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.
Fall hayfield near the Carson River in Carson City, Nevada. Shot with the Fujifilm X100V at f/8 with Reggie’s Portra film simulation. Post consisted of a contrast adjustment only.
We got out late Wednesday because of work and the cold. It seems very cold for so early in the season. I was about to get us out, and then decided that lunch was in order first.
So I made a toasted cheese sandwich with a slice of sourdough bread and some Havarti I bought just for that purpose. I warmed a can of Progresso Minestrone soup while the cast iron heated to toast the sandwich.
I started cooking with cast iron a few years ago. My small skillet is developing an excellent seasoning. I always cook with a little oil or butter as a lubricant and most of the time all I have to do for cleanup is wipe out any residue. The larger skillet is where I cook bacon and it is also developing a good seasoning. But, I digress…
The skillet heated, I dropped the sandwich into the skillet and listening to the slight sizzle that indicates I got my heat right. I stirred the soup while the bread toasted (with a little butter for lubrication and flavor). I tipped the sandwich up with the butter knife, and set it back down — not quite ready to turn. I gave the soup another stir and it was just about ready. Another check of the sandwich and I turned it, noting the lovely sizzle when the freshly buttered bread hit the surface.
I enjoyed my soup and sandwich. I think Havarti is an excellent cheese for a toasted cheese sandwich. Minestrone is one of my favorite soups as well.
I gave The Girl the last bite, gathered up our things, and we headed out about 1330h. It was still pretty cool, about 40ºF, with the sun shining wanly through high clouds. At least there was some sun.
The Girl danced and chirped on the way out. The staging area at the gate was a mess of vehicles parked at random angles — a pet peeve of mine (why can’t people park reasonably without lines?) — so we drove to the upper staging area and I backed in.
I grabbed my camera kit, made a quick check, and called The Girl out. We walked our regular route, just in a different order. This gave me a little different perspective on our path. It being a little later in the day also meant the light was a little warmer.
We gathered ourselves back into the 4Runner and headed home. The Girl was ready for another drink and a nap. I was ready to work a bit more and call it a day. I love my walks and I love walking with The Girl. We always play a little on the trail and we always train a little as well.
I liked the contrast of hayfield and sky in the captured frame. When I looked at it on the computer, I decided that the contrast was weak, so I opened it up a bit and exported the image. The colors are SOOC.
This capture came about as an experiment. The Girl and I were walking Silver Saddle Ranch and I carried the Sony A7Sii with a Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f/1.8 Pancolar mounted on it. The shot was recorded in raw format at f/1.8. Post processing was in Silver Efex 6 with changes to exposure and contrast and a bit of Tri-X film grain added. I then downscaled the image with Iridient Developer.
I seem to be learning something constantly. Some might call me a scanner because I have a difficult time focusing on just one thing. I have been this way as long as I can remember.
In thinking about processing my images, I decided to update my copy of the Nik Software Collection so that it will run on my new MBP. In particular, I am interested in the black and white capabilities of the Nik software as that is where I really like to work.
One might ask why I am interested in post processing to produce more filmic (film-like) images from my digital cameras. It would be a fair question. I am an amateur photographer. I do not need the almost clinical images produced by modern cameras with exceptional lenses because I do not have a client who is expecting those kinds of images. Photography is one of my ways of reaching into the arts. Although there is something about striving for the ultimate in sharpness and extreme detail, that does not appeal to me most of the time. I want to look at and make images that speak to the heart and less to the analytical mind.
This will likely lead me to shoot some film. I have the Pentax 645NII out of the hutch and am building a kit for it. It is a big, heavy camera that shoots 120 film. But, this is a topic for another entry.
Yesterday seemed like a good day to take the Sony A7Sii out for a walk. I mounted the Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f/1.8 Pancolar on the M42 converter and checked that the camera was setup for a 50mm lens1. (The camera has in-body image stabilization.) That done, I collected The Girl and we went out to walk.
Given it was after noon, the temperature was much warmer than this morning (about 40ºF) and the sun was shining. The Girl was very excited to get outdoors. She wriggled and chirped as we drove out to Silver Saddle Ranch. As we walked, I made some images. The different camera and very different lens challenged me a little, which is a good thing.
The Girl teased me quite a lot. Sometimes ranging out and sometimes staying close. I felt the tension melt away as I walked and I laughed at The Girl quite a bit as well.
On the return leg of the hike, I realized that having finished up another chunk of work took a big load off my shoulders. The tension melted away and I started playing grab-ass with The Girl, who jumped and twirled away, laughing her doggy-laugh. She looked over her shoulder, grinning that big, goofy pitbull grin, then spun around to run back in for another round. She grabbed a stick and teased me with it.
Her energy was dissipated as we neared the rig. I patted her while we drove home, and then gave her a couple of her small cookies. She was snoozing under my work table as I finished up the day. As I wrote this, it was time to feed her (she is asking) and time for me to get a shower and think about some supper.
I downloaded my images and picked this one to play with. I call it Points and it was shot raw with the Sony A7Sii, and then post processed with Nik Silver Efex 6 to make the black and white conversion.
I am learning some new tools. Life is good. I am grateful.
1I noticed the battery was at about 50% state of charge. I should have tossed a second battery in the bag. I ran out as I stopped to make my last few images.
Sera sleeping under my worktable. Shot with the Fujifilm X-E2 and XF 27mm f/2.8 at f/4. Black and white conversion in-camera using the Fujifilm film simulation.
It is Thanksgiving Day. I am grateful. I will take some time this afternoon to have a Thanksgiving meal (even if it is a frozen dinner) and reflect on God’s good gifts. Sera and I will get out and get in a nice hike, even if the weather is rather bleak.
I have a new computer working in the background. I started provisioning it yesterday evening. I bought an ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 to replace my aging Winder$ tower. I am confident it will blow the desktop away. It is sufficiently powerful to run my numerical models.
It will free me from the house when I have paying work to do. I have not traveled much this year because of work. Now I have the power to take my work with me.
This was one of my goals for the year. I also have reduced the number of computers to maintain, which is a lovely by-product of the change.
The image is The Girl sleeping under my worktable. She is snoozing right now, waiting for me to move like we are going to do something. So I think I will go feed her and take my morning medications. Then I can get ready to go out and get in a hike.
Happy Thanksgiving, all. I am grateful. Life is truly good.
Sera overlooking the Mexican Ditch on Silver Saddle Ranch. Shot with the Fujifilm X100V 23mm f/2 at f/8 using Reggie’s Portra-400 film simulation.
The week was busy with work and recovery from being in the field so long. Yes, I am still recovering from that. My other work is so far behind that I am only beginning to catch up. But I should be caught up in a couple more weeks.
The Girl and I were walking Thursday about noon. We had a little rain and that softened the sand burrs that plague her on the trails at Silver Saddle Ranch. So she is enjoying the walks more.
Her toe is healing, although she still messes with it too much. I might decide to call her Sera of the three toes when I am feeling a bit ornery. She does not care1. We are also taking a little longer path that adds a quarter mile to our walk. Both of us need the exercise.
I also like to cross the ditch at one of the irrigation structures and walk along the ditch to Mexican Dam. If I time it right, or the weather is less appealing, there is little traffic on the Mexican Ditch Trail and we can get more than three miles in. Plus I get to shoot the Dam.
It was a good hike and a good day. Life is good.
1I often call her Sera Sue because I like the alliteration and rhythm.
Captured on walkies using the Fujifilm X100V with its lovely 23mm f/2 lens at f/8. I used Reggie’s Portra 400 film simulation. Minor post processing in Iridient Developer (contrast, saturation, curves).
I am working on the hydrology for one of my projects. The weather is cooler and more windy, so I do not want to get out as early.
Once I made some progress on project work and the markets, The Girl and I headed out to walk Silver Saddle Ranch. The weather today was cooler than yesterday, but also less rainy. Still, I could see rain to the north in Washoe Valley and behind Mt. McLellan. A curl of rain clouds pulled south to the east of Mt. McLellan, but did not seem threatening.
The Girl continues to worsen the condition of her toe with the missing nail. If I am distracted for just a moment, I will catch her licking. So, she slept in the cone-of-shame last night, wore it all morning, walked without it (but limping), and is now wearing the cone. She will get to sleep in it again tonight, although I might remove it when we sit on the sofa to relax and snuggle.
I carried the Fuji X100V with me again today. Last night I read a bit on Ritchie Roesch’s website, Fuji X Weekly about those film simulations he recommends. He has a list of seven because most of the recent Fujifilm cameras have seven custom slots. I am already using several of his recommendations, but I have some empty slots to fill and will add his recommendations. Then I will use them.
Today I used Reggie’s Portra 400 simulation, which is intended to produce results similar to the Kodak Portra 400 film stock. One of the things Reggie did was to set Auto White Balance instead of using the Daylight balance of the regular Portra simulation. This adds a little to the flexibility of the simulation. There are other details as well, but I consider them relatively minor.
I came home with a couple of decent images. That is, images that I like. I make images for me — that is, I am the only one who needs to like them. If others like them, that is good. I appreciate the acknowledgement.
Alex (The Photographic Eye) recently did a video on the subtle impact of social media on the photographs we produce. This resonated because I left Instagram a couple of months ago (again) because I was tired of doomscrolling through things I did not want to see to find those that I do. On my IG account, I sometimes posted photographs I knew would gather more “likes” partly as an experiment. It is a nice dopamine hit to see that my work is appreciated.
What Alex made me think about is the who and why of my photography. It is good for me to do something creative and that is why I do it. The photographs are for me, because there was something about the subject that attracted my eye (and my mind).
So, what I share here and also on FB are images that somehow spoke to me and caused me to pause, find a composition, and make the capture (usually several). I do not always like the end result, but I usually learn something in the process.
OK, so I do indulge a little and share a lot of Doggo images. Those are for fun (and I do love the subject) and for my dog-loving friends.
So, I like this capture of Mt. McLellan and the weather over Carson City. The fall colors are mostly gone, with just a few hangers-on. We’ll soon start to see snow and some gray days and certainly cooler temperatures. But I still love the high desert and I am good so long as the sun is shining.
Captured with my iPhone 13 Pro Max and the standard camera app.
We got a late start on walkies today. I had two meetings in the morning. Plus the wind was blowing hard and it was spitting rain from the clouds that could not quite make it over the hill.
Nonetheless, we got out before noon and walked a bit. The Girl is still suffering from her sore toe and I thought we might have to curtail the walk. But she gave no indication that she was ready to quit early. Plus, the rain had settled the sand so it was not as hard on her feet. It also seems to have softened the sand burrs that are plaguing her this year.
We had periods of clouds and sun, buffeting winds, and spitting rain on the walk. A runner came up behind us with a dog and Sera ran to interact. She can be such a bitch sometimes and she bullied a little. I walked over and grabbed her by the collar. There was no harm done and the other handler was nonplussed, to my relief.
As we turned back toward the parked rig, I noticed a rainbow form and dissipate several times in front of Mt. McLellan. I found the indigo particularly striking when the sun illuminated the rain and wondered if I could make a capture.
Finally, as we left the staging area in the rig, the conditions were right and I used my iPhone to make the capture. The image is just as I made it with no post processing.
I made this capture of the Mexican Dam with the Fuji X100V and the Tri-X 400 film simulation. The capture was at f/8.
Last week I had a lot of links because, in part, there was quite a bit of pent-up demand. We will see where I go this week.
The linear actuator that lifts the back half of the roof clam of my camper is out. It went out early this summer (in June). I have been too busy to think about replacing it. They are out of stock at the places I might order them. This post on the Forest River Owner’s Group forum provides instructions on how to replace the electromechanical machine with simple pressurized lifts. I will order them this week and make the exchange.
A favorite write, Dan Pink, sends me a short (very) newsletter each week. In this week’s issue, he mentioned California Sun, a daily curated newsletter of California things. Pink’s point is that what happens on the left coast often propagates to the remainder of the country. Good point. Dan’s weekly is also recommended.
This entry is something I wrote ten-years ago. It was just after (the former) Girl contracted leptospirosis and was in hospital. It has a photograph I made of the Comma Coffee sign as well. The photo is good. This story is good. I lost her three-years ago. She got cancer and died. I still miss her but am totally grateful for her replacement, Sera. Life is good.
I found this entry, A Mother’s Love in my on this day list. I remember that day.
Captured with a Fujifilm X-E2 with the in-camera black and white, green filter simulation. The lens was the original 27mm f/2.8 wide open.
The little Fujifilm X-E2 has a tiny built-in flash. I was messing around with The Girl last night, so I popped up the little flash and made the capture. It looks very retro and I like it.
