Goodbye to Fujifilm
As I put the last strap of packing tape on the freshly store bought 12 x 12 x 14 box I’d picked-up earlier that day at lunch, I was taken back to a moment of afternoon summer reverie. For an instant, I was 25 again reveling my first new camera: a Canon Rebel XT and a 24mm lens. At the time, I ran the shipping department for an odd little store in downtown Portland that sold roof racks. My life was spent in boxes and tape dreaming of photographic adventures.
One hot summer week it arrived. My mid-year bonus had gone to pay for it and the B&H Logos on the strapping tape made me giddy. As a fellow shipping expert, it also made me a bit jealous. I remember my co-workers being aghast at how much I’d just spent at once, on cameras of all things. I knew it wasn’t going to be the last time.
Fast forward to 2024, and I found myself again amidst boxes and tape on a summer afternoon. This time, carefully wrapping up each lens in it’s own bubble wrap swaddle, and then shoving it into the box hoping to god it doesn’t bust open mid-shipment. I don’t ship nearly as much as I used to, but I still take a bit of pride in my ability to get things to their destination nicely. I feel like that’s how you respect both the equipment and the purchaser: take care of it like it’s worth a million dollars.
After about eight years of being a Fuji fanboy, it’s time to send those beautiful machines on to their next adventures. The X-T3 and 50-140mm will always remain one of my favorite camera+lens combinations, but I’m excited to see what nearly a decade of improvements in mirrorless technology have brought. On a sentimental side, it’s fun to now be part of the camera gear ecosystem, passing my used equipment down to the next user. Any time I get a vintage piece of equipment I like to imagine all the lives it has lived before me. I hope that my gear has lived an exciting life with me, and will go on to many more adventures.
Looking back over the years I’ve been lucky enough to shoot quite a few middle range consumer and pro-sumer grade cameras. It’s been fun, but it’s time for us to move on up in terms of digital real-estate. Nothing massive mind you, I’m not jumping to medium format yet. However, the full frame Nikon Z6iii has all the video features our X-T3 lacks, plus it has my all-time favorite feature: a flippy screen.
We’ll see how I get along with the Nikon, the last Nikon digital I shot was a D600 in 2016, and honestly the images blew me away. Hopefully, I’ll get the same tingly feeling from the Z6iii once it arrives.
Until then, maybe we’ll shot some film this weekend.
Sailing in Summer: A windy Saturday
I got a message recently asking whether, “if the storm warnings lift,” I’d like to come crew a small sailboat on the Columbia river for a short race. Now, when I hear someone ask if I want to come help race – my ears perk up. However, racing since I have almost zero experience as a sailor, I replied “Sure, as long as I can bring a camera and be ballast.”
For a moment it seemed as if the race was going to be cancelled, our planned afternoon sail turned into a booze-cruise, but then we all got a note that the race was back on. Winds were going to be strong, but we hit the water with the anticipation of competition.
I was the fourth person on the boat, sitting in the middle sloshing side to side at every tack. I also had the pleasure of being in charge of the boom vang and out haul. Which, for all their fancy sounding names are really just ropes. The key part of being in the hold, I had a nice vantage point of all the gents I sailed with.
Video from Saturday Sail
The three gentlemen who I joined on the boat are all much more experienced sea-hands than I. Cody and Matt have both been sailing for a number of years, and Scott – the owner of Deadbeat, the boat we are crewing – has been on the water his whole life.
I met these three over 15 years ago when we all worked at a store in Portland which sold and installed roof racks and sporting carriers for cars. Scott and I ran the inventory and online order fulfillment, Matt and Cody sold and installed everything in the store. We were all in our 20s, and making bad decisions on the daily – but at work we came together and solved problems and made someone else’s day better. A kind of millennial trauma bonding, in a pre-covid world.
So, you might ask: what happened with that storm warning?
Thankfully we didn’t get rained on, but as the afternoon progressed the winds kicked up. Watching the water start to turn white across the river is always kind of exciting for me. I love the feel of the boat bobbing to and fro, and even love feeling the wind pull the boat horizontal while we scramble up the high side to dangle our legs off the edge.
One of the things that became immediately clear to me: sailing is all about communication. Being open to correction, clearly stating your needs, and addressing the next challenge rather than contemplating your last decision. One things for sure – I won’t have to think twice about going out again when the invitation comes.
Thanks Scotty for the invite, and thanks to Cody and Matt for keeping me safe.
Color photos: Fuji X-T3 + 50-140/2.8
B&W photos: Ilford HP5 – Leica IIIa + Summaron 35/3.5