The Girl and I got out Sunday for our daily walk. With the change in weather, we are walking Silver Saddle Ranch once again. The risk of snakes is abated but there remains a risk of other critters. I sometimes see a large coyote and there was a report of a mountain lion working a sheep ranch nearby.
I am reminded that life is inherently risky. The risk can be mitigated to some extent, but none of us get out of alive. There is no such thing as safe. But, I digress.
I found a Vivitar Series 1 90mm f/2.5 macro lens in my inventory. (I actually found a second sample and I have no idea how I got two. They were purchased long ago.) I carried it mounted to the Sony A7iii Saturday and Sunday and came away with a couple frames that are OK, by my estimation.
We had a great walk, except that Goofus, AKA The Girl, had too much energy and ran too hard. She limped around the house Sunday evening and Monday morning. So, I am going to have to mitigate that to some extent. With the coyote I saw yesterday and the mountain lion report, I need to keep her closer in anyway. She can still range out a bit, just not more than a few tens of feet.
The lens is quite good, especially given its age. It is plenty sharp, focuses quite close (and I have the extension that will let it focus to 1:1) without the extension, and the rendering is good. It was built by Tokina. Those lenses built by the Komine and Tokina companies were generally of higher quality than the run of the mill Vivitar glass.
The reputation of the Vivitar is that it produces a very nice background blur (bokeh) and renders an image well. It is useful for general photography when the focal length is appropriate.
So I made a few images as we walked. It is my way of rebuilding after focusing on problem solving. I give my mind a break from the analytical work and feed my soul.
When we came around to the northbound part of our trail, I noticed the scene of the ranch compound. The wave cloud over Mt. Scott added to the scene. It also begged to be in black and white, at least to me. I made the capture, while The Girl waited impatiently for me.
Because of the traffic, I put her on lead until we passed the compound. When I saw the way was clear, I released her from the lead but kept her close anyway.
As we approached the rig and the end of our outing, the Sun popped out from behind the clouds. I paused to make an image of the entry sign. I am working on a Silver Saddle Ranch gallery and the sign will make a nice theme photo.
When I reviewed the image, I noticed some chromatic aberration along the hard lines of the top of the stone. It is not prominent, but it is there. This is not unusual for vintage glass and is easy to correct in post processing. It also diminishes with an increase in f-number.
It was a good walk. Even with the overcast and cooler weather, I returned home refreshed. The Girl came home tired, and a tired dog is a happy dog.
Life is good. I am grateful.