Cathedral Rocks Reflection at Red Rock Crossing, Sedona, Arizona

This is the local Sedona icon trophy photo. In my three visits, I’ve never been blessed with good light so I just make do with what’s available. Though the Cathedral Rocks are featured on every postcard rack in Arizona I still was surprised by how many photographers were out here even in the dreary late afternoon weather. One guy was shooting too close to the creek and fell in apparently because I saw him laying all his gear out to dry on a rock including his photo backpack and jacket. Even then he went back to shooting away soaking wet head to toe in cold weather as if he were in a race for time against some magical light about to fade. It’s interesting to see how other photographers work.

I got pretty close to some cascading water on the edge of the creek too but I went home dry at least.

Sedona Scenic Landscape is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

Old Print Photos of my Family

Print photos at least in my family, have always been among our most treasured possessions. Much of this is probably attributed to the fact that there is no more than one or two copies of these older photos in existence. It represents a certain time in our lives and all the memories associated with them. The photos take on greater significance every time a loved one has passed or a childhood a more distant memory in the rear-view mirror. I’m sure that it meant a lot to my grandaunt to give these photos to us. When I saw the photos, it took me back to my childhood to see my grandfather standing there and laughing at my great-grand uncle’s birthday party. Its a special picture because several years later he suffered a stroke which left him partially paralyzed for the rest of his life. And to see my dad happy and healthy in the bottom left picture because that’s the part of my childhood that I want to remember.

Contrast these standard yet rare family snapshots with the glut of technically amazing pictures we have access to nowadays on Facebook, cell phones, external hard drives, etc… I can’t imagine any of the digital photos nowadays ever coming close to having the same emotional value as what a print photo can have as time goes by. Everything digital just seems so disposable with very little shelf life by comparison. How many people will actually be able to find their original files a year from now, five years from now or 25 years from now? In the chance that the files are still available and compatible with future technology, will your grandchildren care to load them up on their computer? In my opinion this is a by-product of today’s internet-dominant society where everything moves a million miles per hour and the moment is never savored because there is always this pressure to find the next big thing on your smartphone or to be the most popular for something on a social networking site.

I once watched a Google Hangout video involving some popular photographers, and when the discussion came to having prints made of their photos one of them asked the others if it was easy to get photos printed because she had never gotten her photos printed before. I hit the stop button. This statement came from someone who was a self-described professional photographer, but clearly someone without much experience in photography. These are the types of photographers that some people are admiring nowadays, and that is a scary thought to me. But I couldn’t help but think how many other people out there are just like her. I’m not just talking about photographers but people in general.

Almost everyone takes pictures nowadays whether it is on a DSLR or a cell phone but most never see the light of day. Up until about ten years ago, it cost money to take a picture and you had to develop them all into prints or slides if you wanted to see them. It actually meant something personal to be able to share the photo album with someone or to present a slideshow. Now, we are hit with such a barrage of images everyday online that they just don’t hold the same emotional value. Even the prettiest images are basically forgotten as soon as they are made. Despite all the hype about connecting socially online, everything about it is so impersonal.

Print photos by contrast are personal. This is the value of printed photos. Try printing them once in a while. Or if you want to really take it to heart as a professional photographer looking to make your photos worth something how about try limiting each print to an edition of two? One to sell and one for yourself to keep within the family. 50 years later someone will probably still have the print and have a story to share.

The Value of Printed Photos is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

T-Rex and Stegosaurus Fossils at Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

The L.A. Natural History Museum opened a new wing of their museum last summer devoted entirely to dinosaurs. I had been wanting to go since it opened and finally made it there last month during the holiday season. It was definitely worth the wait. They had gigantic fossils on display including the mamenchisauraus which barely fit inside of the museum and they had quite a few T-Rex’s on display too. I’d highly recommend a visit if you are in Southern California. This was my favorite museum in L.A. while growing up so I’m glad to see them updating the exhibits.

Mamenchisauraus Fossil in New Dinosaur Hall at Los Angeles Museum of Natural History

See more of my Los Angeles pictures.

Dinosaur Hall at Natural History Museum of L.A. County is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

Hawaii, The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook

While having a recent discussion about Hawaii with several photographers on Twitter, I was told to check out “The Blue Books” aka. the Hawaii Revealed guidebooks. Shortly thereafter, the publisher sent us a tweet thanking us for the acknowledgement. Since I have an interest in visiting the Hawaii volcanoes they sent me a review copy of Hawaii, The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook. In addition to receiving praise from the other photographers, what really impressed me was how tuned in the publisher was to social media. It’s definitely a great way to create engagement and grow their brand.

So now onto the actual book content. I could already tell from reading the preface that this is not your generic guidebook. Their staff actually lives in Hawaii and regularly scours the island for every bit of insight available. They tell it like it is and go as far as discussing the reason why the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park visitor center pulled the book from the shelves. This level of candidness is really refreshing and what all guidebooks should strive to do rather than pumping out fluff. This is even more crucial these days given the amount of unfiltered information available on the internet these days.

In addition to locational info, the author displays a deep historical knowledge of various locations such as how the volcanoes formed and stories about King Kamehameha. The amount of passion the publisher has for Hawaii definitely comes across in the writing. I liked this book so much that I will be purchasing the rest of the series in the future regardless if I go to those other islands or not. I’d highly recommend Hawaii, the Big Island Revealed for anyone thinking of visiting Hawaii and even for locals.

Visit the Wizard Publications website to purchase the book.

Hawaii Guidebook Review: Hawaii The Big Island Revealed is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

Navajo Hand-crafted Turquoise Necklaces, Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona

One of the things I like to do when visiting the southwest is to see what Native American crafts are for sale. You can easily find authentic vendors selling these items outdoors at tourist locations and sometimes in remote areas along the highway. In this instance, the lady who crafted these items was at the table assembling necklaces as her daughter was attending to us. I ended up buying a horse hair clay vase as a gift for my mom. Last time I traveled to the southwest, I bought my mom a small pot from Taos Pueblo so I thought that a vase would go well with it in her house.

Native American Arts and Crafts is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

West Fork Oak Creek Canyon in Winter, Coconino National Forest, Arizona

The West Fork Oak Creek Canyon trail was one of the places I went to during my first visit to Arizona in January 2003. I thought it was a very interesting location with potential so I had always wanted to visit again. My first visit was a bit difficult to navigate since the creek was very icy and while the creek wasn’t icy this time during stream crossings, the trail was mostly frozen over. I kept slipping and almost falling meanwhile Samantha didn’t quite have as many problems with traction. Adding ice sure does add to the adventure!

This was fun but I think I’ll try to visit during the fall season next time, or at least wear crampons so I can at least finish the trail.

West Fork Oak Creek Canyon is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

Hopi Point Sunset, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

If you’re a regular follower of my blog, you probably know that I’m scared of heights. So while the Grand Canyon is one of the amazing places on this planet, I’ve never really been able to enjoy it in the past because I never enjoyed looking over into the canyon. Whatever mental hurdles I previously had were erased this time however. Perhaps the third time’s the charm or perhaps I was really determined to photograph the South Rim, but whatever it was, I had a great time at the Grand Canyon.

We picked Hopi Point for sunset because it was one of the places on the South Rim where you could see the Colorado River down at the bottom. It is interesting to observe tourism patterns at places such as the Grand Canyon. We got to Hopi Point about 1.5 hours before sunset so we could pick our spot, as there were just a few photographers milling about at the time. Within 30 minutes of sunset, it got really crowded. Then as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon, the viewpoint totally cleared out and I pretty much had the whole place to myself. The craziest part happened about ten minutes before sunset as a tour group leader began running around demanding that his group pack it in and go back to the bus so they “could be on schedule”. Hopefully dinner was really good!

Experienced landscape photographers know that you never leave before all the usable light is gone because some of the best colors usually happen after the sun has dipped below the horizon. The hot shower and Denny’s can wait.

First and Last Man Standing is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

Downtown Flagstaff in Winter, Arizona

People who move to Los Angeles usually cite the warm weather as their primary motivating factor for moving there. From native Southern Californians however, I hear a lot of sentiments about wanting to live in a place that has four seasons at least once in their life. I’m one of them.

With snow in the forecast for Sunday night through Monday, I went to bed on Sunday night with plans to photograph downtown Flagstaff with fresh powder on the ground. The motel room was located a block away so it made it really easy to wake up and head straight out the door at dawn. I really couldn’t have asked for any better conditions and pretty much had downtown to myself.

Downtown Diner Sign, Flagstaff, Arizona

I’m not sure why the difference is so pronounced but the people of Northern Arizona are so hospitable compared to people in the big cities in California. Everyone we encountered seemed genuinely nice and more than willing to strike up conversation. After the sunrise photo shoot, I walked back to the room to meet Samantha and we walked over to have a hearty breakfast at a family-owned diner. As soon as we walked into Downtown Diner, a regular at the counter and the staff recognized me from the sunrise photo shoot so we engaged in conversation throughout the meal.

Samantha Building Her First Snowman, Flagstaff, Arizona

I bought the Fuji X10 last month so I could more conveniently capture the spontaneous slices of life I was skipping with my heavier professional camera gear. Monday morning in downtown Flagstaff was a perfect place for this little camera. Samantha had mentioned that she had never been somewhere when the snow was falling so I took this opportunity to capture some of the fun we had on this snowy morning. Photography in my opinion is most special when it captures a real moment. The “Decisive Moment”.

Snowman in Downtown Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff has always been one of my favorite places in the southwest. I like that the town has maintained it’s Route 66 character and isn’t as touristy as places like Sedona and the Grand Canyon South Rim. This is my kind of town.

Flagstaff in Winter is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

San Gabriel Mountains Sunset Alpenglow Reflection in Pond, San Gabriel Valley, California

The San Gabriel Valley and San Gabriel Mountains are rarely photographed for such a heavily-populated region. Most landscape photographers find little appeal in such an urbanized landscape so that is why I enjoy taking this on as a creative challenge. My roots are in the valley so it’s a region that I feel compelled to photograph. What I like about this image is that it shows a glimpse of what the San Gabriel Valley might have looked like when it was still a wild landscape.

Red Paint Cans

My house was on the market for half a year as a foreclosed property and I saw it listed for a few months before deciding to take a tour. The photos I saw on the real estate websites didn’t look very appealing but since I was making no progress on finding a suitable property to purchase, I decided to take a look. I was pleasantly surprised and the room in the back was the one that sold me on the house. The room was red and once I saw it, I knew that would be the future home of my photography office. I re-painted the room a lighter shade of red four times to get it right and these paint cans bear the aftermath of that project.

Semi-Spiral Staircase at City Hall, Pasadena, California

When I saw this, I thought of my Craigdarroch Castle staircase photo from 2009.

Cowboy Running from Bull at 2011 Frank Bogert Memorial Rodeo, Palm Springs, California

Rodeos are a blast but also very dangerous. Cowboys are tough.

Desert Garden Agave at The Huntington Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California

I spent a lot of time at The Huntington this year and had always wanted to make an agave photo that I was happy with. One of the perks of membership is early admission on the weekends so I made this image during one peaceful early morning and practically had the whole garden to myself. The light is best in the mornings.

180 Degree Double Rainbow over San Gabriel Mountains Panoramic, Angeles National Forest, California

This gigantic double rainbow could be seen from as far away as Palos Verdes Peninsula and I had a nice front row seat to witness it. Undoubtedly this was the coolest natural phenomena I saw all year. Many others agreed too apparently as I heard numerous “Look at the double rainbow!” screams from down the mountain.

Yosemite Falls in Shadow at Cook's Meadow, Yosemite National Park, California

My mom is not a photographer but even she knew this light would make for some dramatic photos. In-fact she was the one who suggested pulling over to photograph it.

Autumn Leaves and Granite, Yosemite National Park, California

Of the photos I made in 2011, this was the one that required me to work the scene the most in order to make.

Pasadena Wind Storm - Fallen Tree on Property, Elizabeth Street

The night of the windstorm was one of the scariest I’ve ever experienced. Pasadena still has cleanup to do and this tree trunk is still there a month later.

Bamboo at The Huntington Botanical Gardens

In the past, I was mostly a wide angle lens photographer but lately I’ve been finding myself gravitate more toward simplicity and “intimate scenes”. Scenes within a scene.

Favorite Photos from 2011 is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

Red Berries and Fall Foliage at The Huntington

2011 was a memorable one though not entirely for photography reasons. The year started off with me becoming a first-time homeowner meanwhile my dad was hospitalized for several months due to Parkinson’s-related illnesses. Then I met my girlfriend, Samantha, in April. Clearly this didn’t leave much time for photography during the first half of the year.

I did make it a personal photography project to focus on The Huntington this year however. It’s just a few miles from my house and prior to last fall, it never struck me as a photogenic location despite its popularity. My goal was to see how far I could push my photography in a place that I’ve known for my entire life. What this experience taught me was that while The Huntington isn’t as photogenic as the Butchart Gardens for example, that there is a subtle beauty here that had been eluding my camera until I started to look for the details. I don’t always bring my camera, and just go for an early morning walk sometimes which I think has helped me to see deeper because I’m not always looking for a picture.

Overall, 2011 was a fun year both personally and professionally. I got some pretty nice magazine covers this year, featuring images I’m proud of to boot. Much of my photography income comes from image licensing but the thing is that you never have any control over what people will license. People generally think of me as a scenic photographer but my best selling images are generally travel-related images. So it always feels good to get some validation for photos that have more personal meaning.

Goodbye 2011 is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

Tsi Lai Temple Ground Tile Patterns, Hacienda Heights, California

Whether you look up, down, left or right there are patterns and shapes everywhere.

Glass Ceiling at The Huntington Botanical Gardens

Complexity in Simplicity is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

My Bookshelves

I had two custom bookshelves made just to fit several of my large photo books. It was kind of fun to arrange my books. That right bookshelf cabinet consists of my photography and guide books. The guide books being on the upper left. On the upper right are my “how-to books” which include photography business related topics. On the middle left shelf are books by Sam Abell, William Albert Allard, David Alan Harvey, Eliot Porter and Ansel Adams. Galen Rowell and Gary Crabbe’s books occupy the middle cube on the right. The bottom shelf is a random mix of large photo books including the works of Frans Lanting, David Muench and Philip Hyde.

I thought it would be fun to share my bookshelf and learn about what books other photographers collect. Feel free to share in the comments or post a link in the comments if you would like to do your blog post on the same topic and I’ll link to it in a future post.

What Does Your Bookshelf Look Like? is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

Rabari - Encounters With the Nomadic Tribe eBook

I was recently sent a copy of an eBook to review, Rabari – Encounters With the Nomadic Tribe. The eBook is authored by travel photographer, Mitchell Kanashkevich, and goes into great detail about his four-month project photographing the Rabari tribe in India. It is a 60-page publication but there is so many insights in here that it feels like a much longer book. I read the first several chapters then skimmed through the rest of the book for this review.

Each chapter features an image from this project, then goes into the back story of how the photographer and his guide got themselves into the situation to make the photograph. Then he shows the sequence of images that led up to the chosen image along with technical details, and then how he handles the post-processing on the final result. I found this eBook to be organized in a very clear and consistent manner. This book is reminiscent of Ansel Adams’ The Making of 40 Photographs, and Galen Rowell’s Mountain Light, in that the book discusses light along with the thought process of the photographer while making the photos. Photography has little to do with technical specs but about the vision of the photographer so it’s helpful when the photographer can clearly articulate what was going through their head while making their images. Those make for the best photo books in my opinion because though it can be considered a how-to book, it’s actually much more useful to serious photographers because we might be able to pick up some insights we hadn’t considered before and apply it to our own work..

If you are interested in cultural travel photography, then I’d highly recommend Rabari – Encounters With the Nomadic Tribe.

Rabari – Encounters With the Nomadic Tribe: eBook Review is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

Yosemite Photos Gallery is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

Abstract Expressionism Photo

I first became familiar with Jackson Pollock’s work while attending grad school in San Francisco. I didn’t think very highly of his work to say the least. Somewhere along the way, I have grown an appreciation for his art and abstract expressionism in general. What I like about it is that it’s impossible to replicate. While I certainly can’t duplicate a finely illustrated image either; I know that no one can duplicate an abstract expressionist work exactly as is. Every photographer can pull off a photo from Mather Point at the Grand Canyon or a nice shot of Yosemite’s Tunnel View but good luck copying an abstract expressionist photo.

Jackson Pollock is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

Bonsai Tree Silhouette at The Huntington Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California

I was on a date with my girlfriend at The Huntington right before Thanksgiving when I saw an opportunity to photograph a silhouette of this bonsai tree. I didn’t have a camera with me on this day (I no longer have an excuse now that I have a Fuji X10!), so I made a mental note to return on Black Friday so I could photograph it. Sure enough, I made it to this spot exactly at the same time I was there two days prior.

This was also my first photo shoot with the 5D MKII since breaking it in October. My tripod-mounted camera fell over onto the sidewalk when I went to pick up my bag off the ground and stopped working. I made the rookie mistake of not securing the legs prior to stepping away. Thankfully my lens wasn’t damaged but as you can probably imagine, it was a sickening feeling.

See more of my Huntington Gardens pictures.

Bonsai Tree is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

Fire Wave at Sunset, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

I spent two days searching for the Fire Wave, only to make it there at dusk on my final day of the trip. Here’s the twist: I took the trail down to the Fire Wave and walked right past it the day before not realizing it was there. I read the directions online from multiple sources and it sounded as if it was at an unmarked area right by the White Domes so I spent my final afternoon of the trip driving back and forth along the road for several hours exploring off-trail on both sides of the road. As a result, I didn’t take any pictures that day until it was almost too dark to do so. It didn’t occur to me that the sign from the road pointing to “The Wave” was the same place as the “Fire Wave” as it is referred to by the photographer that discovered it.

Since I got there so late, there were three other photographers that beat me to punch so I wasn’t able to freely photograph the location. It’s much smaller than I thought it would be so I ended up going up above and shooting from this higher vantage point so I could avoid having other photographers creep into my frame.

This experience taught me something. I realized how stupid it is to chase icons at the expense of everything else because I missed a ton of great photo opportunities by being too fixated on one thing. I should have had more fun on this day than I did because I saw some amazing scenery. The next time I visit Valley of Fire State Park I am going to clear my mind of any preconceived ideas and just do what comes naturally.

Fire Wave is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

Photographing the 4th Dimension e-Book by Jim Goldstein

San Francisco-based photographer, Jim Goldstein, recently sent me a copy of his 1st eBook to review. The eBook is titled, Photographing the 4th Dimension. I’ll be the first to admit that I prefer reading actual books over eBooks but do acknowledge that self-publishing work online allows writers to take more chances with their material as opposed to working with a publisher who ultimately gets the final say over creative decisions. With that said, I’m really impressed with Jim’s attention to detail in this project. Everything he presents is explained down to scientific detail but also simplifies the basic points down to what photographers need to know to pull of the concepts in the book. I like how every concept reviewed in the book was put into a step-by-step field checklist at the end of the book so we can print it out and store in our camera bag while traveling.

The techniques covered in this eBook include:

- Time Lapse

- Light Painting

- Long Exposures

- Star Trails

- Sequences

- Mixing Motion with Still Photography

This is not material that’s covered in the average how-to book and Jim knows what he is talking about. The star trails chapter is the one that I got the most out of personally. I do wish that more examples from each chapter would be presented because I’m left wanting more by the time the next chapter rolls around. That’s pretty much my only suggestion about the eBook, is that it could be longer.

My overall impressions are that Photographing the 4th Dimension is geared toward intermediate-level photographers with an interest in how to make your photos more dynamic. You will definitely add some cool techniques to your arsenal by reading this.

Disclosure: The author is a friend of mine.

Photographing the 4th Dimension: eBook Review is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

Fuji X10 Compact Digital Camera

I’ve been looking to get a smaller camera for general use for a few years now but none suited my needs. While pocket cameras (or smart phones) are appealing in the sense that you can carry them everywhere and use them spontaneously, the image quality of those devices would never cut it for professional use. Image quality isn’t that important for family pictures or vacationing with friends, and serious photographers want that too but it would kill us to find a great photo op only to not be able to do anything with the photo afterward due to camera limitations. So what I have been looking for is a camera that is compact enough to fit in a jacket pocket if necessary, yet be able to make publishable photos and at least medium-sized prints from RAW files.

The Canon G12 fits some of the criteria that I was looking for but the times that I’ve tried the camera, I wasn’t impressed with the way it handled. It also seemed a bit too bulky to carry around inconspicuously. Plus, I haven’t read too many favorable reviews when it comes to the camera’s ISO 800 and above capabilities. To be fair though, it seems to be the compact camera of choice for a lot of nature / travel photographers when they want to go light. I’ve also used my mom’s $150 Canon point and shoot camera for vacation snapshots but the files are unusable for professional use.

Then last month, I met someone in Las Vegas who happened to be carrying a Fuji X100 and that immediately caught my eye. It reminded me of an old manual film camera. I didn’t know much about it but I spent some time later that night researching it on the internet. The X100 was out of my price range and though the image quality is considered to be awesome, the camera seemed to have too many design flaws for that price range. But then I found out it’s sister camera, the Fuji X10, was about the come out and many of the things I was looking for in a compact camera seemed to be in this camera so I bought it online earlier this week and it arrived on Thursday.

Portability

I’ve been playing around with the X10 for the past two days and have found it to be really fun to use. I was able to walk around the street and the Huntington without drawing any of the usual attention or remarks that I’d get with my DSLR / lens combination. The Fuji X10 looks really low-tech when compared to most other modern cameras. Heck it doesn’t even have a logo on the front of the camera. The body is very reminiscent of a Leica, which has long been favored by street photographers.

Functionality

More importantly, the camera has aperture priority and manual modes available, which are the only two exposure modes that I use on my cameras. I was able to shoot my pictures in RAW mode without any problems; another must-have feature. Since the X10 is a mirrorless camera, there is no mirror slapping when tripping the shutter that can cause unwanted vibrations in DLSR’s during long exposures. That also means the camera can operate in a near-silent manner.

Bamboo at The Huntington Botanical Gardens - Converted straight from the RAW file with no adjustments.

Detail

Now I’m sure you are wondering what the image quality is like. I shot the following image handheld at f6.4, 1/250 sec at ISO 100. Click on the detail crop on the 2nd image below to see the tree limbs up close.

Fallen Tree on Power Line in Pasadena - Fuji X10 Test

Fuji X10 Image Test Crop

It’s not the sharpest image I’ve ever seen just straight out of camera but when I added some smart sharpen in Photoshop, the detail looked pretty good. (not shown here.) Keep in mind that I am judging this from the perspective of someone accustomed to looking at files from full-frame and APS-C digital cameras every day. I’d certainly take the files from a Fuji X100 over 35mm film scans any day though so the quality is somewhere in-between the two in my opinion. Keep in mind that I’m not scientist nor a camera-junkie. Other sites can tell you all the technical info about the camera. I’m just a photographer with real-life needs, and that is how I judge my equipment. I’d rate the image quality as above-average.

Viewfinder

I think Fuji has been headed in the right direction with the X100 and now with the X10, but neither is a perfect camera. The X10 has what is described as a “optical rangefinder-style viewfinder”, meaning that what you see through the viewfinder might not accurately reflect what you are actually photographing. It covers about 80% of the frame and you can’t see any of the meter readings through the viewfinder because it is analog. I read that the X100 has a great electronic viewfinder however and that would solve the X10′s issue in my opinion. That would also allow us to meter for manual exposure without having to use the LCD screen; thus conserving the batteries. Another problem is that it’s hard to know if your photo is focused properly. The best thing about the viewfinder? It’s pretty big for a compact camera and easy to see through unlike other cameras in this category. You can shoot with the Fuji X10 like you would with a DSLR in other words, and not have to use the LCD screen in most situations. The lack of a viewfinder is what turned me off about the high-end Panasonic and Olympus compact cameras so that is one of the reasons why I decided to purchase the X10. It is difficult to do serious photography if you are holding the camera a foot away from your eyes in my opinion.

Dynamic Range and Color

The dynamic range isn’t as good as what you would get from a SLR. It was obvious to me when photographing in the vicinity of the sun. But when not photographing in super-contrasty situations, the images look good. The auto white balance works surprisingly well on the X10. It blows my 5D Mark II out of the water both outdoors and indoors when it comes to picking up the proper white balance. I’ve never had a camera was good at white balancing the indoor lighting but I had no complaints about this at all when I took some snapshots in my house during the night. The bamboo photo above was taken on auto white balance as well but outdoors in the shade.

Overall Impressions

The Fuji X10 is a keeper and I intend to use it in situations where I don’t want to have a bulky DSLR hanging from around my neck. I won’t be using it for landscape photography but it’s something to consider for travel photography, and in social situations definitely. If Fuji would fix the quirky things that are not photography-friendly about the X10 then they would have a truly game-changing camera. As it is, the Fuji X10 is an innovative camera that is sure to gain a big following. I like it a lot.

Fuji X10 Camera Review is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.

Destructive Illegal Carvings on Sandstone, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

It is unbelievable how selfish some people are. It only takes a minute of human stupidity to destroy tens of thousands of years worth of work. I see a lot of photographers shooting pretty pictures but few show the effects of tourism on our landscape. Let’s keep it real and shine the light on the other side as well.

See more of my environmental pictures.

Defacing Our Natural Treasures is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our recent Los Angeles pictures and Inland Empire pictures.