Daily Image: 23 January 2024 — Books

One of the stacks at Dixon Books in Fayetteville, AR. Shot with Fujifilm X100V 23mm f/2 at f/2.8 using the Tri-X film simulation.

My kids and I took a day trip down to Rogers and Fayetteville, Arkansas on Sunday. Despite the cold, winter day (but not as cold as it has been), we had a blast. We visited a Duluth Trading Company bricks and mortar store. There I bought The Girl a jacket for our cold outings (and to keep some of the rain off). I bought myself some gloves as those I have are insufficient when it gets this cold.

We drove into Fayetteville for a Mediterranean meal and the headed downtown to Dixon Books. I love used book stores and carried a camera inside with me.

Dixon Books is one of those rabbit-warren bookstores that has lots (and lots) of bookshelves and stacks of books with small aisles to traverse the stacks. I love it.

I carried the Fujifilm X100V in my hand and made many captures surreptitiously of other wanderers of the stacks. A couple of those might be worth sharing. I also carried the Nikon F2AS, but decided that it is a bit noisy for that environment. A quite rangefinder was just the trick. (The X100V is nearly silent.)

I did not buy any new books, not having a list with me. But, I hope there will be another (perhaps many) trips back to Fayetteville and the next visit I will have a list with me.

After the bookstore, there was coffee at Doomsday Coffee, just a couple of blocks away.

It was a good day. Life is good.

Daily Image: 29 December 2023 — Posing Sera

I asked for a pose and I got one. Shot with the Fuji X100V using fill flash at f/8 using Reggie’s Portra 400 film recipe.

Here I am in Ozark, Missouri (near Springfield) to spend a little time with Older Son and DiL. The trip from Durant, OK here yesterday was not bad, despite getting a late start. I did run in to some rain along the way, but not heavy rain. The alternate route I chose was a little slower than the fast route. It was a delay of less than a half hour.

I pulled in just after dark. The sun was still reddening the western sky.

What I did notice was that Google Maps insisted on offering me the “faster way” — the way that involved using toll roads. Furthermore, if I did not notice the offer, it would accept it for me.

This default mode of choosing the faster route for me pissed me off. In addition, I am having difficulty adjusting the Google Maps volume on my iPhone. Methinks that Apple does not want me using Google Maps.

In general, the entire Google Maps thing really pissed me off. I do not need nor want my technology making decisions for me. It should be helping me find my way when I choose a path I want to take. Adjusting the announcement volume should be trivial, even if on foreign hardware.

Now I need a cup of coffee. At least I have a nice capture of Sera to look at.

Street

He was looking at something…

It was a year ago… actually a bit more than a year ago. I drove out to Denver from Carson City, leaving Carson on Nevada Day and heading east on U.S. 50.

The purpose was to visit the U.S. Geological Survey Water Science Center in Denver for an interview. I made the cut for a senior position in the center and so was scheduled for a face-to-face interview.

While there I spent a few days with my kids. One afternoon Older Son and I walked around a bit. I carried a camera for some street photography (or whatever). I managed this capture that afternoon.

I don’t know why I am just now processing this image. Well, actually I know… 2017 was a pretty busy year. After the USGS job didn’t happen, I moved into a small place in Carson City. The move and setup took a bit of time. Then 2017 brought plenty of work that kept me busy.

As 2017 comes to a close and 2018 looms, I know that I will work through the bulk of this work and have time to devote to the photography and other things that are important to me.

So, I’ll leave a wish for a safe New Year’s Eve and a Happy 2018 to those who wander by.