Come on, you have to admit

That Samyang XP 85/1.2 on Fujifilm GFX can do excellent portraits; with both atmosphere and sharpness; overall less modern, but without the drawbacks of "vintage" lenses often have of being inferior strict optically. As you stop it down, it does however become more and more clinical and modern.

It is simply a fantastic lens.

I think the closest competitor, having a similar rendering style - would be the Sigma ART 105mm ƒ1.4 lens. I believe they have about the same (minimal) depth of sharpness at portrait distance, too. The Sigma however has even less vignetting. Both work well on a Fujifilm GFX 100s II camera - with the advantage to the Sigma due to modern AF, working very well with the Fringer adapter - while the Samyang 85 is a manual focus lens.

Which i love with this lens, because it feels like i engage more into the make of a portrait ! I have to work, and not just point with the AF at somebody / somewhere particularly. I often tell people "wait, wait - this camera is a bit slow". And they wait... - which gives me just enough room, to adjust the focus and frame the portrait without too much stress.

I don't wish to "steal" a portrait from someone.

I wish to create a portrait !

Pros & Cons

However it is also a 1.7 kilo colossus with 105mm filter diameter... The Samyang is in direct comparison much more gentle and "less in your face". Sigma is better corrected at wide open apertures with almost no LoCA - while the Samyang has a little bit more - but not nearly as bad as Canon FD or EF 85/1.2 L. The Sigma 105mm focus only down to 1 meter, while the Samyang brings it down to 80 cm.

The closer focus distance i like better.

Reka at the Högdalen Train depot

He is one of the professional guys who keeps order in the train depot - which is a way bigger job than it sounds like.

Not only do they break up trains into single or dual wagons, and transfer them across the whole depot every night, in order so that each wagon is in the right place. There are so many parameters to keep track of - i often find that highly puzzling, how they do it.

That is a job that often keeps you busy all night... Especially if the daytime or evening traffic went into chaos, which means that all the predefined location of each wagon and train, will arrive in totally disorder into the depot. Which creates huge problems - and with that comes that you have to have personnel which rearranges each train and wagon in the right order.

Sometimes certain wagons do not match, because of internal problems. (all of those parameters need to be kept track on). I often wonder how they do that... Especially when things get in disorder during the day when the trains are in traffic.

Other wagons are not allowed to be in the front of the train (where you steer the train in traffic), because of glitches or other internal issues which prevents them from working correctly.

1.5 million kilometers

Each wagon has a counter for how far they have been driving - which requires that they need a check-up at certain intervals (Yes, our wagons often have made a lot more than 1 million kilometers during their existence since introduction age - which is different from wagon to wagon). Other wagons / whole trains need direct maintenance and which there there are specialized people who repair those in the workshop. Huge halls where you lift a whole train into the air... so you can work under it.

The Train depot is a huge machinery made out of many people and groups, each specialized to certain tasks (areas of expertise). Then there is also a huge crowd of cleaners - as every single wagon / train needs to be cleaned every night.

Högdalen depot

I love the people at the Högdalen depot (night shift). For so many years, they have held and kept such a friendly attitude there - which is quite different from the other depot located in Vällingby, at the other end of town in the Northwest. At Högdalen people greet, are very friendly - and if there is some time, then there is also a talk, a laughter, joke or just serious work related talk about the things that need to be done, changed or re-done in one or the other way.

I've always felt home at that depot - and i am happy every time i meet the guyz and gals there. I mean, deep down i am not a industrial type of guy, who always felt a bit repelled by such work places, not knowing where i would or could belong... But with the Högdalen depot, i do feel home. I don't feel strained or uneasy.

I think the major change also came from a time, when we were a bunch of drivers during Veolia, where we worked as "combo workers"; which meant, cleaning trains during week nights, and driving trains during weekends. Which was the world's most fun job i have ever had in my life. Since we were stationed at the Högdalen depot, you got to know the colleagues there much better.

When MTR took over in Nov 2009 *rolling my eyes*

Then came MTR - and fucked that "combi-job" up so severely with a 400% increased workload, that it nearly destroyed my body (back). I came home from work with severe pain and sometimes cried because it was so heavy - and no fuck among the "bosses" gave a fuck. Which on top also made me furious.

It went from love to hate - within one week when MTR overtook Veolia back on 1 Nov 2009. Naturally i switched back to a 100% driver position again a half year later - and never looked back. Nevertheless, after a couple years most often at the Train depot in Högdalen, you really get to know the people who work there during night time.

And that good feeling has remained ever since. Many of the guys are still there - so it is a long lasting love story. I also saw that some of the cleaners (who back then where employed via an external company) have rising to internal positions - in which some of them really grew great. Even as a person - becoming more outgoing though the years.

Great guy

Reka is one of those who really became his own man - and is a fantastic colleague. But so are basically everybody i know there, who are amazing to work with. (He always is comfortable that i make portraits of him). I remember him way back from 2007, as a silent, kind of "grumpy" radiating guy... you kind of avoid. Or not avoid. Today, he is the kind of guy you can ask anything. He radiates a stable, self assured (in a good way, one who knows what he is doing at work) - yet with a humble atmosphere.

As strange as it might sound, i can't remember having ever been irritated to any of the night shift people at the Högdalen depot. Whatever needs to be done or changed or informed about, I do it - or ask when there is something i don't know. All info is exchanged with a smile / good attitude.

Tricky Vällingby Depot

While the other depot, Vällingby depot, you have tricky people. And most of them do not even greet you. You can test that, and just walk in - they don't greet you. So, i greet them - but always do that with a feeling of unease... Others you never greet, because they just give a rats ass. Of course, there are exceptions with great people there, i love to exchange words with them, when i work there (as well).

Högdalen is my standing favorite

However i know practically nothing about the people who work there during daytime. Which are many, many more... and all the bosses on top hanging around as well *rolling my eyes*

The night staff however, is just great , and that is now decades i remember it like that.

Quite fascinating to say something like that.

I am not saying it always should be like that... because that is Gen Z nonsense. Frictions always can and do appear - which is normal - and at times needs to get some aired out. That is normal, and should remain normal (instead of trying to idealizing it into something where everybody is super cozy to one another - which i think is just idiological horse shit).