Beautiful Thai Girls at the Bangkok Motor Show 2020

The 41th Bangkok International Motor Show was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is taking place for the public from the 15th of July to the 26th of July 2020. The 13th is for the VIP’s and the 14th is for the Press.

The theme of this year is “Inspiration unlocks the future” .

The venue is as usual Impact Challenger 1-3, Muang Thong Thani.

The most beautiful models are here to present the cars and give informations to the visitors.

I shot this first series of pictures with a Sony A7R4, a prime lens G Master 135mmf1.8 and a flash Sony F45RM.

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Bangkok lockdown shot on Leica film during the COVID-19 pandemic

These pictures were shot in April 2020, in Bangkok , with a Leica Mini 3 and the film Kodak TX 400. I’ve chosen black and white film because it’s the best medium to capture the atmosphere of a city. Film captures the light, the vibrations, the mood of a scene.
In Thailand, during the lockdown, it was allowed to go out, as long as you wore a mask, practiced social distancing, and comply with the 10pm curfew.
As a photographer , I had to document this special period, unprecedented in modern times…

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Leica Mini 3 review with Kodak TX 400 and Portra 400 in Bangkok

I’ve been shooting with a Leica M6 TTL for 3 years. This was my only film camera, and my only lens is a Noctilux f/0.95 . I love this camera and I’ve been shooting portraits, landscapes, street photography etc… However, it’s not a light combo. And I take it with me when I really have a purpose. On many occasions, when I had not something special to shoot but still wanted to keep a souvenir from a nice day of walk or visit, I didn’t take my M6, but instead, I was buying a disposable camera. And it was fun. But of course there are huge limitations in terms of lens quality, focus, and type of film availability. So I decided to buy a film point and shoot camera, to have a camera always with me.

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Beautiful Cosplay Girls at Japan Expo 2020 in Bangkok

Japan Expo & Festa is the best event featuring Japan culture in South East Asia. It’s happening in Bangkok at Central World and features everything about Japan ; music, food, culture, and cosplay. This year The event starts form the 31th of January 2019 and ends the 2nd of February.

I shot the most beautiful cosplayers and you can see the pictures below.

I had my Sony A7R4, Sony G lens 2470F2.8, and flash F45RM

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Longevity : interview with Dr de Weber, PhD in cellular biology, specialist in aging genetics

We had the chance to talk with Dr Ivan de Weber, worldwide specialist of anti-aging. Dr de Weber holds a PhD from the University of Geneva in the field of cellular biology, and a post-doctoral certificate in pharmaceutical bioinformatics from Uppsala University.

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Amazing Bokeh and Pretty Girls with the Sony FE135mmf1.8 and A7R4

The first series of pictures are shot with the Sony A7R4 and the lens Sony G Master FE135mmF/1.8. The flash is the F45M. All the pictures are shot wide open at f/1.8 to get a shallow depth of field and a great bokeh.

The second series were shot with the same camera and the zoom lens G Master 2470F2.8

I shot these pictures during the Motor Expo 2019 in Bangkok. This is one of the three major show of the year, with the Motor Show and Big Motor Sale.

Enjoy the pictures !

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Pretty Cosplay Girls at the Thailand Game Show 2019

Thailand Game Show 2019 is the most famous and relevant Game Show in South East Asia. The main gaming companies are present to feature their innovations.
The event took place in October 2019 from the 25th to the 27th, at Royal Paragon Hall, 5th Floor of Siam Paragon.
There is a Cosplay Contest so all the cosplayers of Thailand are coming to show their best costumes. You can see below the best pictures from the events.
They are shot with the new Sony A7R4, Sony G Master lens 24-70 2.8, and the flash F43M

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Hua Hin,Thailand : Leica M6, Noctilux and Ilford 3200

I shot this pictures in Hua Hin, a beach resort in Thailand. I used a Leica M6 TTL and the lens Leica Noctilux 50mmf/0.95 .The film is Ilford 3200, metered and developed at speedbox. I started to shoot at sunset until it was dark. The high ISO 3200 was necessary and the last pictures were shot wide open at f/0.95 because there was not more light available.
For the first 6 pictures, there was too much light for ISO 3200 so I used a Heliopan filter Yellow 8 . It block 1.5 steps of lights and at the same time it enhances the contrast.

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Sony A7R4 in Paris, Brussels and Bangkok with the G Master 2470f/2.8

I shot these pictures in Paris, Brussels and Bangkok with the new Sony A7R4 which has a sensor of 61 million pixels. The lens is the G Master 24-70 f/2.8. I shot in raw uncompressed (9504 x 6336 pixels). The pictures were lightly edited in Lightroom and exported in Jpeg.
There are 3 pages. At the end of each page there is a link to go to the next city.

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Yerevan, Armenia : landmarks and street photography in 2019

I visited Armenia in April 2019. This is the beginning of the spring, the weather is sunny but there are still some rainy days. I’ve walked around Yerevan with my camera, and I went as well to some famous landmarks outside of the capital like Garni, Gerhard, Echmiadzin, Zvarnotz etc…
These pictures will give you an idea of the daily life in the streets of Yerevan, and you will discover as well the historical side of Armenia with churches which were built more than 1400 years ago. The conversion of Armenia to Christianity happened in the year 301 AD. It became the first country in the world to adopt Christianity.

Welcome to Armenia !

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Beautiful Thai Girls at the Bangkok Motor Show 2019

The 40th Bangkok International Motor Show is taking place for the public from the 27th of March to the 7th of April 2019. The 25th is for the VIP’s and the 26th is for the Press.

The theme of this year is “Enjoyment of automobiles” .

The venue is as usual Impact Challenger 1-3, Muang Thong Thani.

The most beautiful models are here to present the cars and give informations to the visitors.

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Pretty bikers at Bangkok Motorbike Festival 2019 in Thailand

The 11th Bangkok Motorbike Festival is taking place in the shopping mall CentralWorld, from the 13th of February to the 17th of February 2019. It is a great show and the major brands are represented : BMW, Honda, Harley Davidson, Yamaha, Suzuki etc…
Some local shops from Thailand are present as well.
To show and present these amazing bikes, the most beautiful “Pretty” girls of Thailand are here. I shot the pictures with my Sony A7R2, the Sony Lens 2470F2.8 and the flash F43M.
Enjoy the pictures !

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Street Photography in Cheung Chau Island, Hong-Kong : Leica M6 & Noctilux

Cheung Chau is a charming island located 10km Southwest of Hong Kong. You can take the ferry from Central Pier and you’ll be there in less than an hour. The ride is quite enjoyable.
People are living a traditional and quiet life. There are many fishermen and seafood restaurants. Hongkongers come during the week-end to enjoy fresh seafood and a walk along the beach.
I went there in December and I shot a roll of Kodak Portra 400 with the Leica M6 and the lens Noctilux 50mm. I tried to document the life of the island with the street markets, the temples, the beach, the tourists, and the local fishermen.

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Beautiful Cosplay Girls at Japan Expo 2019 in Bangkok

Japan Expo is the best event featuring Japan culture in South East Asia. It’s happening in Bangkok at Central World and features everything about Japan ; music, food, culture, and cosplay. This year The event starts form the 25th of January 2019 and ends the 27th.
I shot the most beautiful cosplayers and you can see the pictures below.
I had my Sony A7R2, Sony G lens 2470F2.8, and flash F43M

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Washi Film V a special emulsion made from Gampi Japanese paper

Washi Film is a French company created in 2013 and based in Saint-Nazaire. They are specialized in handcrafted film making and industrial film conversion.
Washi (和紙) in Japanese literally means “Japanese (wa 和) Paper (紙 shi) ”. It is handmade from local wood that makes it stronger then standard paper. Usually used for traditional arts like origami, Washi Film created an emulsion from this special material.
The Washi V is handcoated on artisanal Gampi paper made by Awagami Factory in Japan. This is a delicate film and you have to be very careful when you load, advance, and rewind the film. You can shoot 16 pictures per roll.
I shoot with a Leica M6 and the Noctilux 50mm . When I shot my first roll, everything went all right until I rewinded it. The film broke inside the camera and then I made a huge mistake : I opened the camera instead of asking the lab to open it in the darkroom to remove the film. However, I was lucky enough to save 6 pictures.
I love the rendering of this film! I’m crazy about it! It looks like an ancien ink painting on silk.
So I decided to shoot another roll in Paris. And this time everything went all right. I brought it to the lab Friday, the 4th of January 2019 and I’m still waiting for the scans.

Update : 16th of January 2019

I received the scans from my second roll . They are great except some stains on almost all the pictures. I asked the owner of the company Washi Film about that. He told me that the emulsion was applied manually on the paper and this explains that it’s not 100% regular on the film. Besides the film is hand-coated in the dark with infrared glasses so he can not see all the flaws. Let’s say that these irregularities make the charm of the film. However I decided to remove the stains with photoshop. You can still have a idea of what the stains look like because I didn’t remove them on some pictures.

Well, despite the stains I still love this film and I’m looking forward to shoot more pictures with it.

Update 29 of January 2019

I’ve received the scans from my 3rd roll. I shot it in Paris, early January. This time, there were no stains, it came out clean! I’m very happy with the results. I went to the Arc de Triomphe, on the roof top and and had some panoramic views of Paris. It was foggy so the Eiffel Tower is not really visible. I went as well around the Ile Saint Louis to finish the roll.

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Washi Film S for sound recording with Leica M6 and Noctilux in Brussels

Film Washi “S” is a film used by motion picture professionals for sound recording, this requires a very fine grain and a very high definition. This sharpness is guaranteed by a special anti-halation layer located between the film’s base and the emulsion layer, while its usually in back layer for ordinary films.
I tried this film for the first time in Brussels in the iconic Grand Place and its neibourhood. The rendering is very original, with a great contrast. The film has a good dynamic range and I could get back a lot of details in the shadows in Lightroom with the shadow slider. I also reduced the highlights sometimes. I didn’t do any other editing, I liked the pictures as they came from the lab.

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Paris Photo 2018 through the Leica Noctilux and Kodak film TMax 3200

Paris Photo is the most prestigious gathering of art galleries in the world of photography . It takes place at the famous museum Le Grand Palais in the heart of Paris. This year, the 22nd edition hosted 166 galeries and 31 publishers, from the 8th to the 11th of November. 68 000 visitors attended the event, 40% of them came from abroad.
Visiting this unique exhibition is very inspiring, considering the diversity of the galeries coming from 30 different countries. The atmosphere is special, this is a place where you can meet people and share your passion for photography.
In order to take original pictures, I choose to document my visit by shooting with film. I tried for the first time the film Kodak TMax 3200 . It is quoted at ISO 800 so in reality, they push it 2 stops when you meter at 3200. You can meter it at 800 or 1600, but you have to tell it to the lab. They have a chart indicating the different requirements of development corresponding to the ISO.
I shot it at 3200 because it was indoor. After a few shots, I realised that there was enough light to shoot at 1600. As you can not change the ISO after starting the shooting, I shot everything at 3200.
I’m very happy with the result. There is some nice grain, expected at such a high ISO, and we have a lot of details in the shadows. It is sharp and clear.
I used my trusted Leica M6 TTL and the lens Noctilux f/0.95 . I shot most of the pictures around F5.6-F8 , in order to keep a descent shutter speed.

Here are the pictures :

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Pretty Cosplay Girls at Thailand Game Show 2018

Thailand Game Show Big Festival 2018 is the most famous and relevant Game Show in South East Asia. The main gaming companies are present to feature their innovations.
The event takes places in November 2018 from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th, at Royal Paragon Hall, 5th Floor of Siam Paragon.
There is a Cosplay Contest so all the cosplayers of Thailand are coming to show their best costumes. You can see below the best pictures from the events.
They are shot with a Sony A7R2, Sony G Master lens 24-70 2.8, and the flash F43M

Enjoy the show!

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Portraits with b&w film and flash : Leica M6 TTL, Flash SF20, Noctilux f/0.95

I shot these pictures with my Leica M6 TTL, the lens Noctilux, the flash Leica SF 20 , and two different films : Kodak Portra 400 and Ilford HP5 400. The great thing about this combo is that the flash is TTL compatible which means that the light meter takes into account the ISO, the shutter speed and the light coming “through the lens” . In the viewfinder a “thunder” symbol appears, that indicates that the flash is well connected. The internal meter of the camera will take everything into account and will guide you to get the perfect exposure. You’ll find it by playing with the aperture until the red dot appears . Just as an external meter would give you the right aperture in a studio when you fire the flash for testing.
The big challenge is the compulsory shutter speed you have to use : 1/45s . Faster than that, the flash doesn’t fire. But finally, I managed to keep my hands steady and the pictures turned out sharp. I think the flash is really necessary when you shoot models indoors, because it lifts the shadows and make the image brighter without pushing the film.
Black and white films are less forgiving with under or overexposure so it’s not easy to get a great picture indoors with flash. sometimes it looks a little bit underexposed and there is two much grain. As much as I love grain for landscapes, building and objects, with portraits it’s not so flattering. However, all is all, I’m really glad that I shot black and white because when it’s well framed and exposed, it’s really beautiful and more special than color. And finally I’m happy with the pictures I got.
The first pictures featured are the Ilford ones and than it’s Kodak .

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Pretty Models : Leica M6 TTL, Flash SF20, Noctilux f/0.95, Kodak Portra

I shot these pictures with my Leica M6 TTL, the lens Noctilux, the flash Leica SF 20 , and film Kodak Portra at speed box. The great thing about this combo is that the flash is TTL compatible which means that the light meter takes into account the ISO, the shutter speed and the light coming “through the lens” . In the viewfinder a “thunder” symbol appears, that indicates that the flash is well connected. The internal meter of the camera will take everything into account and will guide you to get the perfect exposure. You’ll find it by playing with the aperture until the green light is on. Just as an external meter would give you the right aperture in a studio when you fire the flash for testing.
The big challenge is the compulsory shutter speed you have to use : 1/45s . Faster than that, the flash doesn’t fire. But finally, I managed to keep my hands steady and the pictures turned out sharp. I think the flash is really necessary when you shoot models indoors, because it lifts the shadows and make the image brighter without pushing the film. Besides, with color film, you don’t take too much risk with a flash because it can handle overexposure pretty well in case the TTL function doesn’t do its jobs perfectly enough. All in all I’m very happy with the rendering and I think the pictures look really nice.

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Overwatch Cosplay Girls for the World Cup 2018 in Bangkok

The Overwatch World Cup 2018 took place in Siam Paragon, Bangkok, from the 14th to the 16th of September 2018.
Overwatch enthusiasts where here, and some beautiful girls were cosplaying with the costume of their favourite character from the video game.

I shot with a with a Sony A7R2, the lens Sony G 24-70 F2.8 and Flash F43M

Enjoy the pictures!

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Beautiful Models with the Leica Noctilux at f/0.95 with the Techart Pro in Bangkok

I shot the most beautiful girls of Bangkok with the Leica Noctilux wide open at the aperture f/0.95. It was mounted on the Sony A7R2 with the Techart Pro adapter. This adapter makes the lens autofocus. It works with any M mount lens. The face detection works very well.
This pictures were shot during a motor show in Thailand called Big Motor Sale 2018.

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Beautiful asian girls at the Big Motor Sale 2018 in Bangkok

Bangkok International Grand Motor Sale is taking place in BITEC, Bangkok, from the 12th to the 26th of October 2018. The major brands will feature their newest models and the most beautiful hostesses from Thailand will welcome the visitors.
The pictures are shot with a Sony A7R2, the lens Sony G 24-70 F2.8 and Flash F43M .

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Empire State 360 views with Cinestill 800, Leica Noctilux, M6 in New York

In June 2018 I was in New York and I decided to shoot some film at the panoramic desk of the Empire State Building. It’s a great place to get some amazing 360 views of New York. This day it was raining which adds some charm and mystery to the pictures. I shot a roll of Cinestill 800T because New York is a very cinematic city and I thought it would fit perfectly with this film which comes from the motion picture film Kodak Vision 3 5219. The major landmarks of the Big Apple are there on the pictures : Flatiron, New York Life (golden top pyramid), Chrysler, 432 Park Avenue (the new and tallest building of the hemisphere), and the Hudson river!
I used my trusted Leica M6 TTL and the lens Noctilux. I had a lot of light despite the rain, and it’s a 800 iso film, so I was most of the time at maximum shutter speed, and the aperture was between F8 and F16.
You can see below the video and the pictures

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Bokeh Challenge f/0.95 in Lisbon with Leica M6, Noctilux and Ilford HP5

I was in Lisbon in June 2018 and it was a good opportunity to do a “Bokeh Challenge f/0.95” ; it’s about shooting an entire roll of film wide open at the aperture of f/0.95. I used my Leica M6, the lens Leica Noctilux, and Ilford HP5 Plus 400. As it was a bright day, I was afraid of overexposing the film even at the highest shutter speed of 1/1000s. So I used a yellow filter to block a little bit of light, and at the same time it could give me more contrast with the black&white film ;
Heliopan 60mm #8 Medium Yellow Filter made in Germany, bought in B&H New York 3 weeks earlier for $65. It blocks one stop of light. But I didn’t have to worry about this because my M6 is TTL so it measures the light through the lens. I just had to follow the internal meter.
I started shooting avenuda de la Libertad, Restauradores , then I went to Praça Rossio. I walked to Baixa-Chiado via rua do Carmo. This is a very lively neighborhood with locals and tourists. Fernando Pessoa used to come here regularly for a coffee in the famous Café A Brasileira. Then I walked down to the Praca do Commercio on the banks of the Tejo river. Not far from there, there is San Antonio’s church, build above the crypt where Saint Anthony of Padua was born in 1195. I finished my roll by walking around and shooting the legendary Tram 28.

You can see below the video and the pictures.

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Street Photography with Leica Noctilux at f/0.95 and Techart Pro in Paris

June is a great time to shoot Street Photography in Paris. The weather is beautiful, many tourists are visiting and there is a lot of action in the city. I choose Montmartre and le Sacré Coeur to try for the first time the TechArt Pro adapter for shooting street photography. I had the Sony A7R2 and the Leica Noctilux. In order to add some fun to that I shot all the pictures wide open at the aperture of f/0.95. It’s rare to see this kind of pictures at this aperture. Usually people use the zone focusing technique with an aperture around f/8. As I don’t like to do like everyone else, I did the contrary, I shot wide open! At this aperture you need to nail the focus perfectly. That’s where the autofocus function of the Techart Pro is essential. The depth of field at 0.95 is so shallow that too much time would be necessary to manual focus and I would miss the shot. Obviously people won’t pose for you. The concept is to catch a slice of life, to capture a special moment, to document street life. To do that you need to focus quickly otherwise the scene will change and you miss the picture.
The adaptor worked perfectly! Sometimes the face detection was working, but not always. When the face couldn’t be detected it was not a problem because the focus points could detect my subject and I just had to shoot. I was really glad to have it and try this experience because street photography makes more sense at this aperture. As only your subject is sharp, it draws easily the attention on it and immerses instantly the viewer into the story.

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Rollei 400 infrared, Hoya filter R72, Leica M6, Noctilux : Singapore

I was in Singapore a few days and I tried for the second time the film Rollei 400 infrared with the Hoya filter R72. I shot it with my Leica M6 and the lens Noctilux. Following my first experience with infrared, I knew how to expose it : you have to add 6 or 7 stops to the shutter speed of a standard reading. I used the app My Lightmeter Pro. I selected the ISO (400) , the aperture (f8), and the app gave me a shutter speed for a normal film. Form this, I added 6 or 7 stops. For exemple, if the app indicated 1/2000s, I would shoot at 1/30 or 1/15. After shooting half of the frame, I realised that I could get the same result by following the internal lightmeter of my M6. Because the M6 TTL takes into account the light coming through the lens, it takes into account the filter. The filter blocks a lot of light, but at the same time the Rollei film doesn’t have an anti-infrared filter as the other films or as a standard digital sensor. With a standard digital sensor you would have to add 14 stops of lights.

So I went to the Supertree Grove gardens at Marina Bay because there’s a lot of plants and trees and that’s how you get the most of your infrared shots : if your exposure is correct, they must appear white and that’s beautiful! I shot as well in other parts of the city and from my balcony to have some landscapes.

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Leica Noctilux autofocus with Techart Pro : shooting cosplay models

Coscom Aloha is a great Cosplay event taking place in Bangkok, at the Suan Dusit University. Many beautiful cosplayers attended the event to join the contest and to have their picture taken.
I tested my new Techart Pro adapter from E-mount to M-Mount. That makes my Leica Noctilux an autofucus lens when mounted on the Sony A7R2. It works very well even with face detection.

All the pictures below are shot wide open, at the aperture of f/0.95

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Bokeh Challenge f/0.95 in Singapore : Leica M6, Noctilux, Kodak Portra 400

The concept of the Bokeh Challenge 0.95 is to shoot an entire roll at the aperture of f/0.95. I was in Singapore and I went to Chinatown with my Leica M6, Noctilux and a roll of Portra 400. I started by the Sri Mariamman indian temple and I was very lucky because there was a special ceremony, a Puja. It was very lively, colourful, musicians played a typical indian music and the priests were performing the ceremony. Then I went to a taoist temple, Thian Hock Keng, build for the worship of Mazu, a Chinese sea goddess. I was a quiet atmosphere , very inspiring, with beautiful details of decoration to capture.
Doing these challenges is very interesting because you need to take pictures which fit the special aperture of f/0.95 with a very shallow depth of field. The photographe is then encouraged to find a special inspiration, to look for original angles, and to shot subjects that you might not think to shot usually.

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Film photography & Flash : Leica M6, Noctilux and Leica Flash SF 20

I wanted to shoot with my Leica M6 with a flash for a long time and I’ve finally found a flash SF 20 at the Paris Leica store. It is the only flash compatible with the TTL fonction of the M6. It was a second hand of course because this model is not in production anymore. It’s in mint condition and works beautifully.
TTL stands for Through The Lens because there is a sensor in the camera which mesures the light coming through the lens.

In order for the flash to fire, your shutter speed has to be 1/50s or slower. Higher than 1/50s the flash won’t fire.
When you set your iso at the back of your camera , the iso value is displayed on the flash screen. In the viewfinder you can see the flash sign which shows that the metering system (arrows and the red dot) will take into account the flash. That’s the beauty of this TTL system ; everything is taken into account to mesure the perfect exposure ; the shutter speed, the iso, and the distance from your subject. So when you look into the viewfinder the arrows indicates if you are under or overexposed. The only adjustable data is your aperture ; you can’t change the iso nor the distance to your subject, and you don’t want to shoot under the shutter speed of 1/50s because your image might be blurry. So you have to adjust your aperture to get the right exposure. You have to turn the aperture ring according to the arrows inside the viewfinder. When you see the red dot, you have everything in line and you can press the shutter button.
So I went to the Bangkok Motor show to try the system and I shot some portraits of the beautiful presenters that were working for the car makers.
I shot 3 rolls this afternoon ; Cinestill BWxx 250 (black and White) Cinestill 800T (color) , and Kodak TX 400 . That’s the order of display in this article .

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Shooting Models at F/0.95 with Leica Noctilux and SonyA7R2

This is another F/0.95 challenge : shooting the beautiful models of the Bangkok Motor Show with the Leica Noctilux wide open. This time, I didn’t shoot film : the lens was mounted on my Sony A7R2 with the Metabones adaptor.
It was indeed challenging because I didn’t have much time to focus, the models were busy and they were not always still. At 0.95 if the model moves a tiny bit you loose your focus. Besides, the lighting conditions were difficult ; many lights of different colors. I had my flash to fill the shadows and to get rid of the ambiant lights. All in all, I’m happy with de results, the bokeh is amazing and the very shallow depth of field creates a significant separation between the model and the background. And finally, the special look of the Noctilux makes the pictures unique!

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Beautiful Asian Girls at the Bangkok Motor Show 2018

The 39th Bangkok International Motor Show is taking place for the public from the 28th of March to the 8th of April 2018. The 26th is for the VIP’s and the 27th is for the Press.

The theme of this year is “Revolution in Motion” .

The venue is as usual Impact Challenger 1-3, Muang Thong Thani.

The most beautiful models are here to present the cars and give informations to the visitors.

I shoot with a Sony A7R2, a zoom lens Sony G Master 2470F2.8 and a flash Sony F43M

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Bokeh Challenge f/0.95 in Paris : Leica M6, Noctilux, Kodak Portra 400

The “Bokeh Challenge f/0.95” series consist of shooting an entire roll of film at the aperture of f/0.95 , which is the widest aperture possible with a lens as of now. This is a difficult task :
1- first you need a find an interesting subject that you can shoot closely ; the closer you are the better the effect.
2- then you need to find a background that will melt properly to form a nice bokeh
3- finally, you need to nail the focus precisely because at 0.95 the depth of field is very shallow and with film you don’t see the result immediately. and consequently you can’t start again if you fail.

The point of these challenges is to take advantage of the capacities of one of the most legendary lens ever made, the Leica Noctilux. Wide open, this lens produce unique and outstanding images. Being able to separate the background from the subject makes your picture more “understandable” to the public. They will understand immediately the concept of your photograph and won’t be distracted by another element in the frame. Beside, in a pure artistic and aesthetic point of view, it makes the picture more beautiful and eye catching.

I was in Paris in January for this photo walk. I had my Leica M6 TTL loaded with a roll of Kodak Portra 400. As it was a cloudy day, the shutter speed didn’t need to be so fast to compensate the huge amount of light coming through the lens. It was 1/500s in the morning then 1/250s and 1/125s in the evening. Anyway, overexposing of one stop or two a color film doesn’t hurt.
I started the day in Le Marais, then I walked to Saint Michel and I finished at Place de la Concorde with the illuminated giant wheel which makes a great blurry background.

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Chinese New Year 2018 in Bangkok : Leica M6, Noctilux f/0.95, Kodak Portra

Great celebrations are taking place in Chinatown Bangkok for the Chinese New Year : dragon dance, parade, shows, food etc… This year, in 2018, it’s the year of the Dog. I went to Yaowarat (Chinatown) with my Leica M6, the lens Noctilux f/0.95 and a roll of film Kodak Portra 400. The vintage look of this film is perfectly suitable to shoot a traditional event and the rendering of the colours is perfect! New Year is very colourful and it had to be seen in colour and not on black and white.

It was a sunny day and Iso 400 was enough to shoot at a high speed (between 1/250 and 1/500) and to have a comfortable depth of field (between f/5.6 and f/8) . And for the sake of it, I shot 2 pictures at f/0.95 ; will you be able to spot them ?

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Rollei 400 infrared Hoya filter R72 Leica M6 Noctilux : review in Thailand

I was in Hua Hin this December, a beach resort in Thailand and I thought it was the ideal place to try for the first time the film Rollei 400 infrared ; sea, beach, green space, bleue sky. I had a Leica M6, a Noctilux 0.95, and of course a Hoya filter R72. I previously tested the filter on my Sony A7R2, with the 35mmF2.8 . According to Hoya, this filter blocks 14.5 stops of lights. So I added 14.5 stops to the exposure and it worked. This was my digital experience. With film, it’s a whole different story. I read the forums and they said that we need to add only 6 or 7 stops. So I didn’t know if I had to follow Hoya or the forum. I choose to bracket. For each frame I took 3 pictures : +6 stops, +10 stops, + 14.5 stops. I metered with an app on my iPhone, myLightMeter pro, and I had the tripod Manfrotto 190.
You can see all the pictures below, so you can check which exposure is the best.

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Hong Kong wet market street photography : Tri-X 400, Leica M6, Noctilux

I was in Hong Kong for a week in December and a friend told me that a movie that I love, Accident by Soi Cheang (Milky Way production) with Louis Koo, was shot near the wet market of North Point. For those who know the movie that’s the famous scene when they kill the pawn shop owner at the tramway station. Last year I went to this market, without knowing this anecdote, and I shot pictures with my Sony A7R2.
So I decided this year to go there again to check if I would recognise the scene from the movie. And this time I was shooting with the Leica M6, Noctilux f/0.95, and Kodak Tri-X 400. I was not disappointed. The atmosphere is really special in this neibourhood and I understand why they shot a scene there. For example, he famous tramway “ding ding”, is passing through the market and people have to step aside every time they hear it…

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Cinestill bwXX : Hong Kong walk with the Leica M6 and Noctilux

I’m a fan of Cinestill, I shot many rolls of 800T and 50. I love the cinematic look which comes from the motion picture film Kodak Vision 3. The absence of the remjet filter makes it even more special with the halo coming from the lights and neons at night. When they announced that they would sell again the bwXX in November, I went everyday to their website to be the first to order. This film comes from the motion picture Eastman Double-X 5222/7222 Neg. Film. Which means the same concept as the 800T , but in black and white. That was very promising!The movies Raging Bull and Schindler’s List were shot with this film.
I received my rolls in December before going to Hong Kong… perfect timing.
In Hong Kong I had the chance to go on a photo walk with 2 friends who are film enthusiasts as well, Victor and Carmen from Annie Barton 1972 (high quality leather straps). We loaded our bwXX in our camera ; Carmen with the Leica MP, Victor with the X-Pan TX2 , and I had the Leica M6 and the Noctilux. We went to the harbour front of Wan Chai. This is a great location, with tourists and locals fishing or having a walk. We had a great time shooting, and when I got the film developed and scan, I was so happy with the result! The cinematic look is even deeper than the color films, it’s a little bit grainy, and sharp enough.The contrast is not too high, well balanced, and some pictures look as if they were coming straight out of a movie. This film has a strong character and the look is very special!
You can see below the video of the walk (soundtracks composed by the great Mijonju!) , and the pictures coming from the M6.

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Christmas decorations in Bangkok with Cinestill 800T, Leica M6 and Noctilux

The festive season is very joyful in Bangkok. We can enjoy beautiful decorations inside and outside the hotels and shopping malls. One of the main attraction is CentralWorld where they have the most impressive Christmas trees and other funny decorations. That’s the ideal place to shoot Cinestill film 800T. This film is made from the motion picture film Kodak Vision 3 and has a nice cinematic look. The absence of anti halation filter makes the neons and lights even more special. I went there just after sunset with my Leica M6 and the Noctilux. I took a few classic shots of the global landscape, but the most interesting was to make some closer shots wide open at f/0.95. That makes more special and appealing pictures. For that I had to find a subject that I could get close to because if you are far from your subject you won’t get this creamy blurry background that we call bokeh. So I was hunting for funny statues or decorations. Everybody was in a festive mood, there was a good atmosphere and it was a nice experience. You can see below the video of the shooting and the pictures.

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Beautiful autumn colours with Cinestill 50d, Leica M6, Noctilux

Autumn is a beautiful season in Brussels, the foliage of the trees show multiples colours that we can see only at this time of the year. And when the sun shines, it’s splendid! That was the case last Sunday so I decided to shoot my roll of Cinestill 50d. This film comes from a motion picture film with the rem-jet/anti-halation layer removed is order to be developed with standard C-41. I choose to go to the Brussels Park, close to the Royal Palace, because I knew I would find the widest variety of trees and colours. I shot with my Leica M6 and the Noctilux lens.

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Night Photography in Paris with Leica M6, Noctilux and Cinestill 800T

Cinestill 800T is a special film which comes from the motion film Kodak Vision 3. Consequently it has a cinematic look and it’s amazing for night pictures. We often see this film used in Asia or chinatowns in western countries because there are a lot of neons and it looks great. We rarely see Cinestill 800 pictures of classical monuments from western countries, that’s why I wanted to try it in Paris to shoot the Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde, le Louvre and its pyramid. For this shooting I used my Leica M6, the lens Noctilux f/0.95 and a tripod. As it’s a fast film, I didn’t need very long exposures, however for 5 seconds I still needed a tripod to have sharp pictures. I had a cable release as well to be sure that the camera would not move.

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Bokeh Challenge f/0.95 with Leica Noctilux, Leica M6, Kodak Ektar 100

For the first day of shooting with the Leica M6 and the Noctilux, I went to Chinatown Bangkok for street photography. The second day, I decided to test the lens wide opened, at 0.95, because that’s what makes it so special. I wanted a color film because a blurry background is often nicer in color. I needed a slow speed film because at F 0.95 there is so much light coming on the film, and the fastest shutter speed on the M6 is 1/1000. Kodak Ektar 100 seems to be a good choice.

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Street Photography in Bangkok with Leica M6 and Noctilux 0.95

I went out for a photo walk with my Leica M6 and the lens Noctiulux 0.95. It was the first time I used this camera. The first pictures were a little bit difficult, having to set everything manually : the aperture, the shutter speed, and the focusing. Hopefully, the M6 has a lightmeter and it was pretty accurate. I tried to document the life and the atmosphere of Chinatown (Yaowarat) Bangkok, a vibrant and lively neighbourhood, which continue the tradition of an ancient way of life.
I used the film Kodak Tri-X 400 which has a great contrast and a sharp look.

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Pretty Cosplay Girls at Thailand Game Show 2017

Thailand Game Show Big Festival 2017 is the most famous and relevant Game Show in South East Asia. The main gaming companies are present to feature their innovations.

The event takes places in November 2017 from the 3rd to the 5th, at Royal Paragon Hall, 5th Floor of Siam Paragon.

There is a Cosplay Contest so all the cosplayers of Thailand are coming to show their best costumes. You can see below the best pictures from the events.

They are shot with a Sony A7R2, Sony G Master lens 24-70 2.8, and the flash F43M

This article will be updated in real time as the pictures are shot and edited.

Enjoy the show!

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Polaroid 250 & Fujifilm FP-100c in Paris : the most beautiful monuments

I shot with my Polaroid 250 and Fujifilm FP-100c the first time this September 2017. The weather was nice most of the time, with clouds and a little rain sometimes. It is difficult to control the exposure with the 250. It is automatic, you have to rely on the internal lightmeter ; there is an optical sensor close to the lens. As my model tends to underexpose the pictures, I placed a piece of paper on the sensor and made a small hole in the middle. This way, the camera think that it’s darker than it really is, and make a longer exposure. There is as well a dial around the lens “darken-lighten” that you can adjust. I used this dial usually to darken when my pictures were overexposed.

It was a really fun to shoot with this camera and the peel apart film. Every time you pull out the picture from the camera, there is a surprise, you never know how the picture is gonna look like. and when you start to peel the negative apart from the positive , when the picture is sharp, well exposed and well framed, it is a delight to see the result showing slowly. When you succeed, the result is usually beautiful, the FP-100c is one of the best instant film ever made. Unfortunately, they are not produced anymore and they are difficult to find and expensive.

you can see below the videos that I shot during the photowalk, the scan of the pictures, and the scan of the negatives that I reclaimed.

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Photowalk with Rollei 35 and Agfa Vista Plus in Bangkok Thailand

I shot a roll of Agfa Vista Plus 400 with my Rollei 35 in Bangkok Thailand. I shot some street photography, urban landscape, monuments, and night pictures with a cable release and a tripod. It was a lot of fun.

I love the “seventies” look of the Agfa, it gives a vintage ambiance to the scene. I bought the roll for 185 baht (5.5 USD) at Siam TLR camera store in Ploenchit. That’s where I bought my cable release for less than 8 USD. The owner is very friendly. He repairs himself the cameras in his shop.
The Rollei 35 is easy to use, but sometimes you can forget to focus, because when you look in the view finder it looks fine. With a rangefinder, you can’t forget to focus because you see that the 2 squares are not aligned in the viewfinder when you frame. With the Rollei, it’s a distance focusing, the settings you do have no connection with the view finder. Besides, you need some practice to evaluate the distance.

To meter the light, I used 3 different ways ; the Sunny 16 rule, the meter of the camera, and an iPhone app mylightmeter pro. I was surprised to notice that vey often the Sunny 16 rule gave the exact same result as my app ; surprised but reassured that it was the right exposure. compared to this methods, the meter of the camera tends to underexpose. But in fact, now that I see that many of my pictures are a little bit overexposed, I think that I should have followed the indication of this lightmeter.

You can see below the video and the pictures.

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Interview : International Fashion Designer Tawn Chatchavalvong from Thailand

High quality materials, excellent craftsmanship, attention to every details : these are the pillars defining Tawn Chatchavalvong’s career in fashion design. In 7 years, his brand Tawn C became world famous, selling in Thailand, Paris, New York, Koweit, and Moscow.  He presents his collections twice a year in Paris for the Fashion Weeks.  We meet Khun Tawn in his Gaysorn Village flagship store, and he told us about the values that drives his work, the fashion school he attended, his travels, the way he’s inspired, and his recent project making a chocolate collection in collaboration with Sofitel hotels…

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Linjie Zhou, curator of Subhashok The Arts Center gallery in Bangkok

After a degree of Art Administration and Cultural Management at Chulalongkorn University, Linjie Zhou worked at the HOF Art Space Gallery for several years. Then she became curator for Subhashok, an influential gallery in the art world in Thailand. Linjie tells us about her work as a curator, her relationship with the artists and the public, how she choose the concept of an exhibition and the corresponding art pieces. She presents as well the next exhibition of a fascinating Thai sculptor…

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Interview : Miss Portugal, Cristiana Viana, in Lisbon

We had the chance to meet Cristiana Viana, Miss Portugal, in Lisbon. She told us about her experience as Miss Portugal, the countries she discovered, the people she met, and her projects for the future.
Mr Isidro de Brito, President of Miss Portuguesa, was present as well and could give us some knowledge and understanding about the organisation of the contest and the international relations he maintains with other beauty contests.

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Interview with Xavier Jamaux, composer of the music for Johnny To films : Sparrow, Accident, Three…

We met with Xavier Jamaux in his Paris studio where he composed the original sound tracks for Johnny To’s best Hong Kong films: Sparrow, Accident, Mad Detective, Three and more…
Xavier told us about his love for Hong Kong, his encounters with Johnny To, his trips to Japan and Taiwan and his upcoming collaborations with Jay Jay Johanson and top model and singer Tatiana Platon.

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Fashion Show & Interview in Bangkok : Contemporary Fashion Competition 2017

The Office of Contemporary Art and Culture, Ministry of Culture of Thailand, organized a fashion competition to promote the young designers in Thailand. After the selection, 117 new Thai designers presented their creation during a fashion show. The event took place in Siam Paragon, the 9th of May 2017. There were 3 editions before : in 2011, 2012 and 2013 . Now in 2017 it’s the 4th edition.
The artist and designer Wisharawish Akarasantisook organised the selection, the preparation and the good execution of the show. We had the chance to meet him for an interview to learn more about this project.

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Interview : Fuanglada “Sai” Jeeoun, Thai designer, founder of JanFive Studio

Fuanglada “Sai” Jeeoun is a young and successful thai designer who started JanFive Studio two years ago. She creates bags and scarfs that sell worldwide. We met Sai in her studio in Bangkok where she draws and design her products, and she told us about her passion for her work, her inspiration, the travels around the world, and the projects for the future.

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Thailand Comic Con 2017 Beautiful Cosplay Girls

Thailand Comic Con 2017 is one of the main event for Cosplay, Comics, Anime, Contests in the country. It took place at Siam Paragon, in the heart of Bangkok, from the 21st to the 23rd of April 2017. Bangkok cosplayers bring their best costume for the event and we shot the most beautiful of them.

I shot the event with a Sony A7R2, Sony G Master lens 2470F2.8 and the flash F43M. Most of the time the aperture is 2.8, the shutter speed is 1/160s .

Enjoy the pictures!

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Interview avec Xavier Jamaux, compositeur des musiques de films de Johnny To ; Sparrow, Accident, Three…

Nous avons rencontré Xavier Jamaux dans son studio à Paris où il a composé les bandes originales des plus grands films de Hong Kong pour Johnny To : Sparrow, Accident, Mad Detective, Three etc…
Xavier nous a parlé de sa passion pour Hong Kong, de ses rencontres avec Johnny To, de ses voyages au Japon et à Taiwan, ainsi que de ses futures collaborations avec Jay Jay Johanson et Tatiana Platon, top model et chanteuse…

English version of this interview here

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Beautiful Asian Girls at the Bangkok Motor Show 2017

The 38th Bangkok International Motor Show is taking place for the public from the 29th of March to the 9th of April 2017. The 27th is for the VIP’s and the 28th is for the Press.

The theme of this year is “Reach to the Planet of Technology” . More than ever, technology takes an important place in the car industry, to make car more efficients, environmentally friendly, and well designed.

The venue is as usual Impact Challenger 1-3, Muang Thong Thani.

The most beautiful models are here to present the cars and give informations to the visitors.

I shoot with a Sony A7R2, a zoom lens Sony G Master 2470F2.8 and a flash Sony F43M

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Amazing views of Bangkok skyscrapers from Bayoke Observation Deck

You can enjoy great panoramic city views of Bangkok from Bayoke II Observation Deck, 84th floor. It’s the second tallest building of the city, after Mahanakon Tower which was build recently. The price is 350 baht per person. It’s a 10-15 minutes walk from CentralWorld.

I choose a sunny day to go there. However, if you plan to go there to take professional pictures, you have to be there from 4pm to 5pm . The rest of the time the revolving floor is moving which could make you picture less sharp, even if you shoot at a high speed. This makes of course impossible any long pose picture at night time… I’ll need to find another roof to take panoramic night pictures.

Most of the pictures feature Rachaprasong, Siam, Ploenchit, and Sukhumvit.

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Interview : Wisharawish Akarasantisook Thai Artist and Fashion Designer

Wisharawish Akarasantisook is a famous and talented artist and fashion designer in Thailand.
We had the chance to meet him in Bangkok before his journey to Paris for the Fashion Week.
We talked about his artistic projects, the exhibition “Made by Paris” and the international marketing work he’s doing for a fashion brand of clothing. Wisharawish told us as well about his haute couture collections, and his missions with the Ministry of Culture to promote thai silk and young thai designers.

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Beautiful Cosplay Girls at Thailand Game Show 2016 in Bangkok

Thailand Game Show (TGS) is one of the best Cosplay event in Bangkok.
The most beautiful girls of Thailand come to show their costume and join the contest.
This year, it took place in Siam Paragon the 9th, 10th and 11th of December 2016.
I shot 50 of them with my Sony A7R2, Sony G Master Lens 2470F2.8, and the flash Sony F43M.

Enjoy the pictures!

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Hong Kong Street Photography : Kowloon, Mongkok, Tsim Sha Tsui, Harbour, Central

I shot some street photography in Hong in different locations : Kowloon,Mongkok, Tsim Sha Tsui, Harbour, Central. My camera was the Sony A7R2 and the Sony G lens 2870F2.8 . I had a Gopro Hero 5 mounted on my chest with the Chesty. So I was filming at the same time. You can see below the youtube video and the pictures.

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Interview : Nasha Mekraksavanich and her passion for design

Nasha Mekraksavanich is a young and successful designer, based in Thailand with two shops in Bangkok ; at Emporium (1F) and Siam Paragon (1F). She is famous worldwide and has customers across the globe. She has just been elected as the most stylish woman 2016 from Zen stylish award.
We met Nasha in Bangkok, in one of her shop on the first floor of the Emporium shopping mall (Phrom Phong).

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Hua Hin Centara Grand Beach Resort Night Pictures in Thailand

From a modest fishing village, Hua Hin became a famous beach resort thanks to the railway which was opened in 1911.

The Railway Hotel was build in 1922 by Mr. A. Rigazai, the State Railways’ Italian architect. The hotel had 14 bedrooms, a lobby lounge, bar, restaurant, billiards room, wine storeroom and large verandas. More guest rooms and restaurants were added through the years.

Parts of the famous film “The Killing Fields” (1983) were shot in this hotel which was supposed to be Le Royal Hotel in Phnom Penh.

In 1988, the hotel was purchased by Accor and became the Hotel Sofitel.

It became the Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Hua Hin in 2014. This 5 stars luxury hotel is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World.

I shot this pictures with a Sony A7R2, Sony G lens 24-70F2.8, the tripod Manfrotto 190 (Markins ballhead) and the Sony infrared remote RMT-DSLR2. The exposure time goes from 30 to 96 seconds (bulb mode). aperture from F11 to F22. ISO 100 for all the pictures. Light editing in Lightroom from Adobe.

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Amazing Asian Cosplay Girls at Thailand Anime Festival in Bangkok

Anime Festival Asia Thailand, AFATH 2016 is a major even for Anime and Cosplay in Thailand. Many stars came from all over Asia to perform on stage, and the most famous cosplayer from Thailand came with amazing costumes.

It took place the 19th,20th and 21st of August 2016 at Siam Paragon, 5th floor, Royal Paragon Hall. A great venue for such an event, easy to reach by the sky train and big enough to welcome everybody.

I shot 500 pictures theses 3 days and selected the best 50 that are published here.

I shot the pictures with a Sony A7R2, Sony G lens 24-70 F2.8 and the flash F43M.

Enjoy the pictures!

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Lanna Folklife Museum in Chiang Mai Thailand : Art, History, Statues, Lifestyle

The Lanna Folklife museum is set in a 1935 colonial style building which was previously the Municipal Court of Chiang Mai. It was open in december 2013 after a complete renovation to promote the Lanna heritage and rich culture.

The museum displays statues, temples reproductions, artefacts, and reproduction of the lifestyle and knowhow of the Lanna traditional culture. There is as well a special collection of Buddhas made in quartz by local independent artists.

It is conveniently situated in the center of Chiang Mai (Phrapokklao Road)
opposite the 3 Kings statue.

It is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 8.30am to 5pm. closed on Monday.

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Visit Budapest Hungary : Danube, Monuments, Landmarks, Art Deco, Markets

I’ve visited Budapest, the capital of Hungary in June 2016. It was the best time to be there, the weather was beautiful and it was not too crowded. The sky was perfect for the pictures especially at dawn. Budapest is a lively and lovely city with 1.7 millions people and many beautiful buildings from the Austria-Hungary Empire. More recent are the Art-Deco facades of Andrassy boulevard.

In this article you’ll see the most famous buildings and places of Budapest : the Danube river,the Parliament, the Cathedral, Fisherman’s Bastion, the Grand Market, the Opera, Andrassy avenue, the Four Season Hotel, Vaci u shopping street and much much more…

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Pretty Thai Girls at Fast Auto Show 2016 in Bangkok

Fast Auto Show 2016 is a car show taking place in BITEC exhibition center, Bangkok from the 29th of June to the 3rd of July 2016. There were many promotions to boost the sales.

The Pretties were here to present the cars and the exclusive promotions.

Many thanks to all the beautiful models for their time!

I shot this event with a Sony A7R2, the new Sony G Lens FE2470mmF2.8 and the sony flash F43M.

pretty-thai-girls-fast-auto-show-2016-bangkok-thailand-FT

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Beautiful Cosplay Girls at Thai Japan Anime Festival Bangkok 2016

Thai Japan Anime & Music Festival 2016 at CentralWorld Square 8th 9th of May 2016, 6th edition :
it’s a cosplay event and contest with concerts and anime songs. Cosplayers come mainly from Thailand but there are as well many performers who come from Japan and other asian countries.

We shot the most beautiful models and costumes and you can see below the pictures.

Thanks to all the pretty models who took the time to pose for us!

I shot this event with a Sony A7R2, the Zeiss lens and the sony flash F43M

Let’s enjoy the picture!

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Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, Buddhist Temple in Chiang Mai Thailand

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is a sacred and revered temple, 15 km from Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The altitude of 1600 meters above sea level offers beautiful views of the city.
During the Sukhothai Kingdom, the monk Sumanathera found a relic of the Buddha, a shoulder bone, which had magical powers.
In 1368, the monk brought the relic in Lamphun to King Nu Naone of Lan Na. The relic broke in 2 pieces. The small one was enshrined at a temple in Suandok.
The other part was placed on the back of a white elephant. The elephant when on top of a mountain and died here after trumpeted three times. This was interpreted as a good omen and King Nu Naone ordered the construction of Wat Phra Tat at this place.

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Vintage cars Citroen 2 CV in Paris at Notre Dame Cathedral

I was walking around l’Ile-Saint-Louis in Paris, coming from Notre-Dame Cathedral when I saw this amazing procession of vintage Citroen 2 CV. This car is an emblem, a mythical vehicule that french people love and represent a period of our history. It is no longer produced, some collectors still drive them, and apparently you can rent them from this company, Paris Authentic. This day a group of tourists were enjoying a ride in Paris with these beautiful cars which seemed to be in a good shape and well maintained. I’m glad to see that this company is carrying on our tradition and maintaining our cultural heritage in this field.

I shot these pictures with a Sony A7R2 and a Sony G lens FE2470mmF2.8GM, edited in Lightroom.

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Thailand Comic Con 2016 : Beautiful Cosplay Girls in Bangkok

Thailand Comic Con is a major event for movies, comic books, board games, video games, and Cosplay.

The most important actors of this field were represented : Isuzu, FujiFilm, Dtac, Kantana,Major Group, Channel24, PlayStation, Magic The Gathering, Banana IT, Comical, XM Studios, Warner Bros etc…

Organised by Hobbie Plus Company Limited, it took place the 22nd,23rd,and 24th of April 2016 at Siam Paragon, BTS Siam, Bangkok.

The best cosplayers of Thailand came with their beautiful costumes and we had the chance to take amazing pictures!

I shot this event with a Sony A7R2, a Zeiss lens FE55mmF1.8 and the sony flash F43M

Enjoy the pictures!

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Siam Discovery : new shopping mall in Bangkok, amazing design

After a complete renovation , Siam Discovery re-opens with an amazing design, from a Japanese design studio Nendo and the Thai company Urban Architect.

All the details have been carefully designed to present the products in an artistic way and allow the customer to live a special experience through the 40 000 square meters.

Thousands of foreign and thai brands are represented along with cafes, restaurants and even an art gallery.

Conveniently situated between the stations Siam and National Stadium, this new mall is already packed on week ends, just a few days after the opening.

If you get off at Siam station, you have to walk through Siam Center first and then you’ll reach Siam Discovery. If you get off at National Stadium, you’ll see first MBK on your right, and a few minutes later you’ll see Siam Discovery.

I took these 60 pictures with a Sony A7R2 and the new lens Zeiss FE2470F2.8 G Master

let’s start the visit!

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Beautiful Thai Girls at the Bangkok Motor Show 2016

The Bangkok International Motor Show is the most important car show of the year in Thailand. This 37th edition took place from 21st of March to the 3rd of April 2016. All the car makers and accessories sellers are represented on the 60 000 sqm indoor space available.
They hire the most beautiful models of Thailand to describe the features the cars, and participate in numerous shows and choreography. In Thailand the models are called “Pretty”, this is how they call this job.

I went there 3 days to be sure to shoot everything, and to have the different outfits of the models because they change everyday.

I shot all the pictures with my Sony A7R2, the Zeiss lens FE55mmF1.8 and the Sony flash F43M. Most of the time I shoot at f1.8 and 1/160s. ISO depend on the ambient light which is very different from one booth to another.

I shot 900 pictures and selected the best 100 for this post. I did some light editions in Lightroom.

Let’s enjoy the pictures!

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Paris : Monuments, Cafes, People, Artists, Boats, Seine River

Paris is beautiful in April, the beginning of spring. The weather is usually nice, sometimes rainy which gives to the city a romantic mood. Street Photography in black and white seems the best way to show the atmosphere and the beauty of the capital of France.
I shot most of the pictures in the Quartier Latin (Saint-Germain, Saint-Michel, Odeon, Ile-Saint-Louis) and Le Marais . I used a Sony A7R2 and the prime Zeiss lens FE55mmF1.8 and edited the pictures in Lightroom.

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Villa Empain Art Deco Fondation Boghossian Brussels Belgium

The Villa Empain in Brussels is a perfect exemple of Art Deco style, build in the 1930s by the architect Michel Polak for Baron Louis Empain. He donated the house to the Belgium state in 1937 to turn it into a museum for decorative and contemporary arts.

In 2008 the house was acquired by the Fondation Boghossian which renovated the site to make a cultural center for art exhibitions, concerts and conferences.

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Paris Montmartre, Place des Tertres, Sacré Coeur, Cafés, Painters

Montmartre and Place des Tertres are the most typical places in Paris. This is were you can see and live the real Parisian way of life, with the cafés, the restaurants, the artists, the long stairs with the lamps, amazing views etc…
Not far from there, are the Basilic of the Sacré Coeur and Place des Abesses with the Saint-Jean-de-Montmartre church.

Enjoy the visit!

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French Ambassador’s Residence in Bangkok Thailand

The beautiful Residence of the French Ambassador in Bangkok was originally a custom office when it was given to France in 1856.It is a romantic location, on the bank of the Chao Praya river, close to the legendary Oriental Hotel.
It became this typical colonial palace at the beginning of the 19th century after significant renovations.
In this article, you have a complete visit of the premises : reception hall, bedroom, kitchen, dining room, patio, the swimning and the garden with the view on the river.

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Pretty Thai Girls at Mobile Expo 2016 Bangkok Thailand

The Mobile Expo took place in February 2016 in Bangkok at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. The major Brands were present to show their latest technology : Samsung, LG, HuaWei, Lenovo, Vivo, ZTE, Focus. Thethai mobile operators had huge shops as well : True Move, AIS, DTAC.

They hired beautiful models, called “Pretties” in thailand to present their products. you can see below the best pictures from the show!

Enjoy the pictures!

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Chinese New Year in Bangkok Chinatown Yaowarat Thailand 2016

Chinatown in Bangkok is called Yaowarat, it’s a huge neibourhood were the chinese migrants settled in the 19th and 20th century.
The traditions are still alive in Chinatown Bangkok and they celebrate the Chinese New Year from the 8th of February this year 2016.
Dragon dance, music, food, shows, and prayers in the temple, all the ingredients of and authentic New year are there, just like in China.

I shot 70 pictures with my Sony A7R2 and the Zeiss prime lens FE55mmF1.8.

Enjoy the pictures!

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Motorcycles and Pretty Girls at BMF Bangkok Thailand 2016

The 8th Bangkok Motorbike Festival took place in the shopping mall CentralWorld, from the 27th to the 31st of January 2016. It was a fantastic show and the major brands were represented : BMW, Honda, Harley Davidson, Yamaha, Suzuki etc…
Some local shops like Dr Bike from Thailand were present as well.

To show and present these amazing bikes, the most beautiful “Pretty” girls of Thailand were here. I shot 70 pictures with my Sony A7R2, the Zeiss lens FE35mmF2.8 and the sony flash F32M. Usually I shoot these events with my FE55mmF1.8 , but this time I wanted to have a wider angle to have the bikes and the models in the frame.

Enjoy the pictures !

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Beautiful Cosplay Girls at Japan Festa in Bangkok Thailand 2016

Japan Festa is the biggest Japanese Pop Culture event in Thailand. Hundreds of Cosplayers were present to sing, dance, and show their beautiful costumes. It took place in CentralWorld, a shopping mall in the center of Bangkok, the 23rd and 24th of January 2016. There were some Cosplayers from all over Asia, and of course a lot of Thais. Cosplay is very popular in Thailand.

I shot around 600 pictures in 2 days, and finally I have selected 78 of them. I edited them in Lightroom, and some in Photoshop to create a better Cosplay atmosphere. I even made a cartoon effect on one of them, it was interesting to try.

I shot all the pictures with my Sony A7R2, a prime Zeiss lens 55mmF1.8 and a Sony Flash F43M. even if it’s not a wide angle, I managed to get the entire costume in the frame most of the time, which is the purpose in this kind of events.

enjoy the pictures !

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Miss Grand International 2015 Beauty Pageant in Bangkok

Miss Grand International 2015 is one of the most important beauty pageant in the world.
The most beautiful girls represent their country, and they came to Bangkok, Thailand for the contest. They will have a tour of the country during 3 weeks, and after the vote, the final show will present the winners.

100 countries are represented.

I shot all these pictures with the new Sony A7R2, the Zeiss lens 55mF1.8 , and the flash Sony F43M

You can send me a request on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/alexandercontact

Enjoy the pictures!

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Sony A7RII, Thailand : Movie Stars, Models, Landscapes, Beach resorts, Skyscrapers

I’ve just bought the new Sony A7RII and I am testing it in order to make a review on Youtube. Before finishing the test I’m gonna post right now the pictures that I take everyday. So I will update this post several times a week with my new pictures.

I had previously the Sony A7R, I was very satisfied of it, that’s why I was sure that I would like the New A7RII even more with the new features : contrast and phase detection autofocus, in-body stabilisation, 42 megapixels sensor, 4k video shooting ect.

I will be able of course to use all the FE lenses that I have : FE55mmF1.8 , FE35mmF2.8 , FE16-35mmF4 . the 2 first lenses don’t have the optical stabilisation which was a problem when I was taking videos. now, with the in-body stabilisation, my videos will look better and I won’t need to stabilise them in iMovie .

Let’s have a look a the pictures now!

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Rome, Italy : People, Landmarks, Monuments, Tourism

I visited Rome a few days in April 2015. This is the best period for tourism : nice weather and not too much tourists.
The city is amazing for its history, shopping, restaurants and of course ice-screams ! Walking in Rome is an experience full of surprises ; each streets will lead you to a “piazza” with a beautiful monument or a charming venue.
You can see below the pictures and I hope you’ll enjoy the visit!

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Playboy Thailand Bunnies Bangkok Photo Fair 2014

The most beautiful models from Playboy Thailand came for the Photo Fair 2014 at BITEC, Bang Na. They met their fans, signed autographs on magazines, and posed for a photo shoot.
They are very famous in Thailand. They are Numay Thunnaree, Aumboon Naruemon, Megus Pusita, Pangogi Surangkanang, and Sodaize Tachada.

You can see the best pictures below.

I took all the pictures with my Sony A7R, Zeiss 35mmF2.8 and the Flash F43M

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ALL DAY Tattoo Studio in Bangkok : the passion for the art of tattoo

All Day Tattoo is one of the most successful studio of Bangkok, ideally located in Phrom Pong, close to the BTS station. This studio was created by tattoo enthusiasts with passion and love for the art of tattoo . English being their native language , the customers can precisely describe and customize the design they want.
All inks and needles are imported from the USA and the studio is fully licensed thanks to the best level of hygiene, on par with the western standards.
When I went there to take the pictures, I could feel a very friendly atmosphere and the dedication of the artists who seemed fully focused on their craft . Through my lens, I tried to capture this ambiance and get the interesting details that make a tattoo studio so unique.

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