Dennis A. Mook | Photographer, Writer and Traveler
You can see the discarded pile of memorials that have been removed from the graves and left in a pile. (click to enlarge) Not too far away from where I live is an old, abandoned and now derelict building that I believe was originally an Africa-American church, possibly from the late 19th century or early 20th century. I'm not 100% sure, but all indications it is. Adjacent to the church is a small…
(click to enlarge) I’ve always heard that bad luck comes in threes. My first recent experience was my Lightroom Classic catalog mysteriously becoming corrupted. After some persistence, I was able to use a backup catalog to restore things back to normal. You can read about that here . A few days later I discovered that a large number of my image files on the external hard drive on which I keep all…
The other week, I wrote a post about how my Lightroom Classic catalog mysteriously became corrupted (Seriously! 🥴) and how I restored it as well as restored the images and editing I had done since the last catalog backup. You can read about that here . It was not a fun time. A few days after that problem was analyzed and fixed I discovered another issue. When looking at some older files, the…
Many rumor sites are speculating that Fujifilm will introduce the next generation of X-T camera the first week in September. I believe the speculation is for September 8th. ( UPDATE : The announcement has now been delayed with no new date specified) About a month from now. I wonder what the X-T6 will be as compared to the X-T5 and will it be something I would consider buying? Unlike previous weeks…
This was one of the images I made in between the time of my last catalog backup and when my Lightroom catalog became corrupted. After restoring it with an older, backup catalog, I had to find all the images I had made, synchronize the folders and reimport them otherwise the files would have been on my hard drive but LR would not known they were there. (click to enlarge) Fujifilm X100VI; 1/35th…
Without the best gear, your photos could turn out to only as good as this––a mere snapshot! Don’t let this happen to you. (click to enlarge) I’ve now done some extensive, in-depth, scientific research and it is clear to me that better gear frees you to excel, be more creative, release your genius and become more successful than your wildest dreams. I discovered that better gear actually allows you…
Just an observation I made as I was sitting in my vehicle watching people scramble around in the rain a couple of weeks ago. -The umbrella was invented in China in the 11th Century B.C. (silk, wax and a bamboo frame) -The automobile was invented in 1886. -I'm pretty sure rain was invented before either. Yet, when it is raining and one uses an umbrella to keep dry (and I’m guessing that is why one…
I made this image of this lighthouse in 2013 using a Lumix GX1 equipped with Lumix 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens. Looking at it at 100% on my 27" monitor, it is not the sharpest photo that could be. But downsampled to Instagram, Facebook, blog post size or just sharing through email, it is certainly more than sharp and detailed enough. No additional sharpening, noise reducing plug-ins were used, just…
(click to enlarge) This morning I was on my way home after doctor's appointment. As I passed by a local community flower garden, I spontaneously decided to stop and see what was blooming. I'm glad I did. When I left the house for the doctor's office, I had grabbed my small Fujifilm X-E5 kit which contains the 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 lens, the 14mm f/2.8 lens and the TTArtisans 75mm f/2 lens. I took the…
I've not seen sunflowers with orange petals before. This local planting caught my eye and I decided to stop and photograph a few of them. To my delight bees were feasting on the pollen. (click to enalrge) Summertime––warm days, lots of sunshine, stormy afternoons and delightful things everywhere to photograph, things that may not be there in the other seasons. Swimming, flowers blooming, boaters,…
“You’ve got Mail!” Sometimes I find it difficult to become inspired to go out to photograph. I just don’t feel like it. I’m sure many of you have experienced the same feeling. It is especially hard when the summer temperatures are above 90º F (32º C) and the humidity is up around 75% (on July 4th my backyard weather station recorded a high temperature of 102º F and a Heat Index of 130º F! In my 53…
Here are the cameras I used. From left to right; Canon G2, Canon G9, Canon G11, OM-3, Ricoh GRIIIx and Fujifilm XE-5. (click any image to enlarge) The other day I was retrieving something from one of my bookcases. In the bookcase, along with (of course) books, on a couple of shelves I have a small display set up of old film and digital cameras, light meters, old film and other accessories from my…
The “Old” Wandering Lensman himself. …or some sort of caricature of him. I’m doing pretty well for 74 years of age! In fact, I’m feeling great! I feel more like 54. I’ve been blessed in so many ways and am still passionate about photography. I keep chugging along with a smile! P.S. I still have my old Domke photo vest (like above) but haven't worn it since the 1980s. lol. I can hardly believe it!…
Ricoh GRIIIx; cropped to 65X24 ratio. (click to enlarge) I’ve written two other posts about this camera and if you want to know all of my opinions of it—both the positives and negatives—you can read those here and here . I’m not going to repeat all of that here. In those earlier posts I talked about what I think the GRIIIx does well and where I think it falls short. Now that I’ve used it for…
Patriots all! (click to enlarge) Two hundred and fifty years ago today, a group of men gathered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and committed the ultimate act of treason against their Mother country– England. They signed a document, called the “Declaration of Independence,” effectively telling King George III and the British government that the “Colonies” were now independent and a new sovereign…
Can you guess what this is? Give up? Riding through the car wash! (click to enlarge) Lucky for you I've had no profound thoughts lately so I thought I would post a few lighthearted ’grabshots’ I made as I went about life. Just for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy! Quite an interesting choice of clothes! Patriotic! (click to enlarge) Go for a swim anyone? Trees look healthy? Lol. (click to enlarge)…
What is this man doing? Possibly fishing? But for what? (Click to enlarge) Give up? The other day I grabbed a couple of cameras and drove to a couple of places I used to visit quite often. I hadn’t been there is a couple of years and I wanted to see what I could find to photograph. They used to have a plethora of interesting subjects. I spotted the man, in the image above, slowly walking through…
(click to enlarge) Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com . Thanks for looking. Enjoy! Dennis A. Mook All content on this blog is © 2013-2026 Dennis A. Mook. All Rights Reserved. Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution. Permission may be granted for commercial use. Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or…
Photographing this sandstone fin in Arches National Park required a much wider focal length than the 35mm FOV on my Fujifilm X100VI. The compromise was to turn the camera vertically, take a series of images, then stitch them together rather than a single exposure using a much wider focal length lens. Being that I have a degree in geology, the folding and deformation of these rocks was fascinating…
This old abandoned farmhouse would make a great haunted house. Even moreso at night. A nice bonus is the Black Vulture that took flight from the roof as I was making my exposure! What Do you think? Would it pass as a night shot? I think probably most people would accept it as a night photo but not to the discerning photographer. (click to enlarge) Having some time on my hands on the days in which…
This was Cossie Delk’s country store. Read on and I’ll tell you a little about it. In the background you can see an old smokehouse and part of a garage. (click to enlarge) All images made with a Fujifilm X-E5 Whenever I see an old abandoned building, house, factory, store or such, I find myself spending a little time thinking about what stories the old place could tell. Who lived in the old…
Mom and fledgling ospreys on a nest near my home. I was not disappointed with either the camera or lens in this case. (click any image to enlarge) OM-1 Mark II; OM 150-600mm f/5-6.3 lens @ 600mm; 1/1250th sec. @ f/6.3; ISO 500; Handheld I have been happily photographing with Micro4/3 system cameras and lenses since 2012. I have literally made tens and tens of thousands of wonderful photographs…
Early in the morning following our arrival, there was a launch of a SpaceX Flacon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. This image depicts the second stage of the rocket to the left, the two white dots are the fairings that cover the Starlink satellites being ejected and the two white spots on the right is the booster starting its fall back to earth showing the small guidance jets steering it to…
My photography kit when I travel a week or less. What’s pictured here is listed below. (click to enlarge) Springtime is normally travel time for my wife and I. We typically travel most often in April/May and September/October—the shoulder seasons. There are fewer people traveling as these are not the times for family vacations. Less traffic, less congestion, shorter lines and fewer people overall.…
Do you remember these Coca-Cola machines? I do! Along with several other models, my friends and I put a lot of dimes (10 cents for those of you outside the U.S.) into these machines on hot summer days. Recently, I saw this one in a corner of a little country store. Ten cents for a 6.5 oz. (192ml) bottle of Coke. Ice cold and very refreshing. Remember those small bottles? Just enough to quench your…