Scottsdale | FUJI X WEEKLY

Fujifilm Photowalk was a Success!

Posted on May 7, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

Captured on RitchieCam.

Yesterday’s Fuji X Weekly + Nuzira collaborative Fujifilm photowalk in Scottsdale, Arizona, was a huge success! Altogether, 16 people showed up, including myself and Lucas White of Nuzira. It was a great group of photographers, and I think everyone had a good time. Most were local to the Phoenix metro area, but three came from Ohio and one from South Dakota—they were in the area, and it just happened to work out that they could attend. It was such an honor to co-lead everyone through Old Town Scottsdale!

The weather cooperated wonderfully, but it didn’t initially seem like it was going to. May is typically a hot month—the average high temperature right now is 90° Fahrenheit; however, a cool-front passed through shortly before the photowalk, which kept it at a more reasonable 82° at the start, and 77° by the end. Because of the frontal system, the wind howled most of the day, and clouds covered the sky. Just as the photowalk was about to begin, the wind calmed and the clouds cleared, revealing endless blue. Really, it couldn’t have been better.

Most people had an X100-series camera, ranging from an X100T to the new X100VI. The other cameras I saw were an X-T100, X-T20, X-E4, X-S10, X-S20, X-Pro3, and X-T5. The camera I brought was my X100VI, which is perfect for walk-around photography. Lucas had a bag full of gear, which he graciously let anyone try out if they wanted. Fujifilm provided some stickers and pins to give away, and Sigma provided multi-use tools (screwdriver/wrench/bottle-opener, etc., combo) with their logo.

The Film Simulation Recipes that I used for the photowalk were Kodak Portra 400 v2, Kodachrome 64, Kodak Tri-X 400, and two upcoming Recipes that have not yet been published, one based on Nostalgic Neg. and the other on Reala Ace. As we were walking around, I was stopped by someone who recognized that I had a Fujifilm camera, but seemed only vaguely familiar. “I’ve heard about those,” he stated. “Can I see some of the pictures?” So I showed him the images I had just captured on the photowalk. “It’s just like the Reels!” He took note of the camera name, said “thanks” and walked away.

It was great to meet everyone who attended, and have some face-to-face conversations about Fujifilm gear, Film Simulation Recipes, and photography. Every time I looked around, I noticed that those in attendance were talking with each other; it was great to help facilitate community. Fujifilm cameras and Recipes seem to bring people together.

I want to give a big “thank you” to those who came out and joined us! I appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to meet up, chat, and photograph. I hope to see everyone again sometime in the future!

Free Fujifilm Photowalk is THIS Sunday!!

Posted on April 29, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

*Fujifilm X100VI — Kodak Tri-X 400 Film Simulation Recipe* *— Scottsdale, AZ*

Grab your Fujifilm camera and join myself and Lucas White of Nuzira THIS Sunday, May 5th, for a free photowalk in Scottsdale, Arizona! Meet us at the Arizona Canal South Bridge promenade near the Pinball Wizard Public Art display at 5:30 PM. Explore the blending of modern cosmopolitan with off-beat western heritage through pictures. There will be the potential for street/urban, architecture, automobile, and landscape photography. It will be an opportunity to meet fellow Fujifilm photographers, and to chat about Fujifilm gear, film simulations, and Film Simulation Recipes. We’re going to have lots of fun!

If you think you might attend, please RSVP by May 3rd (click here). If you are in the area, I really hope to meet you there!

Free Fujifilm Photowalk on May 5th (+ all the details)

Posted on April 24, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

Come join Ritchie Roesch of Fuji X Weekly and Lucas White of Nuzira on Sunday, May 5th, for an epic photowalk around Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona! Bring your Fujifilm gear to the Arizona Canal South Bridge promenade near the Pinball Wizard Public Art display at 5:30 PM. Explore the blending of modern cosmopolitan with off-beat western heritage through pictures. There will be the potential for street/urban, architecture, automobile, and landscape photography. It will be an opportunity to meet fellow Fujifilm photographers, and to chat about Fujifilm gear, film simulations, and Film Simulation Recipes. We’re going to have lots of fun!

Please RSVP by May 3rd so that we know how many are coming. Click here for more details and to RSVP. If you’re in the area, I hope to see you on May 5th from 5:30 to 7 PM for this Fujifilm-centric event! This photowalk is free, and family-friendly.

Free Fuji X Weekly Photowalk in Scottsdale

Posted on April 20, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

Join me on a free Fujifilm-centric photowalk on Sunday, May 5th, in Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona, at 5:30 PM. Explore the blending of modern cosmopolitan with off-beat western heritage through pictures. There will be the potential for street/urban, architecture, automobile, and landscape photography. It will be an opportunity to meet fellow Fujifilm photographers, and to chat about Fujifilm gear, film simulations, and Film Simulation Recipes.

Mark your calendars now! More details coming soon, so stay tuned.

Travel: McCormick Stillman Railroad Park, Scottsdale, AZ

Posted on November 29, 2019 by Ritchie Roesch

Ol’ Number 11 – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

Almost two years ago my family and I visited the McCormick Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale, Arizona, and I captured it with a Fujifilm X100F. The McCormick Stillman Railroad Park is one of the best city parks in America (it’s actually been ranked #1), and it truly is a neat place to go. If you are in Phoenix, Arizona, with your family, I highly recommend that you stop by this park. It’s especially magical around Christmas, as they elaborately decorate it for the holiday season. Last week my family and I returned to the McCormick Stillman Railroad Park, but this time I had a Fujifilm X-T30 and Fujinon 35mm f/2 lens to photograph the visit.

What I love about this park is that there’s something for everyone. There’s a large playground for the kids. There are barbecue grills and pavilions and large grassy areas to throw a ball or Frisbee. There’s a gift shop where you can buy ice cream in the summer and hot cocoa in the winter. There’s a museum. There’s a carousel. There are scale trains which you can ride that loop around the park. It’s both modern and historic. You can feel mindfulness and nostalgic simultaneously. It really is unique. And, of course, it can make an interesting subject for photography. I used my Kodachrome 64 film simulation recipe for most of these pictures.

Trains Boarding – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

Santa Fe Sun – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

Aguila – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

Happy Train Riders – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

Looking Back – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

P&P 42 – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

Train Rides Today – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

Little Trolley Rider – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

It’s Not Too Late – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

Fujifilm X100F, The Chronicle Camera (At McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park)

Posted on February 11, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Train Ride Through The Christmas Tunnel – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

There are many reasons to photograph. It might be because someone is paying you money to do so. It could be because you want to hang a pretty picture on your wall. Perhaps you want to share what you ate for lunch with your social network followers. Maybe you have a message you want to photographically convey. Or it might be because you are compelled to create art. There are any number of reasons to take a picture.

Ever since I purchased my Fujifilm X100F, I have found myself much more than ever before using the camera to chronicle my family and the adventures we have. I’m documenting us, the Roesch family. This is something I’ve always done, but never to the extent that I’ve done over the last six months. I’ve captured a heck-of-a-lot of family snapshots lately.

There are several reasons why I’m photographing my family more, and it comes down to gear. The X100F is the perfect chronicle camera. It’s small and lightweight enough to fit in my pocket, so I carry it around with me and it’s never in the way. The image quality is nothing short of fantastic. Many of the different film simulations are great for people pictures. The leaf shutter and built-in fill-flash are great for portraits. It produces wonderful pictures right out of the camera that don’t require editing, so I’m not bogged down with post-processing.

That last point is an important one. I used to spend hours and hours and hours sitting in front of a computer screen editing RAW files. That’s time spent away from family. My workflow was constantly backlogged. I found myself purposefully not capturing images because I knew that meant editing them, which required time that I didn’t have. In fact, I still have thousands of RAW exposures sitting on hard drives that I never got around to post-processing.

Joyful Johanna – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

With the X100F, I not only have more time to capture pictures, but I’m also not worried about the time that I would have to spend with each image after exposure. I click the shutter and the image is done. It’s ready to be uploaded to the web (which is where I backup my pictures). I’ve saved so much time, and I believe that this more than anything accounts for why I’m now taking more family snapshots.

Years from now these pictures will be worth more to my family and I than any of the other ones. These will be the cherished photographs. I have an old box of slides that my grandparents captured, mostly in the 1950’s and 1960’s. There are images of Yosemite and Yellowstone and such in that box, but the pictures that are most interesting are the family snapshots. Pictures of my dad and his siblings as young kids, or my grandparents when they were young adults, are particularly fascinating.

The photographs in this post are from our family trip to Arizona last Christmas. There’s a really neat place in Scottsdale called the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park, which is just an incredible place for any train enthusiast (and what kid isn’t a train enthusiast?). We spent an afternoon at the park, and these are the family snapshots that I captured. The kids had a blast! It was a really good couple of hours. Because I chronicled it with my camera–the adventure was documented–my kids and their future kids will have these treasured exposures. This will be meaningful to them.

The Fujifilm X100F is a great camera because, among other things, it makes family snapshots easy, producing excellent results without fuss. I’m so glad that I purchased it six months ago. I can’t wait to use it to chronicle the next family adventure, wherever and whenever that might be.