tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010-09-01://1 Oleg Novikov oleg@olegnovikov.com    2012-02-06T09:12:30Z         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.041 2012-02-06T09:12:30Z    2012-02-06T09:12:30Z   I have now returned from Italy, and here is the executive summary: it is possible to ski with a Hasselblad system - or, indeed, any system of comparable size and weight - and a tripod! Let me not get ahead of myself, though...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.040 2012-01-19T09:12:30Z    2012-01-19T09:12:30Z   Chinese New Year holiday is just around the corner and, instead of traveling to some remote destination in China as I have been doing for years, later this week I will be going skiing in Dolomiti, Italy...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.039 2011-12-31T09:12:30Z    2011-12-31T09:12:30Z   So, another year has come and gone, evaporated like morning dew before you barely had time to finish savouring your morning cup of coffee. As I always do in the end of each year...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.037 2011-12-04T09:12:30Z    2011-12-04T09:12:30Z   For the lovers of the photographic work of W. Eugene Smith, here is an uncannily striking account of a certain period of his life from the biography of Thelonious Monk by Robin D.G. Kelley...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.036 2011-11-26T09:12:30Z    2011-11-26T09:12:30Z   Yesterday was one of those days when I spend several hours in front of my speakers with a wine glass in hand and mobile phone switched off...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.035 2011-11-24T09:12:30Z    2011-11-24T09:12:30Z   My apologies if you are becoming bored with the posts regarding the X100, but just when I thought I was done grumbling about the downsides of the camera, yet another glitch has crept up and seized my attention...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.034 2011-11-19T09:12:30Z    2011-11-22T09:12:30Z   I find it rather curious that I started sharing my thoughts on the X100 with mostly negative commentary: first I mentioned a minor yet real image quality issue and then discussed the camera's viewing extravagancy...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.033 2011-11-11T09:12:30Z    2011-11-11T09:12:30Z   I have been using the X100 for almost three months now and, in all honesty, it has been somewhat of a love-and-hate relationship...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.032 2011-11-07T09:12:30Z    2011-11-07T09:12:30Z   It is interesting how differently the notion of encountering screaming colours has resonated with some of you...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.031 2011-11-03T09:12:30Z    2011-11-03T09:12:30Z   Sometimes we encounter wild, screaming colours that inevitably divert our attention from whatever our mind is occupied with at the moment...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.030 2011-11-01T09:12:30Z    2011-11-05T09:12:30Z   I have finally started closely looking at the RAW (.RAF) files I shot during the past couple of months with the Fujifilm X100 camera as well as doing some printing, and after converting a handful of RAW files in ACR my attention was almost immediately drawn to a strange rendering whereby some - i.e., not all - smooth lines and edges have exceedingly strong zigzag appearance at micro level (or pixelation)...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.029 2011-10-27T09:12:30Z    2011-10-28T09:12:30Z   Having now travelled to Badain Jarain desert twice, I find that photographing in a desert is a very challenging undertaking that stretches rules and approaches we take for granted and automatically rely upon in other types of landscape photography...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.028 2011-10-23T09:12:30Z    2011-10-23T09:12:30Z   I have returned from Inner Mongolia and Gansu, China, and, in contrast to the expedition to Xinjiang in June, the trip was one of the most coolheaded photographic undertakings that I have ever had...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.027 2011-09-23T09:12:30Z    2011-09-23T09:12:30Z   As I am preparing for the next photographic expedition, it is time to finalise the Xinjiang theme and move on...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.026 2011-09-07T09:12:30Z    2011-09-07T09:12:30Z   Last month I went on a non–photographic trip and, although photography was of secondary consideration, I still envisioned the possibility of having some quality photography time...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.025 2011-08-31T09:12:30Z    2011-09-07T09:12:30Z   In case you are wondering why I have been quiet for such a long time, well, I have lost the USB flash disk where I kept all work in progress...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.024 2011-08-04T09:12:30Z    2011-08-04T09:12:30Z   Upgrading to a new, latest and greatest computer operating system nearly always guarantees that something will get broken, and that some things might become irrevocably unusable. When a couple of weeks ago I installed...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.023 2011-08-02T09:12:30Z    2011-08-02T09:12:30Z   Today I am posting last three images from Xinjiang, thus more or less concluding the subject. I am still going to spend some time re-scanning and printing the best images, as well as...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.022 2011-07-29T09:12:30Z    2011-07-29T09:12:30Z   Before the trip to Xinjiang I never suspected that grasslands come in all shapes and sizes, both literally and metaphorically. While Bayanbulak Grassland mostly made me...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.021 2011-07-20T09:12:30Z    2011-07-20T09:12:30Z   Suppose you are on a landscape photo tour, arrive at the shooting location earlier than expected - say, in early afternoon - and the plan is to stay and photograph until after sunset...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.020 2011-07-17T09:12:30Z    2011-07-17T09:12:30Z   Sometimes going too far is the only way to know where the limit is and where you should stop. I had so much fun shooting and post processing...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.019 2011-07-15T09:12:30Z    2011-07-15T09:12:30Z   Continuing with the images taken on the trip to Xinjiang, the photographs in this post were captured in the area surrounding Kuqa Gourge...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.018 2011-07-13T09:12:30Z    2011-07-13T09:12:30Z   As is almost always the case after returning from a major photographic expedition, one is presented with two titanic tasks...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.017 2011-07-04T09:12:30Z    2011-07-04T09:12:30Z   I have now returned from Xinjiang and, wow, the expedition was an absolute blast. Every aspect of the trip was as exciting as it gets, and...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.016 2011-06-14T09:12:30Z    2011-06-14T09:12:30Z   So, later this week I will be heading to Xinjiang Province, China on a dedicated photographic expedition - for the third time...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.015 2011-06-11T09:12:30Z    2011-06-11T09:12:30Z   I realise that this will be of interest to very few people, but I thought I would let you know that I have just posted a review of the Hasselblad Sonnar CFi 5.6/250 lens...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.014 2011-05-31T09:12:30Z    2011-05-31T09:12:30Z   I am in the process of preparing for a major photographic expedition that I will undertake in June (more on that later), and I took this opportunity to critically review what equipment, how and for what purposes I have been using during the past couple of years...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.013 2011-05-19T09:12:30Z    2011-05-19T09:12:30Z   Continuing on the subject of interest in photographic gear, another reader has written to suggest that photographers often do not have sufficient motivation to actually go out and photograph...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.012 2011-05-09T09:12:30Z    2011-05-09T09:12:30Z   A couple of weeks ago a long-time reader of this Web site sent me an email to basically say that his relationship with photographic equipment has more or less been following a path not entirely dissimilar to mine (see previous post). This lead me to further think...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.011 2011-04-22T09:12:30Z    2011-04-22T09:12:30Z   Recently I have been getting the scare that I am no longer interested in photography. You know, the kind of scare that you are no longer in love...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.010 2011-03-22T09:12:30Z    2011-03-22T09:12:30Z   35mm-ish has always been one of my favourite focal lengths, and I have been extensively using...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.009 2011-03-15T09:12:30Z    2011-03-15T09:12:30Z   As regular readers might recall in the end of last year I bought a Canon PowerShot S95 compact digital camera. At the time I made quick...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.008 2011-03-10T09:12:30Z    2011-03-10T09:12:30Z   I thought I would let you know that one of my star trails images has been published in the current issue of the Practical Photography magazine (March 2011)...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.007 2011-03-06T09:12:30Z    2011-03-06T09:12:30Z   Rules are foolish, arbitrary, mindless things that raise you quickly to a level of acceptable mediocrity, then prevent you from progressing further...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.006 2011-03-04T09:12:30Z    2011-03-04T09:12:30Z   I have used my 2008 eight–core Mac Pro computer for almost exactly three years now and, generally, have been very happy with it. It is...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.005 2011-02-22T09:12:30Z    2011-02-22T09:12:30Z   I believe that each artist, like everyone else, has strong views about the world: what it is, what it should be, and how it could be improved. As such, I think that...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.004 2011-02-17T09:12:30Z    2011-02-17T09:12:30Z   I do not photograph panoramas often and generally find composing in square format very natural and easy. A few years back I did consider buying a dedicated panorama camera, but medium format panorama cameras tend to be very bulky and heavy...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.003 2011-02-13T09:12:30Z    2011-02-13T09:12:30Z   Whenever we go on a photographic trip we expect to bring back some great images. Of course, you say - why would we go otherwise? However, there are so many things that can go wrong and ruin our expectations...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.002 2011-01-25T09:12:30Z    2011-01-27T09:12:30Z   Importance of filters in photography is a very debatable issue: whereas some photographers could not care less about them, others find their use crucial...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2011://1.001 2011-01-10T09:12:30Z    2011-01-10T09:12:30Z   I am having a bit of a slow start this year, mostly because I have been doing some housekeeping on the Web site...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.028 2010-12-31T09:12:30Z    2010-12-31T09:12:30Z   I am posting last three images from Western Sichuan, thus concluding the series - and the year on this Web site. Today actually is an interesting day...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.027 2010-12-29T09:12:30Z    2010-12-29T09:12:30Z   If you found the post of 17 May 2010 titled "Less is more" of interest, I also recommend reading...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.026 2010-12-28T09:12:30Z    2010-12-29T09:12:30Z   Here is a couple of recent favourite quotations...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.025 2010-12-27T09:12:30Z    2010-12-29T09:12:30Z   Last major destination of the trip to Western Sichuan was Aba, and all remaining photographs will be from there. I will finish posting them before the year is out.         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.024 2010-12-24T09:12:30Z    2010-12-24T09:12:30Z   Today I am posting three images that are probably not as visually striking as some of the photographs posted earlier — I am showing them to mostly illustrate...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.023 2010-12-22T09:12:30Z    2010-12-22T09:12:30Z   Images from Western Sichuan, China: #12 & #13         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.022 2010-12-20T09:12:30Z    2010-12-20T09:12:30Z   Here is another exhilarating photographic moment...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.021 2010-12-16T09:12:30Z    2010-12-16T09:12:30Z   The next major destination of the expedition to Western Sichuan province was Gartze, which is a spectacular place for photography if the weather cooperates. As you might recall...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.020 2010-12-15T09:12:30Z    2010-12-15T09:12:30Z   The road to Bamei, our next photographic destination after Danba, went through a narrow, pretty valley with a clear, fast mountain river running along the road most of the time. We spent several hours...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.019 2010-12-13T09:12:30Z    2010-12-13T09:12:30Z   Images from Western Sichuan, China: #4         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.018 2010-12-11T09:12:30Z    2010-12-11T09:12:30Z   Images from Western Sichuan, China: #3         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.017 2010-12-09T09:12:30Z    2010-12-09T09:12:30Z   Here is an image from Jiaju with dramatic clouds that I mentioned in the previous post...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.014 2010-11-15T09:12:30Z    2010-11-15T09:12:30Z   You probably wonder why my comments on the Canon S95 camera begin with the description of its high ISO performance — after all, one is supposed to start with an introduction, depiction of ergonomics and handling, menus, and so on and so forth. The reason for breaking...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.013 2010-11-13T09:12:30Z    2010-11-13T09:12:30Z   Several posts ago I mentioned a music documentary that I greatly enjoyed, "It might get loud". My Friend Edwin over at...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.012 2010-11-10T09:12:30Z    2010-11-11T09:12:30Z   At long last, my first impressions of the Leica M9 camera are now online. Someone has to call a spade a spade, so there you have it.         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.011 2010-10-19T09:12:30Z    2010-10-19T09:12:30Z   I have finished sorting through the slides that I shot in Western Sichuan earlier this months and would like to add a couple of comments to the previous post...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.010 2010-10-10T09:12:30Z    2010-10-10T09:12:30Z   I am now back from the trip to Western Sichuan and thought I would let you know what worked and what did not on the expedition. I do not want to bore you with the details of the itinerary and, in brief, I first flew to Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province, and then...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.009 2010-09-27T09:12:30Z    2010-09-27T09:12:30Z   Photokina has come and gone, and we have been awash with releases, demonstrations and announcements of development of various photographic equipment. It has been fascinating to watch it all but...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.008 2010-09-13T09:12:30Z    2010-09-13T09:12:30Z   If you are interested in music you might be aware of a recent documentary called "It might get loud". It features...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.007 2010-08-30T09:12:30Z    2010-08-30T09:12:30Z   My review of the Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 3.5/18 ZF lens is now online. To be honest, it is getting increasingly difficult to describe...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.006 2010-08-23T09:12:30Z    2010-08-23T09:12:30Z   Regular readers may recall that I am a big fan of star trails photography. Photographing star trails is very easy if the conditions are right. In particular...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.005 2010-08-19T09:12:30Z    2010-08-19T09:12:30Z   Recently I have been very fond of what is known as "straight" photography. What is straight photography? Well, as the name suggests, it is when you pick up your camera and photograph what happens to be before you at the moment. As Paul Graham put it in his brilliant essay...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.004 2010-08-05T09:12:30Z    2010-08-05T09:12:30Z   Several readers have written to let me know that RSS feed of this page does not seem to work properly. I have now completely revamped it and the feed should work flawlessly from now on...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.003 2010-08-03T09:12:30Z    2010-08-04T09:12:30Z   My friend Tom Willekes recently sent me the following question regarding my review of the Hasselblad CFV–39 digital back: Do you have any subject comment on image "character"? You mention image quality, but not character. What I'm getting at...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.002 2010-07-20T09:12:30Z    2010-07-21T09:12:30Z   Last weekend I happened to be in Beijing and was invited to have dinner at an old friend's home. There were several people whom I had never met before and, naturally, we talked about various harmful topics you usually discuss with new acquaintances. When the discussion came to traveling in China...         tag:www.olegnovikov.com,2010://1.001 2010-07-14T09:12:30Z    2010-07-15T09:12:30Z   I mentioned in one of the previous posts that I recently moved to a new apartment. During the past decade I have relocated so many times that I have become quite efficient at it - I will not be able to rescue everything if the building is on fire, but give me a few hours and there will not be much that I will regret leaving behind. Moreover...