Back To Me!

I feel as though I've been given a new lease on life. I'm going to try a pool workout tomorrow morning. After over two weeks away I probably will be buzzing and tired at the same time. I was out for a long photo walk in Manhattan yesterday. Started across Canal Street, down to Columbus Park in Chinatown. then back up West Broadway through the West Village to Penn Station - just about four miles.

Canal Street, on a weekend when the weather is good, is buzzing with activity. Shoppers for jewelry and clothing bargains, chinese fish and vegetable markets, street vendors selling $25 Rolex watches (yeah, right.....). It's a streettog's dream. Columbus park always buzzes with goings on - chinese opera performers, Go players, card games - it's a mad social scene. 

As much as I've been practicing with my focus technique using the Fuji X-Pro1, I still have a little ways to go. I discovered a flaw yesterday squeezing the shutter button with my very impatient right hand index finger. For moving subjects, when I don't have time to get the camera up to my eye for a proper framing, I've been firing the shutter in one motion - as opposed to my old DSLR technique of depressing the button half way to get the focus set (after the zzzzzz sound) and then firing, works with the DSLR because the motors are so fast. With the XP1 I can nail movement most of the time by the one motion squeeze because the shutter won't fire until the focus is locked, so there's a very slight delay in the firing. The trick is to keep the shutter pressed and the camera still until I can feel the shutter click (it's impossible to 'hear' because the shutter is so silent). I started off with a squeeze and immediately release, so I missed quite a few shots. Then I tried the more patient and relaxed way, and shazam (as in Captain Marvel), it worked! 

Here's two shots on Canal Street of the same young lady. I processed this first one and was quite pleased with it, especially the leg position of the mannequin and the girl.

But then, after a second review of the images I shot yesterday, I also liked this shot. The leg and body positions are a little more subtle, and the processing a bit brighter.

There's nothing wrong with liking them both.