During this summer I had a day off during the week, and I was able to escape the normal day to day. With me I had my bicycle and my Fujifilm X100S. I headed to the the start of the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP Trail) in downtown Pittsburgh and started my journey. In this case my journey was a short 50 mile round trip. After taking this short trip and stopping from time to time to make an image or two, I realized that I need to plan a trip for the entire trail from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C.

The X100S is truly the perfect camera for many situations and this is definitely true for bicycle trips. Below are a few of my favorite images from my day trip in July, and I am already mentally planning my trip for the entire trail. I am sure the X100S will make the trip or possibly the X100T.

This is my second year participating in the annual "man-camp" camping trip.  Like last year the group camped in the Allegheny National Forest in the Kinzua Dam area, which happens to be the headwaters of the Allegheny River.  The weather was great this year, with just a little rain as we slept in our tents that last night.  The activities of the days and nights include eating, drinking, boating, wake-boarding, fishing, hacky sack, and drinking.

Last year I took my Canon DSLR and several lenses.  This year I traveled light taking only my Fujifilm X-E2, a 35mm, and 14mm lenses.  I was able to enjoy myself without worrying about lugging heavy hear everywhere, and my entire kit fit in my backpack that traveled with me everywhere we went.

The first image below is my weekly entry and the remaining are a few of my favorites, including a bonus image of me thanks to Jim when he was checking out my camera.  Overall the trip was excellent, went way to fast, and produced many great stories that I am sure will be retold over and over again.

This past weekend was the annual Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix (PVGP), so Jonah and I went to watch the cars and take some pictures.  The first 2 images are from my Fuji X-E2, and the top image will be my weekly selection.  The images following of the cars racing are from my Canon 5d MkII, which out performs the Fuji when is comes to sports photography.  My favorite image from the day is the last image, so you should make sure and scroll to the bottom.

As we walked to the races I noticed that some folks in Pittsburgh have begun expressing their love for one another by placing locks on the bridge. As I explained this ritual to Jonah, he asked "Can't they just get married?"  Seems like a reasonable question.

Last week the family went for a bike ride in Moraine State Park and along the way I made a couple stops to take some photographs.  This is a marsh area along the path that happens to be my favorite image from our ride.

On our last night at Sandbridge Beach there was a full moon and a a storm rolling in.  I set up for some long exposure images, and this was one of my favorites from that night.  If you haven't been to Sandbridge Beach it is a very nice area, and I understand why it is referred to as the Outer Banks of Virginia.  I definitely got the same vibe as my previous visits to North Carolina's Outer Banks, and I actually learned that the two beaches are only separated by about ten miles of wildlife preserve.

We stopped off in Williamsburg on our way to the beach.  While walking the streets in the early evening I noticed many of the side streets were empty of people.  I stopped for a few moments and took a few photos.  I will probably dedicated an upcoming post on traveling to Williamsburg and the beach with my Fuji cameras.

Last year I was invited on a trip to Canada, and it went so well I was invited back this year. That trip is in the blog archives in May and June and was shot using a Canon 5D MkII and the Fuji X100s. This year I replaced the Canon in my travel kit with the Fuji X-E2. I took the same kit as in my previous posts from New York City.

The trip to Canada, specifically Huckleberry Island, which is located in the Parry Sound is a long weekend guys trip. A family friend has two cottages on this island, one of which is in disrepair and there are always a few projects that need done while we are there. The other is pictured in the first image and is the main cottage, has solar powered lights for evenings and propane appliances for cooking and refrigeration.

After the work is done there are all sorts of activities that one can partake in. Kayaking, fishing, hiking, and relaxing are always available and I bring cameras so photography is an option too. Some choose to build large fires to burn the scraps from our construction projects. Regardless of your preferred activity everyone has a great time.

As this was my second year I had a better idea of what types of images I wanted to capture. The focus this year was long exposures and some documentary shots too. Typically I have no problem picking whether an image will work better in Black & White or Color. I had two images from the trip that I felt work either way extremely well. They are below along with the other favorites from the trip.

I love my new travel kit and on a trip like this it was near perfect.  My only addition would be possibly a wider lens or possibly even a fish-eye lens to capture more of the landscape.

Our last and final day in New York was to be a low key day walking around Central Park, a meal, and a flight home in the afternoon.  We started with a coffee stop and our normal ride on a subway, this time to the Upper West Side to start our walk through Central Park.  As we started our walk Sue noticed a couple getting engaged as we were walking over one of the many bridges in the park.  The couple hired a photographer to capture the moment, and I was able to capture the entire moment, including Sue.  It was my first walk through Central Park and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  There were bikes, boats, random street performers, and beautiful views of the city.

As we made our way back to Central Park South, we decided to make a quick trip down to Rockefeller Center, so Sue could do some last minute shopping.  I took the opportunity for some more street photography and enjoy the day in the sun.  We had some lunch and then headed back to the hotel to grab the bags and a cab.

At the airport we had some beers and reflected on a great trip to New York.  I started to make some quick notes of our trip that I used as an outline for this series of posts.  There were a couple more photos and then home.

In the end I determined that the Fujifilm X-Series cameras are my new travel kit.  My confidence grew knowing that I didn't have to sacrifice image composition or quality.  Fuji has a winner in this series of bodies and lenses and I am excited for the future and my decision to move to the X-Series line.  Look for more of my adventures with the Fujifilm X-Series cameras in upcoming posts.

Our third day in NYC began with a subway ride to NYU and a walk to a local coffee shop.  We grabbed some coffee and breakfast, and walked to Washington Square Park to enjoy some people watching while we ate.  After "loosely" planning our adventure for the day I took a few pictures at the park, and we continued on our walk to the Greenwich Village area, specifically Bleecker Street.

Sue shopped and I took the time to capture more street shots.  The Village has some really cool local shops and some touristy places too.  Amy's Bread and Murray's Cheese would be classified as the touristy places, and they were packed.  Another round of coffee, and it was off to the subway
.
I didn't tell Sue where we were headed because based on earlier conversations I knew she was not interested in the particular area of New York City.  However, since this was my "photo walk," I figured it would be worth a quick stop in China Town and Little Italy, walk around, grab a drink, take some photos, and back on the subway.  Well, that is pretty much exactly what we did, and it produced an accidental favorite from the trip.  As we walked the streets there was an open fish market, I stopped took a shot and moved along.  It wasn't until I uploaded the image that I saw the sign on the scale, which makes me like this image even more.  Next stop….Brooklyn.

The plan for Brooklyn, was to subway over to Brooklyn, find a pizza place that Sue remembered from a previous trip, eat, and then walk the Brooklyn Bridge back to Lower Manhattan.  The plan was executed to perfection.  I will also give my directionally challenged wife credit for locating Juliana's Pizza.  The entire Brooklyn Bridge experience was one of my highlights of the entire trip.  It was my first time, so I had built it up in my mind, and it delivered.  My only recommendation would be to try and plan your trip for a week day.  We went on the weekend and the bridge was wall to wall people, and I am told the week days are less crowded.

The day was done and we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and head out for the evening.  During our trip we specifically didn't make pre-determine plans, other than one dinner reservation (Peter Luger on Day 2) and this evenings trip to The Top of The Rock.  Neither of us have been to the top, so we thought it would be a nice thing to experience together.  I booked our tickets based on the time the sun would be setting, so that I could capture NYC at night.  The whole experience lasted about an hour, and according to Sue is a much better experience and view than The Empire State Building.

We walked around Time Square for a few minutes, and walked back to the hotel for some drinks.  Day 3 was in the books and we were excited to spend Day 4 in Central Park and head home that evening.  More to come on Day 4...