Tony Seeley Photography

A couple of weeks ago I got a new camera and have been desperate to go out and take some pictures.  I actually had a day out planned today with some friends at work but they unfortunately bailed on me.  Not to be undone I decided to go out anyway on my own – but where to go?

Last night Lisa casually mentioned that there were a load of blossom trees in bloom on the University of Washington campus.  So I did some internet research and decided to visit the university today.

I got up at 7:30 and hit the road immediately.  Looking on line I found out that the trees are only really in bloom for 2 weeks and it’s a popular location for wedding, engagement or family portraits.  So I figured if I got there early I’m miss the crowds.  Haha, how wrong can you be?

I got there at 8am, paid my $5 parking fee and found the square that had the trees.  Guess what?  It was packed!  Loads of people, loads of photographers taking pictures of people and yes, lots of brides getting their picture taken too.  It was a zoo.

It was a real pity too as it’s stunningly beautiful, my shots really don’t do it justice at all.

But I was there to test out the new camera, so that’s what I did.  I took a load of pictures and selected the ones that had the least number of individuals in them, and then when I got home I hit Photoshop and removed the people.  Quite a few hours later I had the images below.

The purpose of the day was really for me to test the camera, and that was a great success.  The camera (a Fujifilm X-Pro2) is amazing, I LOVE it.  I don’t think I’m getting the best out of it yet as I’m still getting familiar with it but it feels great, handles well and produces some beautiful images.

After about 90 minutes it started to rain so I decided to head home.  As I write this now I’m wondering if I should have stuck around a little longer as everyone else may have left, but as they say hindsight is a wonderful thing.

On the way back to the car I found this small garden full of wild blue flowers.  I have no idea what type of flower these were but it was very pretty so I jumped over a hedge and grabbed some shots.

Here’s the irony, while I went there to shoot the blossom trees (and I got some OK shots), I liked one of the blue flower pictures most when I got home (it’s now my wallpaper), funny how that happens sometimes.

Anyway here are the images.  If you get the chance to see these blossom trees, I really recommend you go they are really beautiful.

This weekend my new Fujifilm X-Pro2 camera body arrived and I have to say I’m delighted with it, I LOVE this camera and think it’s probably the best one I’ve ever owned (and I’ve had quite a few).

It’s beautifully made, feels great in the hands, super fun to use and full of features. The rangefinder look and feel is great fun (just like my X100T) only now with 24 mega pixels and the new Arcos film simulation. I now also get my ±2 stops for exposure bracketing (about time fuji) so I can’t wait to get out and shoot some landscapes.

So what do I shoot for the first time? Well those of you who know me know I’m not a huge fan of pet portraits. Actually strike that, I don’t like shooting any animal period! I just don’t have the patience (or probably the talent) to get a good picture.

But this weekend Roxie was just sitting in the kitchen looking at me with a brilliant “I’m guilty” look on her face. I have no idea what she did (must have been something) but I thought I’d try and get a shot anyway. What was amazing was that she just sat there and didn’t move. And I got (I think) a great shot.

So here’s my first posting with the new fuji (I love this camera – have I said that yet?), hope you love the Guilty Doggy image 🙂