A german in Paris
Where should I start? In photography, which would be advisable or perhaps in my work, which has absolutely nothing to do with photography, but which has led me more or less directly to it.
By profession drugstore owner, I have been working for almost 25 years in the East, on the outskirts of Paris. There I work hardly and intense, 12 hours every day, weekend included. I’m free only Tuesday! At the same time, however, I am also surrounded by a variety of magazines, artisans, artists and sports clubs. And right there, my artistic interest was to document these activities and the people.
I came into contact with photography very early, in which I cut out the most interesting photos from photo magazines given me by an older school colleague and hung them on the walls of my room.
I was fascinated by the work of professional photographers and collected them as I collected the painters and the different art genres from magazines and books. Only years later, however, I did discover the photography for me curiously not in the artistic context, but rather as a testimony of my life and my surroundings. My photography interest deepened when I moved from Germany to Paris, France, with my wife, a native French woman of Algerian descent. at this time I bought my first DSLR, a Nikon D200.
On the one hand, I was frightened by the environment in which I was working (Banlieue Est of Paris, the notorious 93) and, on the other hand, fascinated by many nationalities. In me, the interest grew to show the unvarnished face of the banlieue, and at the same time to document the astonishing creativity growing out of this breeding ground.
Often, I was offered the opportunity to take photos of sports. The Nikon D200 was already getting old, time to renew and perfect its fleet. I put my claim relatively high, which was about speed and performance. I am talking about the Nikon D4s, as well as the AF-S Nikkor 35mm 1: 1.4G and the AF-S Nikkor 85mm 1: 1.4 G. I still have a 28-70mm and an 80-400mm. But the fixed focal length I used most and most often. They have a fantastic resolution and a fantastic bokeh. In short I love fixed focal lengths.
So far so good. Actually, reason enough to be satisfied. For real ? Something was rumbling inside me for some time, and I was looking for answers that had not yet been asked. The camera was often a bit bulky, absolutely unsuitable for Street photography and too conspicuous and therefore more dissuasive than helpful.
But which camera covered this niche without renouncing professionalism and making no compromises on the quality? So I made myself on the Internet smartly and after the homepage of Fuji the X-Pro2 was presented, I was clear that the niche had closed. I was on target. This will be my constant companion. The Fujifilm X-Pro2, with a high-performance, joystick, dual memory card slot, 8 frames per second (like the Nikon D4), and the new X Trans CMOS III sensor.
As an all-round lens for me only one lens in question: Fujinon XF23mmF1.4R. Very high resolution and ready for use in almost all areas.
I have the X-Pro2 just for just over 8 weeks and used it in different situations. It has deprived me of the language. The autofocus is simply a dream and the high image rate in sports photography is hardly impressive. If I were to wear a hat when I wrote this report, I would now pull it out of respect for the Fuji’s engineers. With the X Pro2 you have a very big throw that Leica did not live stress-free and work and the competition not only in its limitations but simply outclassed.
Oh, I almost forgot. I’ve always liked the rich sound of the D4’s triggering noise and was not a little proud of the Shutter sound at 11 images per second. The X-Pro2 produces a slightly different sound, a nuance quieter and brighter but just as impressive. Hifi sound at its finest.
OUR FIRST MOVIE: “AT THE EDGE OF THE SEA – A photographic journey with the landscape photographer Andy Mumford”
“My name is Johann Walter Bantz, 56 years old and i live as a native German since 25 years in Paris. From a professional merchant, I work in a tobacco shop.Fascinated since my early youth of music and painting, I have been working as a self-taught artist on photography for 10 years. My main focus is on architecture and sports photography as well as reportage and street photography.”
