Tag: fuji X-T1

The Writing Discipline

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I found this on morning walkies Sunday and had to have an image.

About a week ago I met Judy M. while walking The Girl out at Riverside Park on the Carson River. I think Judy is about where I was a few years ago after Wife died and I was in the process of discovering what I was to be without her in my life. It was a turbulent time of reflection and introspection during which I ended my engagement with my previous employer, sold my house, put my things into storage, and went on a long wander.

That wander took me many places where I spent time with family, friends, and loved ones. It was necessary for me to take the time to process my loss. It was good to connect with people I love. I cherish that time.

In any event, I think Judy will be an interesting read and encourage you, the reader, to visit her weblog and encourage her to continue posting. I am going to follow her.

Her sharing with me her weblog reminded me that I have not been exercising the writing discipline on my own site for some time. I see that it was early in July when I posted last. To be fair, I was traveling to see family and friends for a couple of weeks. I spent my time and energy on that exercise and that is a good thing. Unfortunately, it meant that I did not have time and energy to spend writing on my own weblog.

I know that I shared before an intention to write here regularly. I find it difficult, though, when I break the habit (or discipline) of writing regularly here to restart that work. I have many things to do and they will take priority if I let them.

That said, I still have the desire and intention of posting here on this site regularly. I suppose that means I need to set a regular reminder in my calendar that posting day is coming so you better get writing and then dig down and do that work.

I make no promise, although I have the intention of writing regularly. I think it is an important part of what I do and I also think I still have plenty of words left in me. Stop laughing…

While walking The Girl this morning we came upon these large wasps working the flowering plants along the path. I think this specimen was nearly 50mm long. The striking contrast between the black body and orange wings caught my eye. So, I made a few captures with the Fuji X-T1 and the Fuji 35mm f/2 lens. Of all the captures, this one I like the best.

I did give them some space. They did not seem particularly aggressive, but the orange wings looked like a warning to me. “Danger, Ruminator!”

When we returned home, I made some lunch (green salad with some ham, turkey, Jack cheese, avocado, and a Roma tomato) and relaxed a little. Then I looked up the wasp. I think it is a Tarantula Hunter, or Pepsis wasp. It was consuming nectar from a milkweed plant, along with a couple of butterflies.

Crystal, Nevada

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On the road to Pahrump, there is a little town called Crystal, Nevada.

On the road down to Pahrump, Nevada, we paused for a leg stretch and to watch the Sun set. Everyone else was hurrying on their way to wherever they were going. We watched them rush by while The Girl and Older Son puttered around the desolate landscape.

There are some odd places in this part of Nevada. Hoy’s “Lovership” appears to be one of them. [shudders] No, we didn’t stop there.

This morning it will be time to head back to the house. I think we accomplished what needed to be done here. Now it is time for me to work on the project and finish it up.

I’m going to enjoy the drive home. I love Nevada.

Pahrump

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After a fun play, The Girl posed for me.

Work once again brings me to Pahrump, Nevada. I’ll have field work to do for the next couple of days. Then we’ll head back home again.

The drive down was uneventful, for which I’m thankful. The weather was good and the Sun felt good on my body. The Girl snoozed most of the way here, which means she slept most of the day. We did take a couple of breaks to get out of the rig and move around.

But she had quite a lot of pent-up energy. So after getting settled into our room (Older Son is with us), we had a big-old play on the floor. She bounced between Older Son and me, and we roughed her up really well. She was mildly mouthy, which is unusual for her, but she was so gentle that I couldn’t bring myself to admonish her.

In the end, she posed for me before I got out her food for the evening. She was hungry, having forgone breakfast in the nervousness of impending travel.

We then walked over to the sports bar and got supper for the big dogs. I really enjoyed my salad.

I had to correct several personnel there about how to *not* deal with a service dog. Everyone seems to think they can just approach a working dog and engage. So, once again I found myself having to train service personnel on the proper way to (not) interact with working dogs.

I’m pretty good at it. I’m not one of those handlers who loses their mind if someone looks at their dog. (There are many who will.) So I’m a good one for untrained service personnel to interact with.

It was good.

After a long time, our server finally reappeared with the check. She said “Sorry it took me so long. I had to break the bartender.”

I looked at her, raising my eyebrows, “Break the bartender,” with visions of her actually *breaking* someone. I began to laugh.

“No, no, no… I gave the bartender a break,” regardless of me giving her a hard time, she remained (mostly) nonplussed.

I laughed quite a lot. “You look pretty strong… I’ll bet you could break the bartender.”

I was still laughing about this as we paid the bill and headed back to the room. Normally, someone “verbifying” a noun makes me crazy. In this case, I thought it was hysterically funny.

I still think it’s funny.

Roses

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One of my favorite testbeds, shot with the Fuji X-T1, a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4, and the Metabones Turbo Booster.

One of my favorite testbeds is the hedgerow of rosebushes that bounds the old Carson Lumberyard flume and the vacant lot south from the DPS/DMV building. In the morning there is plenty of sunshine on the bushes and flowers and the Girl loves to play in this area. So she doesn’t mind if I spend a few minutes playing with the flowers.

I think the Fuji glass is very good. I’ve written about that before. In fact, the glass is the reason I abandoned the Sony cameras and moved to the Fuji platform.

However, the experimenter in me lives on. I have a deep affinity for the lenses I used to use on 35mm film cameras. Forty years ago, as a young man, I lusted after Nikon bodies and Nikkor glass. Many professionals carried a couple of F-series bodies and a pouchful of Nikkor lenses. I could not afford one then.

Now every thing is digital, except for a few diehards. I find digital images sterile. They are often technically perfect (or nearly so), but they feel dry to me. At least, many of them do. And those that are heavily processed might be very interesting as art, but there is something missing from an image that is assembled from a variety of parts. I find art in seeing the subject, determining that there is something interesting/moving about it, and then finding a way to capture that image in the camera. It is a different process than much of what I see and is definitely old school.

In playing with these old lenses on a digital body, I can recover some of what I looked for with film. It isn’t perfection; it is a mood conveyed by light, subject, and composition. The capture doesn’t have to be perfect (this one is not). The post-processing is limited to making minor adjustments in exposure, contrast (global and local), and a bit of sharpening. That’s about all I do. (The exception is conversion from color to monochrome.)

The Metabones adapter is interesting. It converts the lens to an equivalent angle of acceptance of a lens 0.62 times the focal length (which makes the angle of acceptance the same as the original on full frame). But it also adds a stop of additional light gathering power and I think it makes a commensurate change to the perceived depth of field.

I’m still working that out in my head. I have an article drafted that contains my analysis of the differences in sensor/film size, lens focal length, lens speed, and depth of field. I need to finish that one day and publish it here.

In any event, the legacy Nikkors are very good lenses. I like them a lot.

Morning Walkies

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Captured on morning walkies…

The Girl and I were poking about the old flume wetland yesterday morning. The sun was pretty and the bright yellow of these sunnies caught my eye. So we paused while I made a couple of captures and the Girl did doggies things.

She never seems to mind my pauses. Although if my visit with another person goes too long, she will ask to move along. Heh…

On this morning I had the Fuji X-T1 with a Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/4 mounted on a Metabones Ultra Turbo Booster that’s been languishing in my collection for awhile. I decided it was time to get out the X-T1 and some of my favorite Nikkors and work with them.

One of the things I like about Fuji glass is that it is impeccable. It is sharp, has good color rendition, and has low distortion. However, I also think the images are a bit sterile. They lack the character that legacy glass provides.

It seems that if I want really accurate reproduction of the subject, then the Fuji glass is the way to go. However, if I’m looking to explore the interaction of light and lens, then legacy glass has its appeal.

I also enjoy experimenting with odd glass as well. I am playing with 16mm movie camera lenses on my Micro 4/3s body. I also play with TV lenses on that one as well. The Micro 4/3s format is nearly perfect for glass with image circles that are intended for small sensors.

But I’m really entering into another discussion than the one appropriate for this entry.

Play Misty for Me

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Austin, NevadaMany years ago there was a Clint Eastwood movie, Play Misty for Me. It was one of the psychodramas of the time and quite spooky. The title for my article was a free association based on my acquaintance, which I’ll tell you about.

Thursday evening came and my friend Jimmy arrived home from his first job. He looked into my room and remarked “I see boxes by the door, but it doesn’t look like you’re ready to leave.” I shrugged and said “Well, maybe Saturday, maybe Sunday… I have some work to do on this project that will take me a few hours.”

It was really hot that afternoon — the 4Runner’s dash thermometer read 102F. The Girl and I had been running errands, wrapping up a small project, procuring necessary items for my next trip, and trying to stay cool. I had been working on my report to address comments from the prime before I headed out. It was too hot to sleep yet anyway. But, I got settled down about 2300 and slept pretty well.

Friday morning came and while drinking my morning coffee, I decided I could get away if I really wanted to. So the Girl and I made our walk, I worked out, fed us, and got started on the last few things. It took me about a half-hour to pack them, so I showered and began loading the rig. I took my time with the rig because I faced a huge Tetris problem. In the end, I got my things in there plus the few things I wanted to stow in my unit.

We were out of the house by about 1100 and headed for Carson to take care of some last errands and stow those things I was leaving behind. On the way out of town we stopped at Sportsman’s Warehouse to pick up a couple last things, said goodbye to my neighbor (who works there), and then headed east on U.S. 50.

It was a much cooler afternoon than Thursday. I could have worked and been fine at Jimmy’s. Oh well… I had no idea. Regardless, it was good to be moving again. We stopped in Fallon for a few minutes to get out of the car and drink some water. I picked up a couple of geocaches along the way as well.

One of our stops was near Sand Mountain, to find a geocache. I thought about driving out there, but could tell it was already crowded with weekenders and decided that I didn’t want to interact. So, after the Girl chased a few lizards and I logged the geocache, we headed on.

I stopped at the Austin, Nevada cemetery to find another geocache, hoping it would be large enough to accommodate a couple of travel bugs I’d been hauling around. But, the hide was a small container so no joy.

I also was tiring and didn’t think I’d be able to make Eureka or Ely. In looking at lodging in Austin, the Cozy Mountain Motel got a lot of good reviews. But, when I drove by, the No Vacancy sign was already illuminated. So, I looked again and found the Pony Canyon Motel. The price was a little higher than I expected and I was surprised when I learned there was no air conditioning. But that wasn’t really bad as the evening cooled quickly.

The Girl and I settled in and were sitting outside enjoying the late afternoon air and light — watching the world go by. I noticed the beautiful light and retrieved my Fuji X-T1, making the capture above.

A young woman pulled in beside my rig and started rushing her things, including two cats, into her room adjacent to mine. The Girl took too much interest in the crated felines and drew a correction. “Sorry about that,” I said.

“No worries… they are so much work to take care of, not like a dog.”

“Well, dogs just require a different kind of work.”

“I gotta hurry, the restaurant closes at eight…” and off she flew. When she returned, I was boiling water to add to my freeze-dried supper, lasagna with meat sauce. I’m experimenting with backpacking meals. All that is required is the foil packet, boiling water, and a spoon. A long-handled spoon really helps. (I’ll write about that more in another article.) She walked past with her boxed pizza. “I see you made it.”

“Yep, health food,” she responded. The Girl’s nose went up as she walked by. “Must be pepperoni,” I said, “The Girl loves pepperoni.”

“I’ll save her some, then.”

“Don’t do me any favors, she’ll gas me.” We both laughed.

After I ate and cleaned up, I sat on the bench outside my room with my guitar, playing softly. A new goal of mine is to do those things that are important to me daily — reading, writing, music, photography. I’m working on getting some of my skill back on the instrument. So, I want to play a few minutes everyday. She came out of her room to get a few more of her things and smiled as she passed.

When she returned, she sat down in a nearby chair. I played for a few minutes and then she began to talk. She is learning the ukulele. She had no artistic encouragement when she was young and a friend had encouraged her to play. She took up the ukulele as something relatively easy to play and quite portable.

“Are you practicing regularly?”

“No. I often intend to, but I don’t. I binge, playing hours on one day and then nothing for a week.”

“You should commit to 15-minutes per day,” I suggested. “Don’t be regimented about it, like ‘I have to practice today,’ but make it something you do because you want to, because you get something from it. Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a session. But you’ll build muscle memory much faster if you practice regularly, even if it’s just a few minutes.”

I used to teach music in another life. My encouragement to my students was always to practice a little. Make it a focused session and keep it short. The goal is to be regular and focused. That’s the fastest way to learn and it’s a lot more fun.

“I’m Misty,” she held out her hand.

“I’m Dave,” and I took it.

Mid-visit there was a crash as the screen on her window fell out, hauling a small tan and white cat along with it. I called to Ki to stay in the room and we went over to grab the cat (she did) and I grabbed the screen. After a bit of futzing around, she got the window closed and I had the screen (mostly) back in place. After a few minutes getting her cat settled back down, she returned.

“I’m headed for Dallas to work on my Ph.D.” That led to a talk about graduate school, background, and a lot of stories about things. After an hour or two just chatting, I could tell she was tiring as she began yawning and had that look about her.

“I have to go to bed. I’m tired.”

I nodded, understanding.

“Perhaps I’ll see you in the morning. I want to see how you cook.”

I really enjoy these encounters. I enjoy interacting with people and hearing their stories. I meet interesting people along the way and am thankful for that.

Indeed, she was up and about before I cooked breakfast the next morning — a Saturday morning. She watched me prepare my eggs and oatmeal and was surprised that I had all the fixings. I was amused at her surprise. Why wouldn’t I have the things I like with me?

As I cleaned up and began my packing process, she loaded her vehicle. She knocked on my door and I asked her in. I gave her one of my cards. “Email me. I’d like to hear how your progress on your Ph.D. goes. When I’m in Dallas, I’ll drop by for a visit and we can have coffee or a beer.” She smiled, nodded, and looked at me for a moment.

I gave her a big hug, as I could see that was what she wanted.

Then she was off to Denver to see a friend, then to Dallas to get started on her work. “God Bless and be safe,” I said as I watched her go.

Once again, a living, breathing being moved into and out of my circle. She brought her energy and liveliness into my life for a few moments and then was gone. Will she email me? Will I see her again for that coffee or beer? I have no idea. I’m not even sure that it matters. It is what it is and I’m happy with that.

Then, as she drove away, my free-associating mind came up with “Play Misty for Me” and I knew I had a title for my story.