Thanks!

Here's a few leaf shots from the Big Island. The B&W is of a shrub called Koster's Curse that's considered an invasive species on the island and we're trying unsucessfully to stamp it out. They spread like crazy.

Try continuous high with zone focus with your grid pattern set fairly large. In custom settings I use #2-continue focus and ignore other subjects passing in front. This works well to follow focus on your subject as long as you keep the shutter button half pressed it will lock on. Try to make sure it had acquired proper focus to start because if it’s a bit off it won’t correct while it’s firing and you can get a 20 shot series that’s not properly focused. If it’s a long sequence with good action I will often let up on the shutter button and refocus half way through just to be safe. What works for one shooter may not work for all. Your going to get a lot of rejects, but the keepers are very nice. I also have found that the eye and face feature doesn’t work well so I make sure it’s turned off. ( it works a bit better on XT-5). Experiment with what works for you. The auto focus on Fujifilm has come a long way but still can’t compete with top of the line Canon, Sony, and Nikon gear. But they cost 2-3 times more than the Fujis. That’s the trade off with using the lighter weight Fujifilm system. I’m too old to carry full frame dslrs around all day.

Nice shot. I do have a chuckle every time I see someone using their LCD to compose a photo. I wouldn’t dream of not using my eye level viewfinder. And I do love my light weight mirrorless cameras. Even though I switched to Canons in the late 1990s ( Canon was kicking Nikon’s butt in autofocus at the time) my Nikons will always have a special place in my heart. My old manual focus Nikon 400mm f2.8 was so much sharper and had more character than any Canon autofocus tele lens I used later. It had a three dimensional look to it that reminded me of a chrome shot on a Leica rangefinder camera. Probably just had superb copy of the lens. If I’m not shooting action I tend to do a lot a manual focus anyway. I’m seriously considering picking up a used Fujifilm medium format body to play with. But instead of buying the Fuji lenses at $2000 a pop I would buy a set of used Carl Zeiss lenses designed for the Pentacon Six camera in the 1970s. They only cost two to three hundred each and are tack sharp, but have a character all their own that today’s modern sterile glass sadly lacks. I did have a love affair with my Hasselblads starting in the 1980s, but that’s another story! And you are right- wedding photography is very hard work if you do it right. It’s the hardest I ever worked in my career. I got sucked into shooting a few friend’s weddings and pretty soon their friends were also calling and it snowballed from there. I was always busy looking for that one elusive moment all day. It took me a full day to recover from doing a wedding, and that’s when I was a lot younger! 😃

Love the photo of the Nikon F3. I started a little earlier (1970s). First serious cameras were two Nikon S2 rangefinder bodies. Then a couple of Leica M3 bodies. Still miss them. Started doing sports and had to graduate to original Nikon F with F-36 motor drives. Then F2-F4 cameras. You have a very nice range of photography posted and I’m impressed how many genres you seem to have mastered. Been shooting for fifty years and I still seem to learn something new all the time. That’s what makes it fun!

Thanks for the kind praise!

A few more frames from Hawaii Island rugby action since a few people asked.

(Download)

It can be a very rough sport, especially with the older kids and adults. I also posted a shot of an another tackle in the sports photo section. That teenaged player didn’t seem to move for ten minutes and was put on a body board and transported to the hospital. I heard he was ok. This is the first rugby I’ve shot since the 1970s and it hasn’t changed much. Still like playing football without pads or helmets. All the players seemed to be having a blast though.

Thanks!

Thanks!

A shot of a bruising tackle during a youth rugby match last week in Pahoa, Hawaii. Hopefully the player on the bottom was alright, since I'm pretty sure that this is the play that required an ambulance ride to the hospital.

I shot some early season youth rugby matches last week in Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Nice shots! Looks like you’re blessed with a gym with nice light. I have to shoot my college basketball in a gym with five different color balances from one end of the court to the other and a minimum iso of 6400.

Nice shot!

Thanks for all the nice comments. My daughter was lucky enough to be visiting us and was thrilled to be able to view the eruption!