I went to my grandson’s wedding in Philadelphia. I had all of my children and some of their spouses with me. It was a good time and I am very grateful.
Daughter suggested we go to a Delaware beach. So, we did.
I came away with a good memory and a few good frames. Life is good.
Here is another frame of the Basque mural artist working. Again, she was unaware of my presence at this point. She was very focused on her work. It is something that I admire.
The entire shoot took me only about 15 or 20 minutes. I grabbed my Fuji X-T5 and Fujinon 70-300mm zoom and walked toward the site. I made some images as I approached. I then stepped around to the north side for some closer shots. She noticed me, and smiled. We visited for just a few minutes so I could show a few frames and ask if she wanted a copy. She did, so I got her information. I have since sent her a few frames.
It was a good day. Life is good. I am grateful.
I have an admiration for people who are good at their work. Well, really, good at anything that they do, be it work or avocation. I find it fascinating to observe and I think they make excellent photographic subjects.
I wrote about this artist a few days ago. I posted a couple of images from the set so far. Here is another of her leaning into her work, oblivious to my presence until I announcement myself a few minutes later.
It was a good day. Life is good.
I will have a review of the Olympus Tough TG7 after I have more experience with the little camera. Based on my initial use of it, I have a good impression thus far. But, I need more experience to fully form my opinion of the little camera.
My use case for it is a field camera that I use to document my project work. I could use my iPhone, but better images can be made (I think) with a purpose-built tool. I spent several hours researching weatherproof or weather resistant cameras, particularly those that will fit into a pocket. I ended up with a TG7. It readily fits into the back pocket of my cargo pants.
I made this image Sunday evening while taking The Girl on our evening excursion. I wait until the Sun falls behind the Carson Range, then we head out for a half-mile walk once it cools down a little. Both of us benefit from the outside time.
The light was falling just enough that the sign made an impression. So, I paused, let her sniff at the nearby brush a bit (to leave pee-mail), and made this capture.
I have since learned I should dial down the compression a bit and/or shoot the Olympus raw format and post process the result. I will try both of these approaches for some upcoming test shots.
But, the SOOC images that I am getting from the TG7 are pretty good, in my opinion. Perhaps I do not have the critical eye of other photographers.
After the pause, The Girl and I headed home. She asked for her evening treat. I had mine, too. Then we hit the sack.
Life is good.
I had The Girl up at Washoe Lake State Park yesterday for an outing. We walked after arriving about noon, then I setup the Yaesu FT-897D station to play radio for an hour or so. The bands were not very cooperative, but I still made about 30 contacts — more than enough for a POTA activation.
Then I got her out for a second walk. We are rebuilding the tissue around her knee to reinforce it. Her gait is better already and the trick will be to avoid damaging the repair until it is strong enough to handle the stress she puts on herself.
She is an all-in dog. That is my girl!
I made the capture on our second circuit of the field, after I put away the station. I am learning the new Fujifilm X100vi and it is a substantial upgrade from the X100V. I am enjoying it.
Life is good.
The New Year arrived last night. I heard fireworks at midnight, briefly. They did not really disturb either of us, but I am struggling to stay asleep the last fortnight or so. So I rose and went to my workroom. I picked up my new bullet journal, not quite a tabula rasa, but pretty close. I started working up the format for this year. Part of that is migrating tasks from last year to the new journal.
I finally gave up and returned to bed for a few minutes before rising at 0530h and making a coffee. Yeah, a handful of hours of sleep New Year’s Eve. It is what it is.
I fed The Girl later and decided to go get breakfast. So it was a trip to The Red Hut for a waffle sandwich, from which I brought home a strip of bacon for my love.
Given it was pretty cool this morning, I puttered around the house this morning and then got us out for a hike at Silver Saddle Ranch. There were a few other walkers, but not so many as there would have been had the weather been better. It was gray, blustery, and cool. The fair-weather hikers stayed home, probably nursing a hangover.
All in all it was a quiet beginning to the new year. I came away from Red Hut with a decent capture. The Girl and I napped a bit, hiked a bit, and interacted a bit more.
I have a lot of tasks for 2025. I better get after it.
I remain grateful. Life is good.
The Bodine’s sign, shot with the Sony A7iii and a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 at f/8 or so. No post processing was done.
It has been a busy week. I went camping last weekend with Greg/Subrina north from the Interstate and near Nightingale Mine. There was no particular radio event happening, I simply wanted to go camp with my friends, get away from the house after the previous busy weeks, and be outside.
I made a quick provision of the camper, bought a little food (too much, of course), and headed east on US 50 with The Girl. It is not much more than an hour to the site and I readily found their rig. I pulled up nearby, got out, and surveyed the site. I did not care for the stickery weeds growing on the site, but figured there was probably not much better available nearby. They were already setup, so I checked my camper for level (good enough), and deployed the stabilizers.
The Ryobi impact driver I bought makes deploying and recovering the stabilizers trivial. It sure beats hand cranking the bastiges. The driver will also serve should I need to remove a wheel from the rig for repair. That was a lesson learned from last winter when I struggled with a lug wrench on the shoulder of I-40 in the cold and wet.
I put up the Chameleon MPAS 2.0 so I could play some radio. I also got the Elecraft KX3 to chase some Zombies in the annual Zombie Shuffle. But I could not hear many Zombies and decided to go visit with my friends.
After supper, Sera and I returned to our mobile house where I fed her and then chased a few more Zombies. I managed to work a DX expedition station, CM21MM, although I did not know it was an expedition at the time. Sera settled on the bed while I enjoyed some radio time.
When I tired of that, I got out my Kindle and worked on a book I was reading, “A Cold Dish” by Craig Johnson. I loved the Longmire series on Netflix and a buddy suggested I read the books. They are better (and different).
There is more, but I have things to do this morning. So, I will table the story for now.
The image is of the south end of a north-bound dog… a sight I often see given the personality of My Girl. I shot it with a new-to-me Sony A7iii and a lovely Carl Zeiss DDR 135mm f/3.5 Sonnar vintage lens wide open. I like the way the lens renders the image.
Life is good. I am grateful.
The new-to-me Sony A7iii arrived today. There’s plenty of battery to take with me camping, so I will. But I paused for a quick grab shot and The Girl was looking at me. The message is: “What are you doing? I want to go walk!” (Laughing out loud…)
She is bossy.
I am heading out to camp for the weekend. I need to make a quick grocery run and then finish loading the camper. It will be a good weekend.
I am grateful. Life is good.