A 23mm f2 story pt.2
Enter New York City…
I touchdown in New York City and I am warmly greeted by my Auntie and her daughter. What a feeling that was. I had never met these humans before but I could feel the love straight away.
Anyway, moving on from my life story, back to the 23mm F2..I enter NYC with my X-S10 and the 23mm F2, I have high hopes for what’s ahead photography wise and think that the 23mm is the perfect focal length for this. I’m in a good place, I’m excited and feeling somewhat confident that this is whereI’m going to capture life changing images. The playground is in front of me, I have a camera and I think I have the skills.
After spending time with the family, we decide to go into the heart of the city and start exploring.
I have to say if you’ve never been to New York, it feels like you entering a film set. For me the first thing you notice is how insignificant you feel among the towering buildings, second comes the rush of the noise and third the bustle around the streets.
The 23mm attached to the X-S10 felt perfectly balanced. It’s such a small lens that I’m sure a lot of people just don’t notice it, that’s the beauty of combining a small camera and small lens and something you should consider with street photography. The focus is quiet and responsive and I had no problems changing the aperture with the ring.
Off I went to capture NYC, first up the subway…
Now I could probably do a whole trip to NYC and just stay in the subway. There is so much to see, so many interesting characters and a lot going on in such a small space. But alas I was pressed for time and also the urge to see more of the city above ground led me away from the underground. What I found most pleasing with the 23mm is the ability to capture almost everything you wanted in your frame, it’s not too tight or too wide, it’s such a versatile focal length.
Next up the classic sights, I think it’s imperative that when visiting a new country that you GO and SEE the tourist attractions. They are there for a reason and usually a great place for photography. I managed to get some of the main sights captured, and again the 23mm done really well in my opinion. I have found that cropping in a little bit helped but on the whole, it got the job done with a little bit of movement on the ground.
The size of the 23mm felt very balanced on the X-S10, the 23mm is actually really tiny compared to a lot of lenses so I was happy to have this attached to my camera for long days out. My hand never felt tired from carrying the setup, using the aperture ring felt comfortable, firm click and never felt loose, i’ve got medium sized hands for comparison…
The image quality wasn’t for me something I was particularly on the look our for, using special charts to measure how sharp my images were as I was just getting used to the setup. So for me there was nothing wrong with the image quality, I know people talk about it being “Soft” but I quite like the softer look, the clinical sharpness of todays digital images doesn’t do it for me, but that’s just my personal taste.
I think all in all the 23mm is the perfect starter lens, not too wide and not too tight. I did end up selling it as I was planning on getting the Fuji 35mm 1.4 and something wider like the 18mm so I felt like the 23mm was just kinda redundant. Will I buy it back? I mean the for the size alone i’d buy it in a heartbeat, I like the foal length, but maybe i’ll try the larger Fuji 23mm next Time or look into something else…
Now back to the human story… So on this trip I met my Auntie, and 3 cousins from a family I had never been in contact with. The whole thing was a bit surreal and I ended up staying with my auntie for the week over in Forest Hills. It’s strange to think that over my years on this earth I had no idea that they existed! And in this one trip I encountered a whole new side to my family, crazy and surreal to say the least. I think family is important as they are indicators to who you are, so meeting them was eye opening..
I won’t get too emotional and soppy but if something isn’t in the forefront of your mind then it’s not something that effects you but when it’s brought to the forefront then it starts to have an impact. This is one of those scenarios.It felt natural being there with those strangers who I barely knew, they felt like family (Whatever that feels like) So I was happy that I had entered their lives and they mine. I was also left feeling confused and a bit of a waste of time, how had this happened that you just don’t know something or someone exists…Then one day they just are there? Anyway…
After spending a week connecting with and feeling a little overwhelmed, it was time to say goodbye. I felt like a week handn’t been enough and was gutted that it was at the end. Obviously social media is a great way to connect but it’s not the same as being physically there. I will cherish the memories of those mornings, having coffee around the breakfast table…
