“A book tightly shut is but a block of paper.” — Chinese Proverb
“It is not advisable to venture unsolicited opinions. You should spare yourself the embarrassing discovery of their exact value to your listener. [ed]” — Ayn Rand
“If indeed you must be candid, be candid beautifully.” — Kahlil Gibran
“I’m not overweight, I’m just easy to see.” — Unknown
I can remember when I was a youngster and I visited the Bronx Zoo and saw the lions and tigers. These were massive animals and when they let out a roar, it was deep-throated and loud! Anyone standing in the large cat exhibit could hear that sound and feel the power of it.
This video shows two game wardens releasing a cougar from a trap that was intended for either coyotes or bobcats and while it isn’t as large and deep-throated as the lions and tigers I described above, you can see that it is a very powerful animal and these rangers are taking risks in working to release it. As you will witness, it is not an easy task!
Here is a small part of an interview with one of the rangers:
“Ekins said he responded to a call to help release a cougar in the Pine Valley Mountains Dec. 17. He said it was one of the largest cougars he has ever had to release from a trap, and so he decided to film the incident.”
You can read the rest of the interview article at this link –
Video shows intense release of large cougar from trap in southern Utah
“All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.” — Indian Proverb
“Looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them. You mayn’t get the things themselves; but nothing can prevent you from having the fun of looking forward to them.” — L. M. Montgomery
“Let the blood and the bruises define your legacy.” — Lady Gaga
“I think, therefore I am. I think.” — George Carlin
If you missed My Photography Conundrum – Part 1, I invite you to read that first part as this post is a continuation.
…And then came a trip we planned to Yosemite National Park. My wife and I are trying to hike as many of the National Parks as we can while our knees are s till in relatively good shape and everything else seems to be functioning properly – more or less!
We had planned this trip more than a year in advance because, through prior experience, we found that accommodations get snapped up pretty fast during most of the good hiking months. In my opinion this may be a once-in-a-lifetime adventure and I wanted a camera that had a better lens and rendered more detail than any of the cameras that I currently owned.
So which camera had my attention? Drum roll please…I am now focusing (no pun) my efforts on acquiring a Fuji mirrorless camera. I was hoping to get a Fuji X-T2 but unfortunately that doesn’t exist yet. I was anticipating that Fuji would have delivered an update to that model ahead of the X-Pro2, but that was not to be.
Why a Fuji? I am glad you asked. I have been studying the following resources for a very long time.
I have learned as much as I could from these resources before deciding to invest in the Fuji ecosystem.
Almost everyone I “follow” who is using Fuji gear has praised the company’s attention to detail and their willingness to “listen” to their users and to make improvements in their products. More than any other company, Fuji seems to provide more camera upgrades via new software (firmware) releases.
Users also remark about the great Image Quality (IQ) and filter options Fuji offers. Another factor in my decision is the strong user-base and sense of community that has developed along the Fuji line such as Fujiholics and Fujilove: All Things Fuji.
One last consideration is what I like to refer to as the cost-benefit ratio. It seems to me that Fuji offers users “more for the money” when all things are considered. I am not going to be a professional photographer. My goal is to be an accomplished hobbyist/enthusiast and I think Fuji will give me the best opportunity at achieving that goal for the investments in time and money that I want to make. Of course, your opinion might be quite different for a great variety of reasons.
With that decision made, my conundrum became evident. The Fuji I wanted, the X-T2, was nothing but a dream at this point. The one current model, X-Pro2, wasn’t of interest to me. What should I do?
“Fuji X-Pro2” Via
It suddenly appeared that fortune was smiling in my direction as an announcement was made that a particular company was hoping to become the Netflix of Camera Gear and the program was going to offer…
I am paraphrasing my understanding as follows:
Rent the gear you need for a flat fee of $150 a month for as long as desired and the first month for every customer would be only $99.
This sounded like a great opportunity for me to use the Fuji X-T1 and become familiar with the Fuji system before the new model comes out. I could then have my cake and eat it too; in a manner of speaking.
My plan was to rent the gear for two months, i.e. $249 plus additional fee for insurance. This would give me a couple of weeks prior to my trip to become familiar with the gear. This is what I asked to reserve:
A Fuji X-T1 w/ the Fuji 16-55mm f/2.8 XF R LM WR lens and a compatible lens hood.
“Fuji X-T1 Image Via“
Other companies that rent camera gear wanted way more than $249 +/- for the same rental so I was feeling very smug about this!
Fortune then turned her smile in another direction and my hopes were just as quickly shattered. I found out that the company would not be open for general business until after my target date. Obviously I needed the camera for a couple of weeks prior to the excursions so I could learn the system, but that was not going to happen!
Now I was back to square one. I still had my two Canon PowerShot cameras and my iPhone, but I was hoping for a step up from the quality I would most likely derive from these alternatives and I still wanted to await the Fuji X-T2. What was I to do?
Read additional posts in My Photography Conundrum series
My Photography Conundrum – Part 3
My Photography Conundrum – Part 4
“The secret to living well and longer is: eat half, walk double, laugh triple, and love without measure.” — Tibetan Proverb
“Every single day, in every walk of life, ordinary people do extraordinary things.” — Jim Valvano
“The worst of our faults is our interest in other people’s faults.” — Ali Ibn Abi Talib
“Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he’ll believe you; tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he’ll have to touch it to be sure.” — Unknown
“The less you talk, the more you’re listened to.” — Abigail Van Buren
“It is true that scars remind us where we’ve been, but they don’t indicate where we are going.” — David Rossi
“No one becomes forty without incredulity and a sense of outrage.” — Clifford Bax
“I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.” — Walt Kelly, creator of the cartoon Pogo
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera; they are made with the eye, heart and head.
– Henri Cartier-Bresson
** – Photograph Notes – **
Photograph by Jeff Ross, Lizard at Valley of Fire State Park, NV
1/320 sec @ f 6.5, ISO 100, Canon PS SX50 HS, Lens: 4.3-215mm
“People always call it luck when you’ve acted more sensibly than they have.” — Anne Tyler
“It is better to hide ignorance, but it is hard to do this when we relax over wine.” — Heraclitus
“We have learned the answers, all the answers: It is the question that we do not know.” — Archibald MacLeish
“Dieting is not a piece of cake.” — Unknown
So what did you did you do this weekend? While this isn’t my actual birthday, life circumstances sometimes dictate the postponement of celebrations or, as in this case, the fast-forwarding to a special occasion.
It was with the greatest of ease that I slid from being a sexagenarian to that of a septuagenarian although the former did have a certain ring to it! It was almost painless and was less troublesome than I had thought a number years earlier.
My very best special friends of more than fifty years feted us in grand style. As a surprise, we were escorted to quite a dinner at the award winning Different Pointe of View restaurant nestled high into the hills overlooking downtown and north Phoenix.
This is the blurb from Hilton’s website:
“The award-winning Different Pointe of View offers modern American Cuisine and stunning views of the surrounding landscape.”
Sad to say I only had my iPhone, but I was able to gather a few representative pictures anyway and I hope they impart the beauty and elegance of the surroundings. The food was excellent as well and I will talk a bit about that too.
Here is the first photo I took looking north from the parking lot near the main entrance to the restaurant.
This is another picture in the same basic direction; perhaps a bit more westerly. It had rained the day before and the clouds still maintained some of their drama.
Facing south, we can see the hills that surround the valley including South Mountain.
As a frame of reference, I placed an oval around the downtown area of Phoenix.
From the balcony of the restaurant, looking southeasterly, there were more mountains and houses off to the side of the hill. The sky was a beautiful color blue.
Needless to say the food was superb as well. This is the entrée that I had:
The tenderloin was “spicy,” but not overly so. Those more gringo however, might want to focus on other offerings. Several of our friends had the short ribs which were reported to be outstanding. The bread service was unique in offering several toppings for the bread varieties. Everything was as it should have been; very good!
The view was equally stunning at night with the city lights, the lights of the cars and streetlamps adding to the romantic aura.
The patio was superbly landscape inviting diners to walk into the various outdoor “rooms” and nooks and crannies that abound.
This picture shows the interior of the restaurant (left) with the door to the outside open (right) which melded the indoor and outdoor experience for total enjoyment.
The hibiscus (below) and greenery were presented with dramatic flare!
Naturally one would not expect the ordinary outdoor lamps at a Different Pointe of View.
Nice!
The base of the lamp, with the associated shadows, also served in their role as a catchy design element.
While we had a lovely, well-paced birthday celebration, it was one those events that we would hope to prolong as much as possible, but alas the evening had to draw to a close. We made our way to the elevator where a spiraling staircase allowed some guests to descend at their own pace.
As we awaited the arrival of the car, we enjoyed the serenity of the fountains and started to fashion the memories of the evening just passed.
Thank you to my best friend and college roommate and his lovely wife (L & M), as well as our other very good friends Terry & Lora for making this a most memorable evening. Every time I drive by, I will certainly have a different “pointe of view.”
