Two early wide angles, the 24m. f2.8 and a 35mm f 2 with rear lens caps glued back to back!

 

It was no one less than the great John Shaw that said, “I never met a lens I didn’t like….or buy!”   Amen, that same 6hng could be said of me as well!  After all,   a great camera is wonderful, but it is the lens that make all the difference!  I wouldn’t even want to guess how many lenses I’ve owned , but it has to be in the hundreds!

 

A little history; I started in photography in the 1960’s around 1968.  My first real camera was from Nikon. a Nikkormat FTN  that was sold with a 50mm f 2 lens.  Shortly after I bought a 35mm f 2 and a 105mm f 2.5. then it was off to the races!!!!  I stayed with Nikon for 43 years!!!!  After shoulder surgery I moved to the lighter Fujifilm X System,  Only recently I’ve picked up some small Micro 4/3rds cameras and  and lenses which I use for light travel, from Olympus and Panasonic  (Lumix) I am currently shooting with a complete Fujifilm system.

 

Here are some of my all time favorite lenses some images made with them!

 

 

Starting at the long end, my favorite all time long lens was the Nikon 400mm f 3.5 telephoto.  It was fast and exceedingly sharp and even though manual focus (back then everything was!)   It was a beautiful lens!

 

The African Bee Easter!

Two examples above!

 

 

My favorite short telephoto and portrait lens was the Nikon 105mm f 2.5 this image of my dear friend Mike Ellison above and my daughter Catherine with our Basset Hound, B.J. are two examples of it’s most common use!

 

 

 

 

 

Two more examples of the wonderful versatility of a 105mm!

 

My most used wide angle lens has been the 24mm f 2.8,  some examples below.

 

 

Those are some of my favorite lenses from the film era!!!

 

Watch for a future post with some of my favorite Digital Era lenses!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

I just returned from Grandfather Mountain in Western N.C.  This year was the 39th Annual Nature Photography weekend, an event, I helped start 41 years ago!!  Why the differents of two years?  They did not hold the event during the 2 Covid years!  But with the help of a great team of workers it has been a great event near selling out very year for all that time!  Hugh Morton and the original team including Don Nelson and Tom Payne and myself,   managed it for many years!  Upon Hugh’s passing in 2006 the Mountain, privately owned by Hugh, was transferred into a long term lease to the state of North Carolina when it was made into a State Park.

 

Going back this year was a wonderful chance to see a lot of old friends made through the years!  It was made tougher since on Tuesday of this week in the hospital I was diagnosed with Pneumonia and was virtually without my voice but somehow God got be through it and I as able to open the evening talk on the first evening!  It must have gone o.k. because I found no tomato stains on my clothes!  What a heavenly place “The Mountain is!!!”   My thanks to all those great folks!!!!!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

Things change and they require a rethinking of how you work. Since last year’s heart events I’ve found that I simply can’t carry as much gear in terms of weight.  I’ve tried several ways to work it out but it still requires rethinking the whole issue of what to shoot with.  Let me be clear, I still own and I’m keeping several Fujifilm bodies and over 15 lenses, and I still plan to get back to them as my cardio vascular health returns.  I’m committed to the APSC sensored X system gear, but for right now, I can’t deal with the weight.  I’ve also come to understand that my needs in terms of capabilities in a system are not as great as when I was doing this full time.  On the other hand, the Micro 4/3rds cameras and lenses are more than capable enough for my current requirements and the advancements in post processing software have negated any issues that would have been a problem in the past!

 

Why am I making a big deal out of this?  Over the last 12 years I’ve enthusiastically told hundreds of photographer friends that I love and fully endorse the Fujifilm eco system of cameras and lenses.  I still do, but things change and at 79 I simply have to adjust how I work, or put away cameras all  together!  I’m still wanting to try to enjoy this wonderful craft so changes are being made.  I love my friends at Fujifilm and have enjoyed being a X-Photographer representing them, but I have and will always be honest about what I’m doing and why, it is only fair to anyone that cares that I’m up front abut this issue!  Enough said!

 

I now am using two small camera bags for general photography, including travel and nature work.  I still. have some long glass and close-up gear for specialized work, but these two bags are allowing me to work more comfortably!  The top photo is a Billingham Hadly Small Pro bag with the following gear; an Olympus Pen F body with an Olympus 17mm f 1.8 lens (35mm equiv.) and two stacked sets of lenses, an Olympus 12mm f 2, (24mm equiv.), a Olympus 45mm f 1.8 (90mm equiv.) and a Panasonic Lumix 35-100 f 2.8 (70-200 equiv.).  this very light system allows me to easily carry lenses from 24mm to 200mm all at good speed and excellent optical quality.  I’ve never owned a Billingham bag, I always thought them way to expensive, but I really love the quality of construction, great materials and thoughtful design of this bag and have come to put it in the category of you get what you pay for and I frankly love it!  I just figured it was about time that I enjoy something I would never have owned before now! 

 

Below is my other small bag system contained in a Tenba DNA 7 Messenger bag.  I have owned a number of Tenba products over the years and have always been impressed with their value and quality and very good design and this bag is as good as any I’ve used.  It is almost identical in size and carries about an equal system to the Billingham, just a little more affordably!

 

 

This bag holds a Panasonic Lumix GX8 camera with a Lumix-Leica Summilux 15mm f 1.7 lens (30mm Equiv.) and exceptional piece of glass!  Again two stacked sets of lens include a Lumix 20mm f 1.7 (40mm Equiv.), Lumix 42.5 mm f 1.7 lens (85mm equiv.), an Olympus 75mm f 1.8 lens (150mm Equiv.) and a Lumix – Leica Summilux 9mm f 1.7 (18mm Equiv.). again, all of exceptional optical qualities.

 

With the exception of very long focal lengths this set of lenses in both bags allow me to do 90% of my day to day work and not be exhausted at the end of the day!

 

So if you run into me in the field that is what you will see I’m doing!  Still loving be a photographer!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

Shot at one of our workshops together in Nashville.

 

 

Lots of famous people have come from Kentucky, Ricky Skaggs is one of our finest!  I’m not talking about his dozens of Grammies, or his being placed in the Country Music Hall of Fame, or his tremendous and large fan base, no I’m talking about Ricky Skaggs the man!  I met Ricky through photography over twenty years ago and from that first day, sitting and talking with him, I knew he was different.  Ricky is the real deal,  while incredibly talented, he is truly down to earth and comfortable in any setting with regular people.  He loves the Lord with all his heart and I’ve never seen him not take the time to show sincere interest in anyone who approached him, whether it was during a meal or on the street!

 

I’ve had the pleasure of teaching a number of workshops with Ricky and every attendee calls him a friend by the end of the experience!  Because of him, I’ve met a number of famous entertainers and everyone says Ricky is one of the best people they’ve ever met, that is saying something.

 

I just wanted to honor him in this blog entry and share with you all, what a honor it has been to become a friend of his.  I look forward to endless days of visiting when we both get home to our final and forever home some day!  Till then God Speed Ricky!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim