Category : Pilgrim’s Chronicles

 

 

I’ve been in Nashville, Tennessee all week with our Third Annual Nashville/Ricky Skaggs Americana Workshop.  Country Music/Bluegrass Legend (14 rimes Grammy Winner!) Ricky Skaggs is also an accomplished photographer and good friend and he and I, plus Jim Begley and John “Snake” Barrett, and Nick Coury, run this annual workshop during Nashville’s Bluegrass Month.  While we have been shooting the many fantastic locations around Nashville, I’ve been giving the X-System lenses a workout and thought I might share some of the images from this weeks shoot!

 

Tonight the entire group will go to Ricky and Kentucky Thunders concert at the Historic Ryman Theatre, images from that tomorrow!

 

At Marathon Motorworks we always shoot the decorative tool door at the Motor works offices. Fuji X-T1 with the 16-55.

 

 

 

While shooting in Antique Archaeology we had a chance to capture some great old Americana pieces, below the Nashville Neon Radio sign with the Electra-Voice Mic in the foreground,  Shot with the X-T1 and the wonderful, close focusing new 16mm f 1.4 shot at f 2.8!

 

 

The brass cash register begs to be shot with the 16-55 and then treated to a dose of Topaz Spicify for a mock HDR effect.

 

 

 

While roaming around the Antique Archaeology Store I found a great Cheap Trick guitar and shirt that made a great out of focus background or another EV mic, one of my favorites, I have a Shure 55 ohm y desk in my office!  Shot with eh fabulous 90mm f 2 at f 2.

 

 

I can’t pass up Neon and this sign in Antique Archaeology was just to neat!  X-T1 and he 16-55

 

 

A friend of Ricky’s had a wonderful old General Store and massive antique toy collection, so we spent a couple of hours enjoying and shooting this great collection!  Below a shelf of children’s books form the 1930’s and 40’s.  Fuji X-T1 and 18-135 lens.

 

 

Being a pilot,  I love toy airplanes and have a very large collection of my own, this one was to good to pass up!  X-T1 and the 18-135 lens

 

 

In the General Store I found an old Tom’s Peanuts rack just a sit would have been in the 1950’s, XT-1 and the 18-135 shot wide open at f 5.6.

 

 

 

One of our favorite locations was a massive private car collection housed on a beautiful farm down in Brentwood.  These exhaust ports from a Classic Auburn were too good to good to pass up!  X-T1 and the 16-55.

 

 

Since my grandchildren call Sherelene Nana I had to shoot this mock diner at the car museum for her! X-T1 and the 16-55.

 

 

The three images below of car Americana were all shot with the X-T1 with the 18-135, my favorite walk around lens!

 

 

Lastly at visit to the Centennial Park Gardens the 90mm f 2 showed of it’s wonderful Bokeh on these flowers!

 

 

I love shooting the Fuji X- System because of its; great build quality, light weight and fabulous glass!

 

More to come!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

In case you were wondering, Nicky Coury, Ricky Skaggs, “Snake”Barrett, and I are all Fuji shooters! Jim will, likely, join us soon!!!!!  All images shot with film simulation mode  Velvia, Provia (Standard) and Black & White with a red filter.

 

 

Some things are certain.  Gravity works.  Some people are, kind and compassionate and give of themselves for the sake of others, they seek to save others  Some men are evil, they live to destroy, to hate, and to steal life from others.  We live in a world where because of the reporting of world wide news events it is more apparent than ever, that these things are true.

 

So where does that leave us, the folks in the middle, the ones that are not evil, that make mistakes, but not with malice.  We’re the ones that hate evil, but find a way to pray for evil doers.  We’re the ones that hurt when five service men are shot down in cold blood, and don’t understand why our president thinks one young black man that forced a policeman to shoot  him in self defense is worth more.  All lives matter, black ones, white ones, yellow, and red too.  No one should be have their life cut short, no one.  For me it is very sad when young men and women join our arm services to protect us, to serve us, the make out land safer, and die when an armed conflict is not supposed to be happening.

 

I have no answers.  I’ve searched my heart, I still have no answer4s.  When you don’t know what to do or say, it’s best to go back to what you are absolutely sure you know.  Here goes,

 

God loves us more than we could ever understand.

 

His Son died so that we could be forgiven for all our sins.

 

He was beaten, mocked, spat on and then nailed to a cross.  The soldiers that drove the nails into his hands and feet, made fun of Him, the Son of God, and yet they laughed at them.

 

Then He did the most unbelievable thing imaginable, He looked down and stared at the very men that did this to Him and said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

 

How could He ever expect us to do what He did?!  But, then that is exactly what He said, just before He went home to His Father, he said, “As I have done, you do also.”

 

…..and that is why I have no answers.  I know what I am to do, I know what I want to do.  I can’t  do what I should do, I do what I shouldn’t do, I think Paul said that too, and then he and some fishermen were very responsible for the Christian faith we have today, because they manned up. What will I do, what will you do, God help us, and I mean that in the most sincere way possible.

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

 

 

Note:  As with all my blog entries, this is my opinion, nothing more.

 

Why test cameras and lenses?  Have you ever wondered why every photo magazine,  hundreds of websites and youtube video channels pro-port to test camera equipment for us?  How about cars, vacuum cleaners, and refrigerators.  In fact there is an entire agency devoted to testing and comparing products, Consumer Reports.  Why are we so wired about how products compare?  I’m sure some of it is we value our money and don’t want to spend it unwisely, some is that we want the very best products we want for the money we have to spend.  We want reliable things, no one likes a car that stays in the shop!

 

But, back to cameras and lenses, is there much difference between different brands?  How much is the difference, and more importantly, how much does it matter in terms of what kind photography the gear will allow us to do?

 

I was watching a youtube video from a very popular gun guy, Hickok45.  This man has hundreds of thousands of viewers and I’m convinced he is pretty knowledgable and trustworthy in his assessment of various things, gun related.  His video was on accuracy, how do guns compare interns of there accuracy.  His final point was that all guns are pretty much accurate, it is the shooter that is the biggest factor in hitting the target.  I tend to agree.  Are some guns inherently more accurate?  Yes, is some ammunition more accurate? yes, does any of it matter as much as the person behind the gun? In my opinion, no.

 

 

 

 

Back to camera gear and testing. so then why do we test?  Some folks are pixel peepers, they want to test everything to the inth degree.  Before you think that was a harsh characterization, let me explain, I love pixel peepers, engineers are pixel peepers, mathematicians are pixel peepers, and I’m so glad someone is very concerned about the sheer strength of the bolts holding up the bridges I drive over, but someone is doing that, we don’t all have to, it’s covered.  Some folks by their very nature want to study all the minute details, and that is fine, but those minute details don’t have a lot to do with practical making of photographs.  So then why test?  One reason would be quality control. Is any product being made properly, with good materials and built and designed to last?  That would be a great reason to test a camera or lens. Will the glass, the coatings and the alignment produce sharp, distortion free, images, that would another good reason.  I’m going to go out on limb and say most lenses are plenty good enough.  Some are better than good enough, and some others are just exceptional. While that is true, great images can be made with lenses from all of theses categories!!!!

 

 

 

 

I test my cameras and lenses for a different reason alltogether!  I want to determine if my cameras and lenses are capable of making exceptional technical images.  Once I’ve determined that, when I don’t get exceptional, (technical), images, I know who to blame.  It is only through finding the faults in our technique that we  can become a better photographer, and knowing your gear is not the problem, is step one!!!

 

The images used as illustrations in this blog entry are from the Nikon D800, a camera I have not owned or used for over two years.  The lenses all these images were made with were 1970’s and 80’s era manual focus Nikkor lenses, all very fine lenses, but not possessing all the modern coatings and latest break throughs like aspheric elements, and ED glass!  Yet they are tack sharp and offer great color fidelity.

 

This is the value of testing your gear.  Once you know it can make incredible images from a technical perspective, it is now time to become a photographer and learn how to see!!!!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

Personal Tech Note:   I currently am shooting the Fuji X System, and only the Fuji X-System.  After two years of working with this camera system and it’s lenses, I am convinced, that for me, it is the perfect balance between size, weight, capability and technical excellence.  That in no way is damning of any other brand or system, it’s just I’ve found my home and I’m now concentrating on making images, and not worrying about how good the gear is!  I still like to dabble in the gear, but I’m first and foremost a photographer

 

Yes Virginia, the Fuji is good enough, see below!

 

 

 

 

This will be epic, gotta join us!!!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim