Morgan Petroski 3/30/15 Morgan Petroski 3/30/15

Why I'm a Fujifilm fangirl

Disclaimer: This is a post that is at least a year overdue.

The last camera to have the privilege of me hauling it around everywhere I went was my Canon 5DmkII, with my 50mm attached when I wasn't on assignment. This all changed almost two years ago. My co-worker and staff photojournalist at the Albuquerque Journal Roberto Rosales had purchased the Fuji X-Pro1, I borrowed it and then couldn't get it out of my mind.

It was like the first time I held my medium format Yashica 635 and knew that camera was going to be attached to me for a long time. However, with that love affair I was dealing with film. Which I love. But didn't have the time and energy to keep up with the developing and scanning. I still have undeveloped rolls from it in my desk, more on that another time. But that camera went with me everywhere at the time. I hauled it around on many of my assignments for the paper and snapped one frame every once in a while. It was magical. It made me stop, plan, and focus.

This Fuji was in that playing field. The realm of "magical" cameras. I don't believe a camera can make you a better photographer, oh no, but sometimes when you hold a camera you realize it has the potential to be a bigger part of your life than just a small piece of (often expensive) equipment. I jumped in and bought the Fuji X-E1 with a 35mm lens, right before hitting the road for the summer in 2013. I also packed my Canon 5DmkII, not yet convinced I would be completely devoted to using the Fuji. I used my Canon twice on that road trip. Once for long night exposures and once because I needed a wide angle lens. Other than that, the Canon was buried way in the back of the car under camp equipment and my new Fuji was glued to my hand.

Maybe it was just the thrill of a new camera you say? Almost two years later I've since upgraded to the Fuji X-E2 and added two other Fujifilm x-mount lenses to my bag. It's still glued to my hand. Sure there are some small limitations and I do occasionally still drag out my Canon 5DmkII, but my Fuji is always with me. The color profiles, the size, the un-intruding nature of it, the built-in wifi, and the quality of the images SOOC are all amazing. I could gush more, but there are more technical reviews for that. When I shoot an assignment or an event with both my Fuji X-E2 and my Canon 5DmkII, the Fuji wins every time in my book. The Canon has been retired to the huge camera backpack I leave at home. I only use my Canon for shooting dance events, and even in that case I'm starting to use it less and less and trying to rely solely on the Fuji. The Fuji's auto-focus system has improved leaps and bounds in the past two years, but for fast action it's still not quite perfect. I hear word the Fuji X-T1 can keep up in fast action situations, so I have high hopes for future software and camera upgrades.

Updated 4/15/15 : I realize I completely forgot to mention one of my other top reasons for loving Fujifilm. The amount of firmware updates for the cameras and lens are astonishing. Unlike Canon and Nikon, both which I've shot with extensively, Fuji releases updates more often with great new features and bug fixes. So even if you've had your camera for over a year and they are releasing a new camera with new features, often (not always) those features will be available to your older camera as well through a firmware update!

For last summer's travels I only used my Fuji X-E2 and I couldn't have been happier. I drove out to California with my fiancé and then had many short weekend trips to California to visit him throughout the summer. When traveling so much, the Fuji didn't weigh me down. And I didn't feel limited. By then I had added the 18mm to my bag and could get the wide angle shots that I had wanted my Canon for the year before. Not that I really needed the 18mm by the way, one can always walk backwards to get a wider shot, unless there's a cliff behind you.

The camera doesn't make or break photography for me, as I'm sure another camera will come along and make me just as happy. Practically speaking, it has also helped me eliminate the back pain I was having from carrying my DSLRs everywhere, so there's that too. In the end, a camera is a tool and this tool is a great match for me.

Photos from summer 2014 travels.

Zion National Park Yosemite National Park

Morgan Petroski 3/6/15 Morgan Petroski 3/6/15

Southwest Snow - Albuquerque

During Feb. 26-28, 2015 Albuquerque received the most significant amount of snow since 2006. My main concern throughout the two nights of snow was to make sure our photo staff at the Albuquerque Journal did a great job covering the storm in photos. So my days were filled with planning and anticipating what was going to happen across the city that needed to be documented. The only times I got a chance to take some photos myself were at night right before crawling into bed. Both Thursday night and Friday night, my fiancé and myself ventured out into the cold falling snow. We hiked from our house down to Central Avenue. Both times were really just excursions for myself to snap some photos. I grew up in Florida, so to some degree snow still excites me even though I've experienced it many times by now. And I love night time landscape or cityscape photography. Things just look different at night and I love that. Anyway, here are some photos from our excursions on both nights as the snow was still falling. I shot them with my Fuji X-E2 that I really wish was weather sealed. I may have to grab the X-T1 next, as my Fuji has become my camera of choice and I obviously don't fear shooting in extreme weather conditions...

For more snow photos, check out: Southwest Snow. It's my most recently edited Exposure piece for the Albuquerque Journal, featuring the collective hard work of Journal staff photographers.

Morgan Petroski 1/28/15 Morgan Petroski 1/28/15

Chuck Hawley Group - Albuquerque Band Portraits

A few weeks ago I shot some quick portraits of the Chuck Hawley Group around the Albuquerque Museum. I was hoping for some nice late afternoon light, but of course it ended up being one of the few overcast days we've had in the past month. Eh, soft overcast light? I'll take that too. Just goes to show, you can plan everything else, but not the weather.

Morgan Petroski 1/13/15 Morgan Petroski 1/13/15

Heights Community Center 75th Anniversary Party

A place where I've spent many Tuesday nights dancing and hanging out with friends, Heights Community Center celebrates 75 years of happy feet walking through its doors (and dancing on its floor).

Preface

Seven and a half years ago when I first made the move to Albuquerque I knew no one in this lovely Land of Enchantment. I had just driven from Florida to begin a six-month-long photo internship at the Albuquerque Journal and was in search of the local swing dance community, which I hoped existed. I had already been swing dancing for a few years by then and it was my main creative outlet outside of photography. I think I was in Albuquerque no more than two days before some deep digging on Google spit out what seemed to be some outdated info on a weekly Tuesday night dance at Heights Community Center. With nothing else to do on my first Tuesday night in Albuquerque, I drove into town to see if the dance was actually happening. Much to my excitement I found a rather large crowd of people dancing when I got there!

This became the place where I met my soon-to-be Albuquerque friends. I don't remember who I met or danced with that first time at Heights, but boy was I excited to have found a place to dance. Much to my surprise (and excitement) I soon learned of other weekly swing dances. The Tuesday night dance at Heights Community Center will always have a special place in my heart though. It's where I first found a community that would become a very big part of my life and where I began some very close friendships.

History & A Party

On December 30, 2014, the Calming Four hosted a 75th Anniversary Party for Heights Community Center. According to the city of Albuquerque website, Heights Community Center was the first community recreation center in the city. It was constructed between 1938 and 1942 as a National Youth Administration Project, one of several New Deal programs active in Albuquerque during the Great Depression. During World War II, servicemen stationed in Albuquerque for training flocked to dances at the center. Folk, square, and swing dancing groups still actively use the center's wooden dance floor, which many consider the best in the area.

So the space and floor have been going strong for 75 years, but now, finally, the floor needs to be replaced. There are only so many times you can sand down and refinish a floor, particularly a dance floor. Desi Brown, Tuesday night swing dance organizer, and the Calming Four, are beginning a year long fundraiser to raise $10,000 for a new floor. The 75th Anniversary Party was the kick-off for the fundraiser.

Learn more:

Calming Four: Primordial Swing Dance Group. Join them every Tuesday night at Heights Community Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Tuesday Night Swing ABQ group on Facebook where Tuesday night dancers can post info, not run by Calming Four.
Lessons (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) begin at 7:30pm. Dance begins around 8:30pm, ends at 10:30pm.
Heights Community Center can be found at 823 Buena Vista Drive SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106.

To donate to the new floor, a donation account has been set up at New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union:

The Calming Four HCC Floor Donation Fund Acct: #2426670-1.

More photos can be found on my Facebook page: Morgan Petroski Photography

Morgan Petroski 1/12/15 Morgan Petroski 1/12/15

Rail Yards of Albuquerque

Any excuse to visit and photograph the Albuquerque rail yards sounds good to me. Actually I wasn't even scheduled to shoot this on Friday, but due to more important breaking news I "unfortunately" had to scramble to get there on time. Gosh darn. The city of Albuquerque has come out saying "Dangers abound at the city's rail yards." After shooting ASH I could help with this lecture. I won't get into specifics, but yes, the rail yards are dangerous. While filming we were constantly reminding each other of this, even though it was so obvious. Despite its danger it's a beautiful place. The light, the dirt, the space. Here's a few of the photos from last week's short tour.