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First Light in La Jolla

La Jolla has become one of my favorite places to shoot over the last couple of years. From the Scripps Pier to Seal Rock, there are plenty of interesting photographic opportunities to be found along this stretch of the California coast. During my most recent outing, I headed to Coast Boulevard Park to catch the sunrise and to photograph the rocky shoreline in the day's first light. I don't get to watch the sunrise as often as I like, so it's always a treat to watch the sky change colors as the sun begins to make its way over the horizon. Here are a set of long exposure images from my morning in La Jolla shot with the X-T1 and XF 18-55mm.

The Salk Institute

I've been wanting to photograph the Salk Institute for some time now. During a trip to La Jolla this past weekend, I finally got a chance to do so. Here are a few images of the courtyard shot using the X-T1 and XF 14mm. For the first three long exposure images, I used the Lee Seven5 system which I'm finding myself using more and more.

NYC Long Exposures with the Fujinon WCL-X100

Having rented the Fujinon WCL-X100 Wide Conversion Lens for our trip to New York, I thought I would use it for a few long exposures during an afternoon visit to the Dumbo area in Brooklyn. As the sun began to set, I set up the X100S, conversion lens, and a 10 stop ND filter to shoot the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. The good thing about the conversion lens is that the filter thread is the same size as the X100S. This meant that I didn't have to buy an additional step up ring to use my ND filter. The bad thing is that you need to tell the camera the lens is mounted to get the right Exif data. Not a huge deal, but I did find myself constantly forgetting to switch this setting on and off during our trip. Aside from that though, I have no complaints about the Wide Conversion Lens. My images shot using it were all plenty sharp and the wider angle of view, while subtle, really helped for capturing these iconic New York City bridges.

Brooklyn Bridge - 125 seconds at f/8

Brooklyn Bridge - 125 seconds at f/8

Manhattan Bridge - 58 seconds at f/11

Manhattan Bridge - 58 seconds at f/11

Brooklyn Bridge Sunset - 28 seconds at f/11

Brooklyn Bridge Sunset - 28 seconds at f/11

The Streets of New York City

We just returned from a four-day trip to New York City where we celebrated my sister-in-law's engagement. Since this trip was more about family and enjoying the city, I approached it a bit differently from a photography perspective. Instead of looking for grand cityscapes, I focused mostly on capturing details of the city. And instead of bringing all my gear, I packed the X100S and a Fujinon Wide Conversion Lens that I rented. While I was initially apprehensive about leaving the X-Pro1 behind, I was soon reminded of just how versatile the X100S is as a travel camera. Here are some of my favorite images captured while we explored the streets of New York City.

Red Rock Canyon and the Fujinon XF 23mm

Having read so many positive reviews about the Fujinon XF 23mm, I decided to rent it for a quick weekend trip to Las Vegas. Since we only planned to be there for 24 hours, I knew my opportunities to shoot with the XF 23mm would be limited. Nevertheless, I thought spending a couple days with this highly regarded lens would give me an idea of how using it would compare to shooting with my X100S.

Well, after spending the weekend with the XF 23mm, I must say that everything I've read about it is true. Optically, it really is a great lens. From my completely unscientific testing, sharpness, resolution, etc all appear to be excellent. On my X-Pro1, I found the focusing to be a tad slower than the XF 35mm, but not enough to make a difference for the subjects I normally photograph. The one issue I did have with the XF 23mm was that I found myself missing focus quite a bit when shooting at f/1.4. Much more so than with the XF 35mm. Since I didn't have an X-E2 to try this lens with, it's hard to know if the X-Pro1 was the problem. Regardless, I was thoroughly impressed with the lens and the images it produced.

As much as I liked the XF 23mm however, I just can't justify purchasing one right now. For my style of photography, my X100S works just as well and allows me to have a second body just in case my X-Pro1 acts up. With that, I'll leave you with a few images from our early Sunday morning drive through the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.