I’m sorry I’ve gone dark for so long!  I have been healing up and working hard in cardiac rehab, and it’s going well!  So thanks for your continued prayers!

 

Now down to business!  Top; I recently pick-up a SmallRig Mini LED light.  This little light is a perfect companion for your Close-up work.  At only $39. it is powerful enough to add just the little extra light to a  wonderful macro shot.  It comes with some really useful magnetic accessories and it is very useful!

 

 

This is a ratchet screwdriver and bit set is of incredible quality and for a tiny price!  The bits are magnetic and hold in fast and secure to the bolds and screws.   It is perfect for tightening down L brackets!

 

 

 

 

This is one of the best lens cleaning solutions out there and Jack was kind enough to send me three bottles!!!  That is a lifetime supply at any age, at my ripe old age, I will have to leave two in my will for someone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boy do I have great friends and brothers!  A year or so ago Jack Graham gave me one of these wonderful SmallRig tools and I can never remember to move it between camera bags….and then Carl Turner sent me one last week!  Now, thank you Carl,  I can always have one of  these great tools with me!  You can get yours on, you guessed it,  Amazon!

 

 

 

Another very thoughtful gift from Jack, this Synthetic Grease is perfect for the threads of your tripod legs, thanks Jack, thoughtful and very good stuff, yep amazon!

 

 

Newer & SmallRig both are making batteries for Fujifilm’s latest cameras and these can be charged with a regular USB-C.  I’ve only had mine for a short time and I can’t say how they will do, but I think they have real potential, I will be sure to let you know!  Big surprise: Amazon!

 

Blessings,

 

 

the pilgrim

 

 

Brick work, 18-55, 1/75th of a second at f 8 ISO 400.

 

I got out today after church to do a little more practice.  I shot some of my favorite local subjects, (so sorry you will have seen some o these before),  and addd a few new ones with twist, I shot everything hand held and limited myself to three lenses; 18-55, 80 Macro and the 70-300d all shot with the X-T5.

 

70mm-300mm at 70mm 1/00th of a second at f 4  ISO 800.

 

This is my local record store, my only record store, love the name of it and I enjoy browsing there,  though it is not usually filled with my kind of music, run by a nice young couple.  I’ve donated over a hundred CD’s for them to sell and help them keep the doors open, every town needs at least one record store!!

 

70-300 at 113mm  shot at 1/690th of a second at f 8  Iso 800.  I love the silver aluminum skin and how the 40 mega pixels of the X-T5 shows the texture so well.

 

 

70-300 at 122.5 mm  1/400th sec. at f 8 and ISO 800

 

This is the warehouse for the Alley Stuff store, I need to get into warehouse to see what they have I might photograph, love this junk sign! Below there other sign, same settings!

 

 

18-55  at 37mm at 1/210th sec. at f 8  ISO 400

 

18-55 at 37mm set to 16:9 format 1/250th sec at f 8 ISO 800

 

I call this house Jack’s Nightmare!   That needs an explanation! My teaching partner and dear brother Jack Graham went to Indiana University which once was a big rivalry with the University of Kentucky where I went.  Jack went wild when he saw this, since he is not very fond of UK.  I could care less but have fun teasing him about it!

 

I hope that was a little fun and a little education!

 

Blessings,

 

 

the pilgrim

 

 

It has been way to long since I got out to just shoot some images.  I was hopeful that I would find it all came back to me!  You can be the judge, but I had an enjoyable morning hitting some back roads around Corbin.  Sherelene had asked me to go to the local nursery to pick up some flowers for her to plant and I took the camera in hopes I might shoot a few close-up images!  On the way to the nursery, I saw the barn above and had to stop and shoot it!  X-T5 & the 16-80 zoom.

 

 

A short distance down the road,  I found the Keavy Grocery and liked the painting on the end of the building, I’m a sucker for painted brick walls!

 

 

When I arrived at the nursery and picked up the flowers I asked permission to poke around and shoot some images and, as always, they were fine with it, so my first stop was a small fountain where they had some lilly pads growing, I found the patterns really interesting, the one above was one of my favorites!  X-T5 and the 80mm Macro lens on a tripod or all of them, of course!

 

 

Another pattern just inches away from the last shot!

 

 

Before I left the miniature pond, I found a blooming flower and a sea of green, couldn’t pass it up!

 

 

A short walk away was a small display of cactus in small pots, I had to attempt them while I was there.

 

 

 

I’m not much of a flower photographer, but this one really caught my eye and then as I was headed to the car I saw the back lit leaf below and so I made that  my final shot!

 

Well I hope you enjoy them, I felt good for my first time with a camera in my hands in a couple of months, hopefully I will make more progress as I get out more!!!

 

Blessings,

 

 

the pilgrim

 

One last shot just for grins!  I stopped at  gas station to ask directions, I had changed roads so many times, and this fellow had a funny t-shirt, he allowed me to make a shot of it!  Enjoy!

 

 

Look at this image carefully and decide which of the two options are correct:

 

1.  This is an actual photograph of a homeless man.  Shot witth a Nikon D3, 70-300mm lens at f 8.
2.  This is a AI created image made when the following instructions were typed in to the I program:  “A photo realistic image 0f a  bearded older homeless man who resembles Ernest Hemingway.”

Answer in the comment section below, I will reveal the truth after I receive several guesses!

 

Blessings,

 

 

the pilgrim