From the gazebo overlooking Washoe Valley, I shot this frame with the Fuji X-T1 and the Voigtlander 27mm f/2 at f/8 raw. I post-processed the image with Photolab 7 to look like Kodachrome 64.
When The Girl and I paused at the gazebo that overlooks Washoe Valley from the south yesterday, I made a few captures with the (now ancient) Fujifilm X-T1 and the Voigtlander 27mm f/2 manual focus lens (in X-Mount).
I really like this vantage point and should probably get up really early and hike it so I can catch some morning Sun just striking the valley floor. That would probably make it worth dragging the Pentax 645Nii and shooting some film.
While I stood there just taking in the scene, I thought how interesting it might be to bring a large format film camera to this location and make some captures on black and white film. With the proper filtration, the sky could be darkened to make the contrast pop. That would be best if there were a few clouds.
A couple of color frames might be interesting as well.
The Girl ignored my thoughts, of course, and focused on cooling down and her water bowl.
When I put away her bowl and stowed my camera, she jumped up, ready to continue the lizard hunt. We headed back down the hill, both satisfied and a little warm.
The Girl leading me down Deadman’s Creek Trail out at Washoe Lake State Park. Shot with Fujifilm X-T1, Voigtlander 27mm f/2 at f/8, and post-processed to a Tmax 400 film simulation using Nik Silver Efex Pro 6 and DXO Photolab 7.
After my physician’s appointment this morning, I decided to take The Girl out to Deadman’s Creek trail for our daily outing. It was not too hot (could have been on the south facing side of the climb) and I was surprised at the amount of vegetation growing along the creek and the coolness caused by said vegetation’s respiration. It was very cool, literally and figuratively.
The climbout tested me a bit and I was very watchful of the girl as there can be rattlesnakes there. It seems that previous traffic motivated the snakes to stay away from the trail, so The Girl had some fun chasing lizards and rodents while we hiked.
We paused at the gazebo overlook for a water break and for me to make a few captures of Washoe Lake and Slide Mountain. I finished the test roll in the Fujifilm Klasse and made a few more captures with the Fujifilm X-T1 and a lovely little Voigtlander 27mm f/2 lens. That X-T1 has been carried a lot and the body shows it. But the shutter does not have a high count because I shoot all of my cameras like I do film — deliberately.
I saw another hiker with two dogs depart the staging area, so decided to be watchful on our return trip. But, they took the cutoff (which is marked “Do not cut the trail“) and there was no canine encounter. I think that is just as well as they seemed pretty active and Sera would have loved to engage.
Maybe it would have been alright. I just never know until the dogs meet. Don’t start none; won’t be none.
As we reentered the cool of the vegetation along the creek (still water in it too, which she enjoyed), I noticed her waggle as she advanced down the trail. I made the capture.
When I arrived back home, got some stuff done, and then reviewed the images, the caption came to mind. We do wander quite a lot, The Girl and I. We are rarely lost, though. We simply like to wander.
My new-to-me Fujifilm Klasse. It is not the perfect point-and-shoot, but it is very good. Shot with Nikon D750 and micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 at f/5.6.
I am interested in some of the classic film cameras. The Fujifilm Klasse has been on my list for a few months, but finding one in decent condition at a reasonable price is a challenge.
For example, the Contax1 T2 or T3 is another interesting classic premium point-and-shoot camera. However, an influencer was seen using one and the price increased dramatically (and to stupid levels). They are bought by individuals with no knowledge of cameras (and probably photography) because a favorite content creator uses them. Meh!
OK, end of rant… I was able to snag a Klasse a few weeks ago at a reasonable price. It arrived in good physical condition and I am running a test roll through it as I write. There are a few more frames left on the roll before I send it in for processing and scanning. (I should finish the test roll today, then it will be on to another camera for a test roll.)
This is not a review2. I will likely write a review at a later date after spending time with the camera. What this article is about is the handling of this little camera as I have experienced it to date.
For me, this is a pocket camera. It will easily slip into a cargo pocket or a jacket pocket. It is small, sleek, and has a good complement of controls. It is also fully automatic if that is what you want.
Like most of them I looked at for sale, my instance has a tiny bit of wear on the back in the center, presumably from being worn on a strap and rubbing on the previous owner’s clothing. That is acceptable. It is not a new camera.
The tiny LCD display on the top panel provides a frame counter, flash status, and date readout when the camera is on. Lens f-stop and zone focus are set by dials on the top and front of the camera. The lens retracts into the body when the camera is off and extends when it is on. It is a lovely Fuji 38mm f/2.6 EBC lens. I am looking forward to the results of my first test roll to see if the glass lives up to the Fujifilm reputation for lenses. I expect it will.
The Klasse is one of my grail cameras. It is a premium point-and-shoot from a bygone era. I still shoot film and expect to continue shooting film as long as I can. In many ways, I prefer the look of film photographs to digital. I like the analog look.
It will be fun to run more film through this little camera. Like any fixed lens camera, there are many situations where the 38mm focal length will work well. However, there are others where I will want one of my interchangeable lens bodies (and a few lenses) in my bag. But the Klasse fits into my pocket.
There are four rolls of film on my desk waiting to be sent for processing. There will be another from the Klasse soon and another from the Nikon F2as shortly. Then they will go into the mail to be processed and scanned.
I am grateful. Life is good.
1Yes, Contax is not longer a German camera. It was bought by Kyocera long ago. It is still a good brand.
2I do not do technical reviews. There are a lot of those to be found on the Internet (easily searched) that have a lot of technical details about the cameras and lenses I use. I am more interested in the handling and aesthetic product of my cameras and lenses. Hence, I write reviews about those things.
A capture of Smurfette with the Fujifilm X-T1 and a Zhongyi 35mm f/0.95 lens. Post-processing in the iPhone 13 Pro Max using Snapseed.
I needed an image for my Project 365 this evening. The Fujifilm X-T1 with a Zhongyi 35mm f/0.95 manual focus lens was sitting on my desk. I picked it up and made the capture of Smurfette. She sits on my worktable, a toy I found lost or discarded in the backyard of my apartment. I am sure there is a story there. After washing her with a toothbrush and some detergent, I decided she needed a home and my place is as good as any.
It makes me think I should get out some of my Schleich toy animals and feature them on my desk, in rotation. They accompanied me on my walk-about after Wife died. I would get them out wherever I landed and put them on my desk for company when I worked.
The Girl and I had a good hike this morning. We went up in the mountains again. We were blessed with a bit of high clouds so the Sun was not so brutal.
When we got home, I visited with Older Son while I grilled a hamburger for lunch. Lunch was good, with the hamburger dressed with Pepperjack cheese, lettuce, a slice of red onion and some tomato, and spicy mustard. It was tasty.
I also finished the install of my Starlink system here at the house. I bought a Starlink late last year so I could have Internet service while traveling. This releases me from the desk because I can work anywhere. There is no reason to pay for landline Internet and Starlink, so I decommissioned the landline and access point/router, installed a wall pass-through for the Starlink cable, and added a Ethernet switch for the wired connections. I also terminated my ISP service and will return their equipment this week.
I am working on getting my workroom in order. I still need to clean the PC side of my workspace, strip and recycle the old tower, and transfer the 32-inch monitor to the new laptop computer. I can use the extra screen real estate for my work. I might start that process tomorrow.
Much of the week will be spent in the field surveying. I have some office work to do as well, which is good with the money I have been spending.
I am reading a set of E-zines I purchased from Sean Tucker, a UK-based photographer and writer who reminds me much of myself. Although, he does a lot more portraits than I do. But, much of his other work does remind me of my own photographic interests.
It was a good day. The Girl wants some of my attention, so I think it time to move to the sofa so she can snuggle. After I fed her, she started asking. Now she is waiting patiently on her bed under my worktable.
One of the stacks at Dixon Books in Fayetteville, AR. Shot with Fujifilm X100V 23mm f/2 at f/2.8 using the Tri-X film simulation.
My kids and I took a day trip down to Rogers and Fayetteville, Arkansas on Sunday. Despite the cold, winter day (but not as cold as it has been), we had a blast. We visited a Duluth Trading Company bricks and mortar store. There I bought The Girl a jacket for our cold outings (and to keep some of the rain off). I bought myself some gloves as those I have are insufficient when it gets this cold.
We drove into Fayetteville for a Mediterranean meal and the headed downtown to Dixon Books. I love used book stores and carried a camera inside with me.
Dixon Books is one of those rabbit-warren bookstores that has lots (and lots) of bookshelves and stacks of books with small aisles to traverse the stacks. I love it.
I carried the Fujifilm X100V in my hand and made many captures surreptitiously of other wanderers of the stacks. A couple of those might be worth sharing. I also carried the Nikon F2AS, but decided that it is a bit noisy for that environment. A quite rangefinder was just the trick. (The X100V is nearly silent.)
I did not buy any new books, not having a list with me. But, I hope there will be another (perhaps many) trips back to Fayetteville and the next visit I will have a list with me.
After the bookstore, there was coffee at Doomsday Coffee, just a couple of blocks away.
Smurette shot with the Fujifilm X-T5 and the Fujinon 60mm f/2.4 macro at f/2.8 using the Tri-X film simulation with red filtration.
Over the last few weeks I have been watching quite a few videos on YouTube about photographers and photography. A favorite channel is The Photographic Eye run by Alex Kilbee. His videos are all about learning photography and are top shelf.
In a recent video, Alex teaches against the notion that a photographer has to go somewhere, and particularly go somewhere exotic to find photographic material. He then talks about training the photographer’s eye, which is something that resonates with me.
Long, long ago, Wife and I were looking over some photographs that I made. She remarked to me “You see the world differently.” I admit that I was a little flattered at first. But, on further reflection, there was some truth in what she said.
I have referred to the book before, but Robert Foothorap’s book, 35mm Photography, was a favorite book — is a favorite book. It was written in a light, approachable tone and had plenty of his photographs. It is now old and out of print (sadly), but I consider it part of my education as a photographer. The other part being a more experienced amateur photographer who taught me a lot about the technical aspects of shooting and film. But, I digress.
Foothorap and my mentor taught me to look at things. After I bought my Argus-Cosina 35mm SLR, I carried it along quite a lot with a roll of Plus-X or Tri-X loaded. Although I did not always make the shot, I brought the camera to my eye many times to frame and focus the shot. That taught me to see what the camera saw, a bit of three-dimensional space smashed onto a two-dimensional surface (the film).
I learned that I could do the same without the camera… I was training my eyes to see like a photographer. And that brings the story around to what Wife said — I learned to look at the world a little differently.
Although I have had long periods when I was not actively making photographs, I retained that way of looking at the world around me. I remember any number of times looking at something and thinking, “That’s interesting. It might make a good photograph.” This year I started carrying a camera again, quote often. The Fujifilm X100V is an easy carry and makes good images.
But, that was a story-in-a-story… The outer story is about Kilbee’s admonition to look around and see what there is around you, there are many photographs to make if you take the time and energy to see. (And I paraphrase that, but he said as much.)
And so, I noticed Smurfette skating across the top of my multi-port hub. The Fujifilm X-T5 was handy and so was the Fujinon 60mm f/2.4 macro lens. I had a film simulation set and did not bother to change it. I rested my elbows on my desk and made the capture.
Alex Kilbee made a good suggestion. He also suggested an exercise to make 36 images of a subject. In the old days, that would be a 36-exposure roll of 35mm film. It is now just 36 actuations of the shutter of my digital camera. (No, I am not going to shoot film for this exercise.) This sounds like a good exercise to do a few times every week. It will have the side benefit of getting me out of my head and away from my work for an hour.
Captured with a Fujifilm X-E2 with the in-camera black and white, green filter simulation. The lens was the original 27mm f/2.8 wide open.
The little Fujifilm X-E2 has a tiny built-in flash. I was messing around with The Girl last night, so I popped up the little flash and made the capture. It looks very retro and I like it.
