Fuji Landscapes | MiKS Media Photography

Hastings Lake Sunset – Landscape Photography

by Mac Sokulski | Jul 22, 2014 | Fuji Landscapes, Landscape

Our little evening outing culminated at the Hastings Lake. We have never been there before, so a perfect ending to a great drive through unknown Alberta roads 🙂 The first thing we have noticed were hoards of flying insects. So it was a mad dash out of the car and furious spraying of mosquito repellant. At least that should mask our presence for a bit. Armed with cans of spray, and of course our cameras we went exploring. There skies in the west were bare and blue, so I knew that we will be waiting for the sun to hide and hope that some clouds in the east would eventually pick up the pink light from the setting sun. We weren’t disappointed. The air was still, as was the surface of the lake, creating beautiful reflections, perfect for landscape photography. Most gorgeous evening.

Traveling the unknown Alberta – Alberta Landscape Photography

by Mac Sokulski | Jul 21, 2014 | Fuji Landscapes, Landscape, Nature

Alberta Landscape

Back from my gallivanting in Europe, it was a good time to go out and hit the Alberta back roads, not too far from Edmonton. A nice quiet drive, until we stepped outside of the vehicle to try to take a photo. The moment the door opened, my wife and me, were swarmed by mosquitoes… hoards of them. Not only were they buzzing around our heads, they were getting in front of the cameras, creating live “sensor dust”. As much as I love summer, and warm weather, I do not enjoy these blood suckers. Besides that, we ventured out to parts unknown. It’s nice to just take what ever road we feel like, and just cruise with windows wide open, not hurrying to get anywhere.

Since we both switched to mirror less camera systems these trips are even easier. Even though both of us have 2 cameras at the ready, they do not take up a lot of space. So we can keep our bags, lenses and all the needed accessories close, in the front of the vehicle. We can change lenses easily and quickly, because everything is at hand. I remember this in the old DSLR days… it was either kids or cameras… choices choices 🙂 Here are some images from this little trip. Enjoy!

Fuji in Europe Part 20 – Sunset in Nuremberg

by Mac Sokulski | Jul 3, 2014 | Fuji Landscapes, Fuji X, Landscape

Sunset

There weren’t many opportunities to actually go out and shoot the sunsets in Germany. Because of the timeline, and trying very hard to see as much as possible, sunsets were put on the back burner… Until that day. The sky looked promising, so we decided to visit a park close to the Zeppelin Field for a try at a sunset over a little lake there. Quite a nice place for a sunset, and don’t have to drive far. Actually there a few of these quiet places in Nuremberg. Wished I could have stayed longer.

Gear

2 lenses, 2 cameras. Namely Fuji X-Pro1 with Fuji 10-24mm f4 lens, and Fuji XT1 with 56mm f1.2. I really like shooting with the 10-24mm lens. It’s sharp all around, and the view through it, is perfect for landscapes. What I really love is the Fuji 56mm f1.2. There has been a lot of praise for that lens on the internet, and I can add my own voice to that praise. It has to be my favourite lens to shoot with. I used it for street photography, architecture, and now for landscapes. Very versatile, and wonderful piece of gear.

Fuji in Europe Part 15 – Sunset in Großgründlach

by Mac Sokulski | Jun 20, 2014 | Fuji Landscapes, Fuji X, Landscape

Sunset

After the trip to Regensburg, the day was promising a good sunset. So I convinced my good friend from Hooked on Europe, that we should go out to a field somewhere, not too far. Well, Großgründlach or Grossgrundlach, is not that far away from Nuremberg, and it proved to be a fantastic spot for a nice sunset. Unfortunately the sunset wasn’t as nice as I was expecting, but then, when relying on mother nature, she usually shines when least expected. Großgründlach is a quiet little village on the outskirts of Nuremberg. It’s typical German suburb. I can only wish suburbs in Edmonton looked like that :). You have all the amenities, with in walking distances, and no hustle and bustle of a big city. Very beautiful.

Gear

This was a perfect time to let the Fuji XT1 shine. I mounted the Fuji 10-24mm f4, on the camera, and mostly used the articulated screen for the different angles of the shots. That screen is so nice, when you want to get closer to the ground, among the flowers, yet you don’t want to lie down in the damp grass. Perfect for raising it up above the tall grasses to see what’s beyond. With the Fuji X-Pro1 I usually found myself shooting blind, in situations like these, so this little feature on the XT1 is a blessing. Another thing, I’m really getting used to the little switch to the XT1, that let’s me quickly switch between bracketing shots to single to other modes. So much nicer than going into the menus of the camera.

Adventures with the Fuji 10-24mm – Landscape Photography

by Mac Sokulski | May 6, 2014 | Fuji Landscapes, Landscape

Finally Fuji!

Yes! Yes! Yes! The long awaited, 10-24mm f4 lens finally found it’s way home! My home that is 🙂 I have missed it dearly. I have abandoned my Canon cameras in favour of the Fuji X-Pro1, about 3 years ago. I love shooting landscapes, and being limited to only 28mm was a little painful. I tried telling myself that the 18mm Fuji lens will be enough. Nope. In my desperation I even turned to my wife’s Sony NEX and 10-18mm… The angle was right, but the camera wasn’t. Struggle continued… I know first world problems 🙂

Fuji 10-24mm f4

Finally a couple of weeks ago, it has arrived, and I was very eager to try this out. The weather, in accordance with Murphy’s law, was horrible. No sun, heavy clouds etc etc. Typical. I went out anyway. I didn’t care if there was no sun. I had a super wide angle lens, on a Fuji, and that’s what mattered. Shooting with it, is like a breath of fresh air. The scene just opens before the camera. It’s a wonderful feeling. I know what you might say, it’s just a lens, just the Fuji X-Pro1 is just a camera. True. On the other hand being a landscape photographer, and not having that super wide, is sometimes suffocating. Now I can breathe 🙂

Enjoy!

Mac

fuji,landscape,10-24,wide,alberta,outdoors,

Morning at the Beach – Landscape Photography

by Mac Sokulski | Apr 1, 2014 | Art, Fuji Landscapes, Fuji X, Landscape

When is a wide angle too wide

There are times when in landscape photography, a wide angle lens is just simply too wide. When the sky has nothing to offer, but it’s color, and when the ground has nothing to offer either. It’s not easy sometimes to photograph the mood of a landscape, when the sky is blue, and the ground is flat and feature less. Yet there is a certain mood in the air, like that morning on the beach. There was a mist coming from the ocean, and hanging low on the beach, but the sky was featureless and I had to work hard to find something interesting on the ground.

Big Zoom

This is a perfect time, when the big zooms come out to play in landscape photography. This is a perfect time to focus on something far away, instead of up close, and that’s what I did. The mist coming out of the ocean, created this incredible mood. The people walking along the beach became ghosts, appearing and disappearing. With a long zoom, you can capture a beautiful mood, and add a completely genuine human element to the landscape. Here are some shots from that beautiful morning. Enjoy!

Mac