Composing from a helicopter\u2019s cockpit, high above the slopes of Mount Hollywood, and looking west into the Los Angeles basin that extends to the Pacific coast, Dinesh Boaz frames the famous Griffith Observatory. Although it\u2019s a typical aerial image for this seasoned X-Photographer, this isn\u2019t a typical day at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a bunch of new things going on during that session,\u201d says Dinesh, an experienced aerial photographer and GFX system user. \u201cFor starters, I was trying out some higher altitudes than I would normally. I wanted to challenge myself to get in some of those different patterns and heights, because that\u2019s another look for me. Typically, I fly over locations at 500-1000ft. Below 500ft is dangerous, and going much higher than 1000ft, you\u2019ve got to get more permissions as you\u2019re getting into the space of commercial airplane traffic.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
![\"Image\"](\"https:\/\/fujifilm-x.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/gfx100s_dinesh-boaz_02-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto \u00a9 Dinesh Boaz | FUJIFILM GFX100S camera and GF32-64mmF4 R LM WR, 1\/140 sec at F7.1, ISO 250<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cWe had that 2500ft clearance over downtown LA, and we kept the pattern up around Griffith Park,\u201d he continues. \u201cComposing from a distance, the higher altitude meant I could get all these different lines going up the ridge towards the Observatory, along with LA in this sort of hazy light in the background. It\u2019s one of those images that reminds me of why FUJIFILM\u2019s GFX cameras\u2019 image quality really stands out. The depth-of-field, combined with the detail and the interplay between the background and foreground, is so interesting for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even without using the selection of 19 exclusive Film Simulation modes, the colors Dinesh got are phenomenal. \u201cIt speaks to a richness and depth that I\u2019ve not found in cameras elsewhere,\u201d he says. \u201cIt gives you more epic landscapes and adds drama to the places you capture, and as an artist it\u2019s those things I want to pull out. I think the way it responds to scenes actually makes me start to see things I wouldn\u2019t otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto \u00a9 Dinesh Boaz | FUJIFILM GFX100S camera and GF100-200mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR, 1\/400 sec at F5.6, ISO 320<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
And something else was new that day for Dinesh, too. His camera was GFX100S. As an experienced user of GFX100, we wanted to see what Dinesh made of the new, smaller, and lighter GFX100S body, which is why he spent a day with it in the skies above LA and the surrounding landscape.<\/p>\n
What struck him first? \u201cI think from a performance standpoint, GFX100S is probably similar to its predecessor,\u201d he explains, \u201cthat is, it does what I expect a professional camera to give me in autofocus performance and reaction to the light and, of course there\u2019s no major difference in the sensor, so it\u2019s still providing this massive amount of detail. But what I really loved straight off was the feel of the new body.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto \u00a9 Dinesh Boaz | FUJIFILM GFX100S camera and GF32-64mmF4 R LM WR, 1\/400 sec at F8, ISO 800<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a huge fan of GFX100,\u201d Dinesh admits, \u201cbut from the dual battery pack to the body size and the ergonomics, it\u2019s obviously a big camera. With the smaller and lighter design of GFX100S, I could honestly walk around New York City subway and no one would know it was a medium format camera making these amazing 100-megapixel files. And the controls just felt a little bit more fast flowing, too, even though I only had it for a day.\u201d<\/p>\n
He adds: \u201cTranslate that to my regular work in cramped helicopter cockpits, where you have literally a chair\u2019s amount of space, and it\u2019s amazingly useful. For the project over LA, I had two bodies with me, one with GF100-200mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR fitted and the other with GF32-64mmF4 R LM WR. I also had GF250mmF4 R LM OIS WR prime to switch to when I wanted more reach. There\u2019s no way I could do that as easily with two GFX100 bodies. It honestly felt like I was working with a regular DSLR. The lightweight feel means it\u2019s a genuine pick-up-and-go camera.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto \u00a9 Dinesh Boaz | FUJIFILM GFX100S camera and GF32-64mmF4 R LM WR, 1\/400 sec at F10, ISO 800<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
With its reduced size, GFX100S makes no compromises in terms of its In Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) feature, which is so vital for making the most of the 100-megapixel sensor when shooting handheld \u2013\u00a0or in a helicopter. \u201cNaturally, it\u2019s important that I work at the right shutter speeds,\u201d explains Dinesh, \u201cbut I think the new IBIS system in the camera and also the lenses have been great to work with. Six stops of stabilization is a great clutch in terms of working in these conditions, because while a typical helicopter session is windy and bumpy, I still want the fine details that make my large prints stand out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those details certainly came to the fore across Dinesh\u2019s day in the LA skies. \u201cThe city was already on the verge of a second lockdown, so I basically had that week to do it, or it wasn\u2019t going to happen,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd then our first planned trip up was cancelled, because a marine layer swept over the city \u2013 a total white out. Luckily our pilot was smart enough to say, \u2018We’re not going up, no way guys.\u2019 The day after, we found another helicopter and we got this kind of interesting blue tint in the afternoon light, so it was a great time to fly.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto \u00a9 Dinesh Boaz | FUJIFILM GFX100S camera and GF100-200mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR, 1\/400 sec at F7.1, ISO 320<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
From the air, Dinesh is always looking for details and abstracts, and finding those little patterns where people\u2019s lives move through and around\u00a0 at ground level. \u201cOut of Long Beach Airport, we flew over the Porsche racetrack, and though there were hardly any races at that time, we found these amazing patterns of cars parked there,\u201d explains Dinesh. \u201cWe did some of the classic LA shots, too, like Venice Beach Skate Park, and a cool basketball court with these wavy lines all around it. We also found surfers off the coast with these amazing colors from the layers and currents in the water. In the face of the year we\u2019ve all had, it was nice to show that there is life and happiness within those places, still.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n