M-Photo | Field Notes

  The new Fuji Film XE4 with the 27 mm 2.8 just arrived from B&H Photo.  That is a tiny little lens!  The camera body is smaller than the XT3 and has fewer dials on the body.  It took me a little bit to get used to it, but the menus are all the same so it wasn't a stretch.  Erich got one too. I have been eyeing the X Pro 3 but it is very pricey, and it is considerably heavier than the XT3.  I like the retro rangefinder look and the new XE4 was priced right and is a great compromise.   Time to test the new gear on this beautiful sunny first day of spring.  The weather was fantastic and after that heavy snow storm last week, it was good to get outside for something other than shoveling the driveway (which we did 6 times).  We brought the new tiny pancake lenses and the 10-24 mm and the 16 mm.  Erich wants his own 10-24 mm now. Shooting with a 27 mm (41 mm equivalent) was definitely out of my comfort zone.  I prefer extra wide and this little baby is not wide. I did my best to sho

  We haven't seen much snow this winter and I think that last storm made up for it.  We received about 2 feet of snow over the weekend.  I can't say we made it outside too much except to shovel the driveway 6 times.  We had a 5 foot mound of snow on the front lawn and about the same in the back.   Since the Fuji XT3 with the big glass lives on the dining room table I was able to capture more House Finches in the backyard.  They are the cutest little guys! Camera: FujiFilm XT3 - 100-400mm

  Duck shoot today!  It was a beautiful 60 degree spring day at Lake Arbor in Arvada. I had heard rumors that there might be eagles at the lake.  The trees around the lake are not quite tall enough for nesting, they were probably spotted while on the hut for fish from nearby Standley Lake, that is where they are nesting.  I wasn't really expecting to see eagles, I just wanted to get outside and enjoy the nice weather. The ducks were paring up to mate and the geese were splashing about.  Nice little neighborhood lake!  Took the Fuji today with the 100-400 mm and shot handheld. I left the monopod in the truck.  It is cumbersome to use sometimes. I did manage to get the focus tracking working and that made it so much easier to stay focused on the ducks as they floated out of my frame.  I tried a few in-flight shots too. Total chaos, it can be challenging composing a shot in the air.  Plus, once I point the camera upward I can't find the birds!  I did manage to get lucky and captur

  Another trip out to Barr Lake and we finally saw the eagles!  We were on the path headed to the gazebo and two eagles flew over to the trees between us and the lake.  Luckily we were able to get close for a shot.  We did go to the rockery, but the eagles were too far even for the big glass.  We brought the mountain bikes this time and it really made getting farther out much quicker, plus since we have been sitting pretty much all day everyday, any exercise at this point is pretty exhausting! I definitely need a new seat for the mountain bike too! Camera: Fuji XT3 -100-400mm