During my Aroostook County, Maine youth, the night sky treated me and other residents to expansive Milky Way—on many evenings filled with Aurora Borealis. Sanshiro Kubota captured their stunning spectacle from Jökulsárlón, Iceland, on Oct. […]
Category: Fuji
Flickr a Week 6: ‘Paris’
The week goes to Matteo Pezzi, for self-titled “Paris“. Juxtaposed subjects sharing something unexpectedly in common makes the moment. The modern woman using smartphone is passé, unsurprising. But the nun! Who represents what some people would regard as anachronistic!
Matteo describes himself as an “Italian nostalgic photographer, living in Strasbourg”. The street shot is “nostalgic” because of its composition, location, and subjects. He captured the image on Feb. 25, 2018, using Fujifilm X100F. Vitals: f/8, ISO 200, 1/180 sec, 23mm. Yesterday, Fuji announced the camera’s successor, the X100V, with larger sensor, updated fixed lens, and articulating rear LCD screen.
Flickr a Week 4a: ‘The Cow–Aberdeenshire, Scotland’
When curating photos for this series, two criteria matter: Creative Commons copyright and presenting a variety of different subjects and styles. Cuts can be brutal. All choices are subjective, of course, and not everyone will share my taste. I wonder what the reaction will be to self-titled “The Cow—Aberdeenshire, Scotland“, which Giuseppe Milo captured on Sept. 28, 2018, using Fujifilm X-Pro2 and Fujinon XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR lens. Vitals: f/9, ISO 400, 1/750 sec, 55mm.
The self-described “travel and street photographer”, who lives in Dublin, Ireland, joined Flickr in September 2012. He also is a programmer and web developer, as he explains on his personal site. His nature shot takes the Sunday spot for composition, color, contrast, use of light, and being interesting.
The Cats of University Heights: Glory
For Caturday, we correct a misidentification. With so many beasties that look similar—all-blacks, particularly—one can be mistaken for another. On Jan. 30, 2019, I captured a fresh portrait of Roadie; markings match previous photos perfectly. Nineteen days later, I snapped another, on a porch fairly close to the curb where she had been previously photographed. Given the proximity of time and location, and cursory examination of feline features, I presumed both shots represented the same animal.
Day before yesterday, I learned from the owner of Herbie, The Love Bug and Sparky that Roadie disappeared, presumably deceased, after losing weight and becoming feeble. In the Flickr caption to the 1-30-19 picture, I observed that she “looked considerably thinner than” when profiled eight months earlier. “I wonder why Roadie is skinnier now”. The Feb. 18, 2019 photo shows a much larger, healthy tabby, whose lower leg markings don’t match Roadie’s. I let my excitement seeing her somewhere other than the street and in better physical condition cause my judgement to stray. The later image is another animal.
The Cats of University Heights: Maceo
For reasons that must make sense to someone in city planning, a bike lane is in early stages of construction down Meade in my neighborhood going out to North Park. Traffic is rerouted from Alabama and Louisiana, as road crews work on some kind of traffic circle(s)—among several forthcoming “traffic calming measures”, according to project coordinators.
“The Georgia-Meade Bikeway will run along Georgia Street between Robinson Avenue and Howard Avenue, shift to Howard Avenue for one block, and continue on Florida Street to Meade Avenue”, explains the project page. “The bikeway will run along Meade Avenue between Park Boulevard and Fairmount Avenue”. Crews started digging up the intersection at Alabama around Christmas 2019 and are expected to continue working for six months locally. The entire thing is planned to be completed in 2022.
What does any of this have to do with our Caturday tabby?
The Cats of University Heights: Ranger
Perhaps two years ago (if not longer), I spotted this lush longhair sitting upon a roof. His owner said that he frequently goes there. Of course, I would forget his name, minutes after she told me. Even so, a really good portrait opportunity didn’t come until June 19, 2019, when, at 3:50 p.m. PDT, I captured the Featured Image using Fujifilm GFX 50R and Fujinon GF63mmF2.8 R WR lens. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/350 sec, 63mm.
I sometimes see the tabby roaming among houses along his street or crossing Monroe to visit Twilight. Six months of waiting, hoping to see his owner and ask again for a name, time is come to call him something and add his furriness to the series. Ranger is good moniker for now. BTW, he is second of two consecutive cats presented living on the same Campus Avenue block. The first: Kip. Happy Caturday!
Some Sigma fp Continuing First Impressions
I am not exactly loving Sigma fp with 45mm F2.8 DG DN | C kit lens. Steve Huff’s glowing hands-on review compelled me to buy the diminutive full-frame shooter and sell overly-large Fujifilm GFX 50R. The compact camera checked off many of the benefits I sought in replacing the Fuji medium-format beast—or so seemed the case based on his reactions, and a few other early adopters.
Steve’s January 2010 Leica X1 review inspired me to purchase that camera, too. Much as the image quality and manual controls appealed, the X1 didn’t work well for me, and I sold it six months later. In retrospect, I should have remembered mainly why: Backside LCD as primary means for framing and focusing subjects. I much prefer, really require, an integrated optical or digital viewfinder. In the bright San Diego sunlight, handling Sigma fp, I struggle to compose photos, like Leica X1. Manual dials are gone, as well, and they are greatly longed for.
The Cats of University Heights: Savvy
I first observed this beauty sometime in late February or early March 2019—and a fair number of times since but more frequently during the past month, when being accustomed to my presence she started approaching for pats as I walked by. On November 6, I carried along Fujifilm GFX 50R and Fujinon GF63mmF2.8 R WR lens, which I sold nine days ago. Vitals for the Featured Image, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/160 sec, 63mm; 8:40 a.m. PST.
Because she sits before a building’s street number, I won’t identify the street—for her safety and privacy of whomever the owner might be—other than that she lives somewhere on the West side of Park Blvd. (That’s a sizable number of possible apartments or homes. Don’t bother being a sleuth.) The frisky feline earns nickname Savvy for apparently being—and let’s hope that she is—street smart.
The Cats of University Heights: Dash
I can’t recall exactly where in the neighborhood lives this tabby. Maybe Madison, approaching The Point, but there is no record, which typically would be a phone photo to GPS-identify location. There isn’t one. The feisty, focused feline moved along too quickly pursuing something. Many months later, my memory fades. I do recall passing posting a profile, in hopes of a better portrait and identification (from collar and name tag). Waiting is over.
I captured the Featured Image (warning: 18MB file) on June 23, 2019 using Fujifilm GFX 50R and Fujinon GF63mmF2.8 R WR lens, which I sold last week. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/150 sec, 63mm; 12:19 p.m. PDT. The cat earns nickname Dash, for his (or her) speedy departure and chase—given the foliage and time of day, lizard likely.
The Cats of University Heights: Meadow
Happy Thanksgiving! Our series returns with a many months-old portrait that is outdated. The kitten is an adult now—still quite frisky, quick-footed, and playful enough that I can’t capture a moment better than this one. So here we are, near the end of November, presenting a Featured Image from Feb. 25, 2019.
The feline frolics around where can be found Blue, Blue Two, Chub, and Valentine. The kitty earns nickname Meadow, for the lush greenery that surrounds it. The photo comes from Fujifilm GFX 50R and Fujinon GF63mmF2.8 R WR lens, which I sold last week. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/105 sec, 63mm; 11:09 a.m. PST.
Hey, Let’s Throw Some Dirt Bikes in Back and Go Ridin’
For about a week last month, I passed by this truck parked on the adjacent street from our apartment. San Diego has a 72-hour limit for staying in one location, and the day I captured the Featured Image, the city’s parking patrol had placed a pink warning notice on the windshield. Since, the vehicle is off-street outside a nearby apartment building.
Vintage vehicles are quite common in Southern California, which sunny climate extends their potential lifespans compared to states like, say, Maine or Virginia, where harsh humidity or precipitation are aging elements. Consider this other long-lifer, a Rambler remembered with kitty Nelson from my “Cats of University Heights” series in December 2017. Months later, someone placed a “for sale” sign in the rear window. In another universe, an alternate version of me bought that classic.
Fly Away, Fujifilm GFX 50R
Yesterday, I sold my medium-format camera to a fascinating Millennial living in Oceanside, Calif., where we met at his family’s small business to complete the transaction, which included my receiving a 2020 wall calendar with illustrative photos that he had taken (oh, they’re impressive). Yep. My Fujifilm GFX 50R is gone.
I had considered letting go the digicam for some time, reluctantly. While the 50R’s image quality is magnificent, the massive camera and attached Fujinon GF63mmF2.8 R WR lens often scares off animals or intimidates people (e.g., I get suspicious reactions). Time had long-ago come to go discreet, for the street.