This shoot was a lot of fun. It did not take me very long to make the captures, but I sure enjoyed working the scene. The interaction with the Basque artists was icing on the cake.
It was a good day. Life is good.
Mural Painter
Tag: Fuji X-T5
Clouds and Sky
A few days ago I had a very busy morning. It had rained a bit and the house was cool. I thought that meant it was cool outdoors as well. So, I decided to take The Girl to Silver Saddle Ranch, thinking it was cool enough she would not overheat (and maybe the critters would be bunkered in).
Boy howdy, I was mistaken. The clouds cleared and the Son shone brightly. So, while it was not HOT, it was quite warm. We hiked the trail, nonetheless. The irrigation water is shut off from the Mexican Ditch, so we crossed the now-dry ditch and headed for the river. There is still water in the Carson River, although it is showing the late season growth of vegetation.
Again, nonetheless, The Girl jumped right in, swam a bit, got a drink, and cooled off. I took the opportunity to empty my bladder (getting old sucks in some ways).
Having turned the corner on our path, we headed back toward the ranch compound and the rig a bit farther on. I had the X-T5 bouncing on my belly and had an eye out for a possible shot. I noticed the interaction of clouds and sky over the river and paused. I set the camera to do an in-camera conversion to a favorite Tri-X film simulation and also set it to emulate a red filter to accentuate the contrast of the sky.
The capture made, we continued our hike back to the rig… and then proceeded home. It was a good day.
Life is good.
Focus
A few evenings ago I drove up to Juan’s Mexican Diner for a taco and a beer. On my way home I remembered I wanted some ranch beans, so I stopped by the Smith’s grocery store on my way home. As I pulled in to the lot, I noticed two artists working on a mural.
My quick shopping stop done, I mounted the Fujinon 70-300mm zoom on my X-T5 and walked over to work the scene. I came away with a few nice captures and will share a few.
I also had a nice visit with this young Basque woman and offered to send a couple of captures.
It was a good day, a good outing, and I am grateful. Life is good.
Last Couple Weeks
I am quite busy right now with work and taking care of The Girl and myself. I did manage to get out for a couple of weekends, first to Weber Reservoir with friends. There was no radio play, but lots of conversation, a shared meal, and a pop-up thunderstorm that provided plenty of excitement. Hence, I offer the abstract above.
For the Labor Day weekend, I was invited with friends to active Bald Mountain, just north from Topaz Lake. We decided to make a part of it and took the vehicles up to the summit. There we grilled burgers, had a great time of fellowship, and I played some radio.
I did violate the First Rule, thinking I had brought the Yaesu FT-897D and instead finding the Elecraft KX3 in the black Apache case I picked up. That meant I was limited to 15w of output power, which is stingy for phone operations.
It turned out OK because I was the only operator who activated. The 15w output is plenty for code operations, especially at altitude.
I did manage to get out Labor Day Monday for a POTA activation, that is already documented previous. That provided some needed recreation, some additional Morse Code practice, and a enjoyable Eastern Sierra outing with The Girl.
Fortunately, she responded to my calls after she ran out of gas on the chase. She returned completely gassed, but unharmed. I, however, was worthless for the remainder of the day.
On our way up the trail from the staging area, I noticed this cloud peeking through the pines. I thought it might make a nice image in black and white with a red filter. So, I set the camera to simulate Fujifilm Acros with a red filter and made the capture. I rather like the output.
We finished our hike without incident, although I maintain a watchful attitude and work at staying present while hiking that trail now. The first bear I saw on the hike was last year, but at quite a distance. This time, the bear bombed the hill not ten feet in front of me. I was unable to react before The Girl clicked on and bolted in hot pursuit.
I have also seen a coyote a number of times (although not the last couple of summers), but always in the distance. She had a coyote encounter that left her with lacerations (she has earned the “F*()%#ed-up Face” appellation as a result) and the final rupture of the port-aft CCL. The latter required surgery for repair.
The Girl is a beacon for trouble, it seems.
Work kept me busy the remainder of the week. What this weekend will be is yet to be determined.
Life is busy at the moment. I am grateful for God’s gifts in general, and for the work in particular. Life is good.
Frontyard Wildlife
Last week, I think, I stepped out the front door one afternoon for whatever reason. (I do not remember.) I was startled to see two fawns nibbling at the weeds in my front yard. I greeted them, softly, then returned inside to pick up whatever camera was handy.
The Fuji X-T5 and Fujinon 70-300mm zoom were handy. I stepped back out the front door, quietly, and made a few images while they permitted the intrusion.
I win! Life is good.
Coopers Hawk
The day before yesterday, The Girl chased a black bear that bolted across the trail not ten feet in front of us. It was blasting down the hill and she was off before I could even react. There was no calling her off.
Fortunately, the bear was faster. After what seemed like an eternity, I heard her heavy breathing before I caught sight of her. She was working her way back up the hill, totally gassed.
I gave her time to return to me, then checked her over carefully. I found no wounds, but for a couple of light scratches from bombing the brush.
It was too steep to put out water, so we humped back up the hill to more level terrain. Then, I doffed the pack, retrieved her bowl and water bottle, and gave her as much water as she wanted.
We then proceeded back to the trail and then back to the rig. I took the pace easy and she recovered on the way back.
It was a fright that I did not need. I spent much of the afternoon in a state of mild shock, after thinking it likely that I lost her. We stayed pretty close together the remainder of the day.
The following day, yesterday, I had a full schedule and it was relatively cool. So, we walked the linear parkway not far from my apartment. She was able to run about a bit and sniff plenty. We got in a couple of miles of hiking on the flat.
It was good enough.
Along the way, I saw a bunch of birds scatter from the trees in front of us. I figured a hawk had flow in, looking for lunch. Sure enough, the Coopers Hawk above was perched in the tree. It waited patiently for me to make the capture.
Life is good.
Strawberries!
It was actually a few days ago that I bought my first box of strawberries for the season. It had been a couple of weeks (at least) since I hit the grocery store to reprovision. It has also been bloody hot here in Carson City.
I decided that some Greek Yogurt, strawberries, and granola would make a decent lunch without a lot of bulk, sugar, or preparation. So, I bought the first box of strawberries of the season.
The next day about noon, I remembered the strawberries. I got the box out and began working them up, removing the remainder of the flower and cutting them up into chunks. This resulted in a recollection of Wife’s mom, my beloved mother-in-law, and her daughters working up strawberries from the berry patch they kept in their garden.
As I worked up my own, store-bought, berries, I recalled watching the technique and could see myself replicating what I first saw all those years ago. This made me smile and made my heart hurt a little.
Then I remembered strawberry pie. OMG, Mom’s strawberry pie was one of my favorite things. Her blackberry cobbler was right up on that list as well. (Best warm with vanilla ice cream and coffee!) But, my mind went to the strawberry pie with the reddish tint to my fingers from working up my berries.
I then thought “I could make a strawberry pie!” And that made me think of my sister-in-law, whom I had not contacted in a minute. So, after working up my berries and making a parfait for lunch, I sent her a text and we chatted a bit.
They are well, which made me happy. I asked about the pie and she sent me her recipe for the pie and the crust.
Then she sent a little lagniappe — a recipe for easy biscuits.
I usually use frozen Grands as I can make one or two. But, I also long for homemade biscuits and I think I can cut the recipe such that I can make two or three readily. I am going to try.
My mind sometimes goes into a stream-of-consciousness mode. My thoughts leap from one point to another, sometimes leaving even me feeling a bit dizzy.
Also, I think I’ll make a strawberry pie this weekend. I can make it with Sucralose and keep my sugar intake under control.
Mom sure made a killer strawberry pie. When I went to visit, she always made one. With whipped cream and coffee, it was a perfect treat.
Wife, Mom, and Dad are all gone now. It is a pity. They are greatly missed, all of them. They were my family, all by law. But, they might as well be blood. That is how I feel about them.
Godspeed, my loves, Godspeed.
I am grateful to have had those people in my life. Life is good.
So is strawberry pie.
Front Yard Wildlife
Yesterday afternoon I was working on my folding table in the living room and thought I smelled smoke. It being that time of the year, I stepped to the front door to check. What I found was two fawns grazing on the vegetation in my neighbors’ front yard.
I spoke to them softly, then stepped quickly to pick up my Fuji X-T5 and the Fujinon 70-300mm zoom I had affixed to the camera. Then I carefully stepped out the screen door and made a couple of captures, one at 70mm and the other at 300mm (a head shot I will share later).
I think the lens is a keeper. It provides a useful range of focal lengths in a very compact, if a little slow photographically.
Life is good.
First Quarter
After a YouTube video by Dan Bailey and a subsequent discussion in the comments for his video, I rented a Fujinon 70-300mm f/4-f/5.6 zoom lens from Lensrentals. It arrived Wednesday, but I have had little downtime this week.
I made a few captures with it and this one of the first quarter Moon pleases me. I shot it handheld and used the Sunny-16 rule to set the exposure manually. Focus was manual as well.
I did a little editing with Photolab 7 after the capture, but not much.
The capture below was made a few days ago (maybe Wednesday evening) on walkies with The Girl. We had a beautiful sunset, so I made this capture.
I think this lens might be a useful addition to my kit. It is much lighter than the 100-400mm and will fit into my regular bag for the X-T5.
Salt and Pepper
While out for breakfast a few days ago, I noticed the light on the salt and pepper shakers on my table. This resulted in a grab shot using the X-T5 and the Voigtlander 27mm f/2 lens. I selected an aperture that would give enough depth of field for the shakers but provide a little subject isolation.
For this capture, I used the RAW mode and then post-processed the result in PhotoLab 7. The adjustments were all minor and I used a PhotoLab preset for the black and white conversion.
The little Voigtlander pancake lens can do the job if I do mine.
Breakfast was good. The Girl and I had a nice hike after. She enjoyed the bulk of my bacon.
Life is good.