jloden
All-Pro
- Name
- Jay
Just got back yesterday from a trip to Jasper and Banff national parks to enjoy the Canadian Rockies and 10 days of no cell coverage and nothing but good food, good beer, quiet, and natural beauty to enjoy. I'm nowhere near done processing and sorting all my photos, but I did pick out a few favorites and thought I'd share here. You can also view the full set on Flickr if desired.
I utterly failed at deciding what to bring on this trip for photography gear, so I brought the X-E1 with lenses, X100S, and my Panasonic GH3 + lenses as well. I learned a couple important things: 1) the Fuji gear did just fine and I never felt like I 'needed' the m4/3 stuff. 2) Never, *ever* bring 2 camera systems again. Absolutely terrible idea and pretty much led to 'paralysis of choice' on a daily basis.
Anyway, here's some of my selections from the trip, hope you all enjoy.
#1
Sundance Canyon Falls by jloden, on Flickr
The first night we went to the top of Sulphur Mountain, and were treated to a unique view courtesy of a forest fire adding lots of haze and smoke to the sky for a particularly spectacular and otherworldly sunset.
#2
Sulphur Mountain Summit view, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
As you'll probably see, I made *lots* of use out of the Panorama mode on the X-E1 and X100S this trip - fantastic for this, and very glad I tried it out instead of trying to stitch in PS later!
#3
Sulphur Mountain Summit view, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
I also tortured my long-suffering wife by doing some flash photos this trip (a first for me for travel shots), using the EF-X20 and a Yongnuo TTL cable to get it off camera. I was really pleased with the way that worked out, especially for the size of the flash unit and ease of carrying it around. I need more practice using it but the flash itself worked just fine :tongue:
#4
Sulphur Mountain Summit, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
The next day we did a long hike and ended the day with a quick scouting visit to Lake Louise. Here is perhaps the most iconic/recognized scene of Lake Louise, incorporating the boathouse and canoes:
#5
Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
Another first, we resolved to head back to Lake Louise at sunrise the next morning. Normally we sleep in, especially on vacation, but we made a special exception to avoid the crowds and get a special photo op for me (did I mention my wife is long-suffering yet?).
This is one of the only things I missed about the X-E1; not having something wider than 14mm for shooting in the Rockies. I can't wait for the 10-24mm, especially since it will be able to take filters easily too. Here's one with the Panasonic 7-14mm:
#6
Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
And a shot from the same sunrise, this time with the X-E1 + 14mm and a 10 stop ND filter. This being my first time playing with long exposures, I failed to bring a remote which would have been helpful for using with bulb mode for > 30" exposures.
#7
Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
Lake Louise's slightly less famous sister lake, Moraine Lake. This was actually on the back of the Canadian $20 bill at one point, and IMO is actually prettier than Lake Louise. There's a great view from the rock pile at the end of the lake, and far less visitors than Lake Louise attracts as well
#8
Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
No trip to the parks would be complete without some wildlife as well. Unfortunately my favorite sightings I did not get photographs of (a wolf, and a coyote) but I did get a few opportunities to use the long lenses.
Many were with the Panasonic 100-300 but I have to say that having shot the 55-200 side by side, the optical edge of the Fuji really narrows the gap in focal length. In retrospect I could have gotten by with the 55-200 as my longest lens if need be - though I'd love to see a longer option for the Fuji eventually.
There was a mother bear and her 3 young cubs we spotted twice on two different days, foraging and sleeping hanging from tree branches.
#9
Black Bear Cub, Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
Bighorn Sheep - this turned out to be the only time we saw them, so I'm very glad I got a few keepers
#10
Bighorn Sheep, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
And for comparison's sake, an elk shot with the 55-200. Note the crispness and clarity, very happy with this.
#11
Elk, Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
After Banff we moved on to Jasper National Park where we did more hiking and sightseeing. Here is a quick portrait of my wife with the 18-55 @ 55mm, by the shore of Lake Maligne. I didn't do much background blurring this trip (why blur out what you're there to see, after all?) but this one I did and it turned out to be one of my favorites of her.
#12
Lake Maligne, Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
For our last day in the park, we went up the Whistlers Mountain gondola and enjoyed breathtaking (literally, it was thin air up there!) panoramic views. On our ride up to the top it was completely socked in with white clouds but we waited it out and ended up with the entire summit of the mountain to ourselves for over an hour with totally clear views of the Canadian Rockies ranging on all sides.
I brought along a "real" tripod this trip (Sirui T-025X) which ended up being great. It took a little more patience, but for once there are actually pictures of me AND my wife on a trip instead of 500 photos of her and one blurry shot of us taken by a bystander, hahaha.
#13
Whistlers Mountain Summit, Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
And I handed my wife the camera a few times too so I could get a few fun shots of myself, like this one:
#14
Whistlers Mountain Summit, Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
Before we left the summit, I dug the 55-200 out of the bag. Thankfully so, because I ended up getting some of my favorite landscapes of the trip using the telephoto view from the higher vantage point.
#15
Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
For our last night in Jasper, we went to the edge of town after dinner to watch the sunset and take some more photos (once again, my wife was exceedingly gracious in humoring my photographic pursuits).
#16
Sunset, Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
#17
Sunset, Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
I had a great time on the trip (if you couldn't tell), and I'm really happy with the photos from the trip so far. I'm looking forward to sorting and processing the rest and getting an album and prints done up! The Fujis worked out great and will probably become my new regular travel setup. Overall I had very few complaints or issues and the benefits of the Fuji IQ/output is well worth the effort. In particular, the July FW update made a huge difference. Fast + reliable AF, focus peaking, and the AF Fn button all came in handy. All I'm missing is the 10-24mm!
Thanks for viewing everyone, hope you all enjoyed!
I utterly failed at deciding what to bring on this trip for photography gear, so I brought the X-E1 with lenses, X100S, and my Panasonic GH3 + lenses as well. I learned a couple important things: 1) the Fuji gear did just fine and I never felt like I 'needed' the m4/3 stuff. 2) Never, *ever* bring 2 camera systems again. Absolutely terrible idea and pretty much led to 'paralysis of choice' on a daily basis.
Anyway, here's some of my selections from the trip, hope you all enjoy.
#1
Sundance Canyon Falls by jloden, on Flickr
The first night we went to the top of Sulphur Mountain, and were treated to a unique view courtesy of a forest fire adding lots of haze and smoke to the sky for a particularly spectacular and otherworldly sunset.
#2
Sulphur Mountain Summit view, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
As you'll probably see, I made *lots* of use out of the Panorama mode on the X-E1 and X100S this trip - fantastic for this, and very glad I tried it out instead of trying to stitch in PS later!
#3
Sulphur Mountain Summit view, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
I also tortured my long-suffering wife by doing some flash photos this trip (a first for me for travel shots), using the EF-X20 and a Yongnuo TTL cable to get it off camera. I was really pleased with the way that worked out, especially for the size of the flash unit and ease of carrying it around. I need more practice using it but the flash itself worked just fine :tongue:
#4
Sulphur Mountain Summit, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
The next day we did a long hike and ended the day with a quick scouting visit to Lake Louise. Here is perhaps the most iconic/recognized scene of Lake Louise, incorporating the boathouse and canoes:
#5
Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
Another first, we resolved to head back to Lake Louise at sunrise the next morning. Normally we sleep in, especially on vacation, but we made a special exception to avoid the crowds and get a special photo op for me (did I mention my wife is long-suffering yet?).
This is one of the only things I missed about the X-E1; not having something wider than 14mm for shooting in the Rockies. I can't wait for the 10-24mm, especially since it will be able to take filters easily too. Here's one with the Panasonic 7-14mm:
#6
Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
And a shot from the same sunrise, this time with the X-E1 + 14mm and a 10 stop ND filter. This being my first time playing with long exposures, I failed to bring a remote which would have been helpful for using with bulb mode for > 30" exposures.
#7
Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
Lake Louise's slightly less famous sister lake, Moraine Lake. This was actually on the back of the Canadian $20 bill at one point, and IMO is actually prettier than Lake Louise. There's a great view from the rock pile at the end of the lake, and far less visitors than Lake Louise attracts as well
#8
Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
No trip to the parks would be complete without some wildlife as well. Unfortunately my favorite sightings I did not get photographs of (a wolf, and a coyote) but I did get a few opportunities to use the long lenses.
Many were with the Panasonic 100-300 but I have to say that having shot the 55-200 side by side, the optical edge of the Fuji really narrows the gap in focal length. In retrospect I could have gotten by with the 55-200 as my longest lens if need be - though I'd love to see a longer option for the Fuji eventually.
There was a mother bear and her 3 young cubs we spotted twice on two different days, foraging and sleeping hanging from tree branches.
#9
Black Bear Cub, Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
Bighorn Sheep - this turned out to be the only time we saw them, so I'm very glad I got a few keepers
#10
Bighorn Sheep, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
And for comparison's sake, an elk shot with the 55-200. Note the crispness and clarity, very happy with this.
#11
Elk, Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
After Banff we moved on to Jasper National Park where we did more hiking and sightseeing. Here is a quick portrait of my wife with the 18-55 @ 55mm, by the shore of Lake Maligne. I didn't do much background blurring this trip (why blur out what you're there to see, after all?) but this one I did and it turned out to be one of my favorites of her.
#12
Lake Maligne, Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
For our last day in the park, we went up the Whistlers Mountain gondola and enjoyed breathtaking (literally, it was thin air up there!) panoramic views. On our ride up to the top it was completely socked in with white clouds but we waited it out and ended up with the entire summit of the mountain to ourselves for over an hour with totally clear views of the Canadian Rockies ranging on all sides.
I brought along a "real" tripod this trip (Sirui T-025X) which ended up being great. It took a little more patience, but for once there are actually pictures of me AND my wife on a trip instead of 500 photos of her and one blurry shot of us taken by a bystander, hahaha.
#13
Whistlers Mountain Summit, Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
And I handed my wife the camera a few times too so I could get a few fun shots of myself, like this one:
#14
Whistlers Mountain Summit, Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
Before we left the summit, I dug the 55-200 out of the bag. Thankfully so, because I ended up getting some of my favorite landscapes of the trip using the telephoto view from the higher vantage point.
#15
Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
For our last night in Jasper, we went to the edge of town after dinner to watch the sunset and take some more photos (once again, my wife was exceedingly gracious in humoring my photographic pursuits).
#16
Sunset, Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
#17
Sunset, Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada by jloden, on Flickr
I had a great time on the trip (if you couldn't tell), and I'm really happy with the photos from the trip so far. I'm looking forward to sorting and processing the rest and getting an album and prints done up! The Fujis worked out great and will probably become my new regular travel setup. Overall I had very few complaints or issues and the benefits of the Fuji IQ/output is well worth the effort. In particular, the July FW update made a huge difference. Fast + reliable AF, focus peaking, and the AF Fn button all came in handy. All I'm missing is the 10-24mm!
Thanks for viewing everyone, hope you all enjoyed!
