I shot this just after sunset while walking The Girl a couple of nights ago. Captured with TG-7, 2025-06-21 19:42:27, 18mm, 1/50sec, f/4.9, ISO-800, SOOC JPG.
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.
While walking The Girl up at Washoe Lake SP, I paused to make this capture of the afternoon light on Slide Mountain. There is snow, but not enough for spring flows. We need more. Capture with Fuji X100vi and the standard film simulation, mostly SOOC (slight contrast adjustment).
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.
At the Red Hut for breakfast. Fuji X100V, 23mm f/2 fixed lens, shot at f/8 using Tri-X film simulation and SOOC.
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.
The contrast of the twilight sky and lighted sign attracted my attention. Shot with Sony A7Sii and a Carl Zeiss Jena 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon. Straight out of camera.
Campcraft Outdoors makes some very interesting waxed canvas camping gear.
I have been thinking a lot about my EDC kit. This YouTube Video is an example of a well thought out kit that clearly serves the needs of its developer.
I will need hearing aids some time soon. I will spare the details. One consideration is that I love music and will want to listen to it and have some enjoyment from my decent systems. This thread offers some insight.
The south end of a north-bound dog… a view that I see often. Sony A7iii and Carl Zeiss DDR 135mm f/3.5 wide open, SOOC.
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.
The new-to-me Sony A7iii arrived today. So I made a quick test shot with it and the Canon 55mm f/1.2 SSC. This is straight out of camera.
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.
The Girl and I walked a showery day out at Silver Saddle Ranch last week. All the fair-weather hikers stayed home, so we nearly had the place to ourselves. Mother Nature put on a nice display for us as we started our hike. Yes, there is a rainbow. Shot with Fuji X100V at f/8 using the Kodachrome 64 film simulation, SOOC.
I had supper with an old friend last night1. One of his favorite subjects (as a photographer) is bees. He loves to make images of bees going about their work. He reminded me that I stumbled upon at least one pepsis wasps a couple-three years ago. Well, maybe it was four-years ago.
Ki and I were walking one of our routes along the Carson River/Mexican Ditch out at Silver Saddle Ranch. There is a section of that trail I call “The Slot” because one side is bounded by a fence intended to keep livestock (and people) out of the river corridor and the other side is bounded by a fence to keep livestock in the pasture. An irrigation ditch parallels the latter so there is a large berm to keep water in the ditch. The path is only four or five feet wide, in contrast to 10 or 15 feet wide along other sections.
I generally kept Ki (and now Sera) on-lead when we pass through that section of the trail. Line of sight is limited and I do not want to be surprised by other canines. I suppose that is unnecessary information.
On the particular day, I noticed a couple of butterflies working a milkweed plant. And then I noticed a black wasp with red wings. That got my attention. I had the Fuji X-T1 with the Fujinon 35mm f/2 lens mounted to it2. I made a capture of the wasp… probably several captures.
I cannot find them. I spent an hour last night looking for the originals and found nothing. They must be lost with one of the transitions in software I made over the years. I recall leaving both Aperture and Lightroom behind. The images might have been lost the respective libraries. That is a pity.
In any event, I found an image here in my weblog. It was a rumination on a chance meeting with a woman named Judy M., who I met on the trail out by Carson River. My recollection is that she was another wanderer who was working through some life changes. I recall that we visited off and on while hiking the trail and that she created her own weblog where she posted her own ruminations.
I have not heard from her in several years. We kept up via email for a while. Her weblog is gone. Perhaps she is, too. I do not know.
But, as I think I have reflected here a number of times, I am reminded that we have circles of engagement about us. The smallest holds those closest to us — close family, closest friends, and lovers. They are more permanent than most other people we encounter in life.
The next circle is a bit larger. It contains the first group plus other friends and professional relations. These are less permanent relationships, though they might be strong for a time. But things change and those folks move on to other places, people, and endeavors.
The last circle is larger yet. It contains the first two groups plus the myriad of other folks who wander into our lives for a time, maybe are close and could possibly join the other inner circles, but for whatever reasons do not stick and wander away again.
That departure sometimes leaves a hole behind. I can think of a few relationships that I thought were going to last, with the individual moving close and closer to my inner circle for a time, maybe even stay for a year or three. But, sometimes abruptly, they leave. Those leavings sometimes hurt a bit.
Judy never made it that close. But we were friends for a time. I wished her well and enjoyed the company and conversation of another who wanders. I wonder where she might be now. I expect to never know.
In the end, I find it a bit fascinating how dynamic my social life has been. I have never had a large social group. I am an introvert and gain energy in solitude (with my dog now; with Wife for many years). But I have a social group and parts of it are dynamic, with others moving in and out of my circles.
Now I need to get on with my day. I am preparing to sell several camera bodies that I am not using and am not going to use. I replaced my first Sony A7S with an A7Sii last year. My approach to photography is a bit different than the use case of A7S series, so I bought a Sony A7iii late last week. It will be delivered in a couple of days and I will put it to use shooting my vintage glass.
A few weeks ago I took a notion to shoot the 35mm lenses in my vintage collection. I did the shoot with the A7Sii and was fascinated by the difference in optical performance. I am going to re-shoot the test with the A7iii (a 24MP camera opposed to the 12MP of the A7Sii) and then put together a comparison of the results. I do not expect a dramatic difference attributable to the change in camera resolution, but that will make an interesting observation as well. It will be fun.
The image is from last week. We had a day of showery weather — definitely a sign that fall is here and winter approaches. We walked anyway, with The Girl pausing now and again to shake the rain from what little fur she has. As we hiked the access road, I noticed the bright patch over my left shoulder and paused to make an image. The faint rainbow was a gift.
As always, I am grateful. Life is definitely good.
1No, I did not have an old friend for supper last night!
2I thought I had a different body and a Vivitar 90mm f/2.5 macro lens. I guess my remembry is broken. Or there are (or were) more images than just the one.
After supper with Jimmy, I drove downtown for a short photo walk. The Fox looked good in the evening light, so I made a couple of captures. Sony A7Sii, CZJ 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon at f/4. SOOC
I think quite a lot of the Carl Zeiss Jena 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon lens. It is a good walk around lens and I had it affixed to the Sony A7Sii when I walked downtown Carson City after supper with my friend Jimmy.
I was hoping to catch the lights lit at Cactus Jack’s or The Nugget casinos, but no joy. Still, the capture of The Fox is good enough.
I have a thing for vintage glass, especially that glass that exhibits character. This sprig of Penstemon I found on walkies in the National Forest finally gave me a decent capture with the Sony A7Sii and a Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm f/3.5 Sonnar wide open, SOOC.
Monday morning, The Girl and I were out fairly early for us. I made coffee and had some water, but I had a blood draw scheduled (late for me), so there was no food. Without the distraction of food and knowing that I had a hard stop of a return by 1030h, we headed out an hour earlier than normal. A new-to-me CZJ 135mm f/3.5 Sonnar had arrived a few days earlier and I had it out several times before. But Monday morning the Penstemon finally gave me a decent image with a darker background.
The CZJ Sonnar produces a nice background, particularly in the 135mm focal length and shot wide open. I find the Sony A7Sii very forgiving to a wide range of light with an electronic shutter that goes all the way down to 1/8000th of a second.
We kept moving because of my appointment, but paused now and again for me to make an image and to sip a bit of water. At the turn-around point in our loop, I get out the liter bottle and her bowl and gave her a good drink. After that short break, we were off again to return to the rig and get on with the day.
I have a number of vintage lenses that produce nice images. None of them produce perfect images; but all exhibit a quality that I find interesting. If I want a near perfect image, I have lots of Fujinon glass that con do it. But I find myself enjoying the less than perfect rendering of many of these vintage lenses more pleasing than the more clinical look of modern glass.
We made it home before 1030h. I had plenty of time for a shower, to make sure The Girl had enough water and that she cooled down, and a buffer to head off for my blood draw. Then I was able to go get some lunch and was plenty hungry.
I need to work more with this Sonnar, the 35mm f/2.8 Flektogon, and a couple of Tessar formula normal lenses in my collection.
It was a good day. We camped out in the house tolerating the heat, but the swampy kept the living room cool enough. I am grateful. Life is good.
