August 27, 2023

Apple Blossom Festival

Well, this is a bit awkward…. Completed missed this opportunity to yapp about a wonderful experience. H’mmm, “old-timers” disease perhaps? Well, we’ll leave that discussion for another day. As part of my retirement celebration, the kids and I decided to visit the Apple Blossom Festival in Winchester, VA. It’s kind of an odd thing, as this is held at the same time as the Wine Festival in Winchester. The difference is the Apple Blossom Festival is free to enter while the Wine Festival is a paid entry. It made for an interesting situation getting around in Winchester, and it definitely wasn’t an ideal situation. Hopefully the Winchester folks can see…

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written by Chris - Posted in Fuji, Photography, Travel, Fuji, X-T2, Fuji, XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR

August 16, 2023

Fairfax Cemetery

A couple of weeks ago, I grabbed the Fuji X100f and headed out for a walk to the Fairfax Cemetery. I’ve walked through the cemetery a couple of times before, but this trip was solely for photographic purposes. It prolly wasn’t the ideal day for photography as it was very bright and sunny that day. I’m fond of dark, contrasty imagery, and that can be a challenge in the bright sunlight. Oh well. The cemetery is about a mile away on the other side of the Fairfax Courthouse. An interesting factoid about the Fairfax Courthouse is this is where the infamous Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial was conducted. Don’t ask me…

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written by Chris - Posted in Fuji, Photography, Fuji, X100f, Yapping

June 18, 2023

Happy Father’s Day

Happy Fathers Day out there to all “fathers and father like figures” out there. LOL. I saw that phrase in the media recently and had to chuckle. Sign of the times I suppose. Looking back in the photo archive for Father’s Day entries, I found a particularly memorable Father’s Day where Meghan and I hopped into Agnes (her Mini Convertible), put the top down and did a complete run down Skyline Drive. For those who don’t know, Skyline Drive runs 105 miles north and south along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah National Park and is the only public road through the Park. We are no newcomers…

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written by Chris - Posted in Fuji, Photography, Travel, Fuji, X-T1, Fuji, XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS

April 15, 2023

Yorktown Battlefield

Before we start, a heads up. I’ve turned commenting on in the site. Comments have to be approved so your witty remarks won’t be immediately posted. Let’s see how this works out. I’ve also set WordPress to accept comments on posts less than 14 days old. Seems logical. Anyway, it’s all a work in progress. Melanie and I decided to spend New Years in Williamsburg getting to know our new “home town”. I used some Hilton points to book a room at the Embassy Suites in Williamsburg. All in all, if I’m honest, I can’t recommend this facility. We have stayed here a couple of times and it’s just not…

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written by Chris - Posted in Fuji, Photography, Yapping

December 18, 2022

Manassas National Battlefield

Precursor: Some time back, I stumbled across a “final post” on a blog I had never before heard of; Leicaphilia. I don’t consider myself to be a particular Leicaphile, but this final post was quite poignant. The blogger, who was a dedicated Leicaphile, had been fighting stomach cancer for some time. He had just been sent home from his latest visit to the hospital to die. Doctors gave him a week, maybe two to live. So he posted a farewell to all the friends he had made worldwide via his blogging about Leica’s and film photography. Only. he didn’t. This was several months ago and Tim is still with us….

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written by Chris - Posted in Fuji, Photography, Fuji, X-T2

November 20, 2022

Traipsin’ around Bull Run

Last time I promised to delve into our current home development process. Sitting here thinking about it, I’ve decided to push that out a bit. Dunno why. Anyway, in late August, Jourdan and Stefani came up to Fairfax for a visit. Meghan came over and after a lunch at Mama Tigre, we headed out to Bull Run to have a look see. Pulling up into the car park there were plenty of cars, but we easily found a parking space. We were curious why the crowds, but were soon to discover. Entering into the park, the beautiful fields of wildflowers greeted us warmly. Crossing this bridge, we then discovered why…

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written by Chris - Posted in Fuji, Photography, Fuji, X-T2