Consider Service Photo located just north of Baltimore. Ask to see Burke, the owner, who handles all trades. He took all of my Nikon pro gear and gave me a very fair trade in towards a complete Fuji system. But call first due to limited hours because of COVID.

I couldn’t be happier with Godox speedlites. I use two small 350’s and one 860 along with their trigger system. I think their performance and build quality are as good as my older Nikon units at a fraction of the cost.

I’ve had Blazing Editions print 60 x 40” images on white aluminum taken with my Fuji XT-2, and from a viewing distance of four feet or more, they look as good as images taken with my Nikon D750 full frame. One of the Fuji images was shot with the “kit” 18-55mm lens. I eventually sold all my Nikon gear and now have the Fuji XT-3 along with most of Fuji’s prime lenses. I’ve kept the XT-2 as a back up and when shooting from a kayak. As a retired travel photographer, I couldn’t be happier with the smaller, lighter Fuji X system.

I recall that when I subscribed, there was a choice of what device I was going to use to read it. Perhaps you log in and see if there is a reset option.

I just had a problem with a FEDX delivery from B&H. A pair of $1500 binoculars was supposedly delivered and signed for, but the package never arrived. I searched the front porches of every neighbor on my block. After contacting B&H, I was told that FEDX was often stating that someone signed for something, when no one did. Supposedly FEDX is not requiring signatures because of the pandemic. I filled out a complaint form including an affidavit that I didn't receive it. But just before I filed the formal complaint, I decided to search my neighborhood one more time. And there it was. Behind the back porch of my next-door neighbor hidden under their dining table. The driver had to open my neighbor's backyard fence, which clearly had a sign indicating a different address from that on my package and then hide the package under a table. Problem solved, but not after several days of angst. But B&H customer service was superb, letting me know that one way or another, I would get my binoculars.

While still working as a travel photojournalist I bought an XT-1 to lighten the load of my Nikon D750 and pro glass. I shot both systems for a year before selling all my Nikon gear and upgrading to the XT-2 and several Fuji lenses. The Fuji images are spectacular both in RAW and jpg. (When shooting RAW you can easily have Lightroom or Photoshop convert the files to any of Fuji’s film simulations to get the benefit of Fuji color while also having the additional editing flexibility of RAW files.) I then upgraded to the XT-3 which I love. For those who think the Fuji menus are confusing, I would simply say, spend the time to familiarize yourself with them. In fact when I still owned my D750 I started to find Nikon’s menu confusing compared to the Fuji, mainly because I was using the Fuji more than the Nikon. A great Fuji resource is Dan Baily’s book, “X SERIES UNLIMITED.” It has been upgraded to include the XT-4. While Fuji seems to have hit another home run with the XT-4, I don’t see enough features to make me upgrade my XT-3. The XT-3 is a little smaller and lighter, an important factor for me. You may want to read DP REVIEW’s XT-4 vs. XT-3 comparison. Either way you can’t go wrong with the X Series.

I have the 16-80mm and use it only if I don't want to carry anything else. Sharpness is quite good until you get to the 75-80mm range. Then it's just a bit soft on the edges. Stabilization works extremely well. But for most travel, I still use the 18-55, 10-24 and 55-200. They make a fairly compact, low weight system with my XT-3. When I'm shooting an event I use the 16-55 f/2.8 and 50-140 f/2.8, both very sharp and fast. For low light situations I switch to an assortment of Fuji primes...from the 16mm f/1.4 to the 56mm f/1.2. All brilliant lenses. I haven't tried the 18-135 because I have found the 18-55 and 55-200 to be a terrific combo. Both are incredibly good especially for the money. But if you're looking for just one, lightweight, compact, travel lens, I think the 16-80 is a great choice.

Really Right Stuff has a quarterly (now maybe semi-annual) magazine that is very good. It can be downloaded here:

https://www.reallyrightstuff.com/magazine

They will also send you a printed version if you e-mail or call them. It features the work of a number of top photographers who explain how they get their shots and what equipment they use. Obviously, they all use RRS accessories like bullheads and tripods. But it is not a blatant advertisement. It's free.

Street Photography Magazine is available online and is a very worthwhile read if you shoot street. Small subscription fee.

As a Fuji shooter I read two extremely good online magazines, Fuji Love and Fuji X Passion. Some articles are by photographers that shoot Fuji, Canon, Sony and Nikon, so you don't have to be a Fuji shooter to enjoy them. Subscription fees, but worth it to me. Google them.

You can simply rotate the head, changing the position of the locking lever so that it doesn’t interfere with the camera’s body.

As a retired photojournalist and now avid fine art shooter, I continue to rely on Photo Mechanic to import and then cull every shoot. It is extremely fast and very easy to use. The program has a number of ways of creating folders for each shoot, so you can organize things the way you feel best. After rating my "selects" I import them into LR. This system saves a lot of time, because importing hundreds or thousands of images directly into LR is a time consuming process. Photo Mechanic is much, much faster. The folder structure automatically remains the same during import, but after import I then use LR if I want to move images to other folders. (That's very important, because LR would not know where the images are if they are later moved my Photo M echanic.) Setting up the preferences correctly, the color and star ratings used in Photo Mechanic are translated into LR. After the LR import and after backing up these selects, I then simply filter the non-selects in Photo Mechanic and delete them from my hard drive, as I see no reason to save unwanted images. There are many good tutorials for Photo Mechanic, and the support from the developer is excellent. If you capture hundreds or thousands of images in a shoot, I highly recommend it.

Like many other Fuji shooters, I shoot both RAW and jpg but find the jpgs to be so good that I process the RAW files only when necessary. The Fuji system not only provides a wide range of film simulations but easy-to-use controls for getting the desired exposure at capture. In fact Fuji jpgs are often so good, it’s sometimes difficult to process the RAW files to look as good. It’s only when the lighting situation is extremely challenging and I need to recover blown highlights or pull out extreme shadows that I process the RAW files.

If you want to spend the extra money for an aluminum print that is worthy of a fine art exhibition, try Blazing Editions in Rhode Island:
blazing.com Many of today's top pros use them. I've seen amazing prints that are 40x60" and am now using them for smaller sizes. They even have sample packages of various finishes (gloss, matte, etc.) where you send them one of your images and for a small fee ($50-$75) they'll send you six small prints with different finishes. There are big differences between them, and it's worth the money to see which one you prefer.

I use 2 Godox 350s and a 685 with my XT 2 and XT 3 and have full TTL functionality. As someone already pointed out be sure to specify the Godox “F” series.

When I was an active pro (photojournalist) I was a NPS member and it saved my butt a number of times with its priority service. But as others have mentioned you need to qualify by owning some of their pro bodies and glass as well as having a fellow pro recommend you. Since retiring from full time assignments I’ve switched to Fuji and wish it had a similar program. (Last time I asked Fuji they said they’re working on it.)

That lens (and any telephoto) has a shallow depth of field even when stopped down to f/11. So you may have focused on the overall background scene which will naturally put the fishing rod and line out of focus. Depending on the distance of the line to your camera, it may have been impossible to focus on the line. Typically the best way to shoot both near and far subjects in focus is to use a wider lens and move very close to the near subject.