I love sunstars. I also love hiking in the national forest. The blue sky and a few puffs of clouds round out the image for me.
The Girl enjoyed the hike as much as I did. Life is good.
Daily Image — 25 September 2023
Daily Image — 24 September 2023
I have been very busy the last week and the upcoming weeks will be no different, I expect. But, today, The Girl and I got out to walk one of my favorite trails near Spooner Summit along US50.
Soon the snow will come and walking there will be more difficult. I might buy a pair of snowshoes and learn to do that. The Girl might have to have snowshoes for doggos, too.
But this morning, the trail was lovely and the couple who got there before me were far enough ahead that it was as if I was along (with The Girl, of course) on the trail.
I carried the Fujifilm X-E4 with the Fujinon 35mm f/1.4 mounted today. That is a marvelous lens that is fast, plenty sharp, and renders out of focus areas nicely. In fact, I think I see a hint of bokeh balls in some of the images.
I often set the lens for f/8 and just run it. However, for some images I will open up the aperture to reduce the depth of field and isolate the subject a bit. But not for this image.
I really like textures. The granite of the Sierra Nevada provides plenty of subject matter. The iage is straight out of camera. #SOOC
The walk was good. I came away with a frame the pleases me. The Girl is tired (so a happy dog).
Life is good.
Remainders: Week 23 September 2023
- The Hot-Crazy Matrix is such a funny bit of analysis that I have to preserve it. It will be at risk of censure because of the political correctness problem we have. I show it to female friends (and loved ones) and all have laughed at it to date. It is sarcastic humor at its best, I think. But I suspect the woke will label it misogynistic.
- Simon’s Utak (YouTube) posted a review of the TTArtisan 100mm f/2.8 Triplet lens. The Meyer-Optik Göerlitz is a very expensive vintage lens that is highly regarded for its background blur and soap-bubble bokeh. However, the TTArtisan produces very similar images at a much better price point. It is worth a look.
- Matt Day does a nice job of explaining the practicals of black and white film development.
Daily Image — 23 September 2023
After a week working in the field (and a buttload of travel), I am home for the weekend. This morning (I need another coffee) I am catching up a bit on email and other things.
I decided to put a new-to-me 55mm f/1.8 Super Takumar on my Sony A7Sii and make a couple of images. Of course, The Girl is involved. But Lucas is often a test subject because there are lights in the background.
This Super Takumar is a very good lens. I like its sharpness and background blur. It will be fun to take out on a walk and see what it can do.
Daily Image — 18 September 2023
On my way home from testimony in Sacramento, I stopped in Placerville for a walk around and an early lunch. Placerville is an old gold mining town with a rich history. I really enjoyed the few minutes I spent wandering the streets with my Fuji X100V.
I am reminded that Placerville is not far and The Girl and I could drive over for a day to spend walking around and enjoying the history of the place. I might add this to my list of things to do.
I wandered into a used bookstore. I was reminded of how much I enjoy used bookstores, particularly those that are shoehorned into a cubbyhole like this one is. I wandered through the stacks, not looking for anything in particular. But i was drawn to the orderly-disorderliness of the stacks and thought it might make an interesting black and white image.
So, I made several. I think the Fujifilm X100V is nearly the perfect camera for this sort of shooting. At least, I find that I like the workflow that comes with it.
Back to my rumination… There was a nostalgia and a bit of melancholy that crept into my emotions as I wandered through the little store. Wife and I loved to visit these places. She always came away with an armful of books that were on her list, or by favorite authors. We would pay for her new treasures and off we would go, usually with her nose stuck in one of them not long after we exited the door.
Those were good days and I miss them. In writing this, a bit of the sense of loss returns knowing that those days are now my history. That part of my life is closed and now I am in another part of my life.
This part is good, too. But it is also diminished a bit because Wife no longer shares it with me.
Still, I remain grateful — grateful for that shared life and grateful for the life I have. Many good things are in my life. Life is good.
Daily Image — 17 September 2023
While walking The Girl in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, I noticed that the colors of the bear brush1 are changing. This started a couple of days ago. The lodgepole pines, of course, have not changed.
I can feel the difference in the air as well. Over the last couple of weeks, it is not as warm in the afternoons. Fall is coming.
I look forward to it as it is after the summer heat and we move into the cooler months. I love the weather here in the high desert. it suits me. The heat lasts only a few weeks and the remainder of the year has wonderful weather.
I enjoy being outdoors with The Girl. We have fun. Life is good.
1I am sure this brush has a formal name. I recall calling it bear brush from back when I was a kid. I think it will stick.
Remainders: 16 September 2023
- This week, The Corporal did a mid-week video on his preferred load bearing gear. It is worth a watch.
- It is something I have been thinking about. I like the idea of a smaller pack to support a belt. Sometimes I want to carry a camera bag and a full pack is too much for a short hike. That lead me to researching The Corporal’s LBE and then I landed here.
- Faizal Westcott posted a video that includes a brief review of Rick Rubin’s book, The Creative Act. I downloaded a Kindle sample, but might decide I want a hardcover book.
The photograph was from walkies a few days ago. I have been carrying the Fujifilm X-E4 with the Voigtlander 27mm f/2 Ultron mounted. It is a manual focus lens that has a chip. So the aperture setting is sent to the camera for recording in the EXIF data of the image. The focus is very smooth and focusing is fast and easy, provided I set the correct color for the focus-peaking assist.
Daily Image — 13 September 2023
This (very) vintage lens came to me a couple of weeks ago. It is from an Asahi-Kogaku rangefinder camera, probably made in the 1950s. I had to order a M37/M42 adapter so I could mount the lens. Then I got busy with field work and did not take time to shoot it.
Well, I decided to reprovision my stock, so I took The Girl and we drove down to Aloha Liquor. She waited while I did a little shopping. Then I made this capture of the store front.
The lens is certainly sharp at f/8. The colors are not quite as nice as the Hexanon 40mm f/1.8 produces. But they are good.
I made a second capture in black and white, below, of my Lucas plushie. This one was shot wide open (f/2.4). It is also quite sharp and there is a hint of swirly bokeh in the background. It looks like this lens will also produce some soap bubble bokeh balls as well. I need to play with it some more.
One more thing — this lens is heavy. There is a lot of metal in the lens.
Daily Image — 11 September 2023
There are other reasons to remember this date. I suspect it was the for my grandparents’ generation and 07 December. I have not forgotten and will not forget.
On a lighter note, I was on my way home from Sacramento a couple of weeks ago. I stopped in Placerville, California for a bite of lunch, although it was a bit early. So I walked the streets a bit to see what I could see.
This rack of clothes caught my eye. So I made the capture.
Then I wandered back to Mel’s Diner for a shake and a BLTA.
Life is good!
September 11 — Not Forgotten
I have not forgotten. I will not forget.