Category: Fujifilm

The Camera You Have With You #1 – FujiFilm X-E4

Recently, I traveled to Portugal with a medium format film camera – the classic Mamiya Six – arguably one of the best analog medium-format film cameras in existence. But because it is a fairly large, heavy camera, and it’s not weather resistant, there were times when I left it in my room and fell back to a ‘lesser’ camera – my backup on the trip – The FujiFilm X-E4.

I put the word ‘lesser’ in quotes because I don’t believe that the Fuji is lesser than the Mamiya, rather than just different – like Buddy Elf being ‘special.’ As it turns out, even if he was a lousy toymaker, Buddy was pretty awesome in his own right.

Yes, the Fuji is less expensive than the Mamiya, and it’s not up to the potential image quality of the Mamiya in optimal light, but it is still a competent and capable tool and preferable to the Mamiya in low light, for rapid shooting, in bad weather, and if you are already loaded with a lot of other heavy stuff to carry around. In this instance, I needed to pull off a quick photo before Mrs. Doubtfire, (seen in the upper right window), moved out of frame. If I was shooting the Mamiya, I wouldn’t have had enough time framing and focusing before she would be gone.

A lot of camera snobs might look down at the inexpensive and tiny-but-mighty X-E4 and the kit lens I had on it for this shot, but I couldn’t be happier with the photo, specs and price be damned. Use the right tool for the job, and remember that the right tool is the camera that you have with you, be it medium format, crop format, or even a phone camera.

About this Photo: Camera: Fujifilm X-E4, Lens: FujiFilm 18-55mm f/2.8–4.0 R LM OIS. Location: Lisbon, Portugal.

The Russian Insanity Lens: Monkeys Made This

Okay, I admit it. I’m a total sucker for a nifty fifty. Subject separation with a wide, fast aperture makes me shiver. Dreamy highlights that look like fireflies in the background jiggle my puddin’ – so a couple years back, I decided to buy a Zenit Helios 58mm f/2 lens. I had seen them discussed on-line from time to time and some of the images from these lenses looked amazing. Most specifically, it was the out of focus areas that made me take notice. It seemed like the background swam with constellations of delicious, blurry boceh. I had to have one to see if I could warp the world with it.

The Helios Zenit was the perfect lens for its time and place. It was created in post-war Soviet Russia where crystal clarity was the last thing The Party wanted to give to the people. Instead they warped everything with propaganda, lies and disinformation. Where else would you expect to find a lens that will show you – not what was in front of you – but what the lens wanted you see? It was insidious, but in an artistic way, so again, I had to have one. And I named it my Russian Insanity Lens.

One of the cool things about these lenses is that they each had their own character, so the web posts said. I purchased mine online and found just what I was looking for. Since Soviet manufacturing standards in the 1950s were not exactly up to Japanese or West German standards, actually, I’m not sure if they were even up to Kindergarten Arts and Crafts class standards, I looked for a ‘Used Imperfect’ grade lens. Unfortunately that search didn’t bring me much on Ebay, but I did find a sketchy guy in the Ukraine who – after a few weeks of wondering if I had been scammed – sent me a lens that looked like it had been taken apart by the monkeys in the photo and put together backwards – the aperture ring actually did work backwards to the markings. But the package wasn’t even soggy from the transAtlantic crossing, so I figured it was a win.

With a the right adapter, I was able to mount the Helios on my beloved Nikon Z7ii, which is kind of like using hamster on a treadmill to power a space shuttle, but the focus ring still worked, and when I pushed the shutter button, the lens went click and a photo appeared on the display screen. So then, it was time to experiment. It seems multiple light points or spread out backgrounds are best for these lenses and the narrow field of vision make for some nice subject separations in strange environments. And this isn’t my only insanity lens. I also own a 7 Artisans 35mm f/0.95 lens – dubbed the Chinese Insanity Lens – that I use on Fuji X bodies for the same purpose as the Russian – to play with reality.

Look, if reality is going to be such a pain in the ass every day, why shouldn’t we mess with it?
Thanks for looking.

The Three Tenors

‘Even a fish would not get in trouble if it kept its’ mouth shut.’
– My Dad (Who once worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency.)

At the docks in Garibaldi, Oregon, after the fishing boats come in, I used a Fuji XT2 – the perfect travel system – to capture these stunning, back lit, dinner-to-be’s. In post-prod, I brought down the white heat at the top of the photo along with a touch of clarity to fill in some of the details.

It’s The Dead of Winter and Even the Flowers are Blue

This photo uses a north-facing window for a flattering, diffuse light source, a wide aperture for a narrow, dramatic field of focus, and high ISO for a textured grainy effect.

Still, the photo wasn’t quite depressing enough to match the weather, so I used Lightroom sliders to increase the shadows and clarity.