This was the moody scene from my (temporary) office window, shot with the Fujifilm X100V at f/8.
I slept nearly 12-hours last night. It has been that way most of the week. It tells me that my body is working on recovery and that rest is required.
Given the fact I was in the rack by 1900h, it was no surprise that I woke shortly after 0600h. I made a cup of coffee and sat at my worktable, watching a few YT videos and enjoying the coffee. I glanced to my left and noticed the streetlight shining against a dark gray sky. Yep… I noticed.
I picked up the Fujifilm X100V, checked the battery, set the film simulation to standard, and framed the shot. I like this one the best.
Now I need another cup, I think. I am about ready for some food, as well. I did not eat much yesterday — not hungry — and will need food this morning. I am not sure when the kids will be up, but I could always dress and go get something.
But, coffee first.
The camper parts are ordered and the repairs will be made. But I will be delayed on my travels. It is alright, though. I am perfectly happy to stay with Older Son and DiL for awhile longer.
Doggo watching it snow and on squirrel watch. Shot with Fujifilm X100V at f/8 with the Tri-X film simulation.
The Girl was wanting to be outside, but I kept her indoors because of the snow and the cold. Nonplussed, she stayed at the door (although perched on a mat) and kept watch for the dreaded bushytail, in case such an incursion occurred.
With a hat tip to the hundreds of photographers who shot a sunrise through an upper-story window, this one was shot with the Fujifilm X100V using Reggie’s Portra film simulation. The f/stop was f/8.
I am still in Ozark, Missouri with Older Son and DiL. I am also still quite sick with whatever this crud is that is going around.
After being down for several days, I managed to get The Girl out for a walk yesterday and got some sun. It was not an easy walk, but it was still good to get out. I am hopeful that today will bring some sun, but it is winter so it might not be sunny.
I just need to get better. My friend (and client) Carol told me it takes a couple of weeks to get through it. She suggested I get a COVID test, but I am not sure that I care what it is. I am not sick enough to go to hospital and not showing signs of a secondary infection, so I suspect I just have to let my body do its immune system thing and suffer through it.
I am enjoying my family. Despite all of us being sick (yep), we are having fun spending time together. I cannot think of a better way to spend my time than with my family.
I noticed the sunrise a day or so ago. I decided to just shoot it through the window and let the window provide a frame.
This is my first image of the new year. Shot with the Fuji X100V 23mm f/2 at f/2.8 using the Tri-X film simulation.
Happy New Year 2024! I am here in Ozark, Missouri, visiting some of my kids and recovering from a cold. I took the camper to Camping World for a damage estimate and now will see whether the insurance company will cover some of the repairs or I have to bear the cost. But, it needs to be repaired. So, I wait.
The entry of the New Year was uneventful. With my cold, I went to bed about 2000h, done. My kids also turned in early; both are also sick. No, it was not me… she was sick when I arrived and I started shortly thereafter. No, she did not give it to me because it was too soon. No, it is not COVID. I am pretty confident it was the pre-travel stress, travel, camper-damage stress, and exposure to a lot of people along the way.
I will get better, but I might go see an urgent care clinic to get some antibiotics as I feel a chest cold/bronchitis starting.
For now, I am spending my effort healing and recovering from travel. I need to start some work on a couple of outstanding projects. That will be good as I will generate some billable hours. I had no billing the end of December to close out the year.
Once the dust settles on the camper, I will decide how to go see the last set of my kids as I need to see them on this trip. The question will be whether I am dragging the camper or using hotels for the trip there.
My original intention was to head south from Pennsylvania and work some new parks, see some new places, make some photographs, and work my way home. I need my camper to do that. So, my plans are unset until others finish their work.
In the meantime, I will work, rest, recover, and spend time with Older Son and DiL. Older Son and I drove out the Compton Hills SRA last Saturday and activated the park. Well, I activated the park. It was too cold to sit outdoors so I only put up a low-power station. We sat in the rig and I activated using CW mode (Morse Code).
I made the capture with the Fujifilm X100V on walkies with The Girl on New Years Day. It was my first good capture of the year. Life is still good. I am still grateful.
I asked for a pose and I got one. Shot with the Fuji X100V using fill flash at f/8 using Reggie’s Portra 400 film recipe.
Here I am in Ozark, Missouri (near Springfield) to spend a little time with Older Son and DiL. The trip from Durant, OK here yesterday was not bad, despite getting a late start. I did run in to some rain along the way, but not heavy rain. The alternate route I chose was a little slower than the fast route. It was a delay of less than a half hour.
I pulled in just after dark. The sun was still reddening the western sky.
What I did notice was that Google Maps insisted on offering me the “faster way” — the way that involved using toll roads. Furthermore, if I did not notice the offer, it would accept it for me.
This default mode of choosing the faster route for me pissed me off. In addition, I am having difficulty adjusting the Google Maps volume on my iPhone. Methinks that Apple does not want me using Google Maps.
In general, the entire Google Maps thing really pissed me off. I do not need nor want my technology making decisions for me. It should be helping me find my way when I choose a path I want to take. Adjusting the announcement volume should be trivial, even if on foreign hardware.
Now I need a cup of coffee. At least I have a nice capture of Sera to look at.
I drove by this old rig so many times. I finally stopped and grabbed an image of it. Shot with the iPhone 13 Pro Max and post processed in Snapseed.
Just west from Mead, Oklahoma is this old rig. Someone has set it up to look like Tow Mater. After driving past the joke so many times, I had to pause and make a capture.
I stopped for food on my way home Monday. Captured with iPhone 13 Pro Max using the standard camera app and no post processing.
The Fox Brewpub has become a favorite restaurant here in Carson City. It is local and the food is better than decent. I have not tried everything on the menu (yet), but have already found a few favorites.
Smurette shot with the Fujifilm X-T5 and the Fujinon 60mm f/2.4 macro at f/2.8 using the Tri-X film simulation with red filtration.
Over the last few weeks I have been watching quite a few videos on YouTube about photographers and photography. A favorite channel is The Photographic Eye run by Alex Kilbee. His videos are all about learning photography and are top shelf.
In a recent video, Alex teaches against the notion that a photographer has to go somewhere, and particularly go somewhere exotic to find photographic material. He then talks about training the photographer’s eye, which is something that resonates with me.
Long, long ago, Wife and I were looking over some photographs that I made. She remarked to me “You see the world differently.” I admit that I was a little flattered at first. But, on further reflection, there was some truth in what she said.
I have referred to the book before, but Robert Foothorap’s book, 35mm Photography, was a favorite book — is a favorite book. It was written in a light, approachable tone and had plenty of his photographs. It is now old and out of print (sadly), but I consider it part of my education as a photographer. The other part being a more experienced amateur photographer who taught me a lot about the technical aspects of shooting and film. But, I digress.
Foothorap and my mentor taught me to look at things. After I bought my Argus-Cosina 35mm SLR, I carried it along quite a lot with a roll of Plus-X or Tri-X loaded. Although I did not always make the shot, I brought the camera to my eye many times to frame and focus the shot. That taught me to see what the camera saw, a bit of three-dimensional space smashed onto a two-dimensional surface (the film).
I learned that I could do the same without the camera… I was training my eyes to see like a photographer. And that brings the story around to what Wife said — I learned to look at the world a little differently.
Although I have had long periods when I was not actively making photographs, I retained that way of looking at the world around me. I remember any number of times looking at something and thinking, “That’s interesting. It might make a good photograph.” This year I started carrying a camera again, quite often. The Fujifilm X100V is an easy carry and makes good images.
But, that was a story-in-a-story… The outer story is about Kilbee’s admonition to look around and see what there is around you, there are many photographs to make if you take the time and energy to see. (And I paraphrase that, but he said as much.)
And so, I noticed Smurfette skating across the top of my multi-port hub. The Fujifilm X-T5 was handy and so was the Fujinon 60mm f/2.4 macro lens. I had a film simulation set and did not bother to change it. I rested my elbows on my desk and made the capture.
Alex Kilbee made a good suggestion. He also suggested an exercise to make 36 images of a subject. In the old days, that would be a 36-exposure roll of 35mm film. It is now just 36 actuations of the shutter of my digital camera. (No, I am not going to shoot film for this exercise.) This sounds like a good exercise to do a few times every week. It will have the side benefit of getting me out of my head and away from my work for an hour.
It was sure windy the afternoon I shot this. Weather was rolling over to Carson Range and put clouds over Mt. McLellan. Shot with the Fujifilm X-E2 and Fujinon 28mm f/2.8 at f/8 and post processed in DxO Photolab 7 and NIK Silver Efex Pro.
After a long meeting and a little decompression (and some lunch), I got The Girl out for walkies at Silver Saddle Ranch. It is good we left when we did, because about halfway into our walk, I noticed clouds showing over Prison Hill. Further north, I could tell it was raining in Washoe Valley. The wind was up, gusting hard from the south/southwest.
The incoming weather added some impetus to making progress. I snagged three captures and then the battery in the Fujifilm X-E2 died. I should have known to bring a backup battery. Nonetheless, it felt like rain was coming and so we moved right along.
Even so, The Girl and I played a little. She picked up a huge stick that made me laugh out loud. It was just like all those memes in which a dog picks up a six-foot long stick.
At least she did not run into anything.
And, sure enough, it started raining when we were about five minutes out from the rig. It was good to get in and be dry.
In the end, it was a good outing. I came home with a keeper. We had fun. We got exercise. Life is good.
Gate in the ranch compound, Silver Saddle Ranch. Shot with the Fuji X-E2 and the Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 at f/4. Post processed in DxO Photolab 7 and NIK Silver Efex 6.
I was not really in the mood to do much when we left the house yesterday afternoon. I left the Pentax 645NII kit, the Fujifilm kits, and the pack at home. I was hungry, so we drove by Arby’s for a sandwich (shared). Then we headed for Silver Saddle Ranch to get in a walk.
It was a beautiful fall day in Carson City. The sun was shining with maybe a little high clouds. It was strong enough to make mid-40ºF feel nice with a light cover. There was not a lot of traffic at the gate at 1330h. All of this raised my spirits, especially getting out of the house with The Girl.
What I did bring (besides The Girl), was the little Fujifilm X-E2 with the 27mm f/2.8 pancake lens mounted. This is the smallest digital camera I own1,2. I have it on a wrist strap, so I can let it dangle when I am busy with The Girl or want both hands free.
I made a few captures as we walked along. I made sure she checked in with me frequently. There were only a couple other walkers that I saw and none crossed paths with us. That made for a really nice walk.
The Girl got frisky a couple of times along the way and we paused to play. Those interactions always raise my spirits, and the did this day.
I grew more cautious as we approached the segment of the trail that has more traffic, but we saw no one. We paused at the ranch compound to look for possible photographs. I noticed this old gate and the light was just about right to bring out the texture in the wood. There was a power pole peeking out above the cross bar, but a judicious adjustment to my point of view hid it from the frame.
I made the capture. I am glad I decided to carry the camera along.
We ended the hike with some more play. She brought a stick and we wrestled over it for a few minutes as we walked.
The drive home was uneventful. The Girl crashed on her bed under my work table. It was a good day. Life is good!
1Well, that is not *exactly* true — I have a Panasonic ZS-40. I used it as a field camera for the Wilson Creek project. Its EVF and image quality make it such that I do not want to use it. Neither are very good. For a slightly larger package, I have better options that are much more enjoyable (and easy) to use.
2Edit: Well, that changed this year (2025). I added an Olympus Tough TG-7 to my inventory specifically for field work. It has a short zoom range (sufficient), is water and dust proof (or at least resistant), is impact-resistant (normal drop), and has a bright enough screen to compose the shot in sunlight. The ZS-40 is now redundant. In addition, the X-E2 is now sold. Updated 06 December 2025.
