I was delighted to receive a Facebook notification (and an email) from Fujifilm Singapore that the entry I’ve submitted for their photo contest has been selected as the winner! The prize was the Fujinon XF 35mm f/2.0R WR.
This is the first time I actually won something from a photo contest. I had previously submitted for other contests but the closest I’ve gotten is to be selected as a finalist. Also, I seldom submit for photo contests as I either don’t have photo that suits the theme, or I don’t really know how to interpret the given theme. In this case, Fujifilm Singapore has set a rather broad of “Lifestyle”. Initially, I don’t know what to make of it, but from reading the Q&A posted in the comments, it seem to suggest that anything goes. I happened to have a recent shot I liked and decided to give it a try.
The photo was taken during an outing with Jed, a photographer friend of mine, on the Helix Bridge. We were waiting for sunset, and for one moment, the glass façades two of the buildings of our CBD reflected the setting sun, giving a starburst effect. I have also used a 10-stop Neutral Density filter to smooth out the water. It’s shot on the Fujifilm X-T1 with the XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 lens as a single exposure. Only basic adjustments were done in Lightroom during post processing. No blending or HDR was employed (I am no good at those anyway.)
It would be interesting to do a side by side review of the XF 35mm f/2.0 with a similar lens that I own—the Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 and see how they fare against each other. I’ll post a review on this on Three Guys With Cameras once I get around to doing it.