Guest post by: Josh Kaplan

Several weeks ago, I was talking to my son Jackson, an aspiring (and very talented) photographer. I told him that when I was his age, and trying to be a photojournalist, I carried my camera everywhere I went: the grocery store, the mall, movies, weddings, funerals. Seriously. Everywhere. He asked me if I took it on first dates, and when I told him I did, he asked if I ever had a second date (the smart-ass doesn’t fall far from the tree).

In any case, I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and how I kinda missed having a camera with me. I know, I have an iPhone in my pocket with a perfectly serviceable camera built in, but for an old school photographer the tactile experience was missing, and my DSLRs are just too bulky and heavy for me to lug around.

So… I bought myself a present: a Fujifilm X-E1 with a couple of lenses. I can’t remember any purchase in the last several years that has brought me so much joy this quickly. It has reminded me that there are great pictures to be had almost everywhere. Simply by way of proving my point, the photos below were taken on a recent trip to Costco, and then by the local CVS pharmacy. All these images were shot in the parking lots of those stores. None of these would have been “important” enough to go fetch my big camera and come back. But they are pretty cool images. Ones I never would have captured if not for the little camera around my neck. The only downside is this: I find I have to account for an extra 10 minutes or so when running errands, because almost without exception, I find something cool to shoot. I guess it’s not really a downside after all.