Scouting With Fuji | Southern Alberta Trek

Keeping it light

To think I was about to list my Fujinon 23mm ƒ1.4 lens for sale. What was I thinking? Thankfully an afternoon with my Fuji X-T1 and this lens reminded me what a perfect scouting lens this little guy is. It weighs practically nothing and takes up very little room slapped on the X-T1 and tucked safely in my Hadley Large. Add a couple Lexar cards, a  b+w 62mm circular polarizer, the wee Giottos rocket blower, a full tank of petrol and I was ready to roll! Sure the 23mm focal length isn’t ideal for some situations, but when I’m scouting – it’s just that, scouting. Typically in less than desirable light, often an afternoon or evening when I have a couple hours to spare. If I find myself needing a longer focal length, I’ll zoom in with my iPhone instead of dragging my Canon gear with me and make a mental note to bring a longer lens during the actual planned shoot. It’s all good. I now like to keep scouting sessions light if possible. However it’s not to say I wouldn’t consider taking more if the glass was right.

I found myself in Southern Alberta for an appointment and decided to take a few hours and knock around before I headed back home. The light was rubbish, but this is what afternoon light will typically bring you without a summer storm to shake things up. So whilst these images and the 77 more residing in Lightroom won’t be anything but blog and scouting materials, it was really good to be back in my old stomping grounds and all the wonderful things and memories from this area came flooding back, reminiscent of my time living in Calgary.

Only 3 problems presented themselves on this day: 1) bad timing = rubbish light; 2) never enough time, especially since I don’t live down south anymore; and 3) the several hundred flying bugs (read: flying golfballs) which ended up in the image below and numerous others. I stopped counting after 60 spot removals …not worth the effort for a scouting image, so there are probably many more I missed below, those little buggers.

All in all, it was a good day. Incredible landscapes everywhere I looked, a successful visit/meeting leaving me very inspired and ready to make some more art (thank you, Anna), a renewed appreciation and dare I say love – for the Fuji 23mm ƒ1.4 lens and a good drive down memory lane.

Back to Fuji for a moment … I only have 2 lenses for Fuji – the 23mm ƒ1.4 and the 10-24mm ƒ4, so another lens or two are definitely on the horizon at some point this year to fill in the focal length gap between Fuji and Canon. I’m interested in the 56mm ƒ2 and think it might make a decent landscape/scouting lens – especially in the national parks and/or rural areas. Possibly the 100-400mm ƒ4.5-5.6, but just that’s another heavy lens and pretty much why I try to keep the Canon at home whilst scouting. I’d have to be willing to photograph wildlife on a regular basis with Fuji to justify that purchase.

The amount of time most photographers spend talking about gear is almost comical, myself included, but I think most of us are just trying to find the right tools for the job.

I’m just waiting for Fujifilm to update their very dusty X-Mount lens roadmap to see what other glass would make for a good addition to my lineup. Update: As always, the rumours are flying.

Oh, and I thought of a 4th problem: I broke my $$$ sunglasses that day. Sad.

See you in the field!