Tag Archives: Fujinon XF 55-200mm

Spending time with the birds

Today my family and I explored the National Aviary in Pittsburgh.  We had never been there and were pleasantly surprised at the many exhibits and hands on activities for kids.  Seeing as there would be brightly colored birds, I had to bring a camera bag.

My X-Pro2 along with the 18-55, 55-200, 12mm and the 56mm came along.  I ended up using the 55-200mm for most of the bird shooting, but the other lenses were used for various shots of the family and of the architecture.  Thankfully, since the Fuji system is relatively small and light weight, the camera bag wasn’t too heavy at all.

Portraits and Fast Cars

Since coming home from Panama, there hasn’t been much time for photography around my house.  Between work and other things, the camera has mostly stayed in the bag.  Once in a while I pulled it out for some quick portrait sessions.  With a few new babies in the extended family, I had some extra work.

Today was a chance to get out with some friends and hang out at the drag strip where some raced their cars.  Since I don’t own anything fast, I brought my camera.

My First Time at Twin Lakes Park

For as many years as I’ve lived in the area, I have never been to Twin Lakes Park in Greensburg, PA.  Thankfully, when setting up a time to shoot some portraits for friends, they suggested it as a great place to go.  They were right.  Two lakes (obviously), walking path’s, lots of tree’s, playgrounds and so much more provide a wide variety of posing opportunities.  I think I’ll have to go back and see what else there is.

The light was once again very nice from a slightly overcast sky and the sun already well on it’s way down.  To provide a bit of fill, I attached a Canon TTL cord to my Fuji X-T1 and had a Fuji EF-42 on the other end.  That sat in an umbrella mount with a 33″ white shoot through umbrella.  On the camera was the Fuji 55-200mm, so hand holding all of this was a challenge, but it worked out well.  I was able to move quickly without having to drag lightstands around and worry about the wind blowing over the umbrella’s.  I might try a slightly smaller softbox next time, as the 33″ umbrella was a bit unwieldy.  All in all, I’m quite happy with how it all turned out.