My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
First Tom did it, then Earl did it. So, I did it. I had to! Thought it would be wise to follow suit with two accomplished photographers. As many of you know I’ve been toying with upgrading for quite some time. Well, the time arrived. And, the camera and lens just arrived. Battery is charging. I’ll keep you informed as I get a better grasp on this upgrade. It was inevitable!
“Photography is not about cameras, gadgets and gizmos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn’t make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel.”Peter Adams
A few days ago Fujifilm announced the release of the pro Fujifilm X-T3 camera body and the new Fujifilm XF16-80mm f4.0 lens now in a kit. The lens is something I really want and will most likely buy in the future, but I really do not need the pro camera. However, in a very short time I was convincing myself I’d make better images with two new tools and my mind became totally occupied on working out a plan to justify the purchase of both. It took several hours of this mental masterbation before reality checked in and I knew that no lie could justify the purchase of both. Maybe I should post the above quote on my bathroom mirror to help me remember. Or, maybe I should sell my condo and buy the kit. Or, my car. I know, I’ll take out a second mortgage. Sell my oldest grandchild. Sigh!
Jay Maisel always says to bring your camera, ‘cause it’s tough to take a picture without it. Pursuant to the above aforementioned piece of the rule book, subset three, clause A, paragraph four would be…use the camera. Put it to your eye. You never know. There are lots of reasons, some of them even good, to just leave it on your shoulder or in your bag. Wrong lens. Wrong light. Aaahhh, it’s not that great, what am I gonna do with it anyway? I’ll have to put my coffee down. I’ll just delete it later, why bother? Lots of reasons not to take the dive into the eyepiece and once again try to sort out the world into an effective rectangle. It’s almost always worth it to take a look. – Joe McNally
My camera is a tool to capture moments of time, like someone enjoying morning coffee. My journal is a tool to slow down the chatter of the mind, a diary of the days events and an ongoing letter to the Divine. My books are a tool that provide seeds, where words take root within the soul. Prayer and contemplation are tools that allows me to stay quiet, resting in the Presence. These tools help in the transformation of the way I see and live in the world. And, I guess you can say coffee shops and mocha lattes are a tool. What are some of your tools?
Well Fujifilm did it again. Yesterday they announced the new Fujifilm X-T30. Of course this is the perfect camera for me and in a price range I can afford. And, we know it will make me a better photographer. 🙂 So, in my mind is a debate on whether to sell one of my grandchildren, my car or my condo, rob a bank, take out a second mortgage, buy another lottery ticket, and other insane ideas.
But, getting back to reality and sanity, I have to admit my Fujifilm X-E1 and my X-T10 are good cameras, functioning well, take excellent images (in spite of my sometimes ineptitude) and are paid for. So, the need to upgrade to this camera is not as much a priority as other pressing priorities in my photography and life. The truth is my next purchase needs to be upgrading my laptop. I’ve been talking about this for some time. It is 10 years old. This past week my laptop shutdown and rebooted and seems to runs slower each week. But the primary justification for a upgrading my laptop is knowing it will make me a better photographer by improving my post-processing skills. 🙂
So my insanity tells me to be a better photographer, with an empty wallet, I really should just buy both. Sigh! GAS
Cold. That pretty much describes the weather for the past week. We had a couple inches of snow on December 30 and with the cold it’s still on the ground.
Since I’m not a party person I was under the covers with a book by 9:00 pm on New Years Eve. However, I was up early on New Years day, put on a crockpot of chicken tortilla soup then met a longtime friend for coffee. Later in the afternoon, even though it was still cold, I ventured out for a walk with my camera. I might as well start my new year with camera in my hand. And, it’s the same camera as the past 3 years. Hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. And, stay warm!
While wandering around the backyard of my sisters I decided to take an image of this Rose of Sharon. After pressing the shutter buton I noticed a pause in the camera and a message in my EVF that said saving. This is not normal. So after some troubleshooting I discovered I’d somehow moved the drive dial to Adv1 setting. This had placed to camera into creating an image to duplicate a toy camera. I liked how they adjusted the image. So, by accident I found something I will use in some situations. This the untouched image it produced.