I have a thing for vintage glass, especially that glass that exhibits character. This sprig of Penstemon I found on walkies in the National Forest finally gave me a decent capture with the Sony A7Sii and a Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm f/3.5 Sonnar wide open, SOOC.
Monday morning, The Girl and I were out fairly early for us. I made coffee and had some water, but I had a blood draw scheduled (late for me), so there was no food. Without the distraction of food and knowing that I had a hard stop of a return by 1030h, we headed out an hour earlier than normal. A new-to-me CZJ 135mm f/3.5 Sonnar had arrived a few days earlier and I had it out several times before. But Monday morning the Penstemon finally gave me a decent image with a darker background.
The CZJ Sonnar produces a nice background, particularly in the 135mm focal length and shot wide open. I find the Sony A7Sii very forgiving to a wide range of light with an electronic shutter that goes all the way down to 1/8000th of a second.
We kept moving because of my appointment, but paused now and again for me to make an image and to sip a bit of water. At the turn-around point in our loop, I get out the liter bottle and her bowl and gave her a good drink. After that short break, we were off again to return to the rig and get on with the day.
I have a number of vintage lenses that produce nice images. None of them produce perfect images; but all exhibit a quality that I find interesting. If I want a near perfect image, I have lots of Fujinon glass that con do it. But I find myself enjoying the less than perfect rendering of many of these vintage lenses more pleasing than the more clinical look of modern glass.
We made it home before 1030h. I had plenty of time for a shower, to make sure The Girl had enough water and that she cooled down, and a buffer to head off for my blood draw. Then I was able to go get some lunch and was plenty hungry.
I need to work more with this Sonnar, the 35mm f/2.8 Flektogon, and a couple of Tessar formula normal lenses in my collection.
It was a good day. We camped out in the house tolerating the heat, but the swampy kept the living room cool enough. I am grateful. Life is good.
In general, I do not care for the iPhone’s image processing. The images look cooked to me. However, sometimes it is the camera I have in hand. Such was the case when the sun broke below the clouds during a shower at the Summit Lake research station. So, I made the capture, cooked or not.
Last night it was too hot to be outdoors and too hot in my workroom. So, I made a gin and tonic (light) and sat on the sofa. The Girl discovered I was on the sofa and came in to be close. I am good with that.
I started Netflix and put in my AirPods (the Apple TV now recognizes them) and set them to noise cancel mode. The swampy in the living room is pretty noisy. So are all the fans running in the house.
I decided to watch A Man Called Otto. Tom Hanks is a favorite actor and I have enjoyed his dramatic work. I was unprepared for the impact of the story, though.
Otto is a late middle-aged engineer who is retired after a company merger and is a widow. The plot does not reveal much at the beginning and I will produce no spoilers here. The movie is listed as a dramatic comedy, but I did not find much funny in it.
What I found was an immediate connection to the Otto character, not so much for the stereotypical fastidiousness of an engineer, but for the depth of grief for his beloved wife.
The poignancy of his recollections of time spent together hit me over and over. Sometimes the hits were light; others were body blows. I was startled at my emotional reaction to these vignettes and paused the movie several times to reflect, grieve a little, and collect myself.
The experience reminded me that my own grief remains alive and well, thank you very much. It is not that I have not processed my grief; nor has it not be healed (at least to the extent that such grief can ever be healed). It is simply that I find myself still missing Wife and all the times and places we shared together.
Like Otto, I still find myself reminded of a time and place where we were together doing things. All the time building a life together, finding multiple houses and making homes of them, taking care of the kids and enjoying most of that process, traveling (mostly to see family) and all the stories that come from that, and just spending the morning together sharing breakfast and solving the world’s problems at the table over coffee (for me) and tea (for her).
Many times those memories raise some longing, nostalgia, and melancholy. These emotions are often mixed with joy and a laugh at the circumstance. It is a powerful, poignant cocktail of emotions, all right. No one will ever say she was a saint; but neither am I. But it was a good life together and she remains loved and definitely missed.
The movie reminded me of something my friend Jim told me after Wife died…
It sucks. It’ll always suck. But in time it will suck less…
I took him at his word more that 11-years ago. With time, I found he was right. And it still sucks, even if the suck is less.
You are missed, Old Girl. You will always be missed.
The Girl looked up over her shoulder at me several times during the movie. She even rose up to nuzzle me a few times, her whiskers stiff and tickly. It is her way of giving kisses. Unlike many dogs, she knows the difference between a lick (social wash or sign of submission) and a kiss of affection. She is my best buddy, my constant companion, and the love of my life. She reads me and responds.
I’ll take the pain. I am grateful. Life is still good.
Edit 09 July 2025: This entry popped up on my On This Day sidebar today. When I saw Jim’s quote, it broke my heart a little. My friend died late last year/early this year. I do not know what happened and it does not really matter. All that matters is that another good man is gone.
It also matters that I was close and did not take time to stop and meat in real space. That opportunity has now passed. I am reminded that if I want to do something, take time to do it. For the opportunity may not come my way again.
I cannot count the number of times I have seen the south end of a northbound dog. Shot with the Sony A7Sii and the CZJ 135mm f/3.5 Sonnar at about f/4.
While hiking in the Sierra yesterday, The Girl was on the lookout for chipmunks. I do not know if Alvin called, but she gave a merry chase.
And what did I get? Well, once again I got the south end of a northbound dog. So, I made the capture.
This frame is basically straight out of camera. The only post processing done was to resize the image and export to JPEG.
It was a good hike. I had a good laugh at The Girl. Life is good.
Test shot with CZJ 135mm f/3.5 Sonnar and the Sony A7Sii. SOOC shot wide open.
A new-to-me Carl Zeiss Jena (CZJ) 135mm f/3.5 Sonnar medium telephoto lens arrived a couple of days ago. It was listed as excellent condition and CLA’d1. It sat on the table for a couple of days, but I decided to mount it on the Sony A7Sii and shoot it this morning. I might take it along on walkies as well.
The focus is a bit stiff and grabby, although not grinding as if the helicoid grease was hardened. It might just be the sample. It might be the age. Or it might need a little better cleaning.
The lens looks good, no obvious flaws. There is the usual minor internal dust and a few cleaning marks on the front element. Neither of these are of concern, although if I open it up to clean and relubricate the helicoid I will clean up the dust (of course).
I have a fondness for the Sonnar design. Lenses based on this old Zeiss optical formula generally produce very nice images, with out of focus areas smooth and a slight softening of the image toward the edge.
This is one of the things I prefer from legacy glass — the images do not have that clinical sharpness common to modern glass (and the computer designs), but have a certain character. There is nothing wrong with the former for the proper application. But for my images, which I shoot for art and fun, I like the character and quirky quality that some legacy lenses provide.
The area we hike in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest was burned a few years ago. The forest is recovering, but the evidence of fire remains. Shot with Sony A7Sii and CZJ 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon at f/5.6.
Well, I wonder where the Interwebs will take me this week…
I thought that I lost my 6-inch crescent wrench. I found a list of best adjustable wrenches in an article on Popular Mechanics.
Given I want to use my drone to capture aerial imagery on my project sites, I need to earn my UAV pilot’s license. This course looks like a good place to start.
John Free was an American photographer and teacher. He died earlier this year. But, his work bears review and he left some good words on YouTube.
Vertx makes and sells some interesting looking gear.
The Eagles remain one of my all-time favorite bands. I never collected their recordings. I have all of them in my HD Tracks shopping cart at the moment. There will be a sale (I hope) this weekend and I will buy them to update my music file.
At the turn-around point of our normal summer hike, I pause, remove my pack, and give The Girl a drink. Shot with the Sony A7Sii and the CZJ 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon at about f/8.
Given the hot weather we are experiencing1, we are hiking up above 7,000 ft in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. I found a place there where there is ample room to park the 4Runner and we can hike off of the Kings Canyon trail up a fire road into the forest. A few other folks hike up that way, but not very many and most days we do not encounter other hikers.
The initial climb-out is steep and this old man is huffing and puffing by the time I complete that climb. The Girl runs out and back encouraging me to hurry up.
The remainder of the hike has a couple of climbs, but more moderate. It is good for me. I like it.
If we get out early enough, she does not overheat. However, if the sun is high, then I watch her. I always have water and a bowl. If she needs water, then we stop and I give her some (and usually take a sip myself).
The turn-around is a bit more than a mile from the rig. I sometimes go a little farther and that adds some elevation. But we always stop where we turn around and I doff the pack and water her.
I am liking this milsurp Molle II Patrol Pack. It is big enough but not too big. I have work to do on organization, but will get to it. I also think I need to trim the stiffener just a little — the pack bends slightly in the middle. I think the stiffener is just a smidge too long.
We were out early today. She did not overheat. But she still wanted, and I gave, water.
I am grateful. Life is good.
1It is very hot for Carson right now. Afternoon temperature is running over 100ºF and it is not cooling off in the evening as is normal.
Sera posed nicely for me Tuesday morning. Shot with the Sony A7Sii and the CZJ 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon at about f/4. No post processing; resize only.
On our way back from the trail’s terminus, we decided to explore a granite outcrop. I wondered if there might be a photograph in the jumble of textures.
Well, there was no joy from the rocks, but Sera posed for me. So I made the capture.
Shot with Sony A7Sii and a Carl Zeiss Jena 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon at f/4. Raw conversion in DX0 Photolab directly to JPG without modification.
I took The Girl up to our favorite place in the National Forest to walk this morning. It is too hot for her after 0900h, more from the direct sun on her body than the ambient temperature. So, rather than stress her out at Silver Saddle Ranch, we seek elevation and cooler temperatures as well as the shade from the pine trees.
I decided that I have to bring a camera with me. The iPhone makes acceptable images for a number of uses. But I prefer a purpose-built tool that has more control over the image and has better lenses. So I brought the Sony A7Sii with a Carl Zeiss Jena 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon mounted to it. I brought only the one lens so as to avoid the what lens do I choose for this image loop I sometimes fall into.
So, I had a 35mm focal length lens. I had a lens that has character, something a lot of modern glass lacks. So I made images as we walked. Out of the lot, I picked this one as the one I liked the best. It is not perfect and I can do better. I will shoot another tomorrow and see if I can get a better composition.
She’s looking for the neighbor dogs. Shot with the Sony A7Sii and a lovely little CZJ 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon wide open.
Late Sunday afternoon I decided that I needed a Blizzard in my life. The Girl agreed that was a good idea. So we loaded up and headed to DQ.
They were stupid busy at 1830h on a summer Sunday evening. They were having trouble getting orders done correctly and the timing was awful.
Maybe it was my mistake for going inside the store and not the drive-through. Lesson learned.
My Blizzard came out quick but the burger took forever. So, I ate dessert first (and saved some for The Girl).
I made the capture after we returned home. I have a new-to-me Carl Zeiss Jena (DDR) 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon that needs some love. I had it mounted to the Sony A7Sii and the image is straight out of camera with only resizing to fit my weblog.
Alpenglow on the mountain south of the ARRL Field Day campsite. The moon is also in the frame. Shot with my iPhone 13 Pro Max.
I am back from ARRL Field Day camping and radio play. I will write a complete AAR when I return from field work this week. But, here is a hint at what the site looked like. I made this capture early Monday morning as the sun rose over camp.
The trip home was uneventful. It was a good weekend and a good day.
