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
Old Town, Fort Collins, Colorado. The black stones are part of a public art installation titled “Confluence” by Lawrence Argent
One day when passing through the Oak Street Plaza Park in Fort Collins, I spotted the reflections that these umbrellas were making in the black stone and stopped to take a few photos. I didn’t spend enough time on this idea, but otherwise think I captured what I saw.
The black stones are part of a public art installation titled “Confluence” by Lawrence Argent. More public art!
Old Town, Fort Collins, Colorado. The black stones are part of a public art installation titled “Confluence” by Lawrence Argent
One our stops in Kansas was at the Oz Museum in Wamego. Kansas=Oz, right? It was a very well-done museum, with lots of movie and book memorabilia as well as displays documenting various scenes and characters in the movie. While I knew that the movie was based on a book by L. Frank Baum, I didn’t realize that the tale was actually comprised of a series of 14 books. Now I’m going to need to read them all!
As I’ve been doing, there are a few highlight photos here in this post, and anyone interested can see more at this link: Wizard of Oz Museum in Wamego, Kansas.
Wizard of Oz Museum in Wamego, KansasWizard of Oz Museum in Wamego, KansasWizard of Oz Museum in Wamego, KansasWizard of Oz Museum in Wamego, KansasWizard of Oz Museum in Wamego, Kansas
Kathy & I visited the Dream Car Museum in Evansville, Indiana on our recent jaunt through the Midwest. Here are a few photos from that visit. For anyone who wants to see even more car photos, I’ve added a gallery in Adobe Portfolio with an expanded selection.
Dream Car Museum in Evansville, IndianaDream Car Museum in Evansville, IndianaDream Car Museum in Evansville, IndianaDream Car Museum in Evansville, IndianaDream Car Museum in Evansville, IndianaDream Car Museum in Evansville, IndianaDream Car Museum in Evansville, IndianaDream Car Museum in Evansville, IndianaDream Car Museum in Evansville, IndianaDream Car Museum in Evansville, IndianaDream Car Museum in Evansville, Indiana
One of my favorite questions from friends and neighbors is “so, where are you off to next?” One of our neighbors is certain that we’re trying to spend all of our retirement dollars on vacations, but since we like having a place to come home to, we only spend part of it! 😉 I guess we’ve developed a well-earned reputation, and one that we’re just a bit proud of. 🙂
In a few days Kathy & I will be setting out to bag a few more states on our path toward 50. We’re looking forward to cooler temperatures and meeting up with some friends along the way. I plan to send “Postcards” from the road as we go, although they likely won’t be daily. Stay tuned!
The third “new” state on our recent DelMarVa excursion was New Jersey. We debated how to do New Jersey, realizing that the state is very diverse in terms of urban vs. rural, city vs. shore, crowded vs. not so crowded. At first we were thinking in terms of Atlantic City or Wildwood, but then we discovered (or remembered) Cape May.
Cape May, New JerseyCape May, New JerseyCape May, New JerseyCape May, New Jersey
While just barely in New Jersey, and the very southern tip of the peninsula, Cape May represented “enough” of New Jersey for us to say that we had visited. Nothing wrong with visiting the rest of the state, but we like to do things our way, and finding a town where we could park the car and leave it for a few days suits us. And Cape May fit that bill just fine.
Cape May, New JerseyCape May, New JerseyCape May, New Jersey
Cape May is recognized as the country’s oldest seaside resort, and the beach has been recognized by many “Top 10” lists, including the Travel Channel. Beach Avenue is lined with amazing homes – hilariously called “cottages” although they are often huge! – and hotels. Very little to no chain restaurants or hotels. They don’t even have a McDonald’s, a Starbucks or a Walmart! Our kind of place.
Cape May, New JerseyCape May, New JerseyCape May, New JerseyCape May, New JerseyCape May, New Jersey
Other than the fact that our hotel was full of families enjoying one last hurrah before school started, complete with loud, misbehaving children, we enjoyed our visit very much. The great part is that we spent most of our day walking around town while they were at the beach or the pool, and by the time we got back and showered for cocktails and dinner, all of the noisy families were headed off to dinner. Ahhhh!
Cape May, New JerseyCape May, New JerseyCape May, New JerseyCape May, New Jersey
Three days in New Jersey were plenty, we’re glad we went and glad to say we were there. And here are a few photos to prove it!
Sky and clouds reflected in cars on the Cape May ferry
Reflections of the sky and clouds in cars that I found while on the Cape May Ferry from Cape May, NJ to Lewes, DE. I was standing on the deck above the cars.
Sky and clouds reflected in cars on the Cape May ferrySky and clouds reflected in cars on the Cape May ferrySky and clouds reflected in cars on the Cape May ferry
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 CarolinaEvening on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaEvening on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaEvening on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaEvening on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaEvening on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaEvening on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
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 451.2Clouds and rising fog from Fork Ridge Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway MP 450.2Clouds 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 KnobRoy 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 CarolinaOak Park Inn in Waynesville, North CarolinaOak 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 CarolinaWaynesville, 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 CarolinaWaynesville, 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! 😉
