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Shawn Blanc on work:

Well, that got me thinking… perhaps working out of my home office isn’t the best setup for me? I’ve long been leaving the house once a week to work from a coffee shop, but what if it should be more?

When I lived in Seattle my commute to work was 45 minutes on a good day (and those days were rare). Because of that I worked from home on Fridays. Without a doubt, working from my office was more productive for a plethora of reasons.

For me the biggest reason was that I couldn’t just fuck around all day at the office — someone was likely to see my computer screen. There’s something psychological for me, whereby when I enter a space designated for “work” I tend to be more serious about work. Whereas if it is a space that is still apart of my home, I tend to want to work, but I feel less rushed and less serious about it and therefore get less done.

Sometimes this is beneficial, but sometimes you just need to get shit done.

I’ve never used a cowork space (though I would love to) ((I wanted to when I was in Seattle, but the options at the time were very unappealing to me. Since then I have toyed with the idea of opening my own cowork space in Seattle, but haven’t taken it further than that.)) but I imagine I would likely see an even bigger boost to my productivity there. I say that because while I don’t want my employees to see me goofing off, I really wouldn’t want random coworking people to see me goofing off.

Overall, I think cowork spaces are very interesting, and certainly here to stay. I do think that many of them focus too heavily on replicating a “modern” office feeling, instead of focusing on the more specific needs of coworkers, or remote workers in general.

Needs like:

• Podcast studio with computer and mic.
• Large monitors already at the desk.
• Rental lockers for people ‘in-town’ for the day that need a hub.
• Computers in general for those that run around with just a tablet.
• Chargers on site (why should I lug mine).

I’m certain that these amenities exist at some locations, but it doesn’t seem to be the norm from what I can tell. Mostly, from what I can see just by looking at websites, I think there is also too much human interaction to get a desk — it’d be ideal to make no human interaction needed. Book the desk/locker/room/office on your iPhone, walk in and get to work, leave when you are done.

More Uber, less Four Seasons. I don’t know about anyone else, but I hate interacting with people out to sell me something.

I’ve used just a small portion of the lenses available for the Fuji X-system, but I wanted to share a few thoughts for those interested on the lenses I have tried.

XF 23mm f/1.4 R

This is the widest lens I have, and also one of the biggest. The pros of the lens for me are:

• Fantastically sharp.
• The manual focus ring, with distance gauge, is fantastic.
• The focus seems fastest of all my lenses.

The biggest con is that the lens is truly big. When on my X-E2 the camera does not sit flat, as the lens diameter lifts the front of the camera up. The weight isn’t that big of an issue, but it is just physically large.

The large size does mean that you get a beefy set of adjustment rings, but it is by no means a compact lens.

Overall though, my favorite lens and the classic 35mm focal length on the X-system.

Buy it on Amazon, or B&H, and support the site.

XF 27mm f/2.8

This is the slowest lens I own, but it is also tiny in comparison to all the lenses, as it is a ‘pancake’ lens design. This is like a slower aperture, faster focusing, Fujifilm equivalent of the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 that everyone loves on the micro four-thirds system.

The only reason I own this lens is because it makes my entire camera setup easy to carry around. It’s interesting to note that Photozone.de loves the optics of the lens — I just am not enamored with the lack of aperture ring and the focal length is a bit odd (just like the Panasonic lens).

The size, and relatively low cost, is why you own this lens.

Buy it on Amazon, or B&H, and support the site.

XF 35mm f/1.4 R

This is probably the most popular lens (outside of the kit lenses) on the Fujifilm system. It provides the classic 50mm focal length on the X-system. It is fast. It is tack sharp. It is small.

This is truly the ideal lens for the X-E2 and it feels made for the camera. Truly fantastic. I have nothing but great things to say about this lens, but the lens hood, I hate the lens hood. It’s this odd metal hood that many love, but makes the traditional lens cap unusable when on, instead requiring use of a hood cap — I find that very annoying.

If you want to get started with primes, this should be at, or near, the top of the list.

Buy it on Amazon, or B&H, and support the site.

18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS

I rented this lens and was extremely impressed — as many told me I would be. I typically don’t like zoom lenses (more on that in a bit), but this is a truly good lens no matter how you look at it.

It is sharp, has optical image stabilization, and a decent aperture range for a zoom lens. Having said all that, I am glad I rented the lens and did not buy it. The cons are just to great for me on the lens:

• The zoom ring was too fidgety for me.
• The lens was too heavy (though I didn’t think too big).
• I like that there is an aperture ring, but it is more like a programmable dial as it is not marked out for the apertures. (That’s understandable given that the max aperture is variable, but it doesn’t quite feel right in the Fujifilm ethos — just as the 27mm feels odd too.)

I would happily own this lens, but only if I bought it as part of the kit — otherwise I wouldn’t bother because I think the stand alone price is a bit high for the lens. Having said that, it’s the best zoom on the X-system.

Buy it on Amazon, or B&H, and support the site.

Primes versus Zooms

I won’t dive too much into this debate, because it’s a big one, but I will note a few of my personal feelings on this — since this is something I struggled to understand initially too.

I fell in love with primes when I got the Canon 50mm 1.4 — from then on I was sold on primes. I just like prime lenses better now.

Primes can be faster, and have less distortion (operative word there being can). I used to be big into zoom lenses, but I find them more challenging to work with now then I do prime lenses. (Though more convenient.)

Instead of standing in one spot and playing with the focal length, I find myself actively exploring to find new angles and shots. I pay less attention to the camera, and more attention to the view — to me that is worth going with primes alone.

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Of the above lens choices, the real decision is if you want the 35mm focal length (the 23mm Fuji) or the 50mm focal length (the 35mm Fuji, confusing, I know). The answer to which is highly personal, but I think I’m now a convert from the 50mm focal length, to the 35mm length. Luckily I have both, but man it’s a tough call.

I don’t recall what I took in my bag the first time to the hospital when we had Sloane, but I did try to pay a little more attention the second time around. There’s tons of advice for what mothers should pack, but what about the dad? The first thing you need to know is that labor, for the father, is boring — very boring.

With that in mind, here’s what I actually used this time around, what I needed, and what I packed but didn’t touch. I am not posting this to tell you what to pack, just to offer: “oh yeah” type stuff.

What I Used

• Camera: I packed the Fuji X-E2, and used the crap out of it.
• 35 f/1.4 R Lens
• 23 f/1.4 R Lens
• Joby Gorillapod (I knew the hospital offered a great view of downtown, so I brought that for some long exposures.)
• Pepsi: Yeah, you’ll want to pack some caffeine so you don’t have to go hunting for it.
• iPad
• iPhone
• Chargers for the iOS devices.
• Snacks: Granola bars, candy, anything that kept my hands clean and provided me with something to eat (i.e. no Doritos).
• Tissues: Most hospitals will have them, but still, I have nasal issues.
• Toothbrush & Toothpaste
• Gum/Mints

What I Needed, But Didn’t Have

• Pen: I forgot one, and man is there a lot of things to fill out and sign.
• More water: I only packed a liter, that wasn’t enough. It’s readily available, but the point is to bring it so that you can focus on the one in labor.
• More tissues.
• Slippers: my feet got really swollen and tired, but who wants to walk on hospital floors in their socks? Not me. Slippers would have been great. Really great.
• CP Filter: for the long exposure. I meant to pack it, but forgot it.

What I Packed, But Didn’t Use

• Change of clothes. Had we been there longer I would have used them.
• Battery-based chargers for my devices. Just didn’t need them.
• 18-55 f/2.8-4 lens: too slow.
• 27mm f/2.8: too slow
• Full toiletries bag.
• Cash: for some reason I remember needing it the last time, but I really didn’t need it at all this time.

The first time I packed a backpack. This time I went with a small duffle bag: it was a bit too small. I’d advise packing something with extra room for the trip home (mine was stuffed to the brim from the get go).