I had supper with an old friend last night1. One of his favorite subjects (as a photographer) is bees. He loves to make images of bees going about their work. He reminded me that I stumbled upon at least one pepsis wasps a couple-three years ago. Well, maybe it was four-years ago.
Ki and I were walking one of our routes along the Carson River/Mexican Ditch out at Silver Saddle Ranch. There is a section of that trail I call “The Slot” because one side is bounded by a fence intended to keep livestock (and people) out of the river corridor and the other side is bounded by a fence to keep livestock in the pasture. An irrigation ditch parallels the latter so there is a large berm to keep water in the ditch. The path is only four or five feet wide, in contrast to 10 or 15 feet wide along other sections.
I generally kept Ki (and now Sera) on-lead when we pass through that section of the trail. Line of sight is limited and I do not want to be surprised by other canines. I suppose that is unnecessary information.
On the particular day, I noticed a couple of butterflies working a milkweed plant. And then I noticed a black wasp with red wings. That got my attention. I had the Fuji X-T1 with the Fujinon 35mm f/2 lens mounted to it2. I made a capture of the wasp… probably several captures.
I cannot find them. I spent an hour last night looking for the originals and found nothing. They must be lost with one of the transitions in software I made over the years. I recall leaving both Aperture and Lightroom behind. The images might have been lost the respective libraries. That is a pity.
In any event, I found an image here in my weblog. It was a rumination on a chance meeting with a woman named Judy M., who I met on the trail out by Carson River. My recollection is that she was another wanderer who was working through some life changes. I recall that we visited off and on while hiking the trail and that she created her own weblog where she posted her own ruminations.
I have not heard from her in several years. We kept up via email for a while. Her weblog is gone. Perhaps she is, too. I do not know.
But, as I think I have reflected here a number of times, I am reminded that we have circles of engagement about us. The smallest holds those closest to us — close family, closest friends, and lovers. They are more permanent than most other people we encounter in life.
The next circle is a bit larger. It contains the first group plus other friends and professional relations. These are less permanent relationships, though they might be strong for a time. But things change and those folks move on to other places, people, and endeavors.
The last circle is larger yet. It contains the first two groups plus the myriad of other folks who wander into our lives for a time, maybe are close and could possibly join the other inner circles, but for whatever reasons do not stick and wander away again.
That departure sometimes leaves a hole behind. I can think of a few relationships that I thought were going to last, with the individual moving close and closer to my inner circle for a time, maybe even stay for a year or three. But, sometimes abruptly, they leave. Those leavings sometimes hurt a bit.
Judy never made it that close. But we were friends for a time. I wished her well and enjoyed the company and conversation of another who wanders. I wonder where she might be now. I expect to never know.
In the end, I find it a bit fascinating how dynamic my social life has been. I have never had a large social group. I am an introvert and gain energy in solitude (with my dog now; with Wife for many years). But I have a social group and parts of it are dynamic, with others moving in and out of my circles.
Now I need to get on with my day. I am preparing to sell several camera bodies that I am not using and am not going to use. I replaced my first Sony A7S with an A7Sii last year. My approach to photography is a bit different than the use case of A7S series, so I bought a Sony A7iii late last week. It will be delivered in a couple of days and I will put it to use shooting my vintage glass.
A few weeks ago I took a notion to shoot the 35mm lenses in my vintage collection. I did the shoot with the A7Sii and was fascinated by the difference in optical performance. I am going to re-shoot the test with the A7iii (a 24MP camera opposed to the 12MP of the A7Sii) and then put together a comparison of the results. I do not expect a dramatic difference attributable to the change in camera resolution, but that will make an interesting observation as well. It will be fun.
The image is from last week. We had a day of showery weather — definitely a sign that fall is here and winter approaches. We walked anyway, with The Girl pausing now and again to shake the rain from what little fur she has. As we hiked the access road, I noticed the bright patch over my left shoulder and paused to make an image. The faint rainbow was a gift.
As always, I am grateful. Life is definitely good.
1No, I did not have an old friend for supper last night!
2I thought I had a different body and a Vivitar 90mm f/2.5 macro lens. I guess my remembry is broken. Or there are (or were) more images than just the one.
