I got lazy this week and did not collect all of my remainders. It was a good week, although busy.
I am grateful. Life is good.
We walked up near Spooner Summit in the national forest this morning. It was a lovely morning and the hike did both of us good.
On the way out, I noticed this old pine has an odd curve where it enters the soil. I wonder what happened to it to make it grow this way? It made for an interesting image and a welcome pause as I hiked up the trail.
When we arrived back at the 4Runner, there as a pickup parked next to me with the ramp down. I rounded the back of the 4Runner and a young man was sitting on a granite boulder. Surprised, I muttered…
“Well, hello! You startled me.”
“Hi. Sorry, I’m waiting for my uncle. He took the bike and rode on up the trail. A woman and a child rolled off the trail.”
I listened to the story and the accident must have happened while we were on the trail because there was no emergency equipment at the trailhead when we arrived. (Note: There was equipment when we left.)
I gave Sera some water and took some myself. The uncle returned. The folks were OK if a bit shaken. Apparently, the woman drove her 4Runner off the trail and it tumbled down the slope into the ravine.
I am glad they were not hurt. I remarked “There but for the grace of God go I.” It could have happened to me.
I never know what I will find when in the field.
I am grateful. Life is good.
On the same day I made the image of me new-to-me Patrol Pack, I also noticed Sera on overwatch. She was making sure there were none of the dreaded bushytails stalking us. So, of course, I had to make an image.
It was a good pause on a good hike. I so enjoy her company and am so grateful to have her in my life.
Life is good.
I bought a milsurp Molle II Patrol Pack a couple-three months ago. It is part of my (apparently) never-ending search for the perfect pack. These are long out of service, relatively rare, and in demand. They are also nearly the perfect size for a daypack.
My seller scrounged up a stiffener and pad for my pack and I have them installed. The stiffener helps keep the shape of the bag. It works well enough, although I might have to trim it up just a bit as it seems to be about a half-inch too tall.
It is big enough to hold my necessaries for hiking with The Girl. I have enough water for us both for a morning or afternoon hike, and even room for a small radio. I have been carrying a camera and small water bottle in a small Domke bag slung cross-body and over the pack. That does not put too much pressure on my neck (a personal peeve).
I like it so far. I am still setting it up and would like to carry a water bottle on the outside, but the Maxpedition bottle bag I have does not hang well from the PALS webbing. So, I need another solution.
I paused to make this image on a small summit just off our regular path near Spooner Summit. I had paused to breathe a minute, take some water, and water The Girl. She also posed for me while we were on break.
It was a good day. I am grateful. Life is good.
I worked at Wilson Creek and South Fork Silver Creek yesterday. Of course, Sera, AKA The Girl was with me. We were walking last year’s work and noting areas that need some attention. We also walked an area slated for work this year.
The Wilson Creek meadow is lovely. There were a few mosquitoes, but not bad. The weather was also lovely. It was a good day to be outdoors.
The Girl had a blast, running all over the meadow, jumping in the water, rolling in the grass and mud, and then repeating.
It was a good day. I am grateful.
After a long hiatus, I am posting again. The start will be a partial list of remainders for the week.
A few weeks ago we had a nice day and the motivation to replace the valve cover gasket on Older Son’s vehicle. I think I wrote about all of that before.
But, I made a few images with the Nikon F2AS that came to live with me and a Nikkor 35mm f/2D lens. The camera is completely mechanical. It does have an internal meter, but a battery is not required to run the camera; only the meter.
I shot the image with the 35mm probably at f/4 or so. The film stock is Ilford XP2, which is a lovely C41 process (standard color chemistry) that renders in black and white. The scan was done by the processor and seems overly contrasty to me. I’d like to redo the scan to see if I can get more tones from the negative.
Although having film processed locally is faster and more convenient, a professional laboratory should produce better results. I am planning to send film to a couple of labs, particularly color chemistry films, to see if they produce better scans. Black and white film (traditional processing) I will likely do myself. I have a film changing tent (covers the hands) that I can use to load a tank. The processing is done in the light because the tank is light tight.
I have a film scanner but could also use a digital camera to photograph frames with a light table and macro lens.
There are more experiments to do.
The day was a good day. The valve cover no longer leaks oil.
Life is good.
This is another frame from a cemetery walk a month ago. The film sat in the camera for a while until I finished the roll. Then it sat in the camera bag for a week until I had time to get it to the processor.
It will be interesting to scan some frames for myself using either a digital camera of the film scanner I have at home.
Although it was cold, the sun was shining. The Girl wanted out to chase squirrels, but dog are expressly forbidden. That is most likely because too many people do not police up after their dogs. So, those who do pay the penalty.
Although the sun was warm, the wind had a bite to it. Older Son and I finished before too long because of the cold.
Still, it was a good day. Life is good.
I shot this image a couple of weeks ago using Kodak Gold 200 film. It is from the first roll of color film through the new-to-me Bronica S2A medium format camera. The Bronica is my first square format camera and is a beast of a brick! I think it weighs in at about four pounds with the standard Nikkor 75mm f/2.8 lens and a film back.
The firing of the shutter is a thing that has to be experienced to be appreciated! There is a lot of movement inside the camera body with the moving of the mirror and focal plane shutter. It is also loud. However, although I have read of motion blur complaints, I am not quite sure that I believe them. A tripod will be required for slow shutter speeds.
Kodak Gold 200 works well in bright sun. I like the color rendition. I think I will shoot some more of it and send it for processing at a place that can produce higher resolution scans.