I’m reading and extraordinary book titled “The Circle Makers” by Mark Batterson.  I promise that if you go and buy it and start reading it, you will be captivated by the deep truths that are contained within it’s pages!  It’s a book about the prayer life of a prophet of Israel a hundred years before the birth of Christ.  It will give you new insight into the power and meaning of prayer. It is so powerful that after only one evening of reading it has moved me to rethink my ministry, and my approach to serving Him.

 

I can’t encourage you strongly enough to check out this book.  It has forever changed my mission statement.

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

You know what they say about free advice,  “If you didn’t pay nothin’ for it…. that’s what it’s worth!”  O.K. so what kind of free advice am I planning to offer today?  I just read a few very interesting articles on Thom Hogan’s, “By Thom” site.  I like Thom, he seems, to me, to be an honest, thoughtful, and very informed, (he is a technical genius, by-the-way),  great writer, he’s also brought me hours of endless fun watching some of my old friends at Nikon pull their hair out!  Not everything he writes always made them happy!!!   So, as I was saying, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking which is always very dangerous, and I’ve come up with a list of things I would like to recommend to the leaders of the photo industry.  I did use to work in it, and I don’t know very much, but I know a few things.  So let’s get started;

 

For SONY:  You’re a big company and you have a lot resources, try making something that really works and try to not change it in the first 6 weeks!  O.K. that’s a little harsh, but Sony has a tendency to come up with a concept and keep changing it so that about the time you think you really like it, it’s gone.  In fairness Sony is sorta new to the photo industry (still cameras, that is) compared to the rest of the folks that have been doing it for many, many decades.  They will catch on, and when they do, everyone else will have an 8o0 pound Gorilla to deal with in the room.  Not the case with our next maker!

 

For LEICA:  You sure make beautiful, well made cameras and lenses.  Your glass is fantastic, and the build quality of your cameras is second to none, so are your prices….  I can’t really make any recommendations, you’re committed to making incredible products, no matter what it costs and you have customers that are willing to pay what you have to charge.  Honestly, if I could afford your products I know I would own some of them!  I would suggest that you make a less expensive line, but that would just be wrong!

 

For  Canon:  I certainly worked hard on the other side of the fence from you so I know how good your products are.  If I still could carry a heavy camera and bag of lenses, I’m not so sure that one of my kits wouldn’t be a 5D Mark III.  Even though I worked for Nikon, I saw a lot work from that camera and I can’t fault it, and for video it really is kicking!  I had a lot of great friends at Nikon, still do, I hope, but a lot of the Canon reps were good friends too!  Canon is the best thing that ever happened to Nikon, and visa versa!  We, the consumer have a lot of great products because they compete so hard to beat one another!

 

For NIKON:  For many years Nikon ruled the roost. they actually owned over 80% of all pro markets for a lot of years.  Canon made some major changes to their designs and the war was on!  Nikon has always been known for their tough build quality, incredible Nikkor glass, and in recent years the best best portable lighting system out there.  Now a little spanking, if Nikon had determined to built the ultimate mirror-less, serious, pro type camera, (like Fuji did), they would, I’m sure, have built something mighty spectacular, but they didn’t, and that’s why I’m shooting the X System.  I still believe you could!  I think Nikon has a heritage in the industry that is second to none, I hope they continue to grow that well deserved reputation, I know they can.  Will they?

 

For OLYMPUS:  You guys have always had a special place in my heart.  I think you’ve always made wonderful products and lately are outdoing yourselves, hang in there. Keep making those great bodies and lenses!  I know times are tough, but I believe you make something the photo world needs.  If that was not enough you’ve got Ray Acevedo!

 

For PANASONIC:  My friend Rob Sheppard loves his GH-3 and from the work I’m seeing it is pretty cool!  I got to see the new GH-4 at a recent event in Florida and the video is stellar.  Panasonic is working a portion of the market that is teeming with enthusiastic users.  Thanks to a very solid lens line you’re sitting on a winner!

 

For EVERYONE ELSE:  Have fun!

 

Like I said you paid nothin’,

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

I got a chance to try out a new camera back pack from Guru Gear when in Florida and it is a very interesting and different animal.  The Guru Gear Uinta 30L is a medium size back pack made of extremely high end materials, that are also very light weight.  What makes it unique compared to the hundreds of other backpacks is that it is hollow and comes with “modules” that can be customized to hold whatever gear you are planning to carry.  The bag will hold two modules and they come in two sizes a medium and small.  The modules can hold lenses, bodies, flashes, and accessories.  Now here is the cool part, let’s say you are going out to hike and maybe take a few images, you could put the small module in with a body and just a couple of lenses and have the rest of the bag open for your lunch, a rain jacket and a polar fleece if it gets cool!  This is a well thought out bag that has a great frame, and hold anywhere from a few items to an enormous amount of gear!  It can be set up to open the interior section from the front or the back and has several spacious outer pockets.  It also has a wonderful accessory for carrying your tripod, that really works, unlike some  others I’ve tried.  Bottom line is would I buy it?  Yes, if I needed to carry a great deal of gear, comfortably and securely!  Through the years I’ve used bags from Domke, Lowpro, Think Tank, and Guru Gear, they all are great in their own way.  Domke is a throw back bag, old school, made of older materials, but built to really last and their shoulder bags are still among the best I’ve ever used.  Lowepro makes the most variety of bags and is a good place to look if your needs are very specific, if  you need something very specific, they probably have it!  Think Tank builds stuff that are as tough as well, a “tank”.  I’ve found them to be nearly indestructible and very well designed!  Guru Gear came onto the scene making very good bags, well thought out, made of quality materials and once again cleverly designed, and the new Uinta 30L is a winner.

 

 

 

 

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Don’t miss this!!!  The Nashville Event is really coming together with some incredible guests.  In addition to Jim Begley, Nick Coury, of course, Ricky Skaggs, and I, we will be joined by the the fantastic Pete Collins of KelbyOne, super pastor, and great guy, Scotty Smith, and my dear buddy, brother, and killer shooter Vinny Colucci!!!  This event will be limited to only a dozen students with this many leaders!!!!  This will be a wonderful event and we still have 5 spots available.

 

 

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Another super thing I’m loving about the Fuji X System.

While Fuji is working hard to bring a great series of lenses to the table, as of today, they still don’t have a long (200mm focal length) Macro lens, or a fast long conventional lens.  Because I love to shoot long lenses and Fuji doesn’t have any, I’ve found a great alternative!!  The Fuji system allows using manual focus lenses from any other camera systems via inexpensive lens adapters.  I happen to own a very large collection of classic, legendary sharp Nikkor glass and because the new Fuji X-T1 has a very novel, and extremely effective manual focusing system that allows very precise focusing, it works great!!!  So if your subject is not moving, and very few of mine are, the X-T1 works great on these lenses.  I’m currently using three lenses the most, the 200mm Micro Nikkor, the 300mm f 4.5 IF-ED, and the 400mm f 3.5 IF-ED.  Keep  in mind because of the 1.5 factor of the APS-C size sensor they are a 300mm Micro, 450mm and 600 mm all at their original f stops!!!  That makes the 400mm a 600mm f 3.5!!!!  Imagine a 600mm f 3.5!!!!!  Does it work?  Check these out, and decide for yourself.  ….and keep in mind I’m really not a bird shooter!  Of course  you’ll know that pretty soon!

 

The youngsters X-T1 400mm f 3.5

 

Here’s lookin’ at you Babe’  X-T1, 400mm f 3.5

 

Sleeping off a big meal….  Fuji X-T1, 400mm f 3.5

 

Long day for Mom,  XT-1,  400mm f 3.5

 

Fellow shooter.  Fuji X-T1, 400mm f 3.5

 

Dew Drops on grass – Great Smokies  –  XE-2  Nikkor 200mm Micro

 

 

Drops on leaves – Great Smokies – Nikkor 200mm Micro on Fuji X-E2

 

 

Stink bug, Great Smokies – Fuji X-E2 Nikkor 200mm Micro Nikkor

 

So, there is more than one way to skin a cat.  Isn’t this fun!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

 

I admit it, teaching is my favorite thing about photography!  David Wilson was the winner of the KelbyOne Day with Bill Fortney at Old Car City, (really?????!!!. that is called being a winner????!!!!) Well, anyway we had a great time, David was a very nice guy and we had fun kicking the tires and lighting the fires around OCC, no, we didn’t really start any fires, but we did have fun!  I showed David some of my favorite subjects, and he found some good ones himself.  Below is a sampli8ngh of his work for you to enjoy!

 

 

David was kind enough to write about his time with me in Old Car City;

 

On Friday, I was fortunate enough to be shooting with Bill Fortney at Old Car City (OCC) as well as being tutored by him.  The sky started out overcast and threatening rain making cool, soft light for cars sitting in the open.  Bill pointed out some of the good shots and told why he liked those shots.  Bill used his Fuji system to easily show what he was seeing and explain the concepts and how they applied to the subjects.  When I tried to get something different by getting a little different angle or I shot something that was quite different, Bill was encouraging the experimentation and tried a couple of the ideas.  For some shots, the experimenting produced interesting results.

 

 

Leaving the front area of OCC, we took the paths through cars and trees.  (I say cars but there are a number of small trucks in Old Car City as well.)  You can easily be overwhelmed by so many photo opportunities.  Here, Bill helped keep me focused on the good opportunities as we made our way to the Oil Can Truck and a low wall of stacked tires.  Later in the day, Bill allowed me to wander off to find some good shots.  Shortly, Bill caught up with me.  We shared the ideas and shots we had found.  While I was working the fender ornament on a ’59 Chevy Parkwood, Bill saw an interesting image presented by the open doors on the Parkwood.  We finished the day with Bill sending me out to find some interesting images.

 

 

At midday, we downloaded our images to laptops and looked through them.  Bill showed me his workflow for many of his blog images.  The few minutes he spent working on a couple of images for the blog was a great bonus.  I knew a little about the tools like Photoshop and the plug-ins.  Bill showed me how to quickly and effectively use those tools to spice up some images.  I’ve try to apply what I learned to a few of the Old Car City images I took with Bill and gave him to include with this post.  (I have a bunch of images still to work on.)

 

 

Shooting with Bill was great.  I learned huge amount about how to see subjects I have not shot before, I learned a bit about efficient workflow, I learned about Old Car City, and I got to know Bill.  It was fun to get to know Bill the photographer and educator and Bill the person.  

 

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I really love shooting with other folks and getting to see how they see they world, it re invigorates my own joy of being a shooter!  Retiring from Nikon has given me more time to go out an share my work, my philosophy and most importantly, my faith!  It has been a great journey, I hope I get to do it a little longer!

 

I will be at the Louisville Photographic Society meeting Wednesday night in Louisville at Outdoor Photo Gear.    @ 13305 Magisterial Dr.   Louisville, KY 40223