The Fuji X70 – A review

March 28, 2016

Finding a camera that delivers awesome image quality in a small and light package has always been a quest of mine. While there are a ton of great tiny cameras out there, none of them have really clicked for me (no pun intended). That’s why I got excited when the good guys at Fujifilm announced the Fuji X70. It sounded too good to be true: amazing APS-C size sensor in a small & sexy package. I have now had the Fuji X70 for over a month and love it. This post summarizes some of my experiences with it. Technical stuff There are …

Tiger & Turtle – A morning run with the Fuji X70

March 18, 2016

The beauty of traveling for business is that you get to see a lot. At least I do as I am a passionate runner. I always get up really early and go running in the different places I have to travel to. Some runs are better than others. Earlier this week, I had a fantastic experience. There is a famous landmark in Germany close to Duesseldorf called “Tiger & Turtle”. Tiger & Turtle Strange name, huh? What is it then? Well, Tiger & Turtle is a rollercoaster that is situated on the top of a hill. It’s not your ordinary …

A day in Penang

March 8, 2016

Hidden Beauty – Penang Penang is a state & island in Malaysia right by the Strait of Malacca. Its capital George Town is characterized by a wonderful mix of old British colonial style, ethnical flair and modern construction. Walking around the narrow streets is an unrivalled experience. Malays, Chinese, Indians and others ethnical groups live peacefully right next to each other. A block of Chinese stores & homes seamlessly melts into an Indian section followed by gorgeous colonial houses. And then there are a plethora of beautiful temples from all religions. To be honest, it’s not a particularly clean city but it …

The Batu Caves

March 5, 2016

Batu Caves The Batu Caves is a series of well known limestone caves outside of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The caves and the exterior house a number of hindu shrines that are dedicated to Lord Murugan. The whole place is extremely impressive and one could easily spend many hours exploring and observing. Unfortunately, we only had an hour to spare and therefore had to rush through the Batu Caves. I highly recommend visiting this place.

Discovering Singapore

January 17, 2016

The Singapore Adventure Singapore is an amazing place for exploring and taking photos. I recently had the opportunity to spend a few days in this beautiful city. As a passionate photographer, I often suffered from visual overload. There are just too many beautiful and interesting sites. Nightime in Singapor The city certainly offers a particular charm after sunset. While many of the motives have been covered by thousands of other photographers, I really enjoyed walking around with my tripod at night. The warm air paired with the feeling of a hustling & bustling place is truly intoxicating. The first photo …

Photographing the Perseid Meteor Shower with the Fuji-X

August 16, 2015

Meteor Showers It’s hard to escape the hype around this year’s spectacular Perseid meteor viewing conditions. Despite a demanding travel schedule and the resulting laziness that sets in during breaks, I ended up driving to a somewhat remote location outside of Munich to photograph the Perseids meteor shower. Along with me was the Fujifilm X-T1, the excellent Fujinon XF 14mm F2.8 and my beloved Samyang 8mm F2.8 Fisheye. The Fuji X-Series in the field One of the things I absolutely love about the Fuji X-Series is the small size of the equipment. In the past, I logged around a huge and heavy bag filled …

Perseid meteor shower & light pollution

August 12, 2015

The Perseid meteor shower The famous Perseid meteor shower is supposed to be extra vibrant this year due to an exceptionally dark moon. Since I was not traveling for business, I took the opportunity to drive to a somewhat remote location outside of Munich. Unfortunately, I had to discover that even 30 miles outside of a city light pollution has reached a degree where you can barely see the milky way with your own eyes. One of the key lessons for astro photography I had learned in recent years is that you need to scout a location during day time. There …

Starry nights over Anterselva

February 21, 2015

Starry nights A few months ago, I started experimenting with photographing the night sky. I had done a few ill-fated attempts at capturing star trails in the past. Inspired by the David Kingham’s eBook Nightscape, I managed to get some nice results while vacationing on Malta this past summer. Unfortunately, there are not that many opportunities in central Europe to get a clear night sky. Light pollution is all around us. I was therefore extremely excited to discover that our hotel on a recent XC ski trip to Anterselva in Italy was located in one of Europe’s darkest areas. Just a quick …

Photo Essay: The Canary Islands in Winter

January 5, 2015

Canary Islands If you want to escape the European winter there is a place that offers decent temperatures and very pleasant climate throughout the season. I am speaking about the Canary Islands. This beautiful spot sits right in the Atlantic not too far from Africa. The various islands owe their existence to a series of very active volcanoes. The landscapes range from luscious greens to dark lava fields and picturesque towns. Just a few days ago, I had the opportunity to travel to some of these gems on board the new German cruise ship ‘Mein Schiff 3’. Here is a …

Fall in Kitzbuehel – A short photo essay

November 2, 2014

Kitzbuehel – The Legend Downhill racers, mountain climbers, cyclists, jet-setters and paparazzi all get goose-bumps when they hear the name of the ubiquitous Austrian ski town Kitzbuehel. It’s a fairly small town nestled in the Northern part of the Alps (1.5 hrs drive from Munich). There are so many things that Kitzbuehel is famous for: the legendary Hahnenkamm downhill race, the legendary parties, expensive cars and famous people. It’s easy to forget that Kitzbuehel is also nestled amidst breathtaking nature. Last week, I had the pleasure to enjoy three amazing days in those wonderful town. Since I was alone with …

Side, Turkey – A short photo essay

June 29, 2014

Side, Turkey A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to go on a short family vacation in Side, Turkey. It’s a popular tourist destination. While the myriad of giant hotel parks is not that easy on the eye, the town of Side offers some amazing views. It’s an ancient Greek settlement and you can therefore walk through a bunch of well-preserved ruins. The beaches are quite popular as well. Unfortunately, most of them are overcrowded. The only exception of that rule is a small stretch of sand I found close to the town. Evenings Evenings were cooler but our trip coincided …

Going mirror less – Switching to Fuji X

May 24, 2014

Switching to Fuji X Wow. Big news. Still can’t believe that I actually did it. A few weeks ago I sold my entire Nikon DSLR equipment and have switched to the Fuji X system. After 20 years of being a loyal Nikon customer I finally decided to take a step into the future. Over the years, I had amassed a collection of lenses, flashes and small tools such as remotes, batteries etc.. Nikon had never let me down. As a matter of fact, I simply loved my Nikon D800. It is an amazing camera with probably the best possible image quality out there …

Evenings in Norway

May 10, 2014

Travel A few weeks ago I had another business trip to Norway. Unfortunately, the meeting schedule forced me to travel in the afternoon of a public holiday. Drowning in self-pity, I decided to bring my Fujifilm X-E1 along with two lenses (18-55mm & 14mm) to at least have some fun in the evening of that holiday. The camera does fit nicely between the cracks of my carry-on suitcase. It was worth it. Temperatures hovered around 20C/ 70F and the sun didn’t set until 9:15pm. Aker Brygge The first evening I walked around the lovely Aker Brygge area by the water. It …

Spring at the Italian Lakes – Lago di Garda

April 25, 2014

Lago di Garda One of the benefits of living in Munich is the proximity to Italy. That’s why I jumped in the car two weeks ago and ended up at the beautiful Lago di Gard 3.5 hrs later. Lake Garda is located in the northern part of Italy. It is a popular destination for many Europeans. It’s easy to understand why: the area is simply stunning. While I spent most of my time on a road bike, I did have the opportunity to take a few photos here and there. While on the bike, I used a small Garmin Virb …

The Canary Islands

February 2, 2014

Beautiful Canary Islands A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to return to the Canary Islands in Spain. Together with my family and friends, we took a cruise around this beautiful area of Spain including the remote Portuguese island of Madeira. Once again, I left my beloved Nikon D800 at home to save some weight and brought the tiny Fuji X-E1 along, instead. Three lenses were in my small travel bag: The Fuji 18-55, 55-200, a Samyang fisheye and some filters. It was a good choice. Below are some of the results. Canary Impressions The Canary Islands never fail …

Dubai in a day

December 23, 2013

Dubai Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending some time in Dubai. Having traveled there a bunch of times before, I felt a bit lazy and did not spend any time sight-seeing. However, that did not mean I would leave my camera back at home. Even a short walk to the next coffee shop usually offers some amazing sights in Dubai. The Twisted Tower One of the fun sights to explore is the 306m Cayan Tower (aka Twisted Tower) in the Dubai Marina. It’s not your usual skyscrape. It’s wicked, because it’s twisted! The window cleaners were out and …

Christoph Papenfuss Photography