Monthly Archives: January 2015

 

 

Time is running out to SAVE 10% on this year’s His Light Workshops!!!!  First off, have you every wanted to go to Costa Rico and photograph a red eyed tree frog?  I’ve got a friend who did, sweated for a wee, and never saw one!!  At the Reptile Shoot in Fort Myers, Florida, (nice place to go in late February)!!!!  You will see and photograph dozens of exotic reptiles and amphibians from around the world, in perfect settings, on proper plants, and  controlled and posed by an expert, Mike Matthews.  Learn all the biology and get the shots you would have to circle the globe to get!  February 21 & 22  Fort Myers Florida  register by January 15th and save 10%

 

 

 

 

Join Jack Graham and Bill Fortney in Nelson Ghost Town near Las Vegas two days of great shooting in the town and an evening at the Neon Museum in nearby Las Vegas.   This one of the prime Americana locations Bill featured in his best selling Americana book!  March 20 – 21 Register by January 15th and save 10%  Watch for my Nelson Ghost Town class on KelbyOne coming soon!

 

 

 

 

Join Nikon legend Fred Sisson, Bill Fortney and Jim Begley for a workshop in one of the great Americana cities in the east coast area.  Great old buildings, a Virginia Transportation Museum with lots of trains and automobiles, wonderful signs, the D-Day Memorial and a trip to the O. Winston Link Photographic Museum!!!  Take part in a re-created O. Winston Link night time, live train photography expedition shoot!  April 29-May 2.     10% off if you register before the 15th!  Roanoke, VA

 

 

 

 

If you love old rusting cars and trucks and want to learn how to turn them into stunning art,  join Jim Begley and John “Snake” Barrett at Old Car City!  34 acres, 4,000 rusting cars and trucks. This one of our most popular Spring workshops.  If you like rust this will be heaven!  Same deal register before January 15th and save 10%!

 

Just for the record,

 

The Great Smokies only has 2 spots left!

Memory Lane only has only 4 spots left!

 

Coming next week!!!!  My Close Up book!

 

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

 

 

Step up to the Mike,  By Bill Fortney

 

 

Jack Graham, Scott Kelby, and Matt Kloskowski all did 2014 retrospectives and I enjoyed each of them!  I started to do one and then came up with another idea.  I would like to first ask myself, and you the most important photographic questions of 2014, (or any previous year for that matter!)  Did you grow?  Did you grow technically?  Did you grow visually?  Did you grow aesthetically?  Before I attempt to answer that let me share portfolios from three dear friends who certainly did so in all the above categories!

 

 

Before I feature more photographers, let me start with these three!  I’ve known Jack Graham for almost 30 years and our photographic friendship and personal friendship goes back all that time.  I first met Jack at a GAPW event, (Great American Photography Weekends), featuring the late Galen Rowell.  Immediately,  Jack was on of those people you meet that you really like and want to get to know better.  Through the years we have remained in touch and when I retired from Nikon in the summer of 2013 he asked me to teach workshops with him, and I did.  I’ve genuinely enjoyed teaching with Jack and just hanging out with him!  He rarely mentions it, but when we met he was a very successful professional musician, a trumpet player.  He was good enough to have done performances live, on stage with the likes of Frank Sinatra and many other stars of that era!

 

I met Scott and Matt when I first went to work of Nikon in the early 2000’s  I think around 2002 or 2003.  I talked my boss, Bill Pekala, into what we use to call a weasel deal, a fond monicker for getting the company to send us on a trip to mostly have fun!  It turned out to be money well spent for Nikon and I!  I met Scott and Matt at the Salt Lake City airport and drove them on a 5 day trip through the golden circle (Bryce Canyon, Zion, the Grand Canyon, and other great red rock parks)! Both were in the beginning stages of a great interest in photography, and I tried to show them the ropes, so as to speak! Please don’t misread that I am taking any credit whatsoever for their meteoric rise as shooters, no, I just had some fun with them, and gave them some pointers.  The best part was we became really fast friends and that friendship has grown over the past decade!  My points that even though Jack was already a good shooter when we got to know each other, He, Matt and Scott have really “grown” and their work shows it!

 

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention two other very dear friends who continue to shock me with their work!  Jim Begley and Jim Haverstock are not only two of my best friends, they are truly gifted shooters and in 2014, it continued to be proven!  More than the photography, and both are wonderful photographers, it is their fellowship!  Both Jim B and Jim H. are two to finest Christian men I know, and they always lift me up when we get me together, which thankfully, we often do!  Here are just a few of their incredible stock pile of fantastic images!

 

 

 

So lastly what are my accomplishments of 2014?  Let’s see, I love the Lord more than ever, and I’m more thankful for all He has done for me.  I am more madly in love with Sherelene than I ever thought possible!  Now that I am retired, (Ha ha!) I am enjoying more quality time with my family and my grandchildren.  I finally got started only long desired eBook writing journey (as of next week),  it will be a total of 12 eBooks and I’ve sold or given away a couple of thousand!  I am having a blast writing, shooting, praying, sharing His Love, and being on this side of the grass!!!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

It’s hard to resist buying everything that Fuji comes out with.  All their stuff  is so good!!!!  I said I was not intersted in the 18-135, now it’s one of my favorite lenses.  I wondered if I really needed the 50-140, well, I got it, I love it, I’m not sending it back!!!!  But I’m drawing the line on this one!  I’m sure it will be spectacularly sharp,  and being able to ease back to the equivalent of 24mm is a sweet idea, but I’m going to hold firm.

 

Why?  First, price.  $1,200. is a lot for a mid range zoom.  Second because without OIS the price seems even higher!  Fuji made a fatal mistake when they made the OIS in the 50-140 so incredible.  I used to rarely shoot hand held, but with this great technology, I’m getting fantastic results at speeds I would have never even considered shooting before.  I understand that the inclusion of the Optical Image Stabilization would have made the lens even bigger, and at 77mm it’s already pretty huge!  The other problem is that the 18-55 is a f2.8 to f4 only loosing one stop at the long end and it does has OIS!!!!  You know the old saying, “a lens that is paid for, is the definition of a great lens!!!”

 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge Fuji fan, and what they are doing, building absolutely stunning lenses is exciting.  I just don’t want to carry that much weight, (the 50-140 is bad enough), and still not have it without their fabulous OIS in it.

 

The other reason is that I went to Fuji to save weight and I made a big exception to have the 50-140 at  f 2.8!  If I keep acquiring heavier lenses, well you know where that leads to!

 

My hats off to them for making what appears to be another world class optic, but I’m going to pass this time.  The 90mm f 2 slated for later this year, and it will be big too, but oh how I want that focal length, we’ll see!  One temptation at a time!!!!

 

The Close-Up book is nearing completion!!!!  Hope to have it out next week!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

You probably don’t know this man.  He was one of the first people I met when Sherlene and I moved to Corbin over 35 years ago.  He and his wife Opel became some of our best friends.  We went to church together, belonged to a “young” couples Bible study group, yes I was young back then!  We became great friends, he was one of the most decent men I knew.  I love his family and I pray for them daily.  He was a great loss for me, Sherelene, his family, and our church, and community.  He was worthy of praise and his visitation and funeral were attended by huge crowds of people that loved and appreciated him, he will be missed.  He was a Christian who lived his faith.

 

On the same day he died from a stroke, another famous man died,  His picture was on the front page of national newspapers. He was described as a hard charging political animal who did what he had to to win, no matter what.  How sad for that to be your legacy!

 

Jim Trivette was a good man, he made a difference, nothing like that could ever be said of him. I know their was a great celebration when he arrived in Heaven!

 

That’s how I want to live and die.

 

Thanks Jim for showing me the true path with your life!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim