Video Game Color, 6th Street – Austin, Texas

I made it to 6th Street at blue hour — which was my plan — after starting out during golden hour making pictures of the ever changing Austin skyline. The bars change often too, on 6th Street, but the feel of the place remains the same. It’s rather grungy and is most photogenic at night when the evening color hides the wear.

I’ve shot my newly rebought Olympus XZ-1 during this series and have given it a good workout. Almost every camera can make good pictures at golden hour. The soft light and bright conditions make it easy. But, as night approaches, things get a lot more challenging, especially for an eight-year-old camera not known for high ISO performance. This is where the real test starts.

Most people don’t specialize shooting at night, but this is what I really like — the city in the evening with great color. That’s why having an able camera and some honed techniques help. Today, I’m pushing myself by using vintage digital gear, which makes this even more fun.

It was only a month ago when I featured 6th Street (here and here) that I shot with the very unique DxO ONE. Though four-years-old, the DxO camera features a very able Sony one inch sensor that handled the evening color admirably. Surprisingly good, actually, besting my much newer Canon G7X Mark II.

This Olympus XZ-1 is four years older than the DxO ONE, which is ancient for the digital world. With a smaller and older sensor, the Olympus doesn’t have much on the DxO except for image stabilization and that wonderful CCD color. Both produced great colors, better than my newest modern Canon.

The big point I wanted to make is that the Olympus did surprisingly well. Not bad for an eight-year-old camera shooting in the late evening. Take a look at the photos below.

Live Performance

Chuggin’ Monkey

Empty Bat Bar

Bar Flags

Red Alamo

Neon at Blue Hour

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