Getting up and close to scooter, Shenzhen, China, X100F
Close focus with the X100F in Shenzhen — getting inside the normal comfort zone to let the geometry of the scooter dominate the frame. The X100F’s fixed 23mm equivalent allows you to work this tight while keeping enough environmental context to place the subject. Converted to monochrome to strip the urban colour noise and let form and light speak for themselves. See the full article: China — Shenzhen Day 3 on IJM Photography.
Window on the World, aka Selfie Heaven, Shenzhen, China, X100F
Window on the World, Shenzhen — a place purpose-built for the selfie generation, and completely sincere about it. The X100F held low, shooting upward into the light. Monochrome turns a chaotic colour scene into a study in backlit silhouettes: the phone screen glowing against the face, reflective surfaces multiplying the light. Sometimes the most honest photograph of a moment is the one where everyone is photographing themselves. See the full article: China — Shenzhen Day 3 on IJM Photography.
People checking out the stage for that night’s concert in Shenzhen, China, X100F
Before the music starts — people at a Shenzhen venue checking out the stage. The X100F in available stage light: high contrast, directional, unpredictable. Monochrome collapses the coloured gels into a simpler tonal range and focuses attention on the posture and movement of the figures rather than the spectacle behind them. See the full article: China — Shenzhen Day 3 on IJM Photography.
The dust man’s scooter, Shenzhen, China, X100F
The dustman’s scooter, loaded and parked — a working vehicle photographed with the respect it deserves. The X100F’s close minimum focus distance lets you get into the detail of the load without losing street context. Monochrome strips the hi-vis orange from the scene and leaves you with texture: the packed crates, the worn rubber, the practical chaos of a working day. See the full article: China — Shenzhen Day 3 on IJM Photography.
They’re all at it!! Window on the World, aka Selfie Heaven, Shenzhen, China, X100F
They’re all at it — a collective ritual at Window on the World, Shenzhen, X100F. The repeating gesture — phone raised, screen glowing — turns into a pattern rather than individual portraits. The X100F is unobtrusive in these situations: small, unassuming, easily mistaken for a tourist compact. Monochrome turns the colourful crowd into a graphic study in repeated behaviour. See the full article: China — Shenzhen Day 3 on IJM Photography.
Street photography in Shenzhen, China, X100F
Street photography in Shenzhen with the X100F — the city’s vertical density making every street-level frame a composition of layers. The fixed focal length disciplines you into working with what’s in front of you. Monochrome collapses the commercial signage — the dominant visual language of Shenzhen’s streets — into neutral tones, letting the human figures carry the image. See the full article: China — Shenzhen Day 3 on IJM Photography.
A bridge over a busy road, Shenzhen, China, X100F
Shot at f/2.0 from a bridge over a busy Shenzhen road — the wide aperture compresses depth and throws the layers of the city into a softened relationship. The X100F’s 23mm lens at this aperture produces gentle out-of-focus rendering without a clinical quality. Monochrome holds the tonal transitions cleanly through the frame rather than competing colours pulling the eye in multiple directions. See the full article: China — Shenzhen Day 3 on IJM Photography.
Just looking up in a theatre before rehearsing in Shenzhen, China, X100F
Looking up into a Shenzhen theatre before rehearsals — the X100F pointing upward at the rigging, the lights, the architecture of performance. Backstage spaces in available light are a challenge: functional illumination that is unflattering in colour but stripped to tone, the cables and battens and the bodies waiting below become a genuine composition. See the full article: China — Shenzhen Day 3 on IJM Photography.
My Friend, and fellow horn player, Clément, Shenzhen, China, X100F
A portrait of Clément — fellow horn player, Shenzhen. The X100F held close for a natural light portrait in the moments before or after a performance. The 23mm equivalent at this distance keeps the environmental context while the available light does the work. Monochrome brings attention squarely to expression and light without the colour cast of whatever room you’re in. See the full article: China — Shenzhen Day 3 on IJM Photography.
Monochromia 
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