Belgium Roadside Shrine

[Joe Thibodeau]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post here but some of you know me from the other forums. The wonderful advantage to this forum is the open discussion across all things photographic. I have sampled nearly all the formats up to 8x10 and currently own a 4x10 Shen-Hao and a Canon 5D.

This image was taken with a Fuji 645 rangefinder at a crossroads in Eastern Belgium on the way to Malmedy and Spa. Image compression sacrifices a lot of detail but the essence remains.

Hope you enjoy it. Joe

 

[Asher Kelman]

Joe,

A huge welcome to you.

That picture, with the stones on either side looks very biblical. I saw a lot of shrines like that in Tuscany, sometimes built into walls of homes. Often there are fresh flowers.

Is that the Fuji with the zoom lens?

I found this nice review in the digital Journalist.


"Fuji's 645 Rangefinders
Offer Cool Versatility

Review by Greg Smith

I like to make pictures with 35mm cameras. Most 35's fit my hands and eyes well. The cameras are small enough to carry easily, and they're ready to make pictures quickly, with motor drives now standard equipment. But sometimes you just need a bigger negative or chrome. To fill that need, many years back I bought a used RB-67 at a really good price. I've added used lenses, a prism and a few other accessories over the years, and the 10-pound beast has served me well when I've really needed a big negative. Still, I avoid using it the way a medieval hypochondriac could be expected to dodge the plague. It's a monster, unwieldy when off the tripod (and sometimes on it), unsuited for anything "candid."

That's why I've watched closely as other 120/220 cameras have evolved. Square format, especially the wonderful Hasselblad system, interests me. But I'm not making money that serious with medium format, and 'Blad equipment is still fairly large, heavy and cumbersome (until you add expensive grips, winders and prisms). The 645 (6x4.5 centimeter frame) format has long seemed to me a good compromise, but even though 645 SLRs are more affordable than current 6x6 or 6x7 options, getting an easy-to-use system configured can cost as much as a practical boat.

Then I saw the Fuji GA645 rangefinders.

First off, they're affordable: You can buy the GA645wi, with a fixed 40mm/f4 lens (roughly equivalent to a 24 on a 35mm camera), for less than $1,000; and the GA645zi (my choice) comes permanently mounted with a 55-90mm/f4.5-6.9 Super EBZ Fujinon lens for well under $2,000. Both offer auto-focus, auto-exposure, auto-wind and auto-ISO setting (with Fuji bar-coded film). They're compact, quiet and fairly unobtrusive. The permanently mounted zoom on my camera, while limiting options, keeps me focused on what's happening, rather than the choices in my bag. Some have called these cameras "Leicas on steroids." And except for the slower lenses required by the larger 645 format, I'd have to agree. Moreover, its automatic functions and pop-up flash make my new camera almost like a Canon SureShot that grew up. It's a pretty good choice for the camera to carry in the car when you're not on assignment."

Asher

 

[Jim Galli]

Hi Joe. Great to see you here.

 

[Joe Thibodeau]

Hi Asher and Jim,

The Fuji I had was pre-zoom and had a fixed 60mm lens. It was extremely portable. That trip I took a 35mm, the 645, and a 4x5. It was my first adventure to mainland Europe.

Joe

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

....It was my first adventure to mainland Europe.
...

And here I was thinking, based on your surname, that you were Belgian (LOL).
Welcome to OPF Joe.

Cheers,