Ritchie Roesch

For The Love of Fujifilm Acros Film Simulation

Posted on January 28, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Mount Nebo – Mona, UT – Fujifilm X100F

I really love the different film simulations available on my Fujifilm X100F. There is one that I like more than the others, and it’s Acros. The contrast, tonality and grain are simply beautiful, and Acros has a true film-like aesthetic.

I know, that’s been said so much that it’s almost cliche, and, besides, not everyone wants a film look. I appreciate the look of film and I like it much more than the digital aesthetic. I grew up on analog photography, I shot tons of 35mm and 120 film, and to me it’s how photography should look. Digital is far more convenient than film, so it can be hard to justify the hassle of film. The best of both worlds would be the convenience of digital with a film aesthetic.

I’ve been trying to get a film look from my digital files for awhile. I’ve used different software options, such as Alien Skin Exposure and Nik Silver Efex, which are both excellent, to achieve the look that I want. The Acros Film Simulation on my Fujifilm X100F is every bit as good (maybe better) as what I would get using either of those editing programs, and I get it straight out of the camera, no editing required.

One aspect of Acros that Fujifilm got especially right is the grain. Digital noise, which is the modern equivalent of film grain, doesn’t match the look of actual silver grain, and the aesthetic of it is far inferior (although X-Trans noise is better looking than most). Adding a layer of faux grain over top of an image can get you closer (and Alien Skin does a better job with this than anyone in my opinion), but it’s still not the same. The “grain” found in my Acros JPEGs more resembles actual film grain than anything else I’ve found in digital photography.

Apache Sky – Mountain Green, UT – Fujifilm X100F

If you were to scan actual film and compare it side-by-side to images captured with the Acros Film Simulation, you’d have a tough time identifying which is film and which is digital. Same thing if you printed from the film and from the digital file, and asked people to identify which is which. The Acros Film Simulation doesn’t look all that digital as it more closely resembles analog.

Images captured with Acros look beautiful. They look nice viewed from a distance and up close, on a computer screen or printed and hung on a wall. Even though the film simulation produces a JPEG file and not RAW, the results are what one would expect to achieve if they post-processed a RAW file. This isn’t typical camera-made JPEG stuff.

Great black-and-white results without hassle is what the Acros Film Simulation delivers. That’s the convenience of digital photography merged with the quality of film photography. I have two different settings, a “standard” Acros and a “push-process” Acros, that I frequently use, and they’re very good. The photographs in this article are examples of both that I’ve captured over the last several weeks.

I remember the “old days” of film photography. It was a slow process. Loading the film, using the entire roll before you could change it, rewinding it by hand, then all of the darkroom work–winding it onto a reel in complete darkness, baths in chemicals and water, drying, printing a contact sheet, then making prints. One print could take hours of work to get right. It wasn’t easy, but that’s the way it was, and the results made it worthwhile. Now, thanks to the X100F and Acros, I can achieve similar results with ease.

One Way Or Another – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Sanitary Sewer Surprise – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Palm Shadow – Las Vegas, NV – Fujifilm X100F

I-15 Overpass – Las Vegas, NV – Fujifilm X100F

Serious Coffee – Taylorsville, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Agave Drops – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Shelf Owls – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Hot Coffee – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Bird Bath – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Aunt & Niece – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Convenience & Quickness

Posted on January 27, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Cooking Tomatillos – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F – Astia

I mentioned last month that I sometimes photograph my wife’s culinary creations. Last night she boiled some tomatillos to make make chile verde, which was absolutely delicious! After she placed the tomatillos in a pot of water, she waved me over to show me how beautiful it looked. She saw the photographic potential, and, as soon as she shared it with me, I saw it, too.

The great thing about having a Fujifilm X100F is that it’s easy to grab and capture a beautiful picture without fuss. The camera does well in whatever situation I throw it in, and produces great results that don’t require any computer software. Cooking Tomatillos is a straight-out-of-camera high-ISO JPEG. It has a film-like aesthetic, yet it’s much better looking than if I had captured this image with actual 35mm film.

After capturing the image, I wirelessly uploaded it from my the camera to my phone, and then uploaded it from my phone to the internet. Within five minutes after making the exposure I could share it to whoever I wanted around the world. That’s amazing to me! Not just because technology allows one to share an image across the globe quickly, but that I can share a high-quality finished photograph quickly. Before I would have had to load the RAW file onto my computer and mess around with it for awhile in software before I would dare share it with anyone.

A couple of days ago I was out driving around and saw a white horse standing on the ridge of a hill. It just looked incredible–beautiful and majestic–and the landscape was bleak from winter. I wanted to capture it, and I knew my 10-year-old daughter, who is all about horses, would love the image, so I parked the car in the dirt along the road and got out.

White Stallion – Mountain Green, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Whenever I’m out and about I try to carry my X100F with me, whether I think that I might photograph something or not. I grabbed the camera and headed down a trail that got me a little closer to the horse. The hill was very muddy and I wasn’t able to get all that near the animal, so I used the Digital Teleconverter to “zoom” to 75mm. Click!

Unfortunately I had the film simulation set to Velvia, which was not the look that I wanted, and I didn’t realize this until after I snapped the picture. I was in too much of a hurry. It didn’t take me long to change to Acros, but by the time I did the horse had turned away and was beginning to leave. Not a big worry, I wirelessly uploaded the picture from the camera to my phone, then did a black-and-white conversion (with some other quick edits) using Snapseed, then uploaded it from my phone to the internet. The whole process only took a few minutes. And the JPEG file held up plenty well to the editing.

Because it’s small and lightweight and surprisingly versatile, the X100F makes images like these possible. I might have captured them if I had a DSLR instead, and I might not have. What I can tell you for sure is that I never would have had so quickly a finished picture ready to share. The files would likely still be sitting on an SD card in the camera, or perhaps in a folder on the computer waiting in line to be post-processed.

I was able to show my daughter White Stallion when I got home, and she loved it every bit as much as I thought she would. She wants to hang it on her bedroom wall. That’s what makes the X100F so good, and that’s why I own it.

Photoessay: Kolob Canyon, Zion National Park

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Kolob Canyon Road – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

In late December, just a couple days after Christmas, I had a chance to visit Kolob Canyon in Zion National Park. Zion is the sixth most visited national park in America and is the most visited national park in Utah. Kolob Canyon is a lesser known section of the park that’s isolated from the rest. We found a little snow on the ground from a storm the week before.

Access to Kolob Canyon is easy because it’s right off of Interstate 15 between St. George and Cedar City. A quick five-mile dead-end road curves through the scenic canyon. Because those on the freeway are just passing through and it’s a bit out of the way for those visiting the main part of the park, it just gets overlooked. It really is a hidden gem!

Kolob Canyon is full of impressive red-orange cliffs, finger canyons and sweeping vistas. It’s higher in elevation than the more-visited sections of Zion, so the landscape is little more green and a little less desert. It’s easy to see why this area was included in the national park, it’s just chocked full of natural beauty!

My short visit to the park was not during ideal light conditions for photography. The sky was a deep blue, but the sun was harsh and nearly overhead. My family and I arrived at 12:40 in the afternoon and we left about an hour-and-a-half later. Undeterred by the problematic light, I used my Fujifilm X100F to capture the grand sights that were before me. I used my wide-angle conversion lens for many of the exposures.

All of these photographs are camera-made JPEGs; however, I used Fujifilm’s X RAW Studio to process the RAW files (click the link if that statement is confusing to you). I used my Velvia Film Simulation recipe, but adjusted shadows to -1 and sometimes -2 because the shadows were harsh. I adjusted highlights to -2 in a few of the images, as well. In retrospect, I wonder if using DR400 would have worked better. Either way, I’m pretty happy with the results, all things considered.

Beatty Point – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Paria Point – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Paria & Beatty Points – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

The Zion Desert – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Timber Top Mountain – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Old Log In Zion – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Sunlight Over Shuntavi Butte – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Orange Cliffs – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Kolob Canyon In December – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Trees, Rocks, Canyons & Hanging Valleys – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

My Fujifilm X100F PRO Neg. Hi Film Simulation Recipe (Portraits)

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Jo – Sun City West, AZ – Fujifilm X100F – PRO Neg. Hi

I’m not a portrait photographer, although I have done some portrait photography. I’m not a wedding photographer, although I have done some wedding photography. Whether capturing pictures of people is the bread-and-butter of your photography or just something you do occasionally, you’ll likely want some go-to camera settings for these types of images.

I really like the way camera-made JPEGs look on my Fujifilm X100F. I use the different Film Simulations extensively. I have different recipes for different looks and situations. For people pictures in color, I frequently use Classic Chrome or Astia. Lately, though, I’ve been using PRO Neg. Hi much of the time for portraits.

Astia and PRO Neg. Hi are the two film simulations that are most similar to each other. Put them side-by-side and it can be difficult to tell which is which because the differences are so subtle. PRO Neg. Hi is slightly softer in the highlights and slightly harsher in the shadows. Also, Astia has just a bit more color saturation, and has a barely noticeable shift towards red. As far as I can tell they’re otherwise identical and basically interchangeable. I tend to use Astia more for non-people pictures and PRO Neg. Hi more for people pictures, although this isn’t a hard and fast rule.

I’m not 100% sure which film PRO Neg. Hi is supposed to simulate. It’s not an exact match for any. Sometimes I think it’s closer to Fujicolor Pro 160C and sometimes I think it’s closer to Fujichrome Provia 400X (note that the Provia Film Simulation does not match actual Provia film). Based on the name, my guess is that PRO Neg. Hi is supposed to simulate Fujicolor Pro 160C, but, according to my fading memory of shooting the film, it’s off by a little.

Ready To Party Like A Mother-In-Law – Sun City West, AZ – Fujifilm X100F – PRO Neg. Hi

It’s not all that important if PRO Neg. Hi is a perfect match to an actual film stock or not. It produces good results that are especially excellent for pictures of people. It has punchy colors and contrast (but not too punchy like Velvia) while still rendering appealing skin tones. It’s a good film simulation that you should try if you haven’t done so already.

One thing to note is that the shadow setting is very situation specific. I have found that -2 is sometimes better, 0 is sometimes better, but most often -1 is good. DR100 sometimes works better in low-contrast scenes, but DR200 is preferable in normal lighting conditions. For photographs without people, +2 or even +3 on color produces good results.

PRO Neg. Hi
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: -1
Shadow: -1
Color: +1
Noise Reduction: -3
Sharpening: +1
Grain Effect: Weak
White Balance: Auto
ISO: Auto up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +2/3 (typically)
Flash: On (typically)

Example photos, all camera-made JPEGs, of my PRO Neg. Hi Film Simulation recipe:

Happiness Is Holiday Family Fun – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F – PRO Neg. Hi

Christmas Cousins – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F – PRO Neg. Hi

Aunt, Great Aunt – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F – PRO Neg. Hi

Christmas Dinner – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F – PRO Neg. Hi

Happy Sisters – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F – PRO Neg. Hi

Three Sisters – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F – PRO Neg. Hi

Christmas Joy – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X100F – PRO Neg. Hi

Obverse Converse – Youngtown, AZ – Fujifilm X100F – PRO Neg. Hi

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Rumor: Fujifilm X-Trans IV Sensor Will Be Made By Samsung (Not Sony)

Posted on January 20, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Fujifilm X100F

I’m going to start a new rumor right here, right now regarding the next generation of Fujifilm X-Trans cameras, which will feature an X-Trans IV sensor that has “more than 24 MP but less than 30 MP.” This was reported by Fujirumors.com, which has a great track record of being right. The rumor that I’m putting out there is that Fujifilm X-Trans IV sensors will be made by Samsung, and not Sony.

There are a couple of reasons that I think this, and I’ll get into each below in just a moment. First I want to make it clear that I don’t know anyone at Fujifilm, Samsung or Sony and that I have no insider information whatsoever, I’m just speculating. This rumor is simply a guess. But I believe there might be some merit to it, and it makes logical sense. I could be completely wrong, though, so take it for what it’s worth. Time will tell.

If you don’t already know, Fujifilm X-Trans sensors are made by Sony with some custom specifications as directed by Fujifilm. Most importantly, it has a complex X-Trans color filter array instead of a common Bayer color filter array. Something that happened a couple years ago is that Sony stopped manufacturing their 16-megapixel APS-C sensor. For Fujifilm, that meant the end of the X-Trans II sensor, which Fuji wasn’t done with yet.

Going from a 16 to 24-megapixel sensor isn’t as simple of a task as it might sound. There are processor and programming issues, which aren’t too bad to conquer, but the big problem is heat. Specifically, X-Trans III sensors, which are 24 megapixel, put off a lot more heat than the 16 megapixel sensor. That’s been a challenge for Fujifilm, and it forced the (possible temporary) discontinuation of the X70 line, and plenty of complications with their other X-Trans III cameras.

I could be completely wrong, but I think Fujifilm is a little upset at Sony for abruptly discontinuing the 16-megapixel sensor. I don’t think Fujifilm was done with it when they were forced to use the 24-megapixel sensor. I believe that they had plans to use a 16-megapixel sensor in some of their cameras and a 24-megapixel sensor in others. I’m sure they see lost profit potential from it. If I were Fujifilm, you make the most of the cards you’re dealt (and they have), but you don’t forget the position that your competitor/business-partner (“frienemy”?) put you in.

Worth One Dollar – Oxnard, CA – Samsung NX200

When I read the report that the next X-Trans sensor was going to have more than 24-megapixels, my first thought was, “Oh, Sony must have made a new sensor!” I then got on the ol’ Google and tried to find information about it, but I found none. It may be that Sony is developing (or has already developed) a 26 or 28-megapixel APS-C sensor, but it’s not publicly known as far as I can tell if that’s the case. I’m leaning towards that they haven’t developed it, that they’re happy with 24-megapixels for APS-C.

Sony has a few competitors in the camera sensor market, but only a few. Samsung produces camera sensors, most notably for their cellphones. Canon makes their own sensors. Panasonic makes sensors. Sigma makes their Foveon sensors. Toshiba used to be a big name, but they were bought out by Sony a couple years ago. There are several small names that aren’t used by any of the big camera brands. Sony is the king of the castle as far as camera sensors go.

A forgotten camera line that wasn’t a big success, which came and went without making much noise, was Samsung’s NX line. I owned an NX camera several years ago. It was actually a pretty good camera! It certainly wasn’t perfect, but better than any mirrorless line made by Canon or Nikon.

Samsung abruptly discontinued the sale of these cameras a few years ago, pulling out of the interchangeable-lens camera business. I can think of two reasons why Samsung discontinued the NX line. First, mirrorless cameras were on the rise, but DSLRs were still the primary tool of choice for serious photographers (which is not necessarily the case anymore), so the market was limited. Second, creating a new brand to compete against the established names was a difficult task, one that proved to be too much trouble for Samsung. I think that they would have been successful had they stuck with it for a couple more years, but they didn’t have enough patience.

I figured at some point Samsung would sell their camera technologies to some other company (perhaps Nikon), but that hasn’t happened. They still own all of the NX line. It’s just sitting there, collecting dust. Samsung has seemed happy to focus on cellphone camera technology.

Wasp & Ant – Tehachapi, CA – Samsung NX200

My theory is that, after Sony cancelled the 16-megapixel sensor, Fujifilm began looking for alternative companies to manufacture the sensors for their future X-Trans cameras. Assuming that they shopped around, it makes sense that they had a meeting with Samsung. And Samsung may have said, “You know, we have this 28-megapixel sensor….”

The Samsung NX500 had a 28-megapixel APS-C sensor that was highly regarded but quickly off the market and soon forgotten. In fact, if you visit DxOMark, you’ll see that the 28-megapixel NX500 shares the top APS-C rating with the Nikon D7200 (DxOMark has never tested an X-Trans camera), and the D7200 has the same Sony sensor that’s found inside X-Trans III cameras (with X-Trans array on X-Trans and Bayer array on Nikon). It was a very good sensor, and I bet Samsung wouldn’t mind putting it back into production, giving themselves a chance to make money off of it.

There’s not a big difference in resolution between 24 and 28-megapixels. You would have a hard time even noticing. Still, when you have an APS-C line that’s competing against full-frame, that extra 4-megapixels can’t hurt. Obviously most people don’t need that much resolution, 24-megapixel sensors are overkill for 98% of photographers. And not all lenses can even resolve that much resolution on an APS-C camera anyway, although most Fujinon lenses can.

Where I think 28-megapixels might be appealing to Fujifilm is with regards to in-body image stabilization (IBIS). The only X-Trans camera that has IBIS is the soon-to-be-announced X-H1, which will be marketed primarily to videographers. With IBIS you have the potential to lose resolution at the outside edges of the sensor as it shifts around. A 28-megapixel sensor would ensure that you still have 24-megapixel resolution even with IBIS on. Don’t be surprised if IBIS becomes a standard feature on the upper-end X-Trans IV cameras, including the X-Pro3 and X-T3, and possibly the X-T30, X-E4 and X100V.

I can’t say for sure that the next generation of X-Trans sensors will be made by Samsung instead of Sony. I don’t know what kind of image quality difference it might make if it does happen. It’s an interesting theory, though, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens. Not that I’m in the market for a new camera, as I’m very happy with my Fujifilm X100F

Photoessay: B&W Cacti

Posted on January 14, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Barbs – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

One thing that I did on my Christmas visit to Arizona was photograph cacti. You can find cactus all over the place there. The spiky shrubs are common in Arizona landscaping, and a short walk into the desert will reveal even more. There are over 60 varieties of cactus that grow there. I only photographed a few different types, including Organ Pipe, Saguaro, Barbary Fig, Cholla, and a couple others that I couldn’t identify.

The ten photographs in this article are all camera-made JPEGs; however, I used X RAW Studio to process the RAW files (if you aren’t sure what X RAW Studio is, be sure to click the link), fine-tuning my Across Push-Process Film Simulation recipe. For most of these I increased the shadows to +4, and for some of them I reduced highlights to +3. I adjusted the exposure by 1/3 stop (either plus or minus) for a few of the pictures, as well.

I love the film-look that the Fujifilm X100F produces. A few years back I captured some cactus pictures in Arizona using a Minolta XG-1 and Kodak T-Max 400 film. What I get from the X100F using Acros and what I got back from the lab using the film gear are surprisingly similar. You can achieve film-like results with any digital camera using software, such as Nik Silver Efex or Alien Skin Exposure (both of which I’ve used extensively in the past), but with Fujifilm you can get it straight from the camera if you want.

People have told me, “I don’t get your fascination with film. I don’t like the film-look.” Different strokes for different folks. I personally don’t like pictures that look digital. I compare it to listening to an MP3 file versus an analog record. The MP3 will be more cold and clean, while the analog sound will have more warmth and character. Digital music is way more convenient, and that’s why it is so common.

Digital photography is way more convenient than analog photography, but that doesn’t necessarily make it better. I appreciate the characteristics of film, and the ability to achieve that look while enjoying the conveniences of digital is something I’m thrilled about. One thing I especially like about Fujifilm is that they maintain their analog soul in the digital age.

Cactus Needles – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Cactus Shrub – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Arms Up – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Old & Weathered – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Layers – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Minimal Protection – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Drama – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Finger Spikes – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Still Surviving – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Fujifilm X100F & Bokeh

Posted on January 13, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

The Bokeh Tree – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100F @ f/2.8

Let’s talk about bokeh on the Fujifilm X100F! Bokeh is an often discussed aspect of an image, and this is especially true over the last ten or fifteen years. If you aren’t sure exactly what bokeh is, don’t worry, you are not alone, and a lot of people misunderstand it. Bokeh is defined as the quality of the out-of-focus area of an image. It’s how well a lens renders blur, the aesthetics of it.

I don’t remember hearing the word bokeh spoken even once when I studied photography in college almost 20 years ago. It’s not that it didn’t exist, because obviously bokeh did exist, but it didn’t really matter. You either liked how a certain lens rendered blur or you didn’t, and few were trying to quantify it or rate it.

Christmas Joy – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X100F @ f/4

Today you’ll hear terms like “bokeh monster” when describing a lens and “bokeh master” when describing a person. People will say that a certain lens produces a lot of bokeh, which, frankly, doesn’t make any sense, because bokeh is defined by character and is not a measurement. You can’t have more bokeh or less bokeh. You can only have nice bokeh or ugly bokeh.

People confuse depth-of-field with bokeh, but they are two entirely different things. Depth-of-field is the amount of an image that is in focus, determined by the aperture, subject distance and non-subject distance, as well as the physical size of the sensor or film. A lot of people mean depth-of-field when they say bokeh, it’s a misunderstanding of terms. Depth-of-field is a mathematical calculation, while bokeh is subjective, and what one person might think is nice another might think is ugly.

Yellow Rose – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F @ f/4.5

To achieve an out-of-focus area within an image, one needs to use a large aperture or focus really close to the end of the lens or both, which will create a shallow depth-of-field. The Fujifilm X100F has a maximum aperture of f/2, which is plenty large enough to attain a shallow depth-of-field. You can attain blur with a much larger aperture, even f/16, if your subject is really close to the end of the lens.

The quality of the out-of-focus area, or bokeh, on the Fujifilm X100F is smooth, pleasant, relaxed, creamy, and otherwise how bokeh should be. I rate it as good, perhaps even great. I give it two thumbs up! Again, it’s subjective, and just because I like it doesn’t mean that you will. Perhaps you like bokeh with a little more character, such as a soap-bubble or swirly effect that some vintage lenses provide. The X100F has a rather bland bokeh, but that’s not a bad thing, just as bokeh with a lot of character may not be a good thing. It’s all what you like and dislike.

Evergreen Snow – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F @ f/5.6

I think rating bokeh is overrated. It’s something people on message boards talk about much too much. It doesn’t matter anywhere close to what some people would have you believe. The important thing is whether the blur is distracting or not. You don’t want bokeh to take the viewer’s eyes off of what’s important in an image, unless, perhaps, bokeh is what’s important to a particular image. And bokeh can’t be used to cover up something distracting in the background, because it’s just as distracting blurred as it is sharp.

You can have a great image with poor bokeh and a poor image with great bokeh. The quality of the bokeh has little to do with the outcome of a photograph. Since photographers often worry about insignificant things (while sometimes ignoring what is significant), especially on the internet, this is a topic that’s brought up over and over again. It’s worth discussing, but with the caveat that it is an extraordinarily tiny part of the big picture. Whether good or bad it’s not a big deal. In my opinion bokeh on the Fujifilm X100F is good, so take that for what it’s worth.

Arizona Bougainvillea – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X100F @ f/10

Better Curating

Posted on January 8, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Curtain Abstract – Mesquite, NV – Fujifilm X100F

I have a difficult time with curation. Frankly, I don’t curate well at all. I want to show all of my photographs. I’ll skip the bad ones (obviously), I’ll probably include a few mediocre ones, I’ll definitely share the good ones, and mixed within that will be the few great ones.

Great photographs don’t come around all that often. Ansel Adams stated that one great picture per month is a pretty good number. That was from one of the best photographers of all time who worked harder than most. I’m not going to capture a great photograph nearly as often as Ansel did, nor will it be as great.

Nowadays we are overwhelmed by images. There are more picture-takers now than ever before, and each picture-taker is taking more picture than ever before. And there are more means to get those pictures viewed by others than ever before. Everybody is sharing like mad on Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, etc., etc., etc., and we see so many pictures each day that we are almost numb to it. It seems like you have to do so much more to get noticed.

Bike Rack Shadow -Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100F

One problem is that so many of us are so terrible at curating our pictures. We post them all! We share on social media so many images. Good, bad or ugly, doesn’t matter. You snapped it so you share it. I’m just as guilty of this as everyone else. I’ve shown a number of awful pictures on social media. I’m downright embarrassed at some of the pictures that I’ve made public.

Yesterday’s post, Photoessay: 20 Fall Foliage Photographs, actually started out as 50 Fall Foliage Photographs. Yes, I was ready to publish a post containing 50 of my autumn photographs. I then realized that I desperately needed to curate it better. So I began to trim the ones that I knew were mediocre. I still had too many, so I cut out the ones that weren’t overtly autumn. I was closer, but I still had too many, so I cut out the worst of what remained. It was now at a much better number, down from 50 to 20. I don’t think any of them classify as “great” but I hope that all of them are at least good. I probably should have kept trimming until just the 10 best remained. Less is more is a good adage.

Sometimes (or, really, oftentimes) I have a hard time distinguishing which of my photographs are actually good and which ones are not. I put so much thought and care into each exposure, I have an emotional attachment to them. I’m biased towards my own pictures. I think that they’re better than they really are. I believe that this is a common problem.

The Company You Keep – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Time has a way of revealing which pictures are good and which ones are not. When I haven’t viewed an image for awhile, the emotional attachment fades. I can look back at my pictures from a year ago and much more easily separate the wheat from the chaff. Even more so for photographs that are two or three years old. I sometimes look at a picture and wonder how I ever thought it was any good.

My wife is good at distinguishing which photos are good and which ones aren’t. And she’s not afraid to tell me. I used to argue with her when she would tell me that one of my pictures that I really liked was no good. Later on I would realize that she was right and I was wrong, the picture wasn’t nearly as good as I thought it was. I think everyone needs someone in their life who can discern good from bad and is willing to speak the truth about it. I’m extremely fortunate to be married to that person.

The conclusion to this rambling is that everyone needs to become better curators of their own photographs. There are so many pictures that bombard us daily, and most of them are ignored because they’re not great. The world doesn’t need more pictures, it needs more great pictures. Quality instead of quantity. Show fewer pictures, but show better pictures. That’s a goal I have for this new year.

Ode To Early Mourning Walks

Posted on January 7, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Dasylirion Acrotriche – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

My wife and I had for months planned to take our four young kids to Arizona for Christmas. We wanted to briefly escape the Utah cold, and we wanted to spend time visiting family that live there, people that we don’t see nearly often enough. We packed up the car and made the long drive, encountering some rough weather along the way.

One of the very first things we did upon arrival was visit my grandma Esther who wasn’t doing well at all. We found her in much pain. It was a tough sight, very heart-wrenching. We were able to see her twice. I don’t know if she even really knew that I was there.

I got a call on the morning of December 24th, Christmas Eve. Grandma had passed away during the night.

I was glad that I got to see her one last time before she died. I’m glad that the intense pain she was experiencing was gone. But I couldn’t help feel a little pain inside of myself. I had a lot of different emotions floating around. It was difficult to think clearly. How were my kids going to react? It was not a good start to the holiday. I needed to clear my heart and mind. So I grabbed my camera and took a walk around the neighborhood.

Below is a poem I wrote inspired by that walk. It’s called Early Mourning Light. The photograph at the top, Dasylirion Acrotriche, was captured that morning. This is perhaps a bit unusual for a photography blog, but I found it to be therapeutic. Yes, a camera can be a part of the grieving process. I hope that you don’t mind me sharing it here.

Waves of energy cross the universe vast
Somehow find their way and shadows cast
Illuminating the world around and within
To my heart it beckons
Clean air for a clear mind
Memories I try hard to find
Did I express to you enough?
Or did I get wrapped up in pointless stuff?
A legacy you left behind
To a cruel world you were kind
Learning and teaching
To my heart always reaching

The camera in my hand
Taking in the light
The days disappear like sand
Forever beyond our sight
Time is a thief
Taking what we love
Leaving us with grief
Moments that I think of
Wishing it wasn’t so hazy
That I had captured it clear
But I was lazy
Now it’s too late I fear

Light is a gift of grace
Freely falling on everyone’s face
Illuminating our lives
When the moment arrives
Best to capture what you see
To augment our memory
Not just to say that we were there
But to show that we did care
Time is a treasure fleeting
While my heart is still beating
Photograph what I might
In the early mourning light

Photoessay: 20 Fall Foliage Photographs

Posted on January 7, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Fall Again – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Autumn officially ended a little over two weeks ago. It was a good season for fall foliage photography, with plenty of opportunities to capture the autumn colors. The leaves began to change in September here in Utah, and the leaves were still colorful when I visited Seattle in late November.

This was my first year photographing the season of change using my Fujifilm X100F. The camera is a great all-around photography tool, and (no surprise) it did just fine capturing autumn leaves. For these photographs I used Velvia, Astia, Classic Chrome and “Vintage Kodochrome” film simulations.

The 20 photographs below are some of my favorites that I captured this last autumn. I obviously made a lot more images than these, but the ones below are what I decided to share, they’re the ones that I like best. Even though winter has fully taken hold, I hope you enjoy these fall foliage photographs, and perhaps the bright colors will bring you a little unexpected warmth today.

Temple Square – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Zions Bank Building – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Leaf On The Windshield – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Country Leaves – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Leaf In The Stream – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Floating Yellow Leaves – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Fall Leaves, Wet Road – Richland, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Red Autumn Leaf – Uintah, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Golden Forest – Uintah, Utah – Fujifilm X100F

Autumn Forest Light – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Orange & Yellow – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Wasatch Dressed In Fall Colors – American Fork Canyon, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Timpanogos September – American Fork Canyon, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Alpine Autumn – American Fork Canyon, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Vibrant Forest – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Highway 158 Junction – Ogden Canyon, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Yellow Bush & Red Berries – Edmunds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Autumn Hike – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Forest Trail – Bonney Lake, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Road Through The Autumn Trees – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Futura – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

“Time keeps on slipping into the future,” Steve Miller sang. The book has officially closed on 2017 and 2018 has begun, just hours old. May it be a year filled with adventure and happiness!

I started the Fuji X Weekly blog on August 21, 2017, as an online journal for my (what was then new) Fujifilm X100F camera. That was just over four months ago.

This isn’t my first photography blog. I used to have a “general photography” blog, which I closed down earlier this year after seven years. It had some success, and even a viral post. But a few things happened that convinced me that it was time to give it up, that it had run its course, and to pull the plug.

Flat Tire – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

One issue is that my photographs and even my words were being stolen frequently. I discovered that people were posting my articles and pictures on their websites without permission, and sometimes even claiming that they were the author and photographer. I was working hard, only for others to profit from it by theft. Unfortunately you cannot prevent people from ripping off what you post online, but I’m hoping that I have better luck with this blog.

Another thing is that it was taking up too much of my time. I was posting a minimum of five articles a week, and more if I could. Now I’m posting much less frequently, with one article per week as my goal (that’s why I call it Fuji X Weekly), and, if I have spare time, well maybe I’ll write one or two more.

Also, I felt like I needed a change in direction. I was writing a lot of Fujifilm specific posts, but it wasn’t a Fujifilm blog. Prior to ending it, I had thought about renaming it more than once. In the end it made more sense to simply start over from scratch.

I was trying to make a profit from the old blog. I had Google Adsense advertisements placed strategically. You don’t make much money from that, Google keeps most of the profits for themselves. You get tiny little crumbs, basically. The ads you see on Fuji X Weekly are placed by WordPress, not me. If I paid WordPress money they’d turn them off. I might do that in the future because the advertisements are annoying. I apologize that you have to see them. I don’t make a single penny from them, but I do get free web hosting.

Classic Dash – Peoria, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Because I was trying to earn money from the old blog, I was promoting it whenever and however I could. I was constantly striving for attention and clicks. I’m taking the exact opposite approach with Fuji X Weekly, doing almost nothing to promote it (most of my friends and family are completely unaware that it even exists), and being content with however many people read it. I decided to write articles simply because I like to write. And I want to be helpful to others. Lots of people have been helpful to me over the years, many of them are strangers that have no clue who I am, and so I want to do the same, being a positive part of the photography continuum.

Interestingly, even though I have done so very little to promote Fuji X Weekly, it’s gaining steam quickly. People are finding it and reading it. I have three times more followers in four months than I had in seven years with my old blog. Fuji X Weekly had about 50% of the page views in December 2017 than I had in December 2016 with my old blog, which is incredible considering that it took many years to get to that point. If the trend continues, this blog will grow bigger by next year than the old blog did in seven years.

This is not to brag. It’s not about me. I’m not trying to gain anything out of this, except perhaps writing practice. I’m doing this for you and hopefully you find it beneficial. Whether Fuji X Weekly continues to grow in popularity or fizzles out to a small following, I will continue to publish articles once per week, or more if time permits. I appreciate you finding this blog and being a part of it by reading it. Thank you!

The Value of Prints & Quick Turnarounds

Posted on January 1, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Schwabacher Landing Beaver Dam – Grand Teton NP, WY – Fujifilm X-E1

More photographs were captured in 2017 than any year before. This has been the trend since photography began, and it will continue into the coming decades. More people are taking more pictures, especially since the inventions of digital photography and the cellphone camera. However, even though many more exposures are made today, fewer photographs are being printed. Digital photographs almost always are seen through a digital display. Most often they are viewed on small cellphone screens.

The problem with how we now view pictures is that they are quickly in and out of our minds. We see them for just a moment and then they’re quickly forgotten, rarely viewed again. Digital pictures are easily disposable. There’s nothing permanent or lasting about them. They are a dime-a-dozen, or, more accurately, a penny-a-gross. You are bombarded with digital imagery each day, and you barely pay attention anymore.

A physical print has more value because it is more permanent. You’ll look at it longer and more frequently. It gets hung on a wall, displayed proudly. It’s real and it’s rare. Maybe less people will see it, but those who do see it will admire it.

One thing that I did this year for Christmas gifts for family members was print photographs. I did not do this for everyone, of course, but for those who I thought might most appreciate it. I made canvas prints of places like the Grand Tetons and the central California coast. They’re beautiful photographs that I captured over the last couple of years, and they look especially nice printed large. These gifts were well received, with lots of excitement and gratitude by the recipients.

Ready To Party Like A Mother-In-Law – Sun City, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

I traveled to Arizona for Christmas to visit family and friends, including my mother-in-law and her three sisters. I was able to take some quick portraits of them on Christmas Eve. Because the camera I used, a Fujifilm X100F, takes great-looking camera-made JPEGs, I was able to have 10 of the exposures printed that same day. I didn’t need or use a computer or any editing software. I uploaded the images straight from my camera to my phone and then uploaded them from my phone to the lab through their website. About thirty minutes later they were ready. It was very quick and easy.

Target was open late on Christmas Eve, so I was able to purchase some picture frames. The prints looked quite nice framed, and at about midnight I had the gifts all finished. The next morning, Christmas Day, I was able to give my mother-in-law and her sisters their portraits printed and framed. They loved them! It was a highlight of the season for them, and they couldn’t stop talking about it.

It’s not the first time the quick turnaround of the X100F came in handy. I was hired a few months ago and the client needed the photographs immediately. I was paid a high premium for this service, double what I would otherwise charge (I was offered the amount by the client at the outset). As soon as I was done capturing the pictures, I connected my camera to the client’s laptop via a USB cable and transferred the straight-out-of-camera JPEGs, no post-processing done or needed. I got paid double to do half the work, and I thought that this is how all photography jobs should be. He contacted me twice afterwords to tell me just how happy he was with the photographs.

Time is money, as they say. Or, at least, your time and my time are valuable. I dislike spending hours and hours at a computer manipulating photographs. I appreciate all the hours Fujifilm has saved me by making cameras that produce great results without the need to fuss. I’m able to use my time for other, more important things.

Fujifilm X RAW Studio

Posted on December 31, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

Fujifilm recently launched X RAW Studio, which is a new RAW photo editing software with a twist. What’s unique is that it uses your Fujifilm camera’s built-in RAW editor to do the actual work. The program basically allows you to view and edit pictures on your computer monitor instead of the back of the camera, but you are still using the camera to post-process.

The latest firmware updates for X-Trans III cameras (plus the GFX-50S) allow you to pair the camera to the X RAW Studio software. For the X100F this was the “big” change with the 2.0 firmware update. If you don’t have the latest firmware update, you can’t use X RAW Studio. As of December 2017, X RAW Studio is only available for Mac, but a Windows version is slated to be released sometime in January of 2018.

To use the software, you must first go into the camera’s settings menu and, under the wrench, choose Connection Setting, then PC Connection Mode, and then USB RAW Conversion. If you don’t do that it won’t work. If you select the USB RAW Conversion setting and you normally upload your pictures to your computer using a USB cable, that will no longer work, so consider how you transfer your photos from your camera to your computer.

Speaking of transferring images from the camera to the computer, I thought that you could do this using X RAW Studio, but you cannot. Even though the camera is attached to the computer via a USB cable, you cannot transfer anything or even view the pictures. You have to transfer your images to the computer before you can use the software. If your files aren’t already on the computer X RAW Studio won’t be able to find them. It would be much more convenient if you could use the software to transfer files from the camera to the computer, and I hope a future update will allow this.

Old Log In Kolob Canyon – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

If your Fujifilm camera is set to RAW or RAW+JPEG, you can use X RAW Studio to edit the RAW files and convert them to JPEGs. The software sends the RAW file through the USB cable back to the camera (where it is processed) and then sends a finished JPEG to the computer. When using the GFX-50S, there is an option to save as TIFFs instead of JPEGs, but it’s only available for that one camera. It would be appreciated if a future update allowed the TIFF option no matter the camera.

The post-processing options that X RAW Studio provides are the exact same ones found on your camera’s built-in RAW converter. Using this software is the same as doing the RAW conversions on your camera. The only benefits are that you can see it on a large screen and you can batch edit. I like that there’s a histogram, and so you get a better idea of what exactly each adjustment is doing. But beyond that, there’s nothing particularly exciting about X RAW Studio.

I was hoping it was something that would give me the flexibility of fixing the occasional exposure that I didn’t get quite right in-camera while not slowing down my process too much. What I found is that it slowed me down a whole bunch, but I was able to fix some photographs that needed work because I screwed up when I captured them. So it was helpful in one aspect and not in another.

I think, for the RAW+JPEG shooter, the best way to use the software is to set aside the RAW files for the occasional pictures that need work, and then use it for those few pictures. If you’re sorting through hundreds of exposures, it’ll take much too long using X RAW Studio. It could simply supplement your current process from time-to-time when needed.

Nagunt Mesa Monochrome – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

If you are a RAW-only photographer, I don’t suspect you’ll find much use for this software because you probably paid money for something that’s much more capable. However, if you like the look of the different film simulations, perhaps you might find some use for it. If you are a JPEG-only shooter, this software does nothing for you.

I hope Fujifilm improves X RAW Studio in the future. Besides adding the ability to transfer photos from the camera to the computer with the software and the option to save-as TIFFs, I have a couple of other suggestions that would make it more useful. I think adding a Digital Teleconverter would be great. When you shoot RAW+JPEG you cannot use the camera’s built-in Digital Teleconverter, so having the option to use it in X RAW Studio would be very helpful. Another suggestion would be the ability to crop, even if it is the same simple crop option found in the camera.

Fujifilm’s X RAW Studio is a unique software for converting RAW files to JPEGs. I imagine that some people will find it useful and many will not. It’s brand new, and I think that some improvements are coming in the future, and if done right, it could be a nice tool. I suggest trying it and seeing what you think for yourself. Just keep your expectations low.

Old Log In Kolob Canyon was originally captured in-camera using my Velvia Film Simulation recipe, but, using X RAW Studio, I reprocessed the RAW file using my Vintage Kodachrome Film Simulation recipe. Nagunt Mesa Monochrome was originally captured using my Velvia Film Simulation recipe, but I reprocessed it using my Acros Push-Process Film Simulation recipe.

Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 24, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

Roesch Family Christmas 2017 – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Merry Christmas from Fuji X Weekly and the Roesch family! I hope this holiday finds you doing well and that all your wishes and dreams are realized. May your tree stay green and fresh until the new year dawns.

My gift to you is a prayer that you will be surrounded by love and peace this Christmas. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year, but when things aren’t going well it can seem especially bleak. The colorful lights, the carefully wrapped gifts under the tree, the classic carols on the radio, these things and more all point to a hope that exists. There is hope. There is always hope, and we must hold onto it tightly and never let go.

Hope brings joy, and joy comes in the morning. Each day begins anew, a clean slate, a fresh start. Make that phone call. Connect with friends and family. Don’t let this time slip away. There is indeed magic in the air. Offer your heart as a gift. Give your time. Give forgiveness. Be the blessing. Be the change. Be the joy.

Christmas is not about the gifts under the tree. It’s not about the stores filled with toys and the half-price sales. It’s never about getting things. Charlie Brown knew this, but it took Linus to explain what this season is about. An undeserved gift given in a humble fashion is what we celebrate. The message is simple: love is the greatest.

Jon, Josh, Joy Downtown – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Amanda, Johanna & I – Ogden, UT -Fujifilm X100F

Food Photography With A Fujifilm X100F

Posted on December 22, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

Scone & Coffee – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F

My wife, Amanda, likes to cook and bake. She’s pretty good at it. My kids and I are very fortunate, privileged really, to be able to taste her culinary creations on a regular basis. We are frequently treated to exceptionally tasty food. She’s routinely complimented by friends and family who have the opportunity to try something she’s made.

She hasn’t always been great in the kitchen. That’s not to say that she was bad, but simply that she’s made significant progress, striving for improvement, trying different ideas, and finding new techniques. She is constantly refining recipes. I guess the thing about Amanda is that she always gives 100% with whatever she does, so eventually, with practice, whatever it is will become great. Good isn’t good enough. It’s got to be great, and she will find a way to make it great.

I told her that she should publish a cookbook. She’s got a lot of simple yet great dishes and desserts that she makes that should be household staples across the country. I don’t know if that will ever happen, but it would be a great cookbook if she ever did write it.

I’m not one to snap pictures of whatever it is that I’m eating. But I have occasionally captured the food that my wife has cooked or is cooking. The Fujifilm X100F is an excellent tool for this job, always nearby ready to go and never in the way. I find that natural window light is best. As with any genre of photography, it comes down to light and storytelling. Tell an interesting story and do so in nice light and you’ll have a great picture.

Birthday Cake On A Plate – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Cilantro – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Tomatoes – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Apples – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Holiday Sugar Cookies – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Scone Dough – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Scone Cutting – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Icing On The Sweet Casserole – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Cinnamon Roll Casserole – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Fujifilm X100F Firmware Update 2.0

Posted on December 21, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

Fujifilm just released a brand new firmware update for the X100F. Nothing blockbuster in it, but it’s good to keep everything up to date, so I recommend downloading it when you have a chance. The biggest change is that it will allow you to use Fujifilm’s X Raw Studio software (currently only available for Mac).

Fujifilm X100F Noise Reduction & Sharpening

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

America First Building – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

The Fujifilm X100F has noticeably improved noise reduction and sharpening over the first generation X-Trans cameras. That’s to be expected and may seem like an obvious statement, but it’s important to note because neither were particularly great on the early models. I don’t think it was necessarily a “Fujifilm issue” so much as cameras in general don’t do a great job at those functions, and so many people use software on their computers instead. However, things are better on the X100F, and I let the camera do many things that I wouldn’t have in the past.

I’m not sure if you noticed, but on my early Film Simulation recipes, such as Classic Chrome and Acros, I set Noise Reduction to -2 and Sharpening to +2, while my newer recipes, such as Astia and Acros Push-Process, I set Noise Reduction to -3 and Sharpening to +1. Why the change? What difference does it make?

Noise reduction will make an image look cleaner, but at the expense of sharpness. Digital noise is kind of the modern equivalent of film grain, except that it’s much less aesthetically pleasing, and a lot of people don’t like it. Because of the way Fujifilm programs the X-Trans sensor, digital noise on the X100F (and other Fujifilm cameras) resembles film grain more than typical noise–it just looks better, more analog–and so I don’t mind it being visible in an image.

Johanna & Santa – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Sharpening, which (I believe) on the X100F is a combination of an unsharp mask and micro contrast (clarity), makes an image look more crisp, but at the expense of artifacts and occasional weird effects. Apply too little sharpening and an image will look soft, apply too much and an image will look strange.

Noise reduction and sharpening work together to determine how clean, sharp and detailed a digital photograph is or isn’t. There are compromises that must be made, and keeping things balanced can be tricky. It’s important to not under or over do it with either.

After playing around with the settings, I initially determined that -2 Noise Reduction and +2 Sharpening was ideal. Not too soft, not too noisy, and not too many artifacts and such. I felt like it was the Goldilocks settings. But after a few months of use, I’ve refined it just a little.

One thing that I noticed with the +2 Sharpening is an occasional “Lego Brick” effect on diagonal high-contrast lines. Sometimes I’ll see it, and then zoom in and it’s not there. That’s due to the resolution of the monitor that I’m viewing it on, and that’s not an image quality issue whatsoever. Other times I’ll see it, and when I zoom in the Lego effect remains. That’s due to over-sharpening, and it drives me nuts. American First Building has the Lego effect on the walkway railing just above the glass. I dislike it when my photographs look “digital” because it seems unnatural. I’ve yet to see the Lego effect when using +1 sharpening.

Johanna Out On The Town – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Something I’ve noticed with the -2 Noise Reduction is a very slight waxy skin effect at really high ISOs. This waxy skin effect has been a Fujifilm issue for awhile, and it’s not nearly as bad as it used to be (not even close), so they’ve made significant progress. However, it still rears it’s head occasionally, and a simple fix is -3 Noise Reduction. The trade off is that high-ISO images don’t look quite as clean, and I question if ISO 12800 is actually usable or not because of the amount of noise.

I don’t think there’s a huge difference between -2 Noise Reduction and +2 Sharpening and -3 Noise Reduction and +1 Sharpening. It’s very subtle, and the end results are nearly identical. When you make changes to these setting there are some compromises. There isn’t a “perfect” setting. There are positives and negatives to consider. The photograph above, Johanna Out On The Town, has a little more noise because of the -3 Noise Reduction, but the skin doesn’t look waxy.

Playing around with the settings, I find that -2 Noise Reduction combined with +1 Sharpening leaves an image looking slightly soft. I find that -3 Noise Reduction combined with +2 Sharpening seems to be too much. In the middle photograph, Johanna & Santa, the +2 Sharpening is a little too much when combined with -3 Noise Reduction (note, this photo received some minor post processing). I’m being picky, and you may find what works for you is a little different than what works for me.

While on this topic, something to note is that you cannot turn off Noise Reduction and Sharpening. Zero is just the default standard setting. Even at -4 the camera is applying a small amount of noise reduction and sharpening to the images. That’s the lowest setting, and it’s much too low, in my opinion, unless I was planning to do those things myself in post (in which case I would shoot RAW, and none of this would matter).

Road Trip: Seattle With A Fujifilm X100F – Part 6, Goin’ Home (Day 6 & 7)

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

Dock Remnants – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Before leaving town on our final day in Seattle, Washington, we visited one last beach, Picnic Point Park in Edmonds. This rocky beach had great views of Whidbey Island and the Puget Sound. It was a drizzly day, but for the most part the rain paused while we were there, and the sun briefly shined through the grey sky, exposing a beautiful but fleeting blue.

The kids combed the beach for seashells, unusual rocks and anything related to sea life. My wife and I took in the view, breathing in the moist Pacific air. This was going to be our last view of the ocean for awhile, and so we tried to make the moment last as long as we could. We had a great time at this spot.

It was bittersweet to leave, not just this beach but Seattle. The trip had been a lot of fun! It was great to relive old memories and make new ones. Washington is such a beautiful state. We wanted to stay longer, but it was time to go. We had a long day of driving ahead of us.

Umbrella Overpass – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Yellow Bush & Red Berries – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Driftwood – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Across Towards Whidbey Island – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Possession Point In The Distance – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Three Old Dock Posts – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Old Dock Post Remnants – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Kids Throwing Rocks – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Beach Combing – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Seashell Hunter – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Seashell Found – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Johanna’s Face – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Grey Day At The Beach – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Barnacle Heart – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

White Glove Art – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Coastal Tracks – Edmonds, WA – Fujifilm X100F

The drive across the state of Washington was long. It rained hard and then snowed crossing the mountain pass. It was mostly sunny on the west side of the state. We made good time by making minimal stops, only braking for gas, food and restrooms. The kids did surprisingly well, including the baby–they were all troopers. Our hotel was in Boise, Idaho, and we arrived very late, exhausted from the long trip.

Pumping Gas – Yakima, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Face On The Bathroom Wall – Pendleton, OR – Fujifilm X100F

We awoke the next day to wet weather in Idaho. We took our time leaving because we were no longer in a hurry. Some old friends of ours live in Boise, and we met up with them for a little while before beginning the last leg of our journey.

It was dark before we entered Utah and it was late when we got home. We appreciated that we took our time on this last day, and we didn’t feel so stressed upon arrival. It was good trip, but it was good to be home. It felt good to sleep in my own bed.

The photographs on these last two days were captured using a Fujifilm X100F, all camera-made JPEGs using my Acros Push-Process Film Simulation recipe and my Velvia Film Simulation recipe. I used my wide-angle conversion lens for some of the pictures. One fully charged battery lasted both days.

Three Leaves On Concrete – Boise, ID – Fujifilm X100F

Walk And Not Faint – Boise, ID – Fujifilm X100F

Corvair Corner – Boise, ID – Fujifilm X100F

Wet Parking Lot At Night – Twin Falls, ID – Fujifilm X100F

In the end, after seven days on the road, I captured 792 exposures, keeping 198 of them. That means I had a success rate of one in four, which is incredible! Many of those were personal family pictures, but still, I didn’t delete nearly as many pictures as with other cameras I’ve traveled with in the past. I shared 144 of those images with you in this series of posts. Perhaps I included too many photographs in each section, but I felt it was better to share too many than too few. I hope you enjoyed them!

The Fujifilm X100F proved to be a great travel camera, fitting into my pockets without a problem, never getting in the way, and always ready to capture in whatever environment I was in. The wet weather was no problem. The different light situations were no problem. I came home and had minimal post-processing–almost all of the images from this trip are straight-out-of-camera, no editing. A few needed some minor manipulation, but only a small handful of them.

Even better than the photography was the experience of the trip. People invest a lot of money in camera gear. I find it better to instead invest in experiences whenever possible. Don’t buy that new lens, but go someplace that you’ve never been and use what equipment you already have. Keep your gear simple and be content with it. You’ll be happier for it, I’m sure.

Road Trip: Seattle With Fujifilm X100F – Part 5, Bonney Lake & Tacoma (Day 5)

Posted on December 13, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

Mount Rainier From Bonney Lake – Bonney Lake, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

For the third full day in the Seattle, Washington, area we planned to explore south of downtown, roughly around Tacoma. After experiencing mostly good weather on the trip, this day saw lots of rain, which is typical weather for the time of year. After breakfast and coffee we got in the car and headed south.

We drove around for awhile, seeing the different suburbs and such. It was wet outside so we didn’t stop much. We found ourselves in the town of Bonney Lake, which is a community situated in the trees with great views of Mount Rainier. The rain briefly stopped, so we got out of the car and relaxed outdoors, just taking it all in. We found a little park for the kids to play and sat by a fire to keep warm, which was very nice. We made our way down a trail through the woods. It really reminded me of the things about the Pacific Northwest that I loved as a kid.

Forest Trail – Bonney Lake, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Five Yellow Leaves – Bonney Lake, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Johanna & Mommy – Bonney Lake, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Keeping Warm By The Fire – Bonney Lake, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Kids By The Fire – Bonney Lake, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Road To Mt. Rainier – Bonney Lake, WA – Fujifilm X100F

To Keep Us Warm – Bonney Lake, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Baby Lunchtime – Bonney Lake, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Salute Your Story – Bonney Lake, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Where The Fern Grows – Bonney Lake, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Mount Rainier Behind The Pines – Bonney Lake, WA – Fujifilm X100F

After awhile it was time to leave Bonney Lake and so we made our way to downtown Tacoma for lunch. As a kid I remember Tacoma being a bit of a rundown dump. We discovered that it’s not, but a delightful little city on the coast. I’m not sure if my memory was incorrect, or if they’ve really cleaned the place up. Whatever the case, Tacoma was a pleasant surprise.

We found a tasty restaurant in downtown Tacoma. We wanted to explore downtown, but the weather kept us from doing much. We did manage to walk around a little and see a few local stores.

We got back in the car and explored the area more. We motored across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (and back) and through the Point Defiance Park, but didn’t get out. It was just raining too much, and so we saw the sights by looking out the car’s windows.

The Harmon – Tacoma, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Bleach – Tacoma, WA – Fujifilm X100F

We hopped on a ferry boat and floated onto Vashon Island. I’d always heard great things about Vashon, that it was a beautiful place and a must-see for a visit to Seattle, and I’d never been. It was high on my agenda for this trip.

Unfortunately, the rain came down even harder and we didn’t get to see much. We found a country store and picked up some local jelly. We drove to the Point Robinson Lighthouse on Maury Island (which is connected to Vashon Island). Everyone kept dry in the car while I trudged down a muddy trail to get a picture.

It was beginning to get dark and dinnertime was approaching, so we floated on another ferry to Seattle. We had dinner at a restaurant that I ate at as a kid and remember liking. It tasted exactly as I remembered.

In retrospect, this day included too much driving and not enough fun. We should have explored less and maybe visited a museum. My wife and I agreed that this was the least enjoyable day of the three full days that we were there. Still, we did see some interesting things and there were some great moments. I came away with a few decent pictures.

All of these photographs are camera-made JPEGs from my Fujifilm X100F, using my Acros Push Process Film Simulation recipe, my Velvia Film Simulation recipe and my Classic Chrome Film Simulation recipe. One fully-charged battery lasted the whole day no problem. I left my wide-angle conversion lens at the hotel. Even though the X100F isn’t weather sealed, it got wet a number of times and survived just fine.

Point Robinson Lighthouse – Maury Island, WA – Fujifilm X100F

Part 6

FUJI X WEEKLY

Author: Ritchie Roesch