Monthly Archives: October 2015

 

 

“Little Things that you do, make me glad, I’m in love with you!”  That’s what Bobby Goldsboro sang!  On the last trip I got to thinking about how some little things make our jobs so much easier!

 

FIRST:  Above and below, “Snake” Barrett put me onto a new strap system from Peak Design. They consist of a neat tab that attached to the cameras strap lugs, and snaps in and out of their holders, for when you don’y want a dangling strap on your cameras.  My only problem is I’m madly in love with Wapiti Straps made with real Elk Skin.  The straps from Peak Design are nice soft Nylon, but they won’t stay on your shoulder.  Fortunately the holders have a smaller slot that the Wapiti straps thread through perfectly, so, problem solved, and I love these snap tethers!

peakdesignltd.com

 

 

 

SECOND:  How do you get a few filters to work on all your lenses?  Step Up and Step Down Rings!  Tons are available on Amazon and they can make it easy to use that favorite 77mm filter fit all your lenses!

 

 

THIRD:  We all shoot digital, well 99.9% of us, and that means we must have batteries, now is there a better way to charge them?  Companies like Watson and Kastar make chargers that show a graphic that keep you informed about the condition of your batteries,  Watson makes dual chargers, and Kastar makes single chargers with interchangeable plates so you can charge a number of different batteries, I know all the batteries for the Fuji System are covered and it appears all the major brands are too!  Amazon has both!  They charge faster and I’ve loved using them.

 

 

FOURTH:  You always have lots of extra filters, you know, the ones you don’t use all the time? What to do with them????  MindShift makes a small, beautiful filter folder called the Filter Hive Mini, it will hold a few plexiglass split neutral density filters and a couple ofd 77mm glass neutral densities.

 

 

 

FIFTH:  We don’t carry canisters of film anymore, but we sure use memory cards.  Now I’ve used a lot of brands, Lexar, Sandisk, and others but my favorites and the most reliable for me have been from Delkin.  I not only have had a terrific luck with them, but their customer service is outstanding.

 

 

SIXTH:  Now something that is just plain fun!  Fuji makes a little INSTAX printer that works with Bluetooth and makes really cool little prints, (the return the Polaroid age!)  While I’m not a big instant print guy,  my grandchildren really love them and it is worth it for just that!!!!

 

 

Some fun things, some essential things, some just plain great things!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

 

We had a great week in Nova Scotia and truly appreciated Kevin Finch’s efforts and hospitality to his warm and beautiful country!!!  Today on the flights home Jim shared some of his favorites and they were, as always, spectacular!!  He asked me to pick my 5 favorites, which was tough!  I thought I might share a few of my favorite images, not already published.  I have no reason to pick these except they represent the joys of shooting in Nov Scotia,  for me!

 

 

 

I shoot three version of every image with the Fuji X-T1, a Velvia (pumped color), Provia, (close to accurate color) , and a Monochrome with a red filter.  These two, both, did it for me, for different reasons, you can think about them and react if you would like!!

 

 

 

These lobster floats had a very interesting pattern to their ropes and i liked the lines of the stripes in the floats!

 

 

With sunrise light, killer color and the tack sharp 90mm Fuji lens, how could you miss!

 

 

Same goes for tho orange rope and pilings!

 

 

A boat that is past it’s prime was just to much fun to capture and process for affect.

 

 

Finally, I just an never resist shooting what people paint on building, and this one was really interesting!!!

 

 

….and finally, it may be predictable, but red buildings and a white boat, gotta do it!!!!

 

 

Thanks for tagging along this week!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

By-the-way, the two coiled rope shots were with the Fuji X30, a great, compact, carry camera!!

 

O.K. just for fun, this is the lead image converted to a monochrome in Silver Efex Pro 2.  I put it at the bottom so you would have to scroll back and forth to compare them, each has it’s own qualities, the color shot is all about the color of the hulls, the monochrome all about shapes, yet both work, but which works best?????  You decide.

 

 

 

We started out the day today in Bridgewater and got a great sunrise reflecting in the river.  Some boats docked near by were our subjects for the first light!

 

 

 

 

We then started down the coast and I began my experiment with seeing how the Fuji X30 would do, shooting with it for the rest of the day.  I’ll let you judge for yourself, but I was very pleased with the kind of work I was able to do with this $599. camera!!  I think it will be a constant companion and I won’t doubt it’s potential ever again!!  By-the-way, a friend forgot his “L” bracket so I gave him the one I had on the X30 to him, so all these images are “hand-held”!!!  Makes it even more of an impressive performance!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, when I spoke to the Halifax Camera Club, Monday night I met an amazing man named Doug Murphy!  His ability to see faces in common places amazed me, so I promised him I would try to see faces on my trip.   Now these are not up to his standard, but at least I’m trying,  These are for you Doug!  You  can see his work at:   www.apex.photo.com

 

 

So one last shot, I processed another  image from Peggy’s Cove, thought I might share it too!!!!

 

 

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

 

 

 

From a cloudy morning with light mist to a nice afternoon, we shot all day and found some great subject matter!  This morning we worked a lot of fishing gear at Peggy’s Cove and finished off the day with some travel to our new location.  Great group of folks and Kevin Finch put us on some great locations!   Enjoy!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well another day in a great place!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim