The Last Quarter of 2012 - Photos with the Fuji X-Pro1

I’ve been quiet on the blog since Ramadan, but pretty much I moved down to the Jordanian desert and lived there for a couple of months. I was a co-producer on a new Jordanian feature film that promises to take Jordanian cinema to a new level I hope. Most of the photography I have done recently has been on the set of the film and those photos are embargoed till the marketing plan for the film rolls out. Yet I still had the Fuji X-Pro1 with me at all times and I thought i’d share some of the pictures I made with my new favorite camera. Also the good people at Fuji Middle East came through after seeing my work with the camera and have loaned me two lenses (the 35mm & the 60mm Macro) and the Leica lens adapter they make. It’s been a pleasure having more than one lens for this camera system and also testing out my Leica glass on the camera, although I got to say, with this camera I’m happy with having an auto focus lens on it.

Anyways here are some of the moments i’ve captured in the past couple of months with as minimal writing as possible.

The first series above was shot with the Jordanian Heritage Revival Company, which has a show down in Wadi Rum for tourists, where they recreate a raid on a train from around 1916. Some of the photos were picked up by Jazeera Airways magazine for a story on the company.

Before heading down to the desert I visited the film set of Cherien Dabis’s new feature film “May in the Summer.” I got to meet Alia Shawkat who is known for her role in Arrested Development, we got to talking and a couple of days later she visited me and we shot some portraits. I got to say she was super cool and down to earth, and she made for a fun shoot.

Made a quick trip to Cairo, the three frames above are my favorite shots from the trip. The first photo is of Abyusif, one of the new faces in Egyptian Hip Hop, who has quickly made a name for himself on the scene.

Then came the deserts of Wadi Araba and Wadi Rum, I have thousands of photos from my time there mostly for the film, maybe a book will come down the line.

I tend not to shoot much landscape photos but I found myself shooting more and more since getting the Fuji, maybe it’s because it goes with me everywhere and I don’t have to worry about carrying it with me even if I’m climbing a mountain or going for a location trek. Also the desert tends to surprise you with some amazing vistas and moments for a good landscape photo.

Just for the fun of it, I thought I’d throw in a wake boarding photo from Aqaba.

The difference between Amman and the quietness of the Wadi Rum is immense and I haven’t fully adapted to the city life again. I shot one of the Friday protests and tested the lenses Fuji loaned me one night. The Xpro1 is a pleasure to shoot after the sun goes down.

The photos above are from a couple of days in Beirut.

 

Another aspect of the camera that I’ve been exploring more is the panoramic mode and as you see from the results above, the camera does a wonderful job and gives you the option of two sizes when set on Panorama. The photos show you the difference between the mountains of Amman, and those of Wadi Rum.

I should get back to working on the last touch ups for a viewing of the first assembly for our film which I’ll be showing to the director, I wish I can disclose more about the film and post some of the photos, but soon enough I’ll be able to share some more information.

Till the next post….Salam.