Last night, I met up with an old friend on Stanage Edge in the Peak District. The intention was to shoot the sunset, as the sun was due to set just to the side of the edge. If the weather played it’s part, the light on the edge would be spectacular. Often when that’s happened, I’ve found myself elsewhere, looking back at Stanage Edge and wishing I was there.
This time I was in the right position at the right time of day and year. All I needed now was the weather to play it’s part.
Initially it looked like we were on for a great sunset which is when I took this shot.
I shot this with the Fuji XT3 and Fuji 16-80 lens at 21mm. It’s a handheld exposure at 1/20” using f/11.0 and ISO200. I was also using a Kase Wolverine 3-stop Reverse ND grad filter on the sky to balance the exposure.
At the time I couldn’t see much colour on the camera, but I could see the sky was nice. Looking at histogram I could see the exposure was good, but the image appeared a little flat on the screen. I made an exposure compensation adjustment to refine the histogram, but I didn’t feel confident. Whilst I knew technically how to use the camera and had no problems with it’s operation, I didn’t feel I could trust it.
Interestingly, this is exactly what happened when I switched to using the Panasonic G9 exclusively over the past couple of months. I think this shows that learning to use a camera is much more than knowing how to operate the controls. You also need to understand how it responds in different situations and how far you can push things to get the best exposure. Basically, you need to learn to trust it.
After that, I just need the weather to play it’s part. On this occasion the sun quickly disappeared into a bank of dense cloud and with it the possibility of a good sunset vanished.
I hope you like the image and have a great weekend.
The Lightweight Photographer 
Very interesting . I’ve been using the XT3 since it was released ..but I’ve often hankered on going back to 4/3 for weight and we have corresponded on that too .
I use Kase Wolverine Pro magnetic ..they are brilliant so so easy to use as compared to other filter systems. They are not cheap though . They don’t have a graduated but I never use grads ..instead preferring to bracket .
Where I have a real headache os with the circular polariser . I simply cannot fathom out how to see the effect of it in either the EVF or the rear screen . I know the polariser on its own works precisely because I have tested it off the camera .
Another matter for ‘debate ‘ is Natural Live View on or off for raw shooting . There is a school of thought that ON is best when shooting raw .
Of course that’s the thing with mirrorless it is only ever possible to see a Jpeg rendition in EVF or rear screen .
I am also ‘frustrated ‘ with Fuji ‘s lens choices so I always cart around my 55- 200 alongside the usually always on camera 16/55 . No stabilisation with the 16-55 often causes a bump up in iso when I’ve run out of everything else
I am hoping the to be released Tamron 18-300 will be good . I’ve tried the 18-135 Fuji but don’t like it .
I did have the Panasonic GX8 before the Fuji and the IQ is better on the Fuji ..but the 4/3rds are more convenient.
In my workflow with my Fuji I frequently use Topaz products such as Denoise Ai and Sharpen Ai
I have experimented with a big crop from the 16/55 incorporating Gigapixel Ai in the workflow with excellent results
I must say that I have zero problems with Adobe and my Fuji raw bit with import defaults set to zero for sharpening and noise reduction
Wow, there’s a lot there to consider.
I think something else that I gained from the experiment of forcing a switch to a different camera for a long period is that it changes your perspective about what’s good and bad. It also gives you more energy for shooting. I think the Fuji will remain my main camera for the time being though.