Antelope Island State Park – Two Cameras, Two Photographers

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Rainbow over Antelope Island. Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

One of my favorite places in northern Utah is Antelope Island State Park. It’s such a strange land! Antelope Island, which sits in the Great Salt Lake, seems like a world away from the Salt Lake City metro area, even though it is located very close to the city. Wildlife abounds, including buffalo, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, big horn sheep and many other animals. At one time the bison herd on Antelope Island was the largest in America. There are a huge variety of birds that migrate across the area. The water is often calm, and the reflections can be incredible. There are sandy beaches. There are trails that curve across the rugged landscape. There is a unique beauty to Antelope Island that draws me back. It’s one of my favorite places to photograph!

Antelope Island is also disgusting! There’s a certain “rotten egg” smell that can be found near the shores. There are tons and tons of bugs, including biting no-see-ums, brine flies (that cover the shore like a thick cloud), mosquitoes, tons of spiders (venomous and non-venomous), among other things. It’s pretty common to see dead birds. There’s plenty to love and hate about this place. I try to look beyond the gross to see the beauty. It is indeed an odd place, and one has to purposefully look beyond the negative aspects to truly appreciate it. I feel like it is a secret treasure that is easily overlooked.

My wife, Amanda, and I visited Antelope Island earlier this week. I brought my Fujifilm X100V, while she had her X-T20 with a Fujinon 10-24mm f/4 lens attached to it. For my pictures, I used my Kodak Tri-X 400 film simulation recipe for black-and-white and my Fujicolor Reala 100 film simulation recipe for color. I reprocessed in-camera a couple of the rainbow pictures using Velvia. Amanda had PRO Neg. Hi loaded into her camera, but she reprocessed most of her pictures using either Acros or Velvia.

Even though we used different cameras with different generation sensors, I thought that our pictures worked well together. I wanted to share them with you as a set. I found it interesting that for some images our vision was nearly identical, and for others we captured our pictures differently. Amanda did a great job, and it was a fun experience to go out and photograph with her. Antelope Island once again proved to be a great location for photography. Enjoy!

B&W

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Photo by Amanda Roesch with a Fujifilm X-T20 and 10-24mm.

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Photo by Amanda Roesch with a Fujifilm X-T20 and 10-24mm.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

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Photo by Amanda Roesch with a Fujifilm X-T20 and 10-24mm.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

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Photo by Amanda Roesch with a Fujifilm X-T20 and 10-24mm.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

Color

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Photo by Amanda Roesch with a Fujifilm X-T20 and 10-24mm.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

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Photo by Amanda Roesch with a Fujifilm X-T20 and 10-24mm.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

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Photo by Amanda Roesch with a Fujifilm X-T20 and 10-24mm.

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm X100V Black    Amazon   B&H
Fujifilm X100V Silver   Amazon   B&H
Fujifilm X-T20   Amazon   B&H
Fujinon 10-24mm f/4   Amazon   B&H

Fujifilm X-T30 vs Sony A6000 – A Camera Showdown With Vintage Glass

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch – Fujifilm X-T30 & Helios 44-2

My photography friend, Aaron Mashburn, and I recently went to Antelope Island State Park in Utah. He has a Sony A6000, and I have a Fujifilm X-T30. We both like to use vintage glass, and we both have several M42-mount lenses. We had the idea to go on a photography adventure and share lenses. I had the chance to borrow his glass and he had a chance to use mine, which worked out great. Our trip was a lot of fun!

This camera showdown–Fujifilm X-T30 vs. Sony A6000–is completely for amusement and nothing else. You will not find test charts, massive crops or a winner declared. We each like our cameras, both of which are good photographic tools, and we didn’t try to convince each other to switch brands. We had a good time, and it was great to see what we had captured. Interestingly, there were several pictures that were nearly identical, not because we were copying each other, but because we both happened to see the same thing. If there’s any lesson, it’s that vision is more important than gear, and most cameras are fully capable of fulfilling most photographer’s visions.

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch – Fujifilm X-T30 & Asahi Pentax Super-Takumar 50mm f/1.4

We each brought with us several lenses, but for the pictures in this article only three were used: Asahi Pentax Super-Takumar 50mm f/1.4, Asahi Pentax Auto-Takumar 55mm f/2.2, and Helios 44-2. We used other lenses, but none of those pictures were selected for this. All three of the lenses that I mentioned are great, but the 50mm f/1.4 really stands out as special. It has the “it” factor, for sure! The Helios 44-2 does magical things sometimes. The 55mm f/2.2 is consistently good. If there’s any winner to declare in this showdown, it would be the Asahi Pentax 50mm f/1.4 lens. This is a must-have vintage lens, in my opinion.

The pictures below are some examples of what we captured on our Antelope Island State Park photographic adventure. Even though different cameras and lenses were used, together these images tell a story. I hope that you enjoy the photographs from both cameras, as both cameras proved to be perfectly good for this purpose. I would like to give a special thank-you to Aaron for allowing me to use his pictures!

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch – Fujifilm X-T30 & Asahi Pentax Auto-Takumar 55mm f/2.2

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Photo by Aaron Mashburn – Sony A6000 & Asahi Pentax Auto-Takumar 55mm f/2.2

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch – Fujifilm X-T30 & Asahi Pentax Super-Takumar 50mm f/1.4

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Photo by Aaron Mashburn – Sony A6000 & Asahi Pentax Auto-Takumar 55mm f/2.2

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch – Fujifilm X-T30 & Asahi Pentax Super-Takumar 50mm f/1.4

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Photo by Aaron Mashburn – Sony A6000 & Asahi Pentax Auto-Takumar 55mm f/2.2

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch – Fujifilm X-T30 & Asahi Pentax Super-Takumar 50mm f/1.4

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Photo by Aaron Mashburn – Sony A6000 & Asahi Pentax Auto-Takumar 55mm f/2.2

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch – Fujifilm X-T30 & Helios 44-2

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Photo by Aaron Mashburn – Sony A6000 & Asahi Pentax Auto-Takumar 55mm f/2.2

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch – Fujifilm X-T30 & Helios 44-2

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Photo by Aaron Mashburn – Sony A6000 & Asahi Pentax Super-Takumar 50mm f/1.4

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Photo by Ritchie Roesch – Fujifilm X-T30 & Asahi Pentax Auto-Takumar 55mm f/2.2

What Is This?

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Captured on Antelope Island with a Fujifilm X-T20

A few days ago my wife and I visited one of our favorite places nearby: Antelope Island State Park. I captured a bunch of images, but one frame (and only one frame) showed something strange. I’m not sure what it is. There are some unusual dark vertical lines on the right side of the frame. Take a look at the photo above to see for yourself.

The camera I used was a Fujifilm X-T20 and the lens was the Fujinon 50-230mm zoom. It was near sunset and the hill at the bottom-right is hiding the low sun. There were some distant clouds and plenty of haze. Below are a few other pictures captured near this same location and near this same time.

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Distant Sailboats – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

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Frary Evening – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

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Rocky Bluff – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

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Buffalo Point Puddle – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

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Citrus Sky – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

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Low Sun Over The Salt Lake – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

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Afterglow – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

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Vibrant Salt Lake Glow – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

The weird lines only appear in that one frame, and I didn’t notice them when I made the exposure. It wasn’t until later when reviewing the pictures at home that I noticed the lines. I’m really unsure what it is. Was it how the light from the setting sun was interacting with the haze? Is it something with the camera’s sensor? The shutter? I guess I’m wondering if this was a natural phenomenon or a gear issue, and if it was a gear issue, what specifically happened to cause this.

Here’s a closer look at it:

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What do you think it is: natural or gear, and if gear, what caused it? Have you ever seen something like this in your photographs? I’d love to get your feedback!

Antelope Island by Amanda Roesch

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Photo by Amanda Roesch

My wife, Amanda, is as creative as she is talented. Her interest in photography is fairly recent. Since moving to Utah nearly three years ago, we’ve spent as much time as we can exploring the beautiful region. We’ve been to Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Grand Canyon and even lesser known places like the Bonneville Salt Flats, Sundance, and Mirror Lake, to name a few. There are so many amazing locations all around, and it’s been great to experience many of them in person. I think that this is one reason why she has developed an interest in photography. And because she is both creative and talented, she’s picked up on it pretty quickly.

One of our favorite places nearby is Antelope Island State Park in the Great Salt Lake. It’s a strangely beautiful location, and unique in many ways. We find ourselves out there fairly frequently. It’s a place we love to take a drive to, and when the weather is nice we like to go hiking. It’s great place to explore, and it seems to always offer interesting photographic opportunities.

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Photo by Amanda Roesch

Last week, while I was busy with other things, Amanda took our kids out to Antelope Island. It was a rare winter day where the weather was especially lovely. It was a great day for an outdoor adventure! They decided to hike the Buffalo Point Trail, and, being a super-mom, she managed to successfully get to the top and back with four kids, and they all had a great time. It’s wonderful that they had the opportunity to do this, and I’m sure the memories they created will last a long time.

Amanda brought with her on this adventure her Fujifilm X-T20 camera. While managing to keep the kids safe, which is not always an easy task, especially when it comes to our five-year-old son, she somehow also managed to photographically document their adventure. She made some really nice pictures! I was particularly proud of her photographs, so I wanted to share them with you.

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Photo by Amanda Roesch

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Photo by Amanda Roesch

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Photo by Amanda Roesch

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Photo by Amanda Roesch

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Photo by Amanda Roesch

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Photo by Amanda Roesch

Antelope Island State Park In B&W

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Brush Strokes Over The Great Salt Lake – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

The Great Salt Lake is the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River, the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere and the 33rd largest lake in the world. It’s massive! It can seem almost ocean-like, or perhaps more like a large ocean bay, but it is located far from any ocean. One difference between the Great Salt Lake and an ocean is that the lake is much saltier, and brine shrimp are the only thing alive in it. It is one of Utah’s natural wonders!

The largest island in the Great Salt Lake is Antelope Island, which is 15 miles long and five miles wide. The highest point, Frary Peak, is 6,594′, and is often snow-capped in the winter. It’s accessible by road via a causeway. Antelope Island is managed by the Utah State Park system.

Kit Carson and John C. Fremont, who visited Antelope Island in 1845, gave it its name after hunting pronghorn antelope on the island. Daddy Stump and Fielding Garr would build homes on Antelope Island over the next few years. This is a place that people have been coming to for a long time. In fact, there is evidence that native people have spent time on the island since at least the time of Christ.

Antelope Island seems like a world away from the Salt Lake City metro area, even though it is located very close to the city. It looks remote, and it must have been very remote before the road was built and the city grew. Interestingly enough, the oldest non-Native American structure in Utah is located on the island: an adobe ranch house built in 1848. The Fielding Garr Ranch was a working ranch from 1848 to 1981, and now the old ranch is open to the public for self-guided tours.

Wildlife abounds on Antelope Island, including buffalo, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, big horn sheep and many other animals. At one time the bison herd on Antelope Island was the largest in America. There are a huge variety of birds that migrate across the area.

The water is often calm and the reflections can be incredible. There are sandy beaches. There are trails that curve across the rugged landscape. There is a unique beauty to Antelope Island that draws me back. It’s one of my favorite places to photograph. But it’s also disgusting! There’s a certain “rotten egg” smell that can be found near the shores. There are tons and tons of bugs, including biting no-see-ums, brine flies (that cover the shore like a thick cloud), mosquitoes, tons of spiders (venomous and non-venomous), among other things. It’s pretty common to see dead birds. There’s plenty to love and hate about this place. I try to look beyond the gross to see the beauty.

Something interesting that I’ve discovered since moving to the Salt Lake City area almost three years ago is that most people who grew up in Utah don’t visit Antelope Island. Maybe they went on a school field trip as a kid, but they haven’t been back since. The majority of people you find on the island are from out-of-town. The locals who do visit are often those that moved to the area from someplace else. It’s too bad for those who don’t make the short trip to the island, because they’re really missing out!

Antelope Island is incredibly beautiful and tranquil. It is indeed odd, and one has to purposefully look beyond the negative aspects of the place to truly appreciate it. I feel like it is a secret treasure that is easily overlooked, and I feel honored to have found it and photographed it.

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Frary Fence – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

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Coming Storm – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-A3

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Island Beach View – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

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White Rock Bay Vista – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-A3

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Bush In The Crag – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-A3

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Clouds Over The Great Salt Lake – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

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White Rock Bay – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

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Land & Lake Layers – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

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Promontory Peninsula – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

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Sunlight Falling On The Salty Water – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

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Light Streaming Over Antelope Island – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-E1

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Wasatch Mountains From The Causeway – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-E1

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Frary Peak Reflected – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-E1

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Deer Statue – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-E1

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Old Salty Stump – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-E1

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Frozen Stump – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

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Ice, Lake & Mountains – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-E1

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Cracked Earth – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

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Buffalo Snow – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

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Bison In The Road – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-E1

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Area Closed For Bison – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-E1

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One Buffalo – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-A3

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Pulling Hard – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

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Park Patrol – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

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On The Fence – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

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State Park Workday – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

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Waiting Game – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

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Leather Gloves – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100F

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Circle Hashtag – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-E1

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Fielding Garr Ranch Fence – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-E1

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Empty Marina – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-E1

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Boys Playing In The Great Salt Lake – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-E1

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Pollution – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20