Back to basics with the Fuji X-Pro2

There is something about the Fuji X-Pro2 camera that I really love. Could be the design, reminiscent as it is of the Leica M rangefinder, one of my all time favorite cameras. The X-Pro is the camera I grab when I'm not sure I really want to tote a camera along with me. It's smaller than my other cameras and I've dressed it up with some specific lenses that keep it compact, convenient, and simple. The three lenses I use on it are the Fuji 18mm f/2, Fuji 23mm f/2.8, and the original Fuji 18-55mm zoom. I also have a set of 43mm close-up filters to get in close with the 23mm lens. Most of the time I go out with only one of these lenses on the camera.

I happened upon a large pile of decaying palm fronds on a morning walk with the X-Pro2 and the 18mm f/2 lens. For years I have been photographing leaves in a state of decay where they take on twisted, sculptural shapes as they transition to another stage of life. There is something I find quite beautiful in this transitional phase of nature. I was attracted to the subtle colors of blue, yellow, and ochre I saw in the palms. Later in Photoshop I boosted the colors and extended their palette by working on the images in the LAB color space. I didn't really change the colors; I just boosted what I saw there in the original scene, and this is the result.