Happy Fathers Day!

Good morning and Happy Father’s Day to all.

Fatherhood has been an amazing thing. Long ago and far away, there was a quiet confidence that Fatherhood was simply not in the cards for me. Dunno why that conclusion was reached, but for many years it was so.

Until, of course, it actually happened. Quite by accident, but when it was announced that Fatherhood was in my immediate future, it was met with a response of happiness and terror.

The blessed event came and went, and my life as it was known, ceased to exist. And thank goodness for that. Having children in my life, now two of them, has been the most wonderful part of that life. It’s amazing to look back over the years to reflect on the incredible adventures we have had together, both good and bad, which I cherish dearly.

So thank you Meghan and Jourdan, for being the most amazing people I know and for being my children. I love you both more than ever thought was possible.

As this is a blog about photography, let’s reminisce a bit about the cameras that have shared this adventure of fatherhood.

Minolta SRT-102. This was my first camera. Bought used through the classified ad’s in the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper. (now defunct)

Olympus OM1-n. This camera was bought new from Barker’s Department store on Williams Boulevard, in Kenner, Louisiana when I was in college. Great store. With it came the ubiquitous 50mm f1.8 lens.

Olympus XA. Bought via mail order from one of the sham New York City retailers. Found out after purchase what the words “gray market” meant when the camera died and Olympus refused to fix it. In all fairness, the vendor repaired the camera, but it was an eye-opening experience. Purchased after we were married, it followed us all over in our life’s adventures.

A number of Olympus Stylus clam shell cameras. These were mostly just point and shoot cameras.

The first digital camera was a Kodak DC-280. My father-in-law bought it for us for Christmas. Actually, he bought us a Fuji, which we exchanged for the Kodak shortly thereafter. May not have been the wisest choice. In any event, it supplanted the XA in our daily life captures.

The first “real” digital camera was an Olympus E10. It was purchased it on a price match from Office Max. The E10 had a fixed lens zoom and provided direct control of f-stop and shutter speeds, unlike the DC-280. To be kind it was problematic as it was so slow to be virtually unusable and battery life was pathetic. We endured it far longer than we should have. Great idea, less than wonderful execution.

Nikon D-70. Received in exchange for some design work done for a friend, the D70 brought in the renaissance of digital imagery. Eminently useable and practical, outfitted with the 18-70mm “kit” lens, it was the springboard to future digital photography efforts.

Nikon D-200. Bought on a whim after Hurricane Katrina with an 18-200mm zoom, it replaced the D70. The D70 was gifted to my daughter for a college trip to Europe. She still has it.

Fujifilm x100s. And the Fuji era arrives. After several years of dwindling camera usage with the D-200 due to it’s size and weight, the x100s was a godsend. It wasn’t an easy transition though. It was fully 6 months before it’s features were conquered. The x100s has travelled with me all over the world since it’s arrival in 2013. The D-200 and plethora of Nikon kit was sold shortly thereafter as it was no longer useful.

Fujifilm X-Pro. A family trip to the UK was in the planning for 2018, and there was a desire for a camera with a zoom lens. We had taken the x100s to Ireland with us a couple of years before, and there were many times when a zoom would have been really useful. So a very lightly used X-Pro and a 18-55 zoom were purchased for this purpose, which they filled very nicely.

Fujifilm X-T1. A 35mm f1.4 lens have found it’s way into the inventory, and to be kind it’s natural place was on the X-Pro. The Optical Viewfinder (OVF) on the X-Pro was less than optimal for the zoom, so a X-T1 was procured as the natural host for the 18-55 zoom. It’s a great combo.

Fujifilm X-Pro2. Well, this wasn’t planned. Best Buy had these new in stock last year before Christmas for smokin’ prices. I don’t normally summer from GAS, but succumbed to the temptation on this one. The problem with this camera is it highlighted the differences between it and the X-T1 and the X100s. So, the X-Pro and X-T1 were sold in a massive tech refresh.

Fujifilm X-T2. With the proceeds from the X-Pro and X-T1 a mint X-T2 was purchased. Very similar control wise to the X-Pro making learning it’s features much less problematic.

Fujifilm x100f. The final segment in the tech refresh. Again for similar reasons, the controls and menu are very similar to the X-Pro2 and X-T2. It also shares the same battery unlike the x100s. It’s already been used extensively!

As this post is all about Father’s Day, lets look back into the archives for Father’s Day images. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot to choose from. Just a couple of years worth:

This first sequence is circa 2005, some 16 years ago, when I still had hair! After staring the festivities at our house in Slidell, we transitioned to Muzzie and Big Daddy’s house in River Ridge:

In the spring of 2007, after departing New Orleans for our future home in Virginia, we were called back mid-trip to say a final farewell to my grandmother. On the return leg, it was Father’s Day, and we met the rest of Melanie’s family in Baton Rouge for a family dinner.