The Cats

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…Catskills that is. (My quick fix when I’m dying to get out in the mountains with my camera). From my house, to the Adirondacks is a long 340 miles. This place is an easy 180 miles and worth the 3.5 hour drive. I threw the sleeping bag in the back of the Outback and will most likely sleep at the Slide Mountain Trailhead Parking Lot. I hope that’s ok. This will be my first time sleeping inside the Outback and I’m stoked to see how it goes. My -20 bag is so thick and comfortable, I am already looking forward to sleeping!

1/250 sec, at f/4.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/125 sec at f/4.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

Return of the MACK

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Merry Christmas folks! Winter Storm Elliot swept across the states this week dropping the temperature down to 8° F this morning! Winter’s colder temperatures usually discourage me from getting outside and shooting. It’s usually just too cold for me to stay still making images. However, I’ve really been wanting to get out and shoot. Despite the cold temps, the morning light got me out of bed, into my long underwear and out the door. I’ve been meaning to take a walk down the tracks in my neighborhood to see what there is to see. I thought I’d return home with some boxcar photos but instead I found an old MACK truck and had fun shooting it! I really love it’s tomato soup tone and Fujifilm’s Classic Chrome film simulation is so fun to shoot in! What do you think?

1/320 sec at f/2.0, ISO 160, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

1/60 sec at f/3.2, ISO 250, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

1/150 sec at f/3.2, ISO 160, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

1/60 sec at f/4.0, ISO 320, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

Filter fun

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This morning I passed by Weaver’s Ice Cream Shop just outside of Williamsport, PA and had to double back for a few quick snowy snapshots. The image below was shot using the Fujifilm X100f’s built in MINIATURE filter, found in the Advanced tab within the Drive menu. This is a pretty gimmicky attempt at the type of image produced using a tilt shift lens and I find the linear blurring north and south of the image centerline to be quite limiting. Nevertheless, it’s fun to play with the filters, which are one of Fujifilm’s selling points. I love the built in film simulations and the ability to enter your own custom “recipes” to emulate the filmic look of your preference. It’s really making photography fun for me again.

Weaver’s Ice Cream & Pizza. 16635 US-15, Allenwood, PA 17810

The Javelin. ...Again.

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Again; the Javelin. This car is parked around the corner from my house, and I can’t seem to pass by it without snapping some images. Still, I seem to always leave this scene feeling a little frustrated with the way I’m framing my shots. Either I am realizing the constraints of using a 35mm focal length or I am just really not seeing an interesting/enticing angle. Nevertheless; here are a few more snaps from this misty, rainy morning. (Oh, and I’m ticking the box for today, on my daily photo posting challenge!)

1/240 sec at f/3.6, ISO 640, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

1/450 sec at f/4.0, ISO 640, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

1/340 sec at f/4.0, ISO 640, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

Animals

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It’s Day Two of my challenge to capture and post an image on my blog, every day. Look at me go. Again, I’ll submit two images. At the moment, it’s awful cold and rainy here in the Philly area. Really dark & gloomy out there. That can make for some interesting black & white photos, but I’m not too into shooting monochrome. However; the grocery store is always well lit and there are plenty of patterns, leading lines and bright colors.

1/60 sec at f/2.0, ISO 1600, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

1/850 sec, at f/2.0, ISO 640, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

"Stay gold Ponyboy"

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I am in love with the Classic Chrome film simulation in the Fujifilm X100v. Classic Chrome is one of the in-camera film simulations and is described as: Softer colors and enhanced shadow contrast for a calm look. I absolutely love this filmic look.

I took several shots through this fence this afternoon, before deciding I like this shot the best. I enjoyed experimenting with different depths of field and trying different compositions. And, in the end, I’m really happy with this image. I like the way it’s framed; the fence in the foreground; the golden wash over the image from the lower left. I even love the contrails in the sky.

1/3500 sec at f/4.0, ISO 640, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

Berries on a wire

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I decided to challenge myself to post one photo every day. Starting today. This is it. Here we go. Today I’m posting up these two images which I’m going to give my sister credit for naming: Berries on a wire.

The goal here is to get my creative juices flowing again. I feel like the wheels of this creative wagon have been stuck in a muddy rut for ages. Completely jammed up. No movement. Just rotting away.

Time to bust loose.

1/1400 sec at f/2.0, ISO 640, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

1/680 sec at f/2.0, ISO 640, 23mm, Fujifilm X100v

Stewart's Drive-In

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Passing through New Jersey, I stopped to take some photos of this iconic drive-in. Those classic colors really popped against the blue sky. Opening in 1947, Stewarts has been in business for over 75 years. They’re currently closed for the winter but will reopen in March and you can count on me stopping by again to support the business and enjoy a burger! This drive-in is not to be confused with the commercial chain of gas station and convenience stores; Stewart’s Shops (Which, as an upstate New Yorker, I also really dig).

Stewart’s Drive-In, located at: 4524 US-130, Burlington, NJ, United States, New Jersey. Visit their FaceBook page here.

Yeah, I’ll definitely be ordering a Root Beer with my meal. Stewart’s is famous for their homemade root beer floats!

Four.

Germany

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What a week. I flew to Germany on Monday and was back home on Thursday evening. I took my X100v with me in hopes of roaming the Christmas Market in Hannover and capturing some European holiday street scenes, but the weather during my very short stay did not cooperate. It was cold, grey and drizzly the entire duration of my visit. I did, however take a few snaps in the airports on my way across the pond and back. I am really loving the film simulations built into this Fujifilm camera! The below images were shot using either the Classic Neg or Classic Chrome simulations. I’m extremely happy with the results!

Exhausted, a member of the Lufthansa Flight Crew joins the rest of us on the bus after a long 7 hours flight from Philadelphia to Frankfurt.

Empty Seats in the downstairs gates at the Hannover Airport.

Aircraft being fueled and loaded for their flights at the Frankfurt Airport.

A Lufthansa Airbus moves past the end of Frankfurt’s Terminal C like a shark circling a reef.