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Seeing a new look of the Chinatown in Bangkok
through Samyang XP 14mm F2.4

Cedric Arnold

Photographer from England

French-British artist Cedric Arnold was born in 1976 in the UK. While studying history and linguistics at the University of Paris, he first took up photography and filmmaking. He later trained in London at the London School of Photojournalism, studying under Eamonn McCabe, then picture editor of the Guardian newspaper. He joined the Sygma agency as a correspondent in London and Belfast.

In late 2001, he moved to Bangkok, representing Corbis Sygma, and began working as a photojournalist in the South East Asian region, collaborating with publications such as Le Monde, Time Magazine, New York Times, The Sunday Times, Newsweek, Stern, and many others.

In 2004 he began exploring more personal projects, showing his work that year during the “Month of Photography, Bangkok” In his personal work, Cedric is often drawn towards memory, time and the physical marks time leaves behind.

Cedric’s work is part of private, institutional and museum collections such as the SOAS and British Library Collections. He has show his work at National Museums, at festivals and galleries world wide.

You can find his work on Website : http://www.cedricarnold.com/

Bangkok – Chinatown Backstreets
Written by Cedric Arnold

zoom
MODE Night-scape
LENSES XP 14mm F2.4
CAMERA EOS 5D Mark III
DIAPHRAGM F11
SPEED 25 sec
ISO 100
EXPOSURE Aperture
priority
BRIGHTNESS -
FOCUS 14mm
PHOTOMETRY Multi-segment

Bangkok is a city for extremes. It lends itself so many possible artistic interpretations.
As a photographer based in Bangkok for the past sixteen years I have documented the city in so many ways with every format
imaginable, from 4x5 film to 35mm 6x6, 6x9, Polaroid cameras, Lomo and Holga cameras, and of course digital.
No matter the format, I am always drawn to documenting the lives of people in this ever changing multi-layered city.
I often shoot portraits and documentary series here as well as short films.
My lenses of choice in the the full frame format are 50 & 35mm I rarely use anything else.

When I was given the opportunity to choose a single lens to document Bangkok for a whole project,
I certainly even surprised myself when I opted for the 14mm.
A lens I have only used once on a film set for just one day in my career!

zoom
MODE Portrait
LENSES XP 14mm F2.4
CAMERA EOS 5D Mark III
DIAPHRAGM F3.5
SPEED 1/50 sec
ISO 1250
EXPOSURE Aperture
priority
BRIGHTNESS -
FOCUS 14mm
PHOTOMETRY Multi-segment

When I was given the opportunity to choose a single lens to document Bangkok for a whole project, I certainly even surprised myself when I opted for the 14mm. A lens I have only used once on a film set for just one day in my career!

I am not a landscape photographer, rarely shoot interiors commercially and generally hate barrel distortion, so this seemed like the worst choice possible to match my style of shooting, which is usually low light and night time photography with wide open lenses. But I wanted to challenge myself to something new so I could try to document this city I know so well in a way I had not tried before.

In Hollywood, the 14mm is often referred to as the Gilliam (named after Terry Gilliam) because of its distortion when used close-up and how it helps convey and enhance the weird atmosphere in his films, a classic example is the Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt scene in 12 Monkeys, where they are filmed from above and get close to the lens. I actually love Terry’s work and had the immense pleasure of photographing him (with a borrowed 17mm lens actually!) ten years ago.

But save for some weird and comical effects, like that fun shoot with Gilliam, I never really feel the need for anything wider than 24mm in pretty much all of my work.

zoom
MODE Portrait
LENSES XP 14mm F2.4
CAMERA EOS 5D Mark III
DIAPHRAGM F2.5
SPEED 1/20 sec
ISO 1250
EXPOSURE Aperture
priority
BRIGHTNESS -
FOCUS 14mm
PHOTOMETRY Multi-segment
zoom
MODE Portrait
LENSES XP 14mm F2.4
CAMERA EOS 5D Mark III
DIAPHRAGM F2.5
SPEED 1/225 sec
ISO 1250
EXPOSURE Manual
BRIGHTNESS -
FOCUS 14mm
PHOTOMETRY Multi-segment

So the challenge was on.

I live in an older part of Bangkok, along the river and adjacent to Chinatown. It’s an area that is changing fast, bustling and chaotic, a neon wonderland, with street food everywhere, it’s noisy, hot, steamy and everything is in your face. One would never imagine it when walking down the main roads and tourist spots of Chinatown amongst all this chaos, but in the backstreets, you’ll find some truly unique and often quite magical scenes, it’s like a trip back in time, quiet, strange, and fascinating. I go for walks very often with either a small video camera or a stills camera, avoiding the noisy main roads. I often end up having long conversations with locals, many are third generation vendors living in dilapidated 80 + year old traditional shop houses, local monks at temples and Chinese opera performers. Their way of life is under threat and for many the tradition will end when they retire. Their children are studying or have studied to be doctors engineers, bankers etc… And with fast changes in the neighbourhood many think that within 10 years they will probably have to move abandoning in some cases over 100 years of local family tradition.

zoom
MODE Night-scape
LENSES XP 14mm F2.4
CAMERA EOS 5D Mark III
DIAPHRAGM F2.5
SPEED 1/50 sec
ISO 1600
EXPOSURE Aperture
priority
BRIGHTNESS -
FOCUS 14mm
PHOTOMETRY Multi-segment
zoom
MODE Snapshot
LENSES XP 14mm F2.4
CAMERA EOS 5D Mark III
DIAPHRAGM F2.38
SPEED 1/15 sec
ISO 2500
EXPOSURE Shutter
priority
BRIGHTNESS -
FOCUS 14mm
PHOTOMETRY Multi-segment

While this felt familiar,
this time I just had to go a LOT wider.

Even though I was very pleasantly surprised by how little distortion this lens displayed, I kept wanting to get closer but often backed off when I saw lines distort and circular objects in the foreground start to look very strange. I soon became obsessed with keeping vertical lines straight and kept using them as a point of reference to decide how close I could get. I began to wonder if I was completely mad to have chosen this lens for my project! But then I started seeing things differently and really began to enjoy the challenge. The first step was one backwards, going against the classic photojournalist’s quote by Robert Capa “If your pictures are not good enough you’re not close enough” It’s a smoky, messy, frantic area of Bangkok but I always find oddly serene moments in the fascinating backstreets.

zoom
MODE Snapshot
LENSES XP 14mm F2.4
CAMERA EOS 5D Mark III
DIAPHRAGM F2.5
SPEED 1/50 sec
ISO 1600
EXPOSURE Manual
BRIGHTNESS
FOCUS 14mm
PHOTOMETRY Multi-segment

Focussing I imagined , would be a breeze, since it’s such a wide angle lens, but because I was shooting wide open at f2.4 pretty much all the time walking at night, I found that live view and zooming in to check focus was really the only way to know what was actually in focus.

I found that to be a hindrance at first but it then became an opportunity to take my time in observing the right moment to shoot and noticed things I had not noticed before in the neighbourhood.

On special occasions Chinese Opera performers set up their own ramshackle stages on street corners with old worn out planks of wood and cover the stage in colourful PCV and tent material making a small back stage area behind or even under the stage, the super wide lens was very useful there to make use of those colourful backdrops. Markets, small alleys all became bigger.

I began looking up a lot more realizing that I had to consider the huge field of view and how much I could include in a

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Samyang’s Guide to Achieving the Optimal Angle of View

The perfect spacing and distance are always necessary when shooting all kinds of subjects, including people, to give them a proper relationship with the beautiful space around them. So, what’s the exact distance that helps you best appreciate a work of art, or a photo?

The correct answer is the diagonal length of the full frame of a subject.

표준화각 자료 이미지
표준화각 자료 이미지

The best standpoint from which to appreciate the full view of a subject is the distance of the diagonal length of the subject frame. This wider angle is superior to standing closer at a 50 degree angle to get a more detailed view. This notion of an ideal distance or view point is also applicable in the world of photography.

For still images, keeping a distance equal to the diagonal length of the full image surface is recommended. The full frame sensor of a digital camera is 36 x 24mm and the diagonal length is 43.26mm so any distance close to this number is nearer to the ideal than the currently accepted industry standard of 50mm.

Back when film cameras were common, 45mm was the industry standard and this continued as reflex cameras needed extra space to fit a mirror. However, as mirrorless cameras become more popular again, there has been a need to return to this industry standard…which is the impetus for the Samyang AF 45mm F1.8 FE. With less distortion than a 35mm lens and wider angles than a 55mm lens, the Samyang AF 45mm F1.8 FE is a perfect lens for portraits, landscapes, architecture photography, and pictures of pets.

What is Preset Aperture Control Function?

On the Preset Aperture Control function, the aperture blade operates smoothly like a "De-clicked lens", which is advantageous for video recording.
Fujifilm cameras are engineered to control the aperture according to the minimum exposure value(F-stop), so when the camera controls the aperture, it blinks momentarily to set the proper exposure.

AF 75mm F1.8 X intentionally disconnects the communication with the camera body and the lens itself on the Preset Aperture Control function, so it is possible to smoothly adjust the exposure without flickering. ISO and shutter speed are adjusted according to the changed exposure by controlling the aperture, so the exposure value can be changed even with the 1/2 F-stop.

What is Preset Aperture Control Function?

On the Preset Aperture Control function, the aperture blade operates smoothly like a "De-clicked lens", which is advantageous for video recording.
Fujifilm cameras are engineered to control the aperture according to the minimum exposure value(F-stop), so when the camera controls the aperture, it blinks momentarily to set the proper exposure.

AF 75mm F1.8 X intentionally disconnects the communication with the camera body and the lens itself on the Preset Aperture Control function, so it is possible to smoothly adjust the exposure without flickering. ISO and shutter speed are adjusted according to the changed exposure by controlling the aperture, so the exposure value can be changed even with the 1/2 F-stop.

What is Recommended Settings for Preset Aperture Control Function?

The Preset Aperture Control function operates only when shooting video(Movie mode) and the focusing mode of the camera is set to AF mode. Please set the aperture at f/1.8 before switching the "Custom Switch" to "Mode 2. It is recommended to set the "Exposure mode" as A mode (Aperture Priority AE) or M mode (Manual Exposure).

* How to use the “Preset Aperture Control” function?

1) Camera Body Setting
      AF Mode → Video Mode ('A' or 'M' mode) → Set the Aperture @F1.8
(2) Lens Setting
      Switch your "Custom Switch” to “Mode 2(M2)"
(3) Now, you're ready to use the Preset Aperture Control function with your focus ring

What is Recommended Settings for Preset Aperture Control Function?

The Preset Aperture Control function operates only when shooting video(Movie mode) and the focusing mode of the camera is set to AF mode. Please set the aperture at f/1.8 before switching the "Custom Switch" to "Mode 2. It is recommended to set the "Exposure mode" as A mode (Aperture Priority AE) or M mode (Manual Exposure).

* How to use the “Preset Aperture Control” function?

1) Camera Body Setting
      AF Mode → Video Mode ('A' or 'M' mode) → Set the Aperture @F1.8
(2) Lens Setting
      Switch your "Custom Switch” to “Mode 2(M2)"
(3) Now, you're ready to use the Preset Aperture Control function with your focus ring

[What is Dolly Shot? How to Shoot Easily]

[What is Dolly shot?]

A dolly shot, also referred to as a tracking shot or trucking shot, is a camera movement technique used by cinematographers to track and follow a subject in motion. To achieve this, the camera is mounted on a device called a "dolly," which facilitates smooth tracking movement. The dolly can move in front of, behind, or alongside the subject, which can be a person, a location, a product, or any other object of focus in the frame. Through this, you can control the emotional distance between the subject and the viewer by highlighting the audiovisual and dramatic effects.

[How to take a Dolly Shot simply by handheld]

Tip. If the moving distance is long, the camera may shake, so please shoot at a focal length between 35 and 100mm.
1. Stand at a distance of about 1.5 to 2 meters away from the subject.
2. Set the custom switch to MF and Mode 3 and adjust the focal length to about 100mm.
3. After focusing on the subject, set the aperture to F8~16.
4. Slowly turn the zoom ring to the left (towards the wide-angle end) while using your upper body and arms to move the camera toward your subject.
5. Dolly Shot complete!
※ When shooting from a farther distance from the subject, use a cart or gimbal for more stable shooting.

DSLR / Full Frame
1D X Mark Ⅱ
1D X
1Ds Mark Ⅲ
1Ds
5DsR
5Ds
5D Mark Ⅳ
5D Mark Ⅲ
6D Mark Ⅱ
6D
DSLR / APS-H
1D Mark Ⅲ
1D
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M6
M5
M10
M3
M2
DSLR / APS-S
7D Mark Ⅱ
7D
80D
70D
60D
30D
D60
D30
77D (9000D)
760D (8000D / Rebel T6s)
1300D (Kiss X80 / Rebel T6)
1200D (Kiss X70 / Rebel T5)
200D (Kiss X9 / Rebel SL2)
800D (Kiss X9i / Rebel T7i)
700D (Kiss X9i / Rebel T7i)
100D (Kiss X7 / Rebel SL1)
650D (Kiss X6i / Rebel T4i)
600D (Kiss X5 / Rebel T3i)
550D (Kiss X4 / Rebel T2i)
500D (Kiss X3 / Rebel T1i)
1000D (Kiss F / Rebel XS)
450D (Kiss X2 / Rebel X냐)
DSLR / Full Frame
D850
D5
D810A
D4S
D810
D750
Df
D610
D4
D800
D800E
D600
D3s
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D700
D3
DSLR / APS-C
D7500
D3400
D500
D5600
D7200
D5500
D3300
D7100
D5300
D5200
D7000
D300s
D300
DSLR / Full Frame
Z6
Z7
D810A
D4S
D750
D810A
DSLR / APS-C
D7200
D500
D3300
D5500
D5600
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* Cameras released within 5 years from 2019 are tested.

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