Fuji X | MiKS Media Photography

Scotland with Fuji – On The Way To Skye

by Kasia Sokulska | May 19, 2016 | Fuji X

The trouble with traveling to beautiful places is that once back, I have to go through, literally, thousands of pictures and pick only some of them. Just recently I have been very lucky to go to Scotland again and travel to the Isle of Skye and Lewis with a few friends. I will be forever grateful to Adam for taking time off work to drive us all from Glasgow to those beautiful places, so that I could feast my eyes and share with all of you what a beautiful land Scotland is. It’ll be a very long series since, I am unable to chose only a shot or two from a given location, but when you see them you will understand what I mean. We have had a very capricious weather during this trip. Rain and sun, heavy clouds and blue sky, changing every few minutes, making my choices for photos even more difficult, because each place looks different in different light, and I ended up taking numerous photos of the same thing, just differently lit. I am asking you all to just bear with me, though, because it is all going to be worth it. Especially when, thanks to my Fuji, I was able to use a better camera and wider lens than the one I have used during our first trip, and I am very happy with Fuji’s performance during this wet trip and numerous lens changes (that’s what you get when most people traveling with you are using Fuji and they all share their toys ;D). I am, once again, in awe of the beautiful land and its people, so very nice and friendly. And, even though it was cold and wet and windy, during most of the trip, I would go back there right now, if only it was possible, and do it all over again 😀

Today, I would like to share with you the beginning of our long drive. We have stopped in a few places along the way always taking pictures, while visiting, always hurrying to take as many shots as possible before it started to rain. I will list the names of the places now (hoping I have them all right). First shot was taken near the place called Longbank by the River Clyde. The sun just came out and made the view quite appealing framed, as it was by those lovely yellow flowers. Our next stop was in Inveruglas, on the bank of Loch Lomond from where we traveled through the Bridge of Orchy, stopping here and there to the very picturesque Lochan na h-Achlaise. It’s amazing to realize that I remember most of these spots from our drive back from Glenfinnan in 2012. I guess they’ve made impression on me then as they, certainly did this time as well. I sure hope that when you see the pictures you will be as taken by them all as am I. Enjoy!

Kasia

Fog, cold Alberta sunset, and Fuji.

by Mac Sokulski | May 4, 2016 | Fuji X, Landscape

Before this blog is going to be over run with images of Scottish and Polish landscapes, I thought I might squeeze in a few pictures from a memorable outing not too long ago. As always on our little excursions, we just picked a back road that looked interesting and started driving. We came upon a little valley, that was covered in thick fog, even though the sky was blue, and was threatening with a very bland sunset. So we figured that maybe if we just follow the fog we can get something interesting. I think we did.

Sometimes photography is just all about getting lost, and following your heart. If we decided to stay home, because of clear blue skies, we would have missed this opportunity. So the message is pretty simple, explore because you never know what is waiting for you around the corner.

Spring a year ago – Landscape photography

by Mac Sokulski | Apr 26, 2016 | Fuji X, Landscape

It’s been exactly a year ago, when these photographs were taken. Sometimes I wonder, why it takes me such a long time to share them. I think it’s the combination of procrastination and being lazy. It’s not that I don’t want to share, or think these are bad images…. I mean I wouldn’t be sharing them at all if I thought they were bad. Just that I have a huge back log of images that just sitting in a dropbox folder, all dusted and almost forgotten. It seems that I must be taking too many images 🙂 .

I think it’s also a little bit of a memory lane. Going through the old images and think about the times they were taken. Funny thing is, I remember exactly what I was doing at that time. What me and Kasia were talking about. Yet I can’t remember what I did last week. Funny that.

This is one of the reasons I think our photographs are so important. They hold a piece of our lives, our souls. Doesn’t really matter if they are good or bad, it’s our moments worth remembering.

Going back in time to 16 mm Fuji summer – Landscape Photography

by Mac Sokulski | Apr 18, 2016 | Fuji X, Landscape

This was the time of actually field testing the 16 mm f1.4 Fuji lens. Wanted to see if I could live with just that lens for landscape photography, or would I miss the ultra wide zoom. I love the fact that the 16mm is so bright. At f1.4 and minimum focusing distance of just 15 cm, it is really easy to throw the background out of focus. Even though the ultra wide zoom from Fuji is a really really good lens, I think I can sacrifice a little and stick with the 16 mm lens. Since I don’t really have a choice any more, as my wife elusively appropriated that lens for herself 🙂

The Magic Of Spring With Fuji

by Kasia Sokulska | Apr 8, 2016 | Fuji X

It is quite amazing to have spring start so early in our neck of the woods. I have even found a first blooming flower, on April Fools, of all the days.. ;DThings are starting to move along nicely and I have decided to shoot a few macros with Fuji. I don’t have a proper macro lens for it, so I have used an extension tube to see what can be done. I am, actually, very happy with the results. I have had quite an amazing light during that afternoon and the pictures have almost magical feel to them. It just proves that where is the will there is always the way and I love them all. In my opinion, photography is not about the precision, sharpness and technique. The tools we use vary, but you don’t always need the most expensive gear. All you really need is gorgeous light and willingness to try new things and the effects might surprise you. I hope you like these shots as much as I do. Happy Friday, guys!

Kasia

Roads through the mountains – Alberta Rockies

by Mac Sokulski | Mar 30, 2016 | Fuji X, Landscape

After leaving the bubbles of Abraham Lake behind, we plunged into the no-man’s lands of Alberta Rockies. This early in the morning the roads were empty. Lack of traffic allowed us to stop frequently and admire the rugged beauty of the Alberta landscape. Low clouds were rolling in and mostly obscuring the peaks. This looks so much different in full sunlight and blue skies. Funny enough we prefer this kind of weather, to blue skies and sunshine. Photographically speaking of course :). Sometimes it was very hard to continue driving, as the weather changed every minute, providing different views and compositions.

I find it really hard to separate images and pick the best ones to add to the blog. I like them all. Since shooting with Fuji cameras, and adding old school film to the mix, almost every image is carefully picked before the shutter is pressed. Possibly that is why we don’t come back with million of images from a trip like this. Then again, having landscape completely change in a span of few minutes, makes it hard not try to capture it. Since Kasia is also using Fuji cameras, I thought that having different points of view will create more interesting images. Yes and no. We still see the same things in a very similar way. I guess it’s time for me to start seeing things differently.