10.06.2016

Imminent Travel. This time just for fun.


In Texas leaves are either green or desiccated brown. Up North? It's like rainbow on the ground.

One week left before I head to Saratoga Springs, NY. I will not be working for a client. I will not be teaching a workshop about "understanding shutter speed" or "how to insert your camera battery." In fact, all I will be doing is visiting my kiddo at college, hanging out with a photographer friend in town and (hopefully) enjoying the Fall color. It's a yearly event. Parents come to visit their children, eat a few meals in the dining hall, see some student performances, the faculty art show and a brief reception with the faculty. I'm sure the parents with more prodigious net worth are invited to the chancellor's house to have drinks and to learn about "opportunities to financially support the institution" but I'm sure the bursar's office has culled us out of that corral. 

I am looking forward to eating fried chicken at Hattie's with friends and swilling way too much coffee at Uncommon Grounds. I hope it gets cold enough in the evenings to comfortably wear a warm jacket and sturdy shoes. And, from now until late Wednesday night next week, I'll be mired in the process of deciding which single camera and lens I will drag along with me. Right now my money is on the A7ii and the 50mm f1.8 but the announcement of new cameras from Sony has me sidetracked. I keep looking at the a6300 with new appreciation, and I like what I've shot recently with the 18-105mm f4.0. But then I'd also want to carry along the Sigma 30mm f1.4 for a bit of speed and then we start down a slippery slope...   What do you carry with you on non-photography centric family trips? I can't bear to only take my phone...  


A house on Broadway. Heading toward campus.

The Case Center on the Skidmore College Campus.




Northeastern version of a cowboy?

The universal beverage. Crossing all language barriers. 


16 comments:

Jim Hughes said...

Generally it's the Fuji X100S. It's the right size, the 35mm equivalent lens handles most opportunities well, and the jpegs are wonderful. An original Sony rx100 usually goes along as the backup. Enjoy your trip!

John said...

I'm planning on taking the Fuji X-Pro2 with either the 27mm or, more likely, the 35mm F2 lens.

Cliff R. said...

I rented a Fuji X100T for a trip my dad and I took through Corning, Elmira, Hammondsport, Rochester, and Syracuse two weeks ago. Once I figured it out I loved it because it creates beautiful jpeg files and it was fun switching between the optical viewfinder and EVF. Dad (lives in Connecticut) says they've had drought up there too so it may not be a great year for fall color, sadly.

crsantin said...

Welcome to the land of four seasons Kirk. I am even further north here in Canada. As much as I love summer and the heat, I really do enjoy the changing of the seasons. There is something refreshing and invigorating about watching mother nature do her thing. Travel kits for me vary depending on my mood and like you I have some anxiety over what kit to bring. I will often pack one kit and at the very last minute completely change my mind and bring something else, and then wonder on the way to the airport if I made a mistake. I will say that my Nex kit consisting of the Sigma 19mm 2.8, 30mm 1.4 and 60mm 2.8 make for a very nice and compact 3 lens travel kit. A couple of extra batteries and sd cards and it all fits into a small bag. I often just leave the 30mm 1.4 on the camera and walk about with only that. I rarely if ever travel with a DSLR these days. I also pack a small point and shoot, a Sony rx100 these days, as a backup but I have been known to shoot exclusively with that on a trip. I have a genuine love for point and shoot cameras, going back to the film days, and have gotten many very nice shots from these lowly pieces of junk. The less gear the better though. I have had to learn to let go and just accept what the camera/lens gives me and shoot accordingly.

David Maxwell said...

I am also headed North. I will drive tonight from Nashville to Western Michigan, exchanging 88 degree days for something a bit more reasonable. I will be accompanied by my two Canon Rebels and four cheap plastic lenses, plus my wife. My in-laws live on a beautiful farm where they grow many of the pumpkins featured in your above picture, as well as apples and pears. The trip isn't exactly photo-centric, but I will be able to photograph on the farm most mornings and evenings, and will probably manage some moon-lit landscapes as well. Hopefully the leaves will look nice.

Alex said...

"What do you carry with you on non-photography centric family trips?"
One compact body, one lens of fixed focal lenght.
The bare essentials.
I still dont see my phone as a "real" camera.

Richard Leacock said...

My first good "kit" was an Olympus E-P3, Pany 20mm f1.7 and the EVF. Small, compact, "more than good-enough" image quality possibilities, useful and fun. These days it's a similar body but will add in a 45mm f1.8 or 60mm f2.8 macro for better portrait moments and for the creations from the kitchen (all hail to the cook/chef). Face detection, fast focus, "wysiwyg" white balance, auto ISO and small form factor. My compact camera : )

Cheers

Anonymous said...

I take my Fuji X100S.

Ash said...

A trip just for fun is a great opportunity to take only one prime lens. No pressure to get the image, just what falls naturally into that field of view.

In your shoes I would take the sigma 30mm and relax.

Anonymous said...

I take my Fuji X100S. Usual shooting mode is JPEG + RAW, with Square Format Black & White/Yellow Filter Set. So what I see in camera is the B&W Square and I have the RAW file for later manipulation.

Dano said...

My travel kit is either a Sony a6000 with a 16 to 70 plus a Sony 35 ff1.8 for low light and a Roknon 12 mm for special situations. Just to change things up or if I think I may have an opportunity for telephoto shots I may carry instead two Panasonic GM5 bodies, one with a 35 to 100mm zoom and the other body with a 20 or 50mm fast prime. Both outfits work fine and are very portable and easy to carry. My biggest problem is which system to pick.

Craig Yuill said...

For trips not devoted specifically to photography I take a small mirrorless camera along with a wide-to-tele zoom and a tele zoom in case I need greater reach. I will also bring along a small flash unit, although I rarely use it. Carrying this gear is not much of a burden, and is definitely preferable to a cell-phone camera. I guess I would give the nod to your a6300 with that wide-to-tele f/4 zoom lens, and maybe a fast normal or slightly-wide prime.

Thomas Rink said...

Nikon D90 + AF-Nikkor 24mm f/2.8.

Henk said...

Panasonic GM5 + 12-32mm kit lens + 45-175mm Power Zoom. Compact. Capable. Lightweight.

Peter said...

My current travel camera is a Fuji X100T. Compact, fun to use and results are more than adequate. I have printed jpegs up to 10X15 with excellent results. Unless I have a specific reason not to do so, I will take the smallest package that I can, in order to keep my picture taking as convenient as possible.

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