Bushcrafters and other outdoors types like lists. One to remember is the Five W’s:
Wind
Water
Wood
Wildlife
Widowmakers
There are lots of websites out there that enumerate why each of these is important. But while walking The Girl this morning, I heard the wind (quite stiff) bumping the trunks/limbs of of one of the old cottonwood trees down by Carson River.
I would not have wanted to be below this tree when the limb failed.This gave me pause and I looked up. Doggo sniffed about, marking her territory as I considered the possibility of impending doom.
This set off a recollection in this old brain about the Five W’s of bushcraft and Widowmaker came to mind. I have walked this stretch of the river many times over the last ten years and seen the deadfalls from the trees along the river.
So I looked as we walked. And I came away with a few images to remind me to be careful in these woods. Cottonwood trees are not very strong and I do not know how to tell if the branches are diseased or weak and likely to fall. I know my risk of one falling on me while walking is rather small. But if I camped along the river, a good look above would be in order.
This was another big down fall I saw on walkies today.All of the captures were made with the little Fujifilm X-E2, a fine little camera. The lens was the Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 and I used an aperture setting of f/8. The film simulation was Classic Chrome, but I dailed up the color a couple of notches.
Yes, out amongst the giant old cottonwoods, W is for Widowmaker. Be careful out there.
Capture with Sony A7Sii and a Jupiter 3, 50mm f/1.5 wide open.
I woke (much too) early this morning, thinking about a report. It is OK — I often wake early when working on something challenging and have ideas for how to progress. I think on them a bit, then do something to distract my mind, and then return to sleep.
My distraction was discovering a set of weekly emails from David duChemin, a Canadian photographer and teacher. I really admire him, not just for his body or work, but because he is a good teacher. In his videos, he comes across as that friendly, caring mentor that you want to spend a lot of time with.
The emails were a string of lessons called The Vision Collective that I subscribed to several years ago. I read the first one, Abstraction. The direction was to create a set of abstract photographs. The assignment lasts a week.
Well, I am to far into the week. But I decided that I would make a few abstract images on walkies today. I should do the same for the next several days. Who cares if I take ten days or two weeks to complete the assignment? I am long past due anyway.
I purposely selected a new lens, a Jupiter 3 50mm f/1.5 rangefinder lens (L39 or M39 mount) from Russia. It has a red Cyrillic P that is supposed to mean a superior coating. The lens is probably about my age, so I do not expect much from the coating. But it is an interesting lens. It looks like it has 10 or 12 aperture blades (lovely). It is pretty fast. It has a good reputation for background blur/bokeh. My instance is in reasonable mechanical and optical condition for its age.
I mounted the lens on my Sony A7Sii and The Girl and I took off down our cul-de-sac. It was late, because I was working, so I expected a little shorter walk than usual. But I also knew she could play in the grass to cool off.
I made a few images and purposefully put some of them out of focus. The lens can make some beautiful soap-bubble bokeh balls. I think these are fun.
We paused where a drainage ditch crosses the old Carson Flume for another set of images. There is some water in the ditch that is not too bad because recent runoff cleared out all the trash. She splashed around a bit while I shot some sunflowers.
We paused again at the Station 51 Park so she could chase ground squirrels and roll in the wet grass. Then we headed home for water and some lunch (for me).
Looking for objects that might make an interesting abstract is an good exercise. I like the one for today. I think tomorrow I will look for something that will work in black and white.
Experiment in bubble bokeh with the Sony A7Sii and a Meyer-Optik Gorlitz Oreston 50mm f/1.8 vintage lens. The lens needs to be cleaned, but I see no fungus, just a bit of dust and haze.
This old Meyer-Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm f/1.8 arrived in the mail yesterday. It is a classic lens that can produce some interesting images. My copy came attached to a Praktina 35mm SLR, which is a decent vintage camera (all mechanical except a light meter) but I have use for.
I affixed the lens to the Sony A7Sii for walkies this morning. I missed the focus on a few images and will have to reshoot them. There is also a bit a trick to using this lens and that will require some repetitions.
The lens needs to be cleaned because there is a little dust and haze on the inside of the front and rear elements. The aperture is clean. If I can figure out how to get the front element out, I will clean it. Otherwise I will have to send it out and have it cleaned.
Post was with Color Efex Pro 4, which I am also experimenting with.
I shot this with the Sony A7Sii and a Zuiko 85mm f/2 at either f/2 or f/2.8. The jpeg is out of camera using the Sony Vivid recipe, with some minor adjustment in Iridient Developer for contrast, color, and sharpness.
On walkies this morning, I carried the Sony A7Sii with an adapted Olympus Zuiko 85mm f/2 that I am testing. I will make a more complete review later (already have the test shots done), but thought that this sunflower with an out-of-focus bee was fun. The shot was captured at f/2 or f/2.8. I did a little post-processing in Iridient Developer (a recommended program, especially for Fuji X cameras) that included increasing the color saturation and vibrance a bit, adjusting the contrast to better cover the scene (and look my filmic), and bit of sharpening.
The lens is soft wide open. This is not unusual for vintage class and especially fast glass, like the 85mm f/2. It sharpens up nicely stopped down a stop or two. I like it.
On walkies I spotted this cart sitting in the shade. I had the Nikkor 82mm f/2 mounted on my Fuji X-E4 and made the capture. I think the shot was captured at f/2, but I did not record it. Straight from camera with the Tri-X 400 film simulation.
The caption pretty much says everything that needs to be said. One thing I will mention is that the bokeh of this lens with the subject/background distance is a little crazy in the upper right. That is not pretty.
I have a Zuiko 85mm f/2 sample in my collection. I think it should be taken for a walk and tested. My other Olympus lenses render out of focus areas well. This Nikkor does not.
I made this capture on one of our regular routes. The sign struck me several times over the years. Of course, The Girl was *not* on leash. Capture with the Fuji X100V at f/2.
Captured with the Fuji X-E4 and the Fujinon 35mm f/1.4 at f/1.4.
After I spent much of the morning puttering at my desk, I decided it was time to get out. We are experiencing the remains of a hurricane from the south. Our weather is cloudy, very cool, and a bit rainy.
The Girl asked to go with me. So, she did.
I had a lens to put into return mail. It was not what I expected. So we walked north to the post office and I dropped the parcel in the bin while chatting with Older Son. Then we walked the reverse of our normal circuit to Station 51. There was no one at the park, so Sera got some time off leash. She had a blast chasing the ground squirrels.
On our way home, I stopped at the planters outside the NDEP building and made a few images of the flowers there. I missed the focus on most of the shots with the thin depth of field of the 35mm f/1.4 wide open. I still got a few decent captures.
Once home, I made some lunch and shared some of my chicken with The Girl. She is doing much better today.
This image was captured 02 July 2016 while we were out hiking. She’d lived with me for about five years at this time. I still miss her.
I was browsing my image archive this morning, cleaning up some culls and organizing the directories. I stumbled across this capture of Ki I made seven-years ago. She was on overwatch as I climbed up towards her and she looks so happy. We had so many good times together. She was a great dog, not perfect but neither am I.
I still miss her. We will see each other again and have a big-ol’ play along with all the others.
I have laughed, many times, over the fact that no matter which way I point the camera (or face for that matter), there is The Girl, looking in the same direction. I think I could write a book entitled The South End of a North-Bound Dog. It would include a lot of dog stories, of course.
Once again, while looking at a piece of scrap metal left behind years ago, I pointed the camera. Before I could make the capture, there was The Girl, with the South End pointed at me.
Nevertheless, life is good.
Edit: On our morning hike, a large coyote crossed the access road behind us. Unlike they usually do, this one stood there, staring at us. Of course, this set off The Girl, who wanted to engage.
Well, that is not going to happen. But this raised her energy level so much that she was hyperactive as we started our walk.
About a mile in, I saw her jumping on a bush. That in itself is not unusual, but she was very agitated and clearly on something. I walked over and heard the buzz when I got about ten feet away. I called her off and she had blood on her nose and tongue.
It was a rattler, definitely. I figured she was bit, although I could not find it. I called the vet and we headed back to the rig.
They found one bite site on the side of her muzzle. She is in hospital while they infuse her with antivenin and monitor her blood and kidneys function. She should be fine in a couple of days. I doubt she will be any wiser.
