Fujifilm X-Pro1 mirrorless interchangeable lens camera

January 10th, 2012

One of the fastest growing segments of the digital camera market is the smaller bodied interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras that have been released by many manufacturers in the last 12 or so months. Filling the gap between DSLRs and compact point and shoots – these cameras give the flexibility of being able to change lenses with the benefits of not having to lug around a larger camera. Increasingly they’re providing these benefits with a really high standard of image.

One manufacturer doing great things in this space is Fuji who have won a lot of fans in the last little while with their highly acclaimed X100.

Today they went one further and released the Fujifilm X-Pro1 – an interchangeable lens system aimed at the professional and advanced amateur audience. It’s a 16 megapixel camera with a new custom APS-C sized sensor and hybrid optical and electronic viewfinder.

It is being launched with 3 lenses – a 18mm (27mm equivalent) f2.0, a 35mm (53mm equivalent) f1.4 and a 60mm (90mm equivalent) f2.4 macro lens. It’s great to see them releasing some nice fast lenses.

Design wise it’s a pretty minimal design – still a little retro and rangefinder-ish like the X100 but all in black this time.

There’s a lot more to say about this camera but rather than rehash all the details check out the news release and hands on video below. We’ll do our best to put hands on an X-Pro1 to test it for ourselves but until then check out the video below.

The Fujifilm X-Pro1 will be available in February and price is expected to be around £1500

 

 

Venice Carnival 2012 Workshops

January 3rd, 2012

VENICE, ITALY - MARCH 02:  Carnival costumes and masks pose near St Mark's Square  in Venice, Italy. The Venice Carnival, one of the largest and most important in Italy, attracts thousands of people from around the world each year. The theme for this year's carnival is 'Ottocento', a nineteenth century evocation, and will run from February 19 till March 8...HOW TO BUY THIS PICTURE: please contact us via e-mail at sales@xianpix.com or call our offices in Milan at (+39) 02 400 47313 or London   +44 (0)207 1939846 for prices and terms of copyright.. (Marco Secchi)

This is a one or two days workshop. The Venice Carnival is famous all over the world, and we believe it deserves its reputation. What we are offering is a great photographic experiences, something you would not be able to see or experience on your own. This tour is all about photography and we do not spend our time sitting inside each day and critiquing photos. Although we will do some critiquing, the written critique we furnish upon your return is a much more detailed learning tool.
We don’t let you simply roam the streets, hoping to bump into people in costume. What we offer is quite different from the average photo tour. We do not have dedicated models who pose for us on private shoots because we want YOU to catch the real atmosphere and MAGIC of Venice during Carnival.

Your 2 Teachers will be Marco Secchi and Guillem Lopez

Venice Canvas and Fine Art Prints

December 29th, 2011

Venice Canvases, Photographs and Venetian Fine Art Prints featuring the Grand Canal, St. Mark’s Square, the Bridge of Sighs, famous and unknown landmarks and Venetian Gondolas.  These Venice Prints on Canvas are also available in larger sizes on request.

You can now buy them directly here


Venice Canvas and Fine Art Prints – Images by Marco Secchi

 

New adventure

October 31st, 2011

Maintained in partnership with Italian writer Federico Moro, a blog that talks about the Venice Archipelago, of men, lands and…..

Come and check it out becasue words and images comes as fast as the tides

Venice 25th October A light in the "Canale Petroli" in the Venice lagoon is seen on on a stormy weather day HOW TO LICENCE THIS PICTURE: please contact us via e-mail at sales@xianpix.com or call London   +44 (0)207 1939846 for prices and terms of copyright. First Use Only ,Editorial Use Only, All repros payable, No Archiving.© MARCO SECCHI (Marco Secchi)

Venice Biennale head ousted

October 29th, 2011
Motto of the the Biennale di Venezia 1997.

Image via Wikipedia

If the Venice Biennale art exhibition now runs like a normal international event, with adequate toilets, refreshment points, marketing, press facilities and ticketing, and also manages to cover nearly 80% of its costs, it is almost entirely due to former banker Paolo Baratta, 72, chairman of the Biennale Foundation from 1998 to 2000, and from 2007 to last week.

Yesterday Baratta heard that his mandate would not be renewed and his successor would be a foodstuffs importer, Giulio Malgara, 73

I strongly believe it is the wrong choice…possibly the worst choice to be correct.

This appointment, which is reminiscent of the years before 1998 when the post was a prize allocated on the basis of party politics, was greeted with indignation by the mayor of Venice, Giorgio Orsoni, who immediately put out a statement saying: “I am convinced that Giulio Malgara is an unsuitable person to carry out the role of chairman of the Venice Biennale and that it would be a mistake to confirm him in this position. It would interrupt a vital and fruitful process that needs to be seen through to the end.” Former mayor Massimo Cacciari said: “As long as cultural appointments in this rotten system are in the hands of the political lobbies, it will go on being like this.”

The Guardian alredy commente: “Back to Earth, or Venice, with a bump. Silvio Berlusconi is trying to replace Paolo Baratta, head of the Venice Biennale, with his friend Giulio Malgara, a 73-year-old businessman whose greatest cultural achievement to date is bringing Gatorade to Italy.”

Think Different RIP Steve Jobs

October 9th, 2011
R.I.P. – STEVE JOBS. One dies, Millions Cry. Millions die, No-one Cries.

We remember your Memory:• A ‘Genius’ whose Global Empire was literally built on the back of Underage Chinese Slave Labour working in horrific conditions. Some were driven to SUICIDE.• Your fearsome Legal & Private Security Team that ANNIHILATED smaller prey.• Oligarchal Power/Bilderberger Elitist Ruthlessly Striving for Global Domination• Wielding Power Over Government, Media with fellow Global Plutocrats

• Censorship, Authoritarianism, bullying, humiliating, manipulation, intimidation & fear of Staff

• The HUNDREDS OF 1000′s of people that SUFFERED due to your relentless pursuit of GREATNESS, Love of GREED and POWER.

• Not 1 cent did you ever DONATE to Charity.

Did you leave your $7 BILLION to any of the underage Chinese workers whom you ruthlessly exploited driving some to suicide?

Finally, does your £7 BILLION keep you warm at night?

R.I.P.

by: Exposing The Truth

No Budget for photos? Sorry…it will not be me

August 27th, 2011

I had the usual call yesterday morning from an MD of a blue chip company-

“If you want to work with us,  just sign the contract. The copyright is all ours, and if you don’t like it, nothing I can do, that is the way it is. We’ll get another photographer, possibly cheaper or that may be  will do the work for free in exchange of credits”

……… guess it’s another photographer then.

Poveglia…Poveglia!

August 22nd, 2011

Since moving to Venice, it has been a great desire of mine to visit the mysterious island of Poveglia, with its ruined mental asylum and haunted burial grounds. Finally, yesterday, thanks to two wonderful skippers Luca and Jacopo, and accompanied by fellow journalist and writer Robin Saikia I managed to visit the island.

HOW TO LICENCE THIS PICTURE: please contact us via e-mail at sales@xianpix.com or call our offices in Milan at (+39) 02 400 47313 or London   +44 (0)207 1939846 for prices and terms of copyright. First Use Only ,Editorial Use Only, All repros payable, No Archiving.© MARCO SECCHI (Marco Secchi)

For more images check the Poveglia gallery here or as a slideshow

Robin Saikia writes:
“Shortly before we left Poveglia, I forced myself to lie on an iron bed in the ruins of the psychiatric ward, recalling the images of the day: the desecrated chapel with the scabrous remains of its cheerful Tiepolo-blue ceiling, the claustrophobic corridors, the rusting beds and lockers, the quay, the bell-tower, the woods, the bridge. I closed my eyes tightly for a few long seconds. When I opened them, I saw a very clear picture of hell.
..”

The island of Poveglia, with its ruined hospital and plague burial grounds, is said to be the most haunted location in the world. Though the island is a multi-million dollar piece of real estate, it remains deserted and off limits to the public. Its dark, derelict and forbidding shores are only minutes away from the glamour of the Venice Film Festival on the Lido, but there are few visitors. Very few Venetians are prepared to talk about the island or answer questions. They believe that while the rest of Venice is governed by the Comune di Venezia, Poveglia remains firmly in the Devil’s jurisdiction. They see it as a kind of supernatural penitentiary, an outpost of purgatory and hell. This view is captured in an unnerving local saying: quando muore un cattivo, si sveglia a Poveglia; when an evil man dies, he wakes up in Poveglia. I visited the island in August this year with the photographer Marco Secchi. Our account is a drawing together of truth, half-truth, speculation and urban myth. It is based on conversations with local people and our exploration of the island. It is an attempt to make sense of the fear and revulsion that Poveglia continues to provoke, despite the best attempts of sceptics to exorcise its ghosts with the bell, book and candle of reason. (Robin Saikia)

Robin Saikia is the author of the highly acclaimed book, The Venice Lido, recently published by Blue Guides (http://thevenicelido.com). Please contact us to discuss licensing our 4000 word photo documentary of the island, words by Robin Saikia, photography by Marco Secchi. msecchi@gmail.com

A Sufi Ramadan

August 4th, 2011

By Paul Salahuddin Armstrong

Paul of the Wulfruna Sufi Association tells about Ramadan in Sufism. Read about the significance of fasting, the symbolism of the rose and the importance of prayer and meditation.

Ramadan, the month when God revealed the Holy Qur’an, is a time of deep reflection and contemplation for Muslims. Considering past accomplishments and where our life’s journey is leading. Ramadan is a good time for us to make changes for the better, an excellent opportunity to turn over a new leaf, shedding any old bad habits.

Sufi meditationSufi meditation

Walking in the footsteps of the prophets

“O you who have attained to faith! Fasting is ordained for you as it was ordained for those before you, so that you might remain concious of God” Holy Qur’an (2:183) Asad

“Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant – the Ten Commandments.” Exodus (34:28) NIV

Muslims aim to be walking in the footsteps of prophets and saints. While Ramadan is unique to Islam, most religions have their traditions of fasting. We spend much of our lives concerned with mundane activities, work, meals, television, fashion. Without even realising it, time passes, often wasted on nothing special. Fasting helps us to regain self-discipline and self-restraint.

Tayyaba Mosque

Realising the difficulties of others

An important role of fasting, is to help us realise the difficulties and suffering of others. Caring for those in need is so important, charity is the third pillar of Islam. One important benefit of fasting, is we learn what it is like to feel hungry. Once we realise this, hopefully we will show more compassion for those in need, for those who have no food to break their fasts, or cannot afford to buy it.

The rose blooms amid thorns

Sufis are people striving for an inner, personal experience of the Divine. Seeing the basic practices of Islam as only the first step to this higher goal. To allow one’s soul to grow and ascend, one needs to strive against the bad characteristics of one’s ego. In Sufism, the rose is symbolic of our soul. As like the development of our own souls in this world, the rose blooms amid thorns.

Seeking to lose themselves in the Divine

While all Muslims are on a quest for inner peace, Sufis seek to lose themselves in the Divine. Fasting is an important stepping stone on this inner spiritual journey. Sufi saints perform the greatest form of fast, while others go without food, they exercise the fasting of their mind. Put another way, they do not think of anything except God.

Prayers and meditation

Sufis consider their existence in this world as only the seed, for their existence in the next world. In a similar way to how small acorns grow into mighty oaks, we reap what we sow. In addition to their daily prayers, various forms of meditation are practised by Sufis, enabling them to become more conscious of the Divine.

“unto everyone who is conscious of God, He [always] grants a way out [of unhappiness], and provides for him in a manner beyond all expectation” Holy Qur’an (65:2-3) Asad

Laylat al-Qadr

God has promised great rewards for those who fast. One of these occurs during the last ten days of Ramadan. During the night of Laylat al-Qadr, for one who has fasted perfectly, God sends an angel to personally meet this person, and grant them any wish they desire.

Fasting is an enormous blessing, it is a great way of improving one’s self discipline and physical health, yet at the same time conveys immense spiritual benefits.

Sufi Ramadan traditions

July 31st, 2011
ramadaan

Image via Wikipedia


 “I cried because I had no shoes, and then I met a man who had no feet.”  This famous line from the Sufi poet Hafiz reflects the essence of Sufism, the mystic path of Islam, in one sentence.

How do Sufi practices differ in Ramadan?

“The question you bring up is interesting because it indicates to my mind that you make a separation between Sufi and Muslim … I don’t make that separation,” . Sufis are Muslims; they practice the five pillars of Islam, which include fasting in Ramadan.

Out of the five pillars, fasting is the only one done purely between an individual and God. It is done in secrecy and privacy. “Fasting is a form of hijab; Allah gave every being on earth protection. The birds he gave wings, the porcupine he gave needles, the skunk he gave a scent … to man he gave zikr Allah, and in Ramadan we remember Him more and more,” he says.

Restraining oneself from eating, drinking, love making, sinning, anger and striving to be good builds patience. Sabr (patience) is mentioned in over 90 places in the Quran. In one verse in Surat El-Baqarah, it clearly states, “O you who believe, fasting is prescribed to you, as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may learn patience.”

Yet patience is only one aspect of the holy month. “Ramadan gives everyone the opportunity to go into themselves … during this month we are not taken by the world,” .

Sufi iftars are traditionally communal. Many gather together in a zawya with a sheikh present. They first drink water then pray the maghrib prayers followed by a communal meal. Then they pray the tarawih and in between they sing praises to the Prophet Mohammed.

In Ramadan extra prayers are done not out of habit but out of genuine conviction. Sufis feel this so strongly they want to do more. A Sufi makes sure he does all the tarawih prayers although they are not obligatory.

“The Prophet Mohammed prayed the tarawih two nights in a row, and then didn’t show up the third night. He didn’t want people to think it was mandatory,”

In Arabic Ramadan is spelled with five letters and Sufis believe that each stand for something that defines this holy month. R for ridwan, Allah’s satisfaction; M for marhaba, Allah’s love; D for deman, Allah’s protection and security; A for ulfal, Allah’s friendship; N for nour, Allah’s divine light and the essence of creation.

“Ramadan reveals many of the holy secrets of the Quran and for the believers it is a month of forgiveness, Ramadan opens the door of the interior of ourselves and the secrets of Allah are within us.”