You better chow down or it's gonna get cold

Originally published 3 June 2021

This past weekend I went along to the Wellington Food Show. After the intense session from the last post, I definitely had a more relaxed day shooting at the event. I was prepared to leave my camera in the bag (I did have company so I didn’t want to be a drag) but luckily my friends were keen to take their time looking at each section.

I brought both camera bodies with the PanaLeica 15mm on the E-M10 ii, and the Voigtlander 42.5mm on the E-M1 ii. I took maybe three or four shots with the 15mm but, while it could capture a lot more view than the 42.5mm, I felt that it would be more interesting to take photos that focus on detail.

The above photos are the only photos from the 15mm that I even wanted to post. The second photo shows off how nice the photos can come out of the 15mm (and that’s with the E-M10 ii at ISO 3200) but having a wide shot isn’t as engaging to me. So for the rest of the day I only shot with the 42.5mm.

I don’t really have much to talk about as I felt more relaxed this time, so much so that I didn’t really ‘think’ about the shots. I set the camera to aperture priority, with auto-ISO topping off at 6400 and minimum shutter speed at 1/250. This meant that I could leave the aperture at 1.4 for most of the time (since it’s a manual lens the camera doesn’t change the aperture) until I specifically want more in focus, while the camera did most of the work in keeping the exposure where I wanted it by using EV compensation.

Basically, all that means is that I could simply look through the viewfinder, compose the shot, and only worry about setting the focus manually. As much as auto-focus is amazing and really helpful especially when it comes to ‘important’ shots, like portraits, or faster-moving subjects, I must admit the most fun I have is when I can take the time and play with the focus and composition. I’ve harped on and on about how much I enjoy shooting with the Voigtlander 42.5mm, but this session was such a blast.

Because I shot by feel rather than planning, I don’t really have much else to say regarding the process and what I was thinking at the time! So here are the photos I like; I’ll comment here and there but otherwise I hope you stick around regardless to have a look 😊

*42.5mm, f/1.4, 1/250s, ISO 1250 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

*42.5mm, f/1.4, 1/250s, ISO 640 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

One of the main difficulties I had was, because the 42.5mm is a pretty tight view, I had to step quite far back if I wanted to include more in the photo. And the trouble with stepping back is that other people often got in between me and what I’m taking photos of - but sometimes it’s also kind of fun to work it into the photo, like the framing in the shot below.

*42.5mm, f/1.4, 1/250s, ISO 320 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

*42.5mm, f/1.4, 1/500s, ISO 200 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

A criticism I’ve heard about the Voigtlander 42.5mm is the cat’s eye effect on the lights. It’s definitely noticeable especially with the fairy lights in the top left of the next photo, but as a matter of personal taste I don’t actually care. Looks fine to me!

*42.5mm, f/1.4, 1/250s, ISO 1000 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

*42.5mm, f/1.2, 1/250s, ISO 250 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

*42.5mm, f/1.4, 1/250s, ISO 1600 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

*42.5mm, f/2.0, 1/250s, ISO 3200 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

*42.5mm, f/2.8, 1/250s, ISO 5000 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

*42.5mm, f/1.4, 1/250s, ISO 2000 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

*42.5mm, f/2.8, 1/250s, ISO 500 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

A lot of the food was really tasty and popular, like the cauliflower schnitzels!

*42.5mm, f/1.4, 1/250s, ISO 2500 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

The next shot is one of my favourites. I focused on the lone dumpling in the bottom left corner because it was by itself and it had the sizzle on it. What I didn’t know was that they were about to drizzle more oil on them. Had I reacted fast enough I would have focused on the oil instead, but the photo is still ok to me.

One of the rare times I had to stop down to get more of the subject into focus - this time the taco below. I probably could have stopped down further to f/4 or even f/5.6 - you can tell the very front and the back of the container is already blurring away - but I didn’t want my friend to hold her hand out for too long while I fiddled with the camera 😁

*42.5mm, f/2.8, 1/250s, ISO 800 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

*42.5mm, f/1.4, 1/250s, ISO 400 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

*42.5mm, f/2.8, 1/160s, ISO 6400 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

*42.5mm, f/2.0, 1/250s, ISO 1600 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

*42.5mm, f/2.0, 1/250s, ISO 1000 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

The thing I like about the Voigtlander is the fast aperture. I can narrow the focus down to the pouring of the sauce onto the chip, and the girl is already starting to blur. If I had the Panasonic 35-100mm on me at f/2.8 the girl would have also been clearly in focus, which detracts a little bit from the actual subject (the sauce they’re selling!). Opening the Voigtlander up all the way to f/0.95 would have made the effect more pronounced, but it would have also increased the chances of me missing the focus entirely and not getting any photo at all 🤣

*42.5mm, f/1.4, 1/250s, ISO 800 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

*42.5mm, f/1.4, 1/250s, ISO 200 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

*42.5mm, f/1.2, 1/250s, ISO 200 | Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95*

Thanks for making it this far!

You better chow down or it's gonna get cold

You're a winner for a lifetime

With the lights out, it's less dangerous