Fujfilm X-T1 ~ Late Night Photography, High ISO, Adverse Conditions and A Very Capable Little Camera

Recently I was invited to photograph The Final Voyage of The Kalakala Ferry.  The circumstances were daunting to say the least.  I would be traveling several miles on a 32 foot boat in one of the waterways in Commencement Bay, near Tacoma, Washington.  The assignment was to begin at 1:30 am and last through the night until around 6:30 am or so.  It was relatively cold, around 40 degrees F, but on the water it was a bit colder.  And it was raining, steady and continuously all night long.  If all that wasn't enough, it was dark.  Very dark.  Maybe a few lights reflecting from the shore here and there but mostly just dark.

The Kalakala moving through the
Hylebos Waterway.

My job was to shoot it as it was being moved by Tug to the Graveyard where it would meet it's demise and be dismantled and forever gone.  I was honored and felt privileged that I would be one of the last photographers to see her float.

But this entry isn't as much about The Kalakala as it is about the Fujifilm X-T1 and it's remarkable ability to perform under really bad conditions.  Cold, wet, windy, lots of movement and very dark.  I probably didn't need to be so surprised when I got home that morning and loaded my photos into Lightroom expecting them to be unusable, but instead finding them to be perfectly usable, but I was.

I had this little mirror-less, APSc sensor, camera handheld for about 5 hours.  Much of the time wrapped in a gallon size ziplock bag with a rubber band around the lens and frequently stuffing it into my coat.  The lens I had mounted was the Fujifilm 18-55 f2.8-4, otherwise know as the Kit lens.  A tripod would have been pretty much useless due to the vibration coming from the boat engine I was on and much of the time I was to far away for flash to be effective, and I don't like using that style of flash.

So my only option was to shoot this little Fuji at 6,400 Iso and to set a shutter speed that would, hopefully, allow me to shoot without too much motion blur.  When possible I did change the aperture but largely it was at f2.8.

The Tug, The Fury, pushing The Kalakala

Long story short, this camera is capable, very capable of performing under some difficult conditions. Are these images perfect?  No, not at all but they work.  This wasn't a professional scenario where big lights and crews were available.  This was a quiet, middle of the night, stealthy kind of project.

Getting on and off a boat in the dark, in the rain from a slippery pier can be a little tricky all by itself. Getting on and off a boat in the dark and in the rain with bags and bags of gear and a tripod would be a different story.  I had no bag, no tripod and used my pockets for all my extras.  One extra lens, batteries, extra SD cards, cleaning cloths etc, all fit nicely into my coat pockets.

In an earlier blog post I wrote about my switch to mirror-less and my choice to go with Fuji and I am still so happy I did.  I really enjoy shooting this camera and don't feel like I'm missing a thing not having my big DSLr.  I'm an amateur, I'm getting up in years (just a little) and lightening my load was important.  But not giving up image quality and performance was important as well.  I don't feel like I gave up either.  I know that a huge mega pixel DSLr will out preform my little X-T1 but for everything I do this has turned out to be the right camera for me.

The Kalakala at her The Graveyard, her final resting place.

More photos can be seen here; http://www.tomcollinsphotography.com/Maritime/The-Kalakala-Ferry

Thanks for following along.

Tom

Road Trip ~ Time for A Fall Mountain Road Trip with the Fuji XT-1

The Little Dude, my travel companion on this trip.

It's that awesome time of year in the Pacific Northwest when the trees turn and amazing colors explode in the midst of all the evergreens.

It's time for a three day road trip to check it out. Destination; Central and south central Cascade Mountains. Mount Adams and the Gifford Pinchot National Forrest. Pictures to follow.

O.k., I'm back and what a wonderful surprise it was to visit this part of the Washington Cascade range.  Not sure why but this was one area I haven't been to but I will be going back frequently.

This being a solo trip, except for the Little Dude, this was my first trip with the Fuji XT-1 and it's "kit lens" the Fuji 18-55mm / f2.8-4 and wow, what a perfect little setup to travel with.  Nice size, nice weight, easy to pack around on hikes and walks and just a blast to use with both an electronic view finder and a tilting LCD screen.

The trip begins at Randle, Washington at the intersection of State Highway 12 and National Forest Road 25.  After turning south on FR25 for a very short distance the next left puts you on FR23 and immediately

the beauty of the Gifford Pinchot Forest begins to unfold.  Fall travel through the Gifford Pinchot seems like the perfect time to go.  Quiet and peaceful.

My destination for the end of my first day was the small town of Trout Lake, Washington.  FR23 to Trout Lake is 56 miles and by typical standards, given that a portion of this road is not paved, the time to travel to Trout Lake should be about one and a half to two hours.

My journey to Trout Lake ended up taking closer to eleven hours.  There's a lot to see and take in on this beautiful drive.  Rivers and streams, small waterfalls, lakes and mountains, valley's and forest floors.

Add in the fact that I'm taking photos and the trip begins to take some time, especially when you stop every mile or two.

The FR23 turned out to be one of the nicest drives I've ever taken.  Paved most of the way with about 10+ miles being unpaved but nicely graded.  Hardly any traffic which was probably a benefit of traveling after school has started and on a weekday.

The scenery along the way is absolutely breathtaking.

The Cispus River

The Cispus crosses back and forth soon after entering the Gifford Pinchot and there are several good viewing points from bridges as well as little hikes along the banks.

The Cispus river

Mt. Adams from Takhlakh Lake

The area here, around Takhlakh Lake is also a campground and day use area.  Nice hikes and beautiful scenery everywhere.  Quiet and peaceful.

Once you're here, at Takhlakh Lake, you're about halfway to Trout Lake, Washington but there's still much to see along the way.  The road continues to climb and I'm not sure but I think you reach an elevation of around 5,000 feet.  All along the drive are beautiful scenes of Mt. Adams.

After arriving in Trout Lake, Washington your choices of places to sleep and eat are a little limited.  There is a really great little market, a gas station and a couple of eateries.  The people I met in town, where I ate and where I stayed were warm and friendly and made the stay there desirable enough to want to go back.

I stayed at the Trout Lake Valley Inn and had some of the best service in one of the cleanest, warmest motels I've ever stayed at. The folks that run and work there are nice and accommodating. The price to stay is unbelievably fair and and throw in the free Wi-Fi and the free breakfast and you just couldn't do better.  I'll stay there again and recommend it highly.

I spent the next day traveling back and heading west through mountain roads, very few of which were paved. The rain came down and the clouds hung low hampering the photo part of my journey.  So I did a little exploring and found an ice cave, natural bridges and an Indian Long House.  This part of the drive took me toward Mt. St. Helens but the clouds were heavy and low so my only shot was the one below and I had to wait for quite some time for them to lift enough to get it.

I ended up cutting the trip a little short as the rain was not forecasted to stop but I still have to report that it was one of the best overnight trips I've had in the Cascades.  And around these parts a little rain can't stop you from being out there.

Mt. St. Helens in the clouds and in the distance

For more photos go to  My Web Page  where a few more images are available.

Thanks for reading and following along.

Tom