New England Road Trip; Part II

"Jackie" cleaning clay cups before glazing and firing at Bennington Potters (click to enlarge)
Very low and mixed source lighting.  The focus point was the bottom of the cup.
X-T2, 16-55mm lens @ 41.4mm; 1/60th sec. @ f/4; ISO 640

First, a couple of comments about the X-T2 before commenting on the trip.  So far, I am very pleased with the dynamic range, extraordinary detail, color balance and color rendition from the road trip images.  I was able to take an extremely contrasty scene or a steam locomotive in a dark roundhouse with bright sunlight streaming through a window onto its number plate and simultaneously tone down the brightness and bring up the shadows to, what is to me, a perfect balance.  The outside images were gorgeous in the morning light.

As far as the camera handling has gone, it couldn't be better in my opinion.  This camera, like its predecessor the X-T1, just fits and feels good in my hands.  I didn't have a grip for the X-T1 but I have the booster grip for the X-T2 and it balances the camera very well with both the 16-55mm f/2.8 lens as well as the 50-140mm f/2.8 lens.  I like using the vertical grip controls as they are placed right where my fingers think they will find them. No hunting for them.

She was kind enough to allow me to photograph her as she explained to me what
she was doing.  She consented to smile even though she was very busy.
X-T2, 16-55mm f/2.8 lens @ 42.7mm; 1/60th sec. @ f/2.8; ISO 400

Onto Bennington, Vermont where we visited the Bennington Potters.  I went into the old dark building where the potters were crafting the pottery and made some images of them in very low light.  The light was also an odd color due to a mixture of daylight, overhead mercury lights and incandescent light, but the X-T2's auto white balance found an appropriate setting that I had very little tweaking to do.  The focus locked on quickly in the dark shop and I had no issues with capturing the craftspersons exercising their craft of making pottery.

This young man is about 20 years of age and is just learning the craft.  He says he
is anxious to learn all aspects of pottery making.  He tells me he really enjoys his
job and gets a sense of satisfaction of seeing the completed pottery on which he
played a role in its creation. (click to enlarge)
X-T2, 16-55mm f/2.8 lens @ 42,7mm; 1/60th sec. @ f/4; ISO 1600

It was a fine early autumn day when we passed through Bennington.  We also saw Hemmings' Garage (of Hemming's Motor News fame) where they still wash your windshield if you fill up with gas.  We went onto Wilmington, VT, which is just a crossroads and a few small specialty businesses along a river.  My wife shopped for some quilting cloth while I just moseyed around and enjoyed the weather and nature.  We ate at Dot's Cafe next to the North Branch of the Deerfield River.  It was a delightful lunch with the wait staff very friendly and the food plentiful and excellent!

We rely not only on locals for advice on where to eat, but we have found Trip Adviser very helpful.  One has to basically throw out the highest and lowest reviews and look at all the rest to get a true picture.  However, in the past 5 years, we have never gone wrong when lodging or eating when using Trip Adviser for suggestions.

The road trip continues and the X-T2 continues to exceed my expectations.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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