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

 

 

For many years I’ve been a Gold Star Member of the Bag of The Month Club!!!!!!!  O.K so there is no such thing, but I’ve bought, owned and used a great number of bags, slings, shoulder bags, backpacks,. rolling cases and the like!!!!!!!  I currently have over 40 in my office!  The photo above is where most are stored. Another 7 are my current ones in daily use.

 

Question Number One:  Why??????  Probably the most accurate answer is “I have a problem!”  You know how it is, you have several cameras and a bunch of lenses and you want a way to transport them, and protect them from the elements, after all they cost a lot of money!  The manufacturers of bags, keep coming out with new and exciting options and you buy them to try them out.  Most of the time, you love them for a month or so, then realize they are lacking in some way!  So the search continues!  Do this for 50 years and, well you see the result!  Also I’m sort of part fof the photo press so I review and write about bags, at least that is one of the excuses I use for buying so many!

 

Question Number Two:  Since I’ve bought and owned so many bags do I have any favorite companies?  Yes, but let me name them by category!  

Most rugged made bags with the best materials:  Think Tank/Mindshift, Tenba, Domke, Lightware, Pelican and Nanuk.  All of these makers have made bags, that for me, have held up under the heaviest, most abusive conditions and continued to protect my gear!  They are all well designed and brands I go back to, time after time.  I’ve never had any of them fail me.

Who makes bags that are the best bang for your buck!  Lowpro, Whotencraft, Wandrd and Domke have all been. good value for money spent.  At one time Lowepro would have also been in the category of best made, not so much anymore, the’ve gone through multiple owners!

 

Question Three: Are there expensive bags that are still worth the higher price?  Yes, the English company Billingham make beautiful hand made bags that are wonderfully crafted and made of great materials, with a good use of leather.  They are not cheap, but are one of the few bags left that are crafted by hand and worth the higher price.

 

Question Four, do I have too many bags?  Are you kidding, you bet I do!!!!!!

 

Question Five; If you want to look cool which bag should you choose?  I think Domke and Billingham are two of the best choices for that!  Team them up with a vintage Leica and you’re golden!  Peak Design bags and back packs are very popular with many younger photographers.   Domke was the choice of many photojournalists for decades and still are some of my favorites, I own at least a half dozen, they’re practical and rugged!

 

Question Six;  Do I have a current favorite?  Sorry that’s too hard to answer!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim