Zeche Zollverein explored with the Fujifilm GFX100RF camera
Introduktion
The Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex (German Zeche Zollverein) is a large former industrial site in the city of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The first coal mine on the premises was founded in 1847, and mining activities took place from 1851 until 23 December 1986. For decades, starting in the late 1950s, the two parts of the site, Zollverein Coal Mine and Zollverein Coking Plant (erected 1957–1961, closed on 30 June 1993), ranked among the largest of their kinds in Europe. Shaft 12, built in the New Objectivity style, was opened in 1932 and is considered an architectural and technical masterpiece, earning it a reputation as the “most beautiful coal mine in the world”.
Because of its architecture and testimony to the development of heavy industry in Europe, the industrial complex was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on 14 December 2001, and is one of the anchor points of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. (from Wikipedia)
Landscape
The Zeche Zollverein is a perfect place to take very special images. Also the Ruhr Museum at Zeche Zollverein invites to pictures of history and heavy metal machinery.
To start my photo safari, I climbed up the stairs to the roof top of the Ruhr Museum. From that spot I got a wonderful view over the landscape around the old industrial mining area. What a wonderful opportunity to test the Fujifilm GFX 100 RF for landscape photography. The medium format sensor with 102 mega pixels is perfect for landscape photography. The Fujinon GF 35mm f4 is well optically corrected and distortions are minimal. The level of details in those images is impressive. Please have a look yourself but remember, the pictures on the blog are compressed.
Inside
Inside of the Ruhr Museum, the first thing that jumps into my eyes are the illuminated stair ways. I like to name them “Painted with Light”. Another very good test of the GFX 100 RF at low light condition and shooting out of hand without IBIS. I am very happy with the result.
Next to the light painting, many electro motors, pumps, belt- and vibrator coal conveyers are visible in the museum. I am a fan of heavy-duty historical machinery. The combination of steel and rust is a great target to capture in the pictures. If you look intensive to the pictures you can imagine hearing the rumbling of the machines and the talking of the hard-working mining workers.
The Fujifilm GFX 100 RF is reproducing great images. The IQ of lens and camera is great. The GFX 100 RF is a perfect medium format partner for all situations and outside of the studios. It´s a camera to travel and capture street and daily situations.
Tubing
At the central water station of Zeche Zollverein, there is a place where outside tubing is ready to fill fire brigade trucks or other water tank trucks. These tubes are inviting to test the field of depth of the Fujinon GF 35mm f4 lens. Those pictures are no crop zoom but sneaker zoom (move your ass to change the cutout of the scene to image). Getting closer to the tubing, with wide open aperture f4 is producing a nice bokeh. I am again impressed of the details the integrated lens and camera is rendering. Additional I have the impression that the images are offering a kind of three-dimensional perspective. The tubes seem to stick out of the image. Please share your impressions with me.
