s resolutions. But life has taken some interesting turns.

I switched from using Lumix cameras to a Fuji cameras. That brought its own set of challenges. The most positive being that I don’t spend as much time editing as I used to. I’m a big fan of the film simulations, so I focus more on getting the shot right in the camera rather than in Lightroom.

I tried my hand at street photography for the first time. It was a bit nerve-wracking, but I had a blast. I love seeing other photographers’ street work, and I’ve been collecting books on the subject. Mr. Whisper’s work is really inspiring (more on him next week).

I discovered new local spots to photograph, which got me into clouds (especially in black and white). I hope to explore that more next year.

We also managed a few trips away.

So, while it wasn’t an incredible year overall, it wasn’t bad either. And most importantly, I still love photography.

Street Photography

If you’re a street photographer, then you have my absolute respect. It scares the shit out of me. I took my camera into Sheffield the other week with the intention of doing some candid street photography, and I was so nervous. I just don’t have the guts to point my camera at complete strangers and take a photo.

I found myself holding my camera at my side, pointing it in the general direction, pressing the shutter and hoping for the best…. That’s not good. It doesn’t allow for composition, adjusting the settings, making sure the focus is right. Ugh. Any half decent photo would be pure happy accident.

I don’t know why I was so nervous. There were plenty of other people with cameras taking photos and nobody was confronting them. I think this is the reason I tend to stick to landscape type photography, the trees won’t accuse me of invading their privacy (as far as I know).

Sheffield is full of great photography locations

So, do I just give up? I don’t think so. I really like street photography (other peoples). I like images with humanity doing human things. I just need to build up my confidence, and I have a plan.

I’ve signed up to do a street photography course with Fuji in London at the end of January. That in itself is a big deal for me as it means being around other people and being open about my visual impairment, but at least we’ll have common interests so we’ll have something to talk about. They provide all of the gear, but I’ll take my own as it’s set up how I like it. Hopefully, I’ll come away more confident and less worried about other people.

Eye Spy

Drones can be controversial as a subject. Understandably people have privacy issues with them, and now sub 250g drones can be flown closer to people and buildings there is a chance they could become even less unpopular. I tend to fly mine only when I know I’m a long way from other people and I’m not going to get hassled. Also, I pretty much exclusively use mine for stills photography. It’s very rare that I use them for video. Of the three I own, one is a DJI Mini 4 Pro which I would call my ‘main’ drone. The tech packed into this tiny package has come so far in the last ten years. It can pretty much fly itself, and the avoidance and safety features make it fool proof. Even I, with one eye can safely operate it. The other two are a DJI Avata 2 which is just used mostly for fun as it’s a racing drone, and lastly a DJI Neo, a new model that’s ridiculously small and I’m still figuring out. It’s classed a as a ‘selfy’ drone, but can do quite a lot more.

So, why am I writing about drones? Well, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Landscape Photographer of the Year had added drone photography as a category over the last few years (although sadly, they have left it out this year). It’s something I’ve dipped my toe into, but never fully got stuck into. As someone that tend to go tp the same place for photography I’m always looking for new angles and perspectives. So, what better way to do that than from the air?

A 12mp sensor has it’s limits, especially when cropping.

I’d have needed a boat and a tall ladder to get this shot.

I’m always looking for a new way to view a familiar place because most of my photography is done in one location, so as big as that space it it can be a challenge to find something new. Using a drone has massively increased the number of options I have, especially because I photograph in a wetland. For example, the image above is a location I regularly walk by, but I’ve never been able to find a good angle until now.

I particularly enjoy the types of shots shown above. Straight down with contrasting terrain (in this case marsh and scrubland). Again, it’s something that isn’t possible with a normal camera.

There are some downsides to drone photography. Firstly, I feel very self conscious. Despite a relaxing of the laws around flying drones under 250g (which mine is) which allows them to be flown closer to people and buildings, I still feel incredibly uncomfortable flying anywhere other people might see me. I think that is a me problem. Luckily, the kind of photography I enjoy generally means I am nowhere near other people anyway.

The other issue is that you can’t just take the drone out of your camera bag and go. So, it’s no good for something fleeting. By the time you’ve taken it out of the bag, unfolded it, taken off the lens protectors, turned it on, turned the RC on, got a satellite signal and a return to home point locked in, you’ve lost a good few minutes.

I also worry about the wind taking the drone off too, but I think that isn’t really a risk. They’re quite wind resilient.

The drones have a lot of videos capabilities that I currently haven’t explored. I am quite keen to get more into video though, so it will be fun to get into that later on. Hopefully the more I get out there, the more confident I’ll become and the more interesting my drone images will become.

The Great British Seaside, and the Fuji X100vi

A Quick Note – I lost the original images featured in this post when I accidentally formatted the memory card, so I wasn’t going to write it. In the end I’ve gone ahead, but I’ve had to use the Instagram copies, which is why they don’t look great.

Over the last year or so I’ve moved away from landscape photography. It’s something I’m still really interested in, and still enjoy. But, the reality is I live somewhere that isn’t very landscape-y. So, I’m trying other things, one of them being street photography.

I have always been nervous about trying street photography. Mostly, I’ve been worried about someone being upset about me taking their photo, either intentionally or not. I don’t know why, I’ve had my photo snapped a fair amount when we’ve been in York and I’ve never been upset by it, but some people can be funny. But, an impromptu Wednesday night trip to Scarbrough a few weeks ago and a new camera were a good motivation to give it a go.

The first thing I learned – walking a dog whilst trying to take photos doesn’t work. Especially if you already have vision issues making getting around challenging. The second thing I learned, my wife would rather I didn’t take photos when she’s around.

A camera in one hand and a dog in the other makes for a slightly blurry image.

This was the first time I used my new camera. I didn’t realise I had the in built ND filter turned on, so that slowed the shutter speed down and related in blurry images. Thanks a lot eyes….

I decided to shoot solely in JPEG, after all one of the points of the new camera was less time messing around editing. I’m pleased to say, it worked for me. There was a bit of cropping here and there, but that’s it. I mostly used a ‘recipe’ (I hate that term in this context) from Fuji X Weekly, which is a great resource for finding film simulations that aren’t already built in to the camera. In this instance I mostly used Vibrant Arizona (inspired by the Wes Anderson film, Asteroid City), which is a look I’ve really like since I saw the film.

I wish I’d have straightened the telescope before I took this.

I was stressing about manually adding recipes to the X100, but it’s actually fairly easy. Once you’ve changed one the rest come fairly easy. That said, I do want to spend more time taking photos with the in build simulations, but Scarborough was made for this recipe.

By this point I’d figured out my camera settings were shit

It turns out people don’t care if you’re taking photos. I think they assume they’re not in the frame. It helps that this camera has a small profile and doesn’t have a massive lens sticking out of the front.

Speaking of the lens. The biggest worry I had about moving to this camera was a fixed focal length. In this instance, the 23mm (35mm full frame equivalent) was perfect, and the 40MP sensor allows for a lot of cropping if needed. It will be interesting to see how I feel about actual landscape photography with this focal length.

Instagram compression has killed this one….

The one thing I don’t like about this camera (and there is only one thing), the front dial is too close to the on off switch. I kept changing the shutter speed instead of turning the camera off, or vice versa.

What did I learn on this trip? Always take the right glasses. Always. Check your camera settings with the right glasses on, so you can actually see them. Don’t format the SD card until you have copied the images to the network drive. Dogs or wives and cameras don’t mix. Street photography isn’t scary.

On that last point, street photography isn’t scary. I did kind of enjoy it, but I don’t think it’s something I would set out specifically to go and do. I still think that what I enjoy capturing the most lies somewhere between landscape photography and documentary style photography. Something that shows the human relationship with the natural world rather than towns and cities. Maybe.

This was my first outing with the Fuji X100vi, and yes, I still love it. I’ve spent the weeks since this going over the camera and learning where everything is. I’ve changed the function buttons around 87 times, and think I’m finally settled on them.

I think I’m at the point now where I feel confident enough to go out and really enjoy using it.

Negatives, and Positives. Using Film.

Back in March I had another go at fixing my 1970s’ OM10. The winding mechanism wasn’t moving properly, but I got it going and popped in a roll of Ilford film I had knocking around the house.

I didn’t invest a lot of time in taking photos with it as I wasn’t 100% sure I’d got it working. So, it’s mostly snaps of the dogs – they’re such good models!

Thankfully, it’s working and this time I got some actual images back. There were some valuable lessons in there. Firstly, the film ISO is important. I didn’t think about that and just assumed something at 400 ISO would suit most situations, but this particular film seemed more suited for darker lighting conditions. There’s a lot of grain where the images are bright. Next, (and this should have been obvious), no RAW for editing means that you really have to get a lot right in camera.

The biggest lesson – film photography is expensive. A 36 exposure film is around £10, developing is anywhere between £15 and £20. That’s up to £35 for a roll of film. Another reason you can’t afford to go wrong.

We’re so lucky to live in a time where digital photography exists. We can afford to mess up, and the only thing we will waste is our time. I have a new appreciation for RAW and being able to come home and change things in Lightroom. Even as someone that isn’t a fan of spending forever editing, it’s nice to be able to.

That said, I like the results. I generally don’t shoot black and white, but I think I’m going to go out a few times and just shoot in black and white. I really, really love this 50mm lens. I’m looking for an Olympus to L Mount adaptor so I can use it on my S9 when it arrives.

So, it’s nice to know the camera works, and I will use it. But, given the cost I can;t see me shooting more than one film a year.

Unconventional Photography: Discovering Beauty in Familiar Landscapes

Whenever I watch my favourite Youtube Photographers (Thomas Heaton, James Popsys, Emily Lowry etc) they’re often off on some grand adventure to some amazing location to photograph something spectacular. That’s not really an option for the majority of photography enthusiasts. I’d bet most of us live somewhere boring? Other than the odd trip to the more scenic parts of the UK, I am usually stuck here in the flattest part of Yorkshire. No mountains, or hills, no cliffs, canyons, no beach, just miles and miles of flat farm fields, the odd tree, ditches and canals. But, despite all that I still love going out with my camera. And, I think anyone interested in photography should go out and photograph where they live and not just the cool places.

I bet there are millions of photos of Bamburgh Castle at dawn, or the Old Man of Store on Skye, but how many photos are there of these cows, in this field, with those pylons in Doncaster are there?

How many photos have been taken of the river Don with this gate and the houses in the background?

Some boring train gates that have never been photographed before (probably), because why would you?

Am I seriously suggesting that these locations are as good as the Lake District, or the Isle of Harris? Well, no. But, they are important because these are the places we really live and work. They’re where we spend our lives, and they’re our reality. They should be photographed just as much as the ‘cool’ places because they are our real history. What’s more, they’re challenging to photograph and make something interesting from, which makes it fun. I think most people could take a great photo using their iPhone at sunrise on a great beach, or a great mountain.

Going local gives us a chance to experiment and grow. I find it lets me slow down because I’m not in a rush to get to the destination. Try different lenses, and filters. Mess around with shutter speed and apertures. Go out at different times of day, not just golden hour. The photos I’ve added to this post were all taken at the brightest part of the afternoon, so I messed about with them in Lightroom until I was happy with how they looked. It’s a great way to learn.

I challenge people to try and take a great photo of something that’s ‘normal’ and every day to them, where they live. Go for a walk, or get on your bike and see what you can find. I bet you’ll enjoy the process.

Cut Short

Last weekend should have been a long one, away in Northumberland. But, for reasons I won’t go into our stay was cut short to one day, and a very early departure for home on day two. My hope was to go out early on day two and get some sunrise photos along the coast. but, sometimes life gets in the way.

So, all I have is ‘snaps’ taken on a dull day with my GM5 and the ever trusty 12-32 Panasonic lens.

The couple on the bench is my favourite. What were they talking about? Were they looking out to the horizon planning their future? How many other couples had sat on the bench and done the same thing? The empty bench to the left serving as a reminder that our time on earth is brief.

Looking ahead, the weather here is good. Time for some walks and bike rides. I’m trying to plan a return trip to Spurn Point too, and I want to write about the way I’m editing images at the moment, and why.