The analogue challenge with the Nikon Zf: can you keep to 24 stills?

I started my morning at the steps of an underground subway in Charlottenburg, the area where I live. My aim for this challenge was to be as mindful as possible, scanning the surroundings for a scene that represents the city I live in as well as show the diversity of architecture as I walked.

Over the years, I’ve really developed an eye for details and learned how to blend in. I become a bystander – observing and watching scenes unfold before I capture them, which is even more challenging in Germany as I always avoid people’s faces. My style is colourful. At first it was all mood, weather and rain and now it’s evolved to focus on light, shadows and complex reflections. I like when a viewer can’t really tell on the first look what they’re seeing and need to decode the image – as here, where you can see the man in the scooter’s mirror.

This photo with the vintage car isn’t perfectly composed, but I focused on capturing a decisive moment – a bride snapping a selfie in a car.

I love the central perspective of the picture on the left – it’s appealing to the viewers. This park on the right is near to where I live, and I really like the fountain as a backdrop for the silhouette.

Even though this is venturing into action photography, the skateboarder is still something I wanted to capture, as it’s quite hard to photograph movement with only one frame. I watched the skater repeating the move for some time.

With street photography, you really learn to observe and predict human behaviour. This time, I had prepared the camera settings right and manage to capture him in front of the gold-cladded Berliner Philharmonie. I love the colour layering of the blue sky and gold exterior.

Taken in the Potsdamer Platz area, these shots incorporate the typical reflections I love to photograph plus the vibrant colours. I couldn’t help taking a selfie! I wanted to incorporate the Zf’s retro look into the article, too, to make it a little more personal. The coloured lights were coming from an urban art installation and the light on the glass is broken beautifully. I was waiting for some people to enter the frame to make it more interesting. These aren’t post-production effects – the reflections are as you see them.

I spent 15 minutes here. I really like to take my time when I’m working a scene normally, but for the sake of this challenge I was content with these shots. Limiting yourself to 24 stills makes you focus on the scene even more.

I included elevators here as a stark contrast to the colourful pictures above and to show the diversity in the architecture as these are pretty much next door to the Potsdamer Platz.

In the Government District, I documented a scene from two perspectives, where a key detail (a person’s raised hand) represented the decisive moment that made the image special for me. In this exceptional case, it was important to take a second photo, not only to capture this crucial detail but also to demonstrate the challenge of working with a limited number of images. In the second photo, the woman is gesturing which is far more dynamic. I adjusted the composition, so the viewer’s eyes are drawn to the people. The second shot was stronger and was worth it for me in terms of storytelling and showing my process.

This bridge outside the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus building and its path along the River Spree traces where the Berlin Wall once was. The government now works on either side of the river, and it was important to me to incorporate this into the walk from west to east. In that moment, a person took a selfie with the bear – the official mascot of Berlin – and I love the TV tower in the background and that it looks as if the person has a bear’s head!

Now we’re in the east, near Alexanderplatz. The 1950s Stalinist style offers more forms of contrast. In the middle image, you have the strong architecture with the organic flowers. A wide aperture of f/2.5 made the shot more creative. I like the layering here – the floating flowers, the architecture, the woman playing with her dog. On the left, it shows the roughness of the area, but I like how the light was bursting through the clouds and reflecting. I’ve pulled back here to get more elements into the scene.

In Manual mode, I switched to a longer exposure of 1/6 second to photograph the tram. I wanted the final images to feel more creative. On the right, near Museum Island, I saw a group of runners with colourful flares, which created such a nice atmosphere. I thought, “Should I freeze this or be more abstract?” In the end, I went for 1/8 second with runners in both the foreground and background. Ten years ago, I would have thrown this shot away but now I’d say it’s one of the strongest in the set – and, in my opinion, we’re witnessing a movement towards imperfection in street photography.

The final shot with, thankfully, a golden sunset. I had always intended to finish at the Berlin Cathedral, but I had planned for a nighttime shot in case there wasn’t good light. Then, just as I was about to grab a bite of dinner, I saw this tourist boat come in with a passenger holding an umbrella and it lined up with the golden light, which I thought added another detail to the story. It was the perfect scene to wrap the day.

Top tips

Operation stealth mode

With the Nikon Zf and the NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 SE, you can really blend in. It’s fitting for the challenge, too, with its analogue style. The flip screen allows you to capture from lower angles, so you don’t need to bring the camera directly up to your eye. The dials allow direct access to the major settings without having to look at the screen, which keeps me in my flow.

Turn Burst mode off

So much of my photography is about capturing decisive moments and I tend to capture more angles or frames than I need, use the rating button to star, before editing in post. With this challenge, I had to narrow down and become even more mindful – it really felt like using a Nikon FM2. It’s the first time since switching to digital that I went back to this optical connection of pressing the shutter one single time and hearing it click.

I turned off Burst mode and stuck to one shot per scene because, rather than creating a stronger image, I wanted to be able to tell a story.

Editing touches

I keep the pictures as authentic as possible by adjusting tone curve in Adobe Lightroom and adding some film grain to match the analogue theme. I try to capture the images the way I see them and then enhance slightly in post.

Would I do this challenge again? Absolutely… but not every day!