The camera as a third hand

My name is Kristýna Mladková, and I’m from Prague, the capital city of Czechia. I’m a hobby photographer, and I worked as a software tester and test analyst at a bank. Currently, I’m on maternity leave, and when I have free time, I go to the city center to walk around and photograph Prague. Prague is an amazing city with historical architecture, hidden places, stunning views, and parks. I mainly photograph Prague’s architecture, street scenes, and anything that catches my interest at the moment.

I think that I have a camera in my hand every day. I have it when I visit family, in a pub with friends, on public transport, on walks with my son. Also, I enjoy photographing landscapes and nature details when we go on trips or vacations. Every year, my family and I visit the Šumava National Park in our country. There are beautiful landscapes, mountain views, rivers, lakes, deep forests, and several chapels. Throughout the year, I photograph moments with my family, especially my son. I’ve been documenting his life since his birth and creating photo albums.

My other hobbies include reading books and playing PlayStation games. I also played the piano for nine years. I enjoy fantasy books like Harry Potter and The Witcher, but I also love detective stories. As for music, my favorites are Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, One Republic, Aurora, Green Day, The Offspring, and 80s music.

I started photography in 2013 when I received my first digital camera, a Sony DSC-HX300, from my grandma. It was a compact camera with a 50x optical zoom. I mainly took pictures of my friends at school and nature while on vacation, but I didn’t take photos every day and wasn’t always happy with the results. It was just the beginning. A few years later, I bought my first DSLR camera, the Nikon D3400, and that’s when I started taking more travel photos. I think I really started enjoying photography while traveling, capturing moments, and documenting our journeys. One day, we’ll have many memories preserved in photos.

In 2018, I met my husband, and we began traveling around Europe. We visited cities like London, Paris, Berlin, Milan, Naples, Bruges, Brussels, Ghent, Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Dublin, and went on a road trip through Norway and Sweden. I fell in love with nature in Norway and hope to visit again someday. In 2020, before the COVID pandemic began, we were on a road trip through the western USA. We visited places like San Francisco, Las Vegas, Death Valley, Zion National Park, Monument Valley, and many other amazing locations. We were supposed to stay there for three weeks, but when the lockdown started, we had to return home early, which was difficult. Our journey home took three days. We couldn’t get masks because they were mandatory on the plane, so we cut up our t-shirts and made our own masks. We flew from Las Vegas to Dallas, then to London. Las Vegas looked like a ghost town. In London, we had to contact the consulate because the flight attendants wouldn’t let us board without being on a special list. In Berlin, we stayed for one night, and the next day, we took a bus home to Prague with Czech firefighters. It was truly an experience. They arrived with an old red bus, sprayed us with disinfectant before we boarded, and finally, we were able to go home.

Before I switched to Fujifilm, I had a Nikon Z50, but it had limitations with its small selection of lenses, and I felt like something was missing. I bought my first Fujifilm camera in 2022, and I don’t plan to switch brands. Fujifilm was love at first sight. I love the retro design, the controls, the dials, and the film simulations. Fuji is not just a tool, it’s fun. You really have to feel it.

About the Fujifilm X-T50
Originally, I had the Fujifilm X-T30 II with a Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8, and I was happy with it, but then I had an accident and dropped my camera (my mistake with using a Peak Design cuff). I can’t live without my camera (it’s like my third hand) so after the accident, I quickly upgraded to the X-T50. If I had to compare the two, the X-T50 has much faster autofocus, AI features, and higher resolution, which is great if I need to crop some photos. I also love the new film simulation dial, which allows me to change film simulations quickly in any situation. For me, the X-T50 has better ergonomics than the X-T30 II, and the IBIS stabilization is a nice addition too.

Lenses in my bag:

Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 – A great basic combo with the X-T50. I chose the Sigma because it has a constant f/2.8 aperture throughout the zoom range and is lightweight. Its price is much lower than the original Fujifilm 16-55mm f/2.8. The Sigma 18-50mm is my everyday lens, whether I’m out in the city or on a trip. Sometimes, it’s the only lens I carry with me. I was really impressed by its sharpness.

Fujifilm XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 – A great telezoom lens. I mainly use it for nature photography or when I’m at viewpoints. A few times a year, I took it to the Prague Zoo. Last year, I attended an architecture photography workshop, and since then, I’ve been using this lens for architectural details.

XC 35mm f/2 – My first prime lens. I bought it because it was affordable, compact, and I wanted to try using a prime lens. I never expected that it would become my most used lens. It’s my go-to for portraits, family moments indoors, nature shots, and street photography. The autofocus isn’t the fastest, but for the price, it’s an excellent lens. The focal length suits me, and I like its size.

Sigma 56mm f/1.4 – I wanted a bright lens for portraits and evening photos in Prague. I fell in love with its beautiful bokeh. This lens is much faster than the XC 35mm and is great for outdoor photos of my son, as well as for capturing details.

JPEG vs RAW
I use both, depending on the situation. In most cases, JPEG is sufficient because Fujifilm’s colors and film simulations are fantastic. I usually don’t need to edit much. I do most of my editing on the iPad, where I make basic adjustments like cropping, exposure, and blacks. If I need more control, I edit RAW files. For JPEG, my favorite film simulations are Classic Negative, Classic Chrome, and Acros+R, but I also use some recipes I’ve found online. My favorites are Classic Cuban Negative by Osan Bilgi and Kodachrome 64.

For editing JPEGs, I use Apple Photos on my iPad. For RAW files, I usually use Adobe Lightroom on my desktop, and sometimes I experiment with film recipes using Fujifilm X RAW Studio. In about 80% of cases, I can get by with just the iPad and the Apple Photos app.

If you’d like to see more of my photos, you can follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/mlatyna_cz/

Or visit my portfolio: kristynamladkova.myportfolio.com/