So. Fuji camera users. Do you know about FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO????

I'm learning a bit more about the mysterious ways of FujiFilm as I use the XT-3 out in the field and try to make it work the way my Panasonic cameras work. They don't. It's different.

I recently held my breath a little bit when I couldn't open the new camera's raw files in the Adobe products I use. A quick search informed me that Adobe just recently launched an update and now everything works more as less the way all modern cameras to with the software. Like a spoiled consumer I just assumed all the other vendors would follow along.

So, today I loaded a bunch of raw files from this morning to my snazzy new laptop and clicked on one of the raw file's I'd just backed up. I was wondering why my computer wasn't generating icons from the files; why they did show up in Preview. Well, it's because they haven't updated their applications yet. I'm sure they will but a quick read on the web indicates that Apple has a history of not extending their updates to include Fuji's compressed raw files. And I like to shoot compressed raw because we can all talk about endless storage and super fast computers but at a certain point (uploading?) smaller files can make life easier. And I don't want to bend my workflow in accommodation.

Well, FujiFilm has an application for both Apple and Windows that converts from raw to your choice of Jpeg or Tiff. It's also an actual converter in that it gives you the ability to change settings like your color profile, size, compression etc. during the raw conversion. Here's the interesting thing: The app is resident on your computer. The folder of images to convert is on your computer system but to use the app you have to plug in the camera, load the card, and use the camera to do the actual computational conversion. The app uses the camera's processor (and ostensible the image processing software in the camera) to make the conversions. It's pretty fast. I just processed a folder with 325 compressed raw images to Normal Jpegs and it took about 7 minutes.

It also maintains the Fuji conversion mindset and might be a workaround for the Fuji users who are raw converter sensitive. I just checked and it doesn't appear as though the processor does anything to the files on the card. All the Jpegs were written to a desktop folder.

Just though you might want to know......

OT: The travel day of a zany working photographer. Not everything takes place in Manhattan or Austin.....

So, I am making portraits of supervisors, managers and Vice Presidents of a large infrastructure company this week. I'm photographing people at the various projects where they are most actively involved. Most outsiders think big projects like building lakes, clearing a swath of land for miles and miles in order to run high power lines, or building a dam, happen close to the glittering metropoli but what I've found out is that there's a huge number of these projects happening out in the middle of nowhere. And if I'm going to photograph the people who are making the work happen, at the locations of their various projects, then I'm going to be traveling far from the techno-yuppie--latté-world.

I went to bed at nine p.m. last night. I don't usually do that. My whole family is a nest of night owls. Even the dog. But my client had arranged for a 5:13 a.m. flight from Austin. I was up at 3:30 am, at the  airport at 4:15 and in the air by 5:16. Not my usual schedule. But here's the deal: the closest airport hub to Bastian, VA. is Charlotte, NC, which is just about a 3 hour (speedy) drive from Bastian. To hit our schedule for our three shooting days this week I needed to get from Charlotte airport (where I got in around 8:30) to the rental car facility, and then on the road quick to be able to rendezvous with 12 people who needed be photographed... starting around 12:30. We found a great spot at the top of a dirt road, overlooking several mountains and a high voltage power line, as a background element, running straight down into the valley. It was a chilly 30 degrees when we got started and you would have laughed at the look of my lighting gear = flashes covered (loosely) with Ziploc plastic bags. Why? Because it started to sleet while we were shooting.  The subjects were all committed. They didn't seem to mind a few ice pellets to the face.... so I joined in the fun.

We wrapped up in an hour and I turned around and headed back to Charlotte to turn in my rental car, check my lighting case, and get set up for my flight to Evansville, Indiana. We flew in on one of the dinky dwarf jets. And the Think Tank backpack still fit under the seat in front of me. The flight was delayed which was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it meant the photographer actually had time to sit down and eat a turkey, brie cheese and green apple slice sandwich, and guzzle down an iced tea. A curse because it meant arriving in Evansville around 9 pm and still having to secure the next rental car and then drive an hour to the tiny town of Jasper, Indiana, which is the rally point for tomorrow's photoshoot.

I meant to grab something to eat in Jasper but when I arrived I realized that everything (EVERYTHING) closes around 9 pm and arriving at 10 pm looking for good food means you are just shit out of luck (as they say in parts of Texas). I settled for a single serving bag of Planters peanuts, a couple of cookies I saved from the morning's flight, and a Blue Moon, Belgian White Ale. Ah....the dinner of creative champions. (yeah, yeah. I know. You would have packed a Yeti cooler with all kinds of nutritious food and Fedex'd it ahead....).

I've taken a shower, charged batteries and transferred files to my laptop. I'm ready to crawl into bed and sleep. I don't have to get up early tomorrow. My lead on this part of the project has to be in a safety meeting miles away in the morning and we're going to meet up at my hotel later, around 8 am. I just have to make sure we work efficiently so I can make it back to the airport in time to catch my circuitous flight to Raleigh-Durham, by way of Dallas Ft. Worth.  But that's a different story.

But we may be near the end of the project. We're just dancing around the final portrait of one of the company's founders. If the stars line up we'll head to Tampa for that one at the end of this week. Oh dear. Another four days out of the swimming pool. That cinches it. I'm taking all of December off. I you need me I'll just be swimming and writing a blog.

Today's camera of choice? The Fuji X-T3, coupled with the 18-55mm f xx-xx

A few quick, post Thanksgiving notes. The camera you know is the camera you love. And hate.

I'm still working diligently on my comparison between the Fuji and the Panasonic cameras. Both are the most current models from each maker so there should be no question about comparing older models to newer technology. It's a slog and the addition of the 50mm f2.0 XF lens has created the need to shoot a bit more... Both the G9 and the X-T3 are very good cameras. One excels at handling and the other is a very, very competent photograph maker. I'll have more to say after this week's corporate shoot in three states...

My first note here is just an example of my meandering single-mindedness. One of the first accessories I bought for the Fuji cameras, after extra batteries and an aftermarket flash, was an inexpensive Pen FT to Fuji FX lens adapter. Yeah, you know why.... I had to see if the ancient Olympus 60mm f1.5 worked on the new cameras. I am happy to say that it does and I've been in manual focus, Acros black and white heaven since yesterday. Granted, I haven't had much time to use the combo (X-E3+60mm) but what I have done with them makes me smile. The lens is still an amazing example of just how great some of the lenses from the late 1960's and early 1970's were... It's still a great fast lens and the APS-C crop factor makes it a 90mm portrait lens equivalent.

Several readers have written to tell me that I must try the 55mm f1.2 Fuji lens and add that it's just right for me. Well, no. It's not. It's too short a focal length; by about 5mm. It may be exhilaratingly sharp and sassy but 60mm is where it all starts for a nice headshot in APS-C. Believe me, I've shot the format more than once. But while we're on the subject I'm given to understand that the 50mm XF f2.0 is sharper in the center than the 55mm f1.2 anyway. If I'm going to carry around the weight of the 55/1.2 I'd make a different choice and grab the 16-55mm f2.8 for about the same money. More choice = fewer lenses to carry.

At any rate, I've got the 60mm f1.5 on the X-E3 body and it's pretty sweet. Reminds me of the old Leica LC cameras. Lightweight and fast to use. Not the world's best ergonomics but then the CL wasn't that great to hold either... The files are nice though. As was the film that came from the CL's 40mm Summicron.

As you might know, I've been working for over a month now for a corporate client which has me photographing exterior, environmental portraits at huge infrastructure project sites across the continental United States. I've traveled a lot and have shot nearly 6,000 images. Mostly with a G9 and two great lenses. Just looking at Lightroom stats I see that the lens I seem to be grabbing most, on this job and in conjunction with the G9, is the Panasonic/Leica 12-60mm f2.8/4.0. I don't know exactly why but I'm guessing my sub-conscious brain is guiding my choice based on the idea that the camera and lens combo offer dual I.S. and that it must be something special since it's all over the camera maker's advertising.

I think I'm on to something here. Once I started using the combo on these remote location assignments I got confident enough to leave my Gitzo tripod at home and depend on my ability to handhold the camera and lens. The way I'm packing for next week goes in one of two directions; either all m4:3 gear or all Fuji. If I go with the m4:3rds stuff (which I may because of weather and the comfort of experience) I've pared the equipment down to two lenses and two camera bodies. If I go in that direction I'll take two G9s and both the Panasonic 12-60mm and the Olympus 12-100mm Pro. They both fit into the parameters I've established on my first 16 locations and they provide the perfect back up strategy for each other.

Last week, when I came home from shooting on the same project, with the Fuji X-T3 and the 18-55mm f2.8-4.0, I was happy with the results and ready to substitute the new system for the G9 system. The images looked great, the backgrounds looked great and I pretty much figured out most of the handling issues and settings. What I didn't get absolutely right was well covered by the safety net of shooting raw. So why am I suddenly leaning back toward the small sensor encampment?

It all has to do with how stuff really works rather than theoretical pondering. I've been told that the Fuji has: more dynamic range, better color, more DOF control, etc., etc. and so it should be obvious to me that it's the superior camera system. But experience shows me that the difference in ultimate quality is finer than I ever imagined. Talking about the difference between similar working files is like trying to describe the difference between kinds of fog. In a fog. The differences just aren't as substantive as we are being led to believe. Not in any meaningful way.

This became clear to me as I was working on the part of every assignment that determines a project's ultimate success: post processing and retouching.

My client put together a short list of 120 portrait images that they wanted retouched and made ready for public relations and advertising use. Now, instead of glancing at a SOOC image on a screen and making presumptuous comments I would have to get my hands dirty (metaphorically) and see how the 20 megapixel raw files actually perform when shot the way I shoot. No test chart tacked to the wall. No tripod mounted, remote triggered preciousness. No time to re-shoot and no time to wait for wind to die down or rain to stop. Just make photographs.

The thing that kept my keeper rate high (technically) is that we decided (client+Kirk) that I'd shoot the exterior portraits with an off camera flash and a small soft box or umbrella. The flash does such a great job of freezing small amounts of motion and allows one to actually zoom in on a monitor and look at the fine detail a lens and sensor together are capable of producing. Many of the images were taken in full sun so I had to put up a diffusion panel to prevent direct sun from hitting my subjects, although I did use some direct sun (from time to time) as backlight.

But since there were strong contrasts between deep shadow and daylight exposure that pushed highlights to the brink of burnout a lot of my post production was aimed at making the most of the dynamic range in the raw files. Many times I'd have the shadow slider in Photoshop cranked up as well as the highlight slider. Trying to pull useful detail from a wooded area in shadow while at the same time pulling down highlights on heavy equipment and even water.

All the files have been shot at ISO 200. All the same for the Panasonics and all the Fujis.

I have now spent twelve hours working on the client selected Panasonic files; stopping to compare them to files taken with a Nikon D810, a Sony A7Rii and the X-T3. Shot correctly (meaning: no blown highlights, keeping the shadows as open as possible, and, most importantly, getting the WB correct in camera) the differences at the same magnification are mostly things like differences in depth of field and differences in sharpness of lenses. Key things like noise, resolution, color integrity and dynamic range are all pretty much the same if you are viewing the photographs on a nice monitor. I also find that each camera's look, if the file was originally shot in raw (meaning I was re-working raw files) could be nearly identically mimicked by any of the other cameras using the same raw processor.

If all cameras in my test are compared at ISO 200 and at a maximum size of 20 megapixels it's entirely possible for me to get files that are close enough to each other to be visually nearly identical.

While I've shot with the G9s for a good long while this was the first assignment that really pushed the photographer (me) to do things consistently and for a long period of time. I was like a dilettante in the early days of appraising the camera. I shot a street scene here or there, or a sexy shot of a cup of coffee and that was my test. Now I'm down dirt roads, carrying a 50 pound lighting case, setting up in mud and light rain, putting plastic bags over my flashes, and really working to get the best flesh tones, the best textural detail and the best overall look to my files, and I'm doing it over and over again.

The raw G9 files are superb. I use Lightroom and Photoshop interchangeably and I've learned so much more about getting faces right. I know I need to consistently change the red hue in the raw conversion. My G9s are both subject to having a bit too much magenta in the red channel. Once I zero that out faces look much more natural. The Adobe processing seems to fear green and so is heavy handed about not letting the green channel loose. When using their canned profiles I constantly find myself adding just a tiny bit more green to face colors in order to obtain numeric (and visual) neutrality.

While I might find the Fujis to be superior the more I use them I have to say that the G9s handle really, really well. Much better and much more fluidly than other cameras. If you can't get really good photographs in conditions that call for ISO 200 with the G9s and the two lenses I described above as being in my camera bag I think you might want to consider that something other than the gear is at fault.

The camera makers understand something that I think is also becoming obvious to many photographers. The truth is that we've hit the point where 95% of all the work we do; especially for money, can be well done with just about any interchangeable lens camera out on the market today. Most of the difference between cameras are gingerbread, or specific features aimed strictly at sports photographers. Super fast shutter rates are meaningless to a corporate advertising photographer out getting portraits made with flashes in remote locations. The battery powered flashes can't keep up with 20 or 30 frames per second while being cycled at full power (remember, we're competing with the sun!!!). Ultra fast continuous focus is likewise mostly useless for the kind of work I do. Even super long and fast telephotos have very little (to no) relevance for most of the image making that is most profitable.

The Panasonics and Fujis both have very good face detect AF. I use it a lot. But for critical work I like to stay with manual focusing and punch in magnification for critical focus fine tuning.

At the end of the project I'm currently working on our client will have hundreds of good photographs to use for marketing. The majority of the marketing will be aimed at web-based channels and websites. Some will be used in traditional print. A few images might be selected for display. But the vast majority of the audiences will see the work on the screen of an iPhone or a big Android phone. The step up will be viewing on a laptop screen. If you seriously think there is an ounce of difference between well shot and processed camera files, even from different formats,  when filtered through a 6 bit or 8 bit phone screen at a coffee shop; well I have either a bridge, or a full frame, 50 megapixel camera to sell you. Just keep believing you know what's right until I get your check cashed.

One other note, since Michael Johnston (TheOnlinePhotographer.com) keeps bringing up cars....
I was perfectly happy with my nicely aging Honda CR-V until my wife decided to replace her sixteen year old car and began the process of researching her purchase. She finally decided to get the premium model of the Subaru Impreza hatchback; not because she needed the nicest alloy wheels or the handling extras, and she certainly doesn't need the seat warmers (this is central Texas, after all). She bought the upgrade model because she wanted every single safety feature offered and that was the cheapest and most efficient way to get them.

I saw the car in the driveway when I got home from Iceland and thought it looked pretty cool. Then we drove down to San Antonio a week ago to visit my dad. Belinda drove down and I drove back to Austin. I was amazed. I don't know if it's the all wheel drive or just the relentless improvement of cars but I was in love with the handling of the car by the time I got home. 80 mph was solid and flawless. The interior was much more comfortable than my six year old car. Now the damage is done and I want one of my own. It makes no sense at all as I only have 60,000 miles on my car and it's perfect for hauling around all the photo-crap I sometimes take on assignments. I can even fit a nine foot long roll of seamless paper, in the box, in the CR-V and still close the hatchback. But the lure of a lower, grippier car is like a siren's song.... I'm sure I'll figure out some way to rationalize the purchase before too long... quick, someone tie me to the mast...

If MJ is serious about NOT wanting an SUV but wanting a car that feels perfect he ought to be looking at the little Impreza. But then I also think he should be shooting with a Panasonic G9 and the 12/60mm. But everyone has to come to these things on their own.

Finally, what have I bought to flesh out my Fuji "system"??? Well, we're sitting here with an X-T3, X-E3 (the back up camera/art camera), the 18-55mm, the 55-200mm, the 50mm f2.0, the 35mm f2.0, a funky Kamlan 50mm f1.1, and a Fotasy Pen FT to FX adapter, which opens up the door to a bunch of fun, fast lenses.... Oh, and a Godox dedicated flash. A few more additions and I'll have a real system here. But for now I have all my favorite focal lengths well covered. We'll see what happens in the great smack down. For now? I've veering back and forth like a texting millenial in a hubcap-less Toyota Corolla bouncing around the lanes on the freeway, desperately trying to stay connected.

Crazy travels start Monday at 5:30 am. Hope you stay in touch! Kirk

A Sample from the Panasonic/Leica 12-60mm f2.8-4.0 lens and the Panasonic G9 camera.

©2018 Kirk Tuck.

Love being home for the week. I got to do two wonderful shoots at Zach Theatre and I just finished my third consecutive swim practice this week. About as close to perfect as I can ask for....

Scene from "A Christmas Carol" at Zach Theatre. 

I photographed the image above with a Panasonic G9 and the 40/150mm f2.8. But what equipment I used is immaterial; the real question is: Why did I shoot this frame and what attracts me to it? This is a scene in which the Ghost of the future shows Scrooge Bob Cratchit going to visit his deceased son, Tiny Tim, in a cemetery. I was visually attracted to the way the lighting designer used spots to rake the side of the "angel" stature behind Cratchit. The scene is lit in a very monochromatic fashion and it adds to the feeling of sadness and gloom. One part that I particularly like is the bright light hitting the bottom right of the statue's pedestal and creating a hard contrast with the front of Cratchit's coat and face. My first inclination was to use a shot taken a fraction of a second earlier with Cratchit more or less centered in front of the pedestal but this frame, and it's off balance timing and geometry seemed to have more energy. That Cratchit is hunched over, carrying a heavy emotional burden, adds to the overall effect of the scene. In a final print I might tone down the two brighter, warmer spots on the floor at the bottom of the frame but only because I know other people will like that better....

So, after a hectic schedule last week I was delighted to be home this week. I've been shooting local stuff and doing lots of post processing but since my studio is ten steps from my house it's actually fun and low stress. I spent this morning post processing my take from last night's dress rehearsal of "A Christmas Carol." Belinda and I headed over last night to see the play, see theater friends and for me to photograph the show. For last night's foray it was Panasonic/Olympus all the way. We left with nearly 2,000 frames and I was very proud of myself to have whittled it all down to about 600 frames before I left the office for the noon swim practice today. I left Lightroom humming along, processing the images so I'd have a folder to upload when I got back.

Swim practice was great. Yesterday there was an issue with the water heaters and the temperature in the pool was about 76. Perfect for a competitive race but too cold for a routine master's workout. Today the pool was back in peak shape and the water was a luxurious 82 degrees, Fahrenheit. It's pretty amazing that the staff at the club is almost always able to keep the water temperature in a tight range since the pool is an outdoor pool and the weather in Austin can be all over the map during the course of twenty four hours. 

I swam in a lane with restauranteur, Emmett Fox, and I did a quick glance around the pool and saw (gold medalist) Olympian, Tommy Hannan at our practice, in lane seven. Olympian (multiple gold medalist and former world record holder), Ian Crocker was finishing up coaching the kids club that practiced right before us. Pretty amazing to have two medal winning/record setting butterfly swimmers at one noon practice in a dinky little athletic club in west Austin, but there it is....

We started with a 500 yard warm up, and then got into a set of 3x200's that were half fast freestyle and half individual medley. We followed that set with four 150's within which we were supposed to descend (get faster) by each 50. We spent the rest of the workout alternating between sets of 50 yard sprints and sets of middle distance, 200 yard swims. The workout is just an hour but we managed to get in about 3200 yards. 

Back at the office I uploaded my finished files to Zach Theatre and got back to the task of organizing my files for my big October/November client. I wanted to make sure I had the raw material backed up across three hard drives and also resident on a memory stick. Most of the images have been converted from raw to good sized Jpegs and uploaded to galleries on Smugmug.com; both for safekeeping/additional back-up, and also to share with the client's marcom team in order for them to make final selections for retouching. Still, with a big client and numerous jobs in process, I always feel better with a certain amount of file back-up overkill.

Roderick Sanford as "The Ghost of Bob Marley." 

I have been amused by some comments I've gotten when I write about out-of-town trips. Several people have given me restaurant recommendations in various cities where I'll be touching down. Ah, they must be remembering the "good old days" of advertising photography when we were all staying in five star hotels and wrapped up each shoot around 4 pm in the afternoon so we didn't get stuck in rush hour traffic as we headed back to our concierge level hotel rooms to tidy up before ringing up the car service to take us out to dinner. All billed to the client's account. There seems to be a clinging mythology from then; that we still hew to a normal work day schedule on the road. 

Sorry to burst bubbles but at least in my business we tend to be constantly on the move with multiple location projects. And most of the time we may be "flying in" to a nice, big city but it's because that's where the airline's hub is. The normal reality is that our flight arrives from Austin and I rush to some other, distant terminal to catch the second leg of my flight and do so within a window of about 55 minutes to an hour, from touch down to take off. I'm lucky if the line at the airport Starbucks isn't too long so I can grab a coffee and maybe even a sandwich to toss down in flight. 

On an upcoming shoot day I'll fly out of Austin at 5:31 a.m. which means I'll be at the airport around 4:31 a.m. to ensure the checked luggage (lights, stands, winter wear) makes it onto the flight. We hit Charlotte at 8:59 where I wait impatiently for the same luggage and then find the little bus to the rental car "plaza." Where I'll wait impatiently while the person in front of me has tremendous difficulty deciding on just which car he or she might like to rent. That'll be the same person who is renting for the first time and would like all of the words on the rental contract explained to them before they move on.

Once I've got the rental car and I've got the location programmed into the phone I've got a two hour, fifty six minute drive to reach my destination; a rural, unincorporated township that just happens to be next to a remote infrastructure project. If it's like the town in Texas there will be one very old gas station as the sole business in town. And yes, that's where you can get the frozen burrito and microwave it for lunch. We'll shoot for two hours (if everyone shows up on time) and then I'll turn around and drive back to the Charlotte airport and head from there to a smaller airport in Indiana and, while flying, I'll pray that the rental car facility there stays open long enough to get me a car. Which I'll use to find my motel/hotel and check in around midnight. Food? There might be some fast food still open somewhere near the big highway but I have no idea how far I'll be from the big highway.....

So, when you suggest I might like this little French bistro just north of Charlotte I laugh and cry a little bit and wonder what the other photographers do. Me? I've learned to pack Power Bars and to buy bottled water whenever I land (remember, it doesn't go in through TSA) and occasionally treat myself to a Snickers bar for a decadent dessert. 

My mission is to get to where I need to be, get the shots and get to the next destination. I won't be site seeing. 

But for now I'm relaxing in Austin. Getting some swims in every day. Walking through downtown with new Fuji cameras and then banging on the keyboard to post process a backlog of files. Tomorrow I'm taking the whole day off. No work. No blog. No phone. No travel. Sounds like a vacation......