Two Rainy Weekend Trips with the Fujifilm X System

This month, I booked two weekend trips back to back. The first was to New York City for three nights, and the second was to Yosemite National Park for one night. It just so happened that both of these trips involved heavy rain at times.

I have shot with Fujifilm gear exclusively for the majority of this year. Recently, I acquired two relatively new lenses: the Fujinon XF 35mm and 23mm f/2 R WR lenses (WR stands for weather-resistant, also remember to multiply those focal lengths by 1.5 for the "full-frame" equivalent). Both of these lenses have a very similar compact form factor and are known for quick autofocus. Paired with my X-Pro2 body, it was a match made in heaven. On my New York trip, I took both of these lenses plus the Fujinon 14mm f/2.8 lens to go with my X-Pro2. I never cease to marvel at the space and weight saved from using a mirrorless kit vs a DSLR kit. To bring the equivalent DSLR setup would have been SO much more of a hassle, and I would definitely have been more miserable having to carry all of it around.

Anyway, as I anticipated shooting mostly street photography in the city, I was pretty sure that the lens I would use the most would be the 23mm, and that turned out to be the case. I would occasionally swap it out for one of the other ones, such as the 14mm to shoot sweeping cityscapes, or the 35mm to shoot some portraits more close up, but the 23mm was used ~75% of the time. Throughout the end of the second day and the beginning of the third day, there was heavy rain, but my gear held up just fine. Here are some highlights from that trip (all three lenses):

Another Fuji X photographer!

The next weekend, I went to Yosemite with seven friends. For this trip, I also took the 23mm and 14mm lenses and the X-Pro2, but also the X-T1 body. I kept the 14mm on the X-T1 and the 23mm on the X-Pro2. I didn't want to bring more than two lenses because I knew I would always be tempted to interchange lenses, and I couldn't do that in the forecasted heavy rain. Here are some shots of my friends and the landscape:

The whole group.

Jihye and I also shot a couple of clients during this time:

You may or may not be able to tell, but during the time that some of these shots were taken, the rain was really coming down. Admittedly, I got pretty wet, as did my gear. But nothing got damaged, and I would wholeheartedly trust my Fuji gear in the rain again. Shooting with Fuji is an immensely enjoyable experience. I greatly treasure the images I took over these two trips, and I can't wait for the next one!