Daily Image: On the Trail 19 June 2024

The well-worn trail from the sand pit to Mexican Ditch at Silver Saddle Ranch. Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon 35mm f/2 at f/8. Raw image converted to Acros film simulation in-camera. Straight out of camera.

We hiked out at Silver Saddle Ranch the last few days. It is closer to the house and the weather has been cooler, so Sera does not get too hot. I am on the watch for snakes and keep her close in. There is also the chance of encountering another canine and she can be reactive (depending on the other dog).

On this particular hike, I carried the Fuji X-T1 (my first Fujifilm camera) with the little Fujinon 35mm f/2 lens. It is from Fuji’s compact lens series, which remind me of the old film rangefinder camera lenses. The rangefinder cameras and their lenses tended to be compact (and good). There was also less of a range of focal lengths for those cameras because of the limitations of the rangefinder focusing system.

But, I digress. I do like to talk about equipment.

I struggled to keep my attention focused on my space. My mind wandered in every direction, that barking dog or chattering monkey figuratively trailing me on the trail. It took effort to reign in my wandery mind and focus on my Girl and our hike. The camera I brought to help me with that did not help. I struggled to find a subject to capture or a place to pose The Girl so I could make an image.

I elected to carry the old X-T1 because it is small and the 35mm lens offers a different look at things than the 23mm of the X100V. I thought about tossing another lens into the bag before we left the house, but elected to keep the kit small. A recent goal is to keep things as simple as practical because of my propensity for making things overly complicated.

Aside: As I write this early Wednesday morning, Sera just wandered in to my workroom to check on me. She looked at me, made eye contact, and asked if I am OK. She knows I am up early, even for me, and decided to check on me. After some interaction, a few pets, a doggie smile, she headed back to bed. I will return there and sleep a bit more before I really start my day.

For most of the last year, I have been shooting mostly JPG images with the Fuji X Weekly film simulations. The Fuji cameras are particularly good at reproducing certain film looks and I want that film look. (That means I need to shoot more film, I think.)

But, over the last week or so, I decided to revert back to shooting in RAW and then post-processing the RAW files to a processed (in-camera or at the computer) JPG after the fact. I generally have an idea whether I am looking at a subject that will present better in black and white or color.

So, for the trail image above, I knew that I would produce a black and white image. I also knew I wanted to use one of the embedded film simulations in the X-T1. The ACROS seems like the one to use.

Today and tomorrow I will finish up my preparations for a Field Day 2024 expedition. I will camp with friends out south from Smith Valley, Nevada. We will have a good time of radio play and fellowship.

When I come home Monday, I will have to do a quick reprovision of the camper because I have field work the remainder of next week. Then I expect to be home for a bit as I have a number of personal projects to work on before the summer ends.

Camping is good. The fellowship of friends is also good. Life is good. I am grateful.