Category Archives: Photography

Photography

Been There, Done That. Let’s Do It Again!

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Badlands National Park, South Dakota

I know this may seem like boasting, but Kathy & I had a very good year.  Kathy is the recordkeeper and spreadsheet queen around here, and by her count we were away from home for 125 nights during 2019.  The two questions we get asked most often by friends and neighbors are “how long are you home for?” and “where are you off to next?”  We love it!

Charlotte, NC
Harvey Firestone Park, Columbiana Ohio
Train station in Landrum, South Carolina

Yes, it has cost us some money, possibly more than our financial advisor thinks is prudent.  But I’m the financial guy and manage the flow of funds, and with the good year the markets have had I feel confident that we’ve done the right thing.  We didn’t retire to sit home and watch Jeopardy or Faux News.  We retired to spend time together and see the world.

So – no apologies.

Highlights of the past year:

  • 4 cruises for a total of 43 days
  • Added 18 new states, for a total of 32
  • Over 19,000 photos
  • Almost 20,000 car miles
Marigot, St Martin
Old Town, Fort Collins, Colorado

I admit that traveling over a third of the year might be overdoing it.  I suppose the reaction (or over-reaction) to retirement is normal and to be expected.  But having the time to do anything we want means we want to do everything!  Frankly, the biggest challenge has been keeping our weight under control because of all the eating out.  We essentially broke even for the year, which should probably be considered a win.  But we’re always looking for ways to manage that, since being able to sustain that amount of travel requires being healthy, and one of the best ways to be healthy is to maintain healthy eating and exercise routines while away from home.  We do great at home, but find old habits hard to break when we’re away.

Grenada
Clifton Hall Great House in Barbados

So, what’s in store for 2020?  We’ve got a few weeks scheduled in Florida in February, where we’re going to go “cruise ship hopping” and spend some time near the Everglades.  Sometime in April we’re going to head toward the Southwest to bag a few more states and explore Route 66.  We’ll be celebrating our 40th anniversary in October with a – what else? – cruise.  But there are a lot of empty spaces on the calendar which we’ll be filling in as we get closer.  The year is young!

Cherry Pocket Steak & Seafood Shak in Lake Wales, Florida
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

I’ve included a few of my favorite photos from 2019 in this post, and as I’ve been doing lately, I have added some more galleries to my Adobe Portfolio site.  This should cover most of the highlights from the year.  So stay tuned!  I think 2020 will turn out to be another interesting year.

Cleveland, Ohio
Bike rack shadows in Virginia Beach, Virginia
Costa Maya, Mexico
Cruz Bay in St John, USVI
Aboard Symphony of the Seas
Dale Chihuly glass ceiling in the tasting room at Maker’s Mark Distillery
Indian River Inlet Lifesaving Station Museum, Rehoboth Beach, DE
Waynesville, NC
Pool Deck on Celebrity Summit
Photography

Blurry Aspen 2.0

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Fall colors along the Poudre Canyon Road through Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests

Long-time readers of this blog may recall a series of Aspen motion-blur photos that I shot during our first visit to Colorado in June 2015.  Because it was springtime, the vertical trunks of the Aspen trees made for great subject matter when combined with the fresh spring green.

Fall colors along the Poudre Canyon Road through Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests

Since our most recent visit to Colorado was in the fall, I hoped to add to my Aspen Blur collection with some photos of trees with the golden yellow of fall.  A lot of the trees we saw in the first few days of our visit were on the mountainsides, too far away to effectively get the results I wanted.  On our final day, a drive through the Poudre Canyon with my pal Monte, we came across several excellent stands of trees.

Fall colors along the Poudre Canyon Road through Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests

It sometimes takes a lot of “misses” to come up with a handful of keepers.  In this case I shot a relatively light 200 photos, and came up with a few that I’m really happy with.  A couple have some really funky looks to them as a result of a happy accident or two.

Fall colors along the Poudre Canyon Road through Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests

I suppose the next step will be to get out there in the winter and make some photos of Aspen with snow.  I’m not sure I’m up for that yet, but it may make it on to the to-do list, you never know! 🙂

Fall colors along the Poudre Canyon Road through Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests
Photography

Maybe The Camera Just Doesn’t Matter That Much

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Locomotive used by the Great Smoky Mountains Railway in Bryson City, North Carolina

I was reading a recent post on Monte’s Blog in the context of a commercial print job I’m currently working on.  Monte was discussing how much he wanted a new Fuji lens (me too!) but indicated that his current cameras – 4 and 6 years old – still suited him fine, and he reminded us that all cameras still require a photographer to work.

I was recently contacted by a local restaurant owner about providing prints for their bar and dining rooms for an upcoming remodel.  I’m flattered that they asked me, and even more excited that it is one of our favorite restaurants.  And that they want 17 photos!  One of the things that interested me in the context of Monte’s post and the discussion about needing a “pro” camera for doing quality work is the breakdown of the cameras that were used for the photos we chose for this project:

  • Canon 5D  – 1
  • Canon 5D Mark III – 3
  • Canon Powershot G12 – 4
  • Fuji X-10 – 2
  • Fuji X-E2 – 1
  • Fuji X-T1 – 1
  • Medium Format Film Scan – 1

I wasn’t too surprised about the number of 5D shots, and I wasn’t at all surprised at the number of shots from the Fuji X-E2 and X-T1, my current cameras.  But I was quite surprised at 6 of the photos coming from two point & shoot cameras!  Maybe there is something to be said for ditching all of the interchangeable lens cameras and just buying a single, good, point & shoot camera!

I’ll share the photos later.  Or even better, photos of the photos once they are hung! 😉

Walkway leading to Everett Street in Bryson City, North Carolina

 

 

Photography

First Thing Is To Show Up

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Rural countryside in Larimer County, Colorado north of Fort Collins

While our friends, neighbors and relatives have been sweating out a late summer heat wave in Charlotte, here in Colorado Kathy & I have been treated to mid-70s temperatures with beautiful skies and low humidity.  We took full advantage on Thursday when we headed out into the countryside with our pal Monte Stevens.

When we headed out we had no idea what we were looking for or where we were going, but I think we found it!  Overall an extremely productive and rewarding effort.  Hoping to get into the high country and chase some fall color over the weekend before heading north to Montana, where it is supposed to snow.  Yikes!

Rural countryside in Larimer County, Colorado north of Fort Collins
Rural countryside in Larimer County, Colorado north of Fort Collins
Rural countryside in Larimer County, Colorado north of Fort Collins
Rural countryside in Larimer County, Colorado north of Fort Collins
Rural countryside in Larimer County, Colorado north of Fort Collins
Rural countryside in Larimer County, Colorado north of Fort Collins
Rural countryside in Larimer County, Colorado north of Fort Collins
Abandoned store in the rural countryside in Larimer County, Colorado north of Fort Collins
Rural countryside in Larimer County, Colorado north of Fort Collins
Rural countryside in Larimer County, Colorado north of Fort Collins
Rural countryside in Larimer County, Colorado north of Fort Collins
Photography

Water Abstracts from 2014

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Evening on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

I’ve been cleaning up some old folders and came across some abstracts from 2014 that I hadn’t processed.  Interesting what saw then, and what I see when I revisit old photos.

Evening on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Evening on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Evening on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Evening on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Evening on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Evening on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Evening on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Photography

A Weekend With a Fuji X-T3

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Roy Taylor Forest Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Milepost 433.3

For our recent visit to Waynesville I rented another camera – the Fuji X-T3.  It’s the latest version of my existing camera, the X-T1, and I wanted to see how it compares.  It was an interesting experiment, with mixed feelings.  The Folkmoot photos from my previous post were taken with that camera, and here are a few more.

Clouds and rising fog from Waterrock Knob Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway MP 451.2
Clouds and rising fog from Fork Ridge Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway MP 450.2
Clouds and rising fog on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waterrock Knob

All in all, the camera would be a worthy upgrade from the X-T1 if I happened to be in the market.  But I’m not.  The obvious reason would be cost, because in addition to the camera itself I would need to upgrade my memory cards, buy new batteries (my current batteries fit but have a lower power output so will supposedly not last as long), buy a new L-bracket and eventually – because of the 26MP files vs. my current 16MP – I would need to buy larger hard drives.  Sorry, that would cover the cost of a nice vacation!

Clouds and rising fog on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waterrock Knob
Roy Taylor Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesville, North Carolina

Another, albeit minor, negative would be the slightly larger size of the X-T3 body.  In my opinion the X-T1 borders between just right and a little large (weird to say since my initial impression 4 years ago was that it was tiny compared to the Canon 5D!).

Lake Junaluska, North Carolina
Oak Park Inn in Waynesville, North Carolina
Oak Park Inn in Waynesville, North Carolina

On the positive side, the files were quite nice, although I wasn’t blown away by a huge difference between the newer camera and mine.  There is definitely a slight improvement in detail, and I found that with files almost twice as large, zooming in to 50% instead of 100% is far enough.  Any closer than 100% just accentuates the flaws, and I don’t need to accentuate them any more, thank you!

Waynesville, North Carolina
Waynesville, North Carolina

The menus are a bit more complex, necessary due to the customization the camera allows.  But it wasn’t impossible to figure out, probably because I’m already used to the setup.  I liked being able to see blinking highlights in the viewfinder, which I can’t do with my current camera.  That’s not a big deal but it is helpful in certain situations.  The EVF is nice and bright, and contains all of the information found on the main screen.

Lake Junaluska, North Carolina
Waynesville, North Carolina

One of the things I should have paid more attention to is the ability to set different autofocus parameters based on specific shooting situations.  I tried tracking subjects in the parade but found a lot of missed shots because I didn’t have it set up correctly.  That’s not something I usually do, so I didn’t think about it until after the fact.

So, no new cameras for me – yet!  Although those new Canon point & shoots are due out any time…hmmmm! 😉

Waynesville, North Carolina