Swimming holes and exploration
Summer is here, and with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Centigrade (that's 104 Fahrenheit for our American cousins) some days, we wanted to explore the Blue Mountains National Park. With shade from its trees and the prospect of taking our son paddling in the swimming holes, we headed out for Jellybean pool on a Saturday morning.To our joy, no-one else was there, and we had a couple of hours to ourselves, exploring and splashing around, and I had some time to try out the Fujinon XF60mmF2.4 Macro on my new X-E1. While most people seem to go for the XF35, the XF60 is a fantastic lens to have in my camera bag. The focal length meant I could stay far enough away from my son while he played that I didn't distract him (although the photo of him digging in the sand ended up in a major engineering project for us - I think he was trying to tunnel back to the UK). At wide apertures, the XF60 is able to separate the subject and background really nicely, and has almost Zeiss-like micro-contrast. It's also extremely sharp. I can see this doubling up as a nice portrait lens. As a macro lens, it performs very well, although it only does 1:2 magnification, rather than the 1:1 of most macro lenses. I was able to hand-hold these shots (and remember, there is no image stabilisation) perfectly well. So, this lens inevitably makes compromises to achieve all these things at the size and weight Fuji have managed to get this down to, but for the extra usability (and the ease with which I can carry it around), it trumps my Canon 100mm macro lens, hands down.Something else I learned - calling something Jellybean pool can lead to confectionary-related disappointment for a 4 year-old!
The Purple Carpet
The small size and weight of the FujiFilm X-system continues to change the nature of my photography. My XE-1 is always in my work bag now, affording me previously missed opportunities.The Jacaranda tree stands out with its beautiful pastel purple flowers. I'd never seen one before I came to Australia, but they have become my favourite, and I pass many on my morning walk to the railway station.There was a storm last night, and the wind shook the boughs, causing showers of the flowers to land on the ground underneath the trees. They form a purple carpet, and I am the first to walk through them.
Fare Thee Well, Edinburgh
Just before we left Scotland, I purchased an old Olympus OM-2N, keen to see if I would enjoy the simplicity of a film camera once again. As soon as I unpacked it, and held it, I knew it would be a joy to use. It felt solid, despite its small size, and loading in a roll of Kodak Ektar 100 and winding the film on brought back some wonderful memories. Click, click, click.What better way to try it out than in my final days in Scotland. We'd sold the car, so I was back to taking the train in, and walking through the city to the Mayfield area, where I worked. Past the familiar sights, sounds and smells that have accompanied me every working day for the previous six years.I had no time to get the film developed before I left. That small plastic canister has travelled with us to Canada and on to Australia, nestling in my luggage. I had no idea if the camera was still functional, or if the film would survive, until I finally found a shop in a local mall that could process and scan in an hour.It was all worth it, if only for the sense of anticipation that digital photography denies.
Of all the cities I have visited, Edinburgh is the one that calls me back.
Fare thee well my own true loveAnd farewell for a while.I’m going away, but I’ll be backIf I go ten thousand miles.Ten thousand miles, my own true love,Ten thousand miles or more,And the rocks may melt and the seas may burn,If I should not return.Oh don’t you see that lonesome dove,Sitting on an ivy tree,She’s weeping for her own true loveJust as I shall weep for mine.Oh come back my own true loveAnd stay a while with meFor if I had a friend all on this earth,You’ve been a friend to me.And fare thee well my own true loveAnd farewell for a while.I’m going away, but I’ll be backIf I go ten thousand miles.