December 20th, 2025
Lumix S1 & Sigma I 35mm f/2
On Saturday, I met up with Michał for a walk around the Christmas Market in my hometown. Coffee, catching up, snapping a few pics. You know, just a chill evening. Since it was a night out, I decided to test drive the “Lumixzord” - my S1 with a battery grip, a Sigma 35/2, and a backup Godox i30 pro in TTL. As much as I love my DSLRs, mirrorless bodies and sterile modern glass are just easier for me to handle in artificial light.
Things started off with us failing to find a parking spot, so we ended up on the other side of the park, a stone’s throw from the train station. This meant taking the long way round - but as you know from my last post, taking the long way pays off. You’ll recognize the framing below, just in artificial light and without the snow this time.
Right next to this intersection sits the gym I go to, the tax office, the post office, the high school I attended over 20 years ago, and the entrance to the park. Just by that entrance, there’s an old amphitheater converted into a skatepark, with an open-air museum right beside it. We headed that way. As you can see: dark, foggy, streetlights glowing - a proper Silent Hill vibe.
The stabilization on the S1 is fantastic, especially when the camera is weighed down by the grip. By using the strap for tension, you can easily pull off 1-second exposures handheld. This shot of the open-air museum immediately reminded me of Baby Jesus going full Super Saiyan.
On our way to the market square, we crossed a bridge where we caught the glow of the Christmas illuminations. That glow isn't some editing trick, by the way - the sky was just naturally purple (or was it violet?).
As we were walking out of the park, we stumbled upon an Ursus tractor rigged up for snow clearing. Michał took a fantastic shot framing the tractor, a passerby, and that purplish sky in the background. Honestly, one of the best photos of his I've seen all year. A regular Polish Alex Webb. Me? I just blasted the tractor with flash. The Polish Rafał Milach. Wait, hang on...
We finally made it to the market square. Was it crowded? That’s an understatement - there was a metric shitload of people. We found an ice rink, stalls serving dirt-cheap (ha!) food, and selling Christmas crap. I mean, handicrafts.
As you might guess, I was just thrilled with the festive atmosphere. Honestly, trying to frame shots normally felt pointless, so I decided to frame them abnormally. Here are my happy accidents. Boredom breeds creativity, after all. Ended up channeling a bit of Saul Leiter here.
On the way back, we stopped for coffee and hot apple pie with ice cream. We gossiped about friends, debated the state of documentary photography in the age of social media, and decided it was prime material for Michał’s podcast. Ate, drank, chatted, and headed home.
Michał also helped me grab some PC parts from a parcel locker. The last component arrived yesterday, and for the first time in my forty years, I built a rig from scratch - starting from the bare motherboard. I’m actually writing this to you from the new machine right now. Meaning I managed to put it together, and hey, it works.
Anyway, that’s it, folks. To wrap things up, here are a few more park views I managed to snag. Wishing you all a healthy, merry, and peaceful Christmas! Until next time!
Ursus and Silesia Borealis 🤣
Beautiful purple water reflection, and those last three moody orange shots are sublime! 😍