Sometimes you just nail the exposure.  I find that when that happens to me, it was really just perfect lighting.  Ironically, yesterday I posted about the importance of getting the best possible exposure as the top priority.  Today, I went down the Reef Bay trail to some 1,000 year old Petroglyphs and some old Sugar Mill ruins.  Today, I nailed the exposures.

ficus tree roots

The lighting was just right and this ficus tree base seems to glow.  There is no alteration of any kind to this image, it is the JPEG image straight from the camera.  The lens used was the Fuji 35mm (50mm) at f/2.0 and 1/60 second.

trail illumination – the perfect lighting

Once again, there was no post processing of any kind to this image.  The JPEG is straight from the camera.  This is my son, Ben, as he rounded the corner on the Reef Bay trail and hit a patch of bright light coming through the canopy on the trail.  I had just shot an image of the tree near me and recomposed and shot the image.  My exposure was already set, so all I needed was focus and a shutter press.  This image was taken using the Fuji 18mm (28mm) at f/2.8 and 1/250 second.

a smaller mill wall

Nothing is perfect, and in this case I did some post processing to the JPEG file shot in the X-Pro1.  The original image was darker than I wanted, using the same Fuji 18mm at f/4.0 and 1/125 second.  I had a better exposure, but it was with f/2.8 and the smaller f/stop was really closer to the sweet spot of the lens, so I opted for a slightly higher depth of field and adjusting the exposure.  I added a little over 1 stop of exposure, boosting the highlights and the shadows while bringing the blacks back into check.  I did add a little noise reduction to offset the increase from the shadow side of the image.

old processing gears

For the final image uploaded in this series, I was able to publish it with zero modification to the out-of-camera JPEG.  What you see here is what I shot with the Fuji X-Pro1 with the Fuji 18mm attached.  The exposure was f/4.0 and 1/500 second.  This was the gear system still housed inside the Reef Bay sugar mill ruins.  Apparently the old mill was upfitted with new technology in the 1800’s and the mill failed a second time now here for us to visit.  The only illumination was from a window on the right between me and the gear assembly.

For those of you that explore old buildings and other old areas for photographic opportunities, make sure to be aware of your surroundings.  I made one of those excitement mistakes today and in the corner of the room, just beside the large gear was a three foot hornets nest with hornets buzzing around.  I didn’t notice until after I took this shot when I promptly exited the room.  There was a large boiler tank behind me I wanted to photograph second, but I valued my health.  I did not get stung, but those hornets continued buzzing throughout the room the entire time we were there.  I checked once more on our way out and decided I had some great shots and I could live with that.

I am using this time to refine my use of the X-Pro1 and put together a book on this camera system and the tricks I’ve found and developed on my own to use it to its full potential.  I hope to have this out in the fall and will let you know here.  Some of what you see here will be discussed in much greater depth, including post processing when necessary.