Street photography has been very dear to me ever since I started using the X Series. It was a natural first step for me, since it was a discipline that required minimal amount of equipment, as well as requiring an interest in human interaction.
My street photography is candid. I do not interfere. I need to move around quickly, quietly and unnoticed. This, to me, is where the beauty of storytelling lies. Being able to document the lives of fellow humans. Not biassing the emotional outcome. I just observe and frame.
The X Series is my chosen camera system for my street photography. I often pick the X-Pro2 because of the hybrid viewfinder and the unique possibilities of this. But the X-T2 brings its own unique features to my world of street photography.
The enormous EVF in the X-T2 gives me a fantastic representation of what I capture through my lens. The small subtle details in the images suddenly appear much more pronounced, and as such I can better incorporate these small details in my frame.
When shooting after dark, the EVF again is a clear advantage. The EVF amplification of deficient light is very usable in these situations. The incredible ISO performance of the X-Trans III sensor and X-Processor Pro also makes it incredibly easy to document around dusk or nighttime. I find street life at these odd hours really interesting, and the possibility to capture something a little different is abundant.
As I wrote earlier in the Nordic Aftermath series, the tilt screen of the X-T2 is quite the feature for a lot of photographic disciplines. This also holds true for street photography. The “shot from the hip” look of many street images is quite interesting to me. Combined with a wide-angle lens, this perspective renders scenes that makes the main subject appear more epic. The problem is that you often take a chance on composition, cause you simply can’t see what you’re doing. But with the X-T2 the tilt-screen makes sure that you can compose your low-angle shots perfectly to your liking.
The weather resistant design of the X-T2 is something I have come to rely on after using both the X-T1 and X-Pro2. Like with darkness, rainy weather is a part of the Danish winter, and it brings unlimited possibilities to make something a little more interesting than perfectly lit summer shots. Having a tool that I know will last through any weather is incredible.
When I do street photography, I see my images in black and white. Not only pre-visualized in my head, but also quite literally. For a typical day of street photography I set the film simulation to ACROS + Yellow Filter in the camera settings. This truly allows me to carry out my vision of luminance and shapes exactly as I had envisioned in the image before pressing the shutter. I shoot RAW+jpeg so I can easily make a color image if I so desire at a later point in time. It’s an incredibly flexible solution that gives me all the benefits of the fantastic ACROS jpegs as well as being able to manipulate my raw files afterwards.
The X-T2 is a true multi-tool for the demanding photographer. You can put it through any situation and it rewards you with great images regardless.
