The wind of change

When I bought the Fuji X-E2 mirrorless camera, I did so thinking that it would be a great camera to stick in a small bag whenever I was just popping out to take a few quick photographs. I thought I would still use my Nikon’s for most of my work, but instead, I started to use the X-E2 more and more and my comparatively heavy Nikon’s stayed on the cupboard shelf at home.

These three images were taken about four months after I purchased the Fuji, and after it had been upgraded with firmware update 4.0. Firmware 4 had turned it into a different camera. The Fuji promise on all their cameras of Kaizen which means “change for better” meant that the X-E2 was upgraded with a new AF system, a new high electronic shutter speed, white balance bracketing, enhanced auto ISO settings, a new user interface and many more updates. Not bad for a camera that was released three years before.

The updates transformed the camera and it became a piece of equipment that was a joy to use. I still have it and I still love using it.

These images were all taken in February with the weather dull and overcast. The gardens looked mournful and tired, the winter was not yet over and new growth was still not evident. I wanted the locations to show the quietness and solitude of their situation and the mournful aspect of their gardens.

They were all completed using my usual form of monochrome processing which had originated (with some tweaks to suit my style) from the brilliant tutorial videos by Martin Henson. I gather he has now gone back to more traditional film and wet darkroom techniques but he is a master at black and white and printing.