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.
A few evenings ago (it looks late, but it was not) I stopped at Aloha to reprovision my bar. I liked the look, so I made the capture. Fujifilm X100V and fixed 23mm f/2 at f/8 using Reggie’s Portra film simulation, straight from camera.
A few evenings ago I stopped at Aloha to reprovision my bar. I had a camera with me and made a capture. However, I have been busy and too focused to post much here. That is contrary to my intention of posting something here at least once each week.
I am mostly caught up with work and need to devote some attention to my other activities, including photographic work. So here we are, a post on the last day of 2024.
I suppose the title is also appropriate, a well wish at an ending and a beginning.
It is that time of year again. The rabbitbrush is in fall bloom and that makes my allergies go crazy. Shot with the Fujifilm X100V at f/8 using the Kodachrome film simulation in-camera. No post processing.
Well, my last remainders post was a couple of weeks ago. I wonder where the Interwebs will take me this week?
I know that I have some hearing loss. The tinnitus is a pretty good indicator. I saw a news bite somewhere that indicated my Apple Airpods Pro 2 can work as OTC hearing aids. The how is explained by Dr. Cliff Olson.
Father Nomad is a maker of adapters to connect water filters to water containers.
I have an Elecraft K3 transceiver for amateur radio use. This link describes how to set the Automatic Gain Control of my rig.
In my YouTube wanderings, the algorithm presented a video by James Fleet. He is a British photographer living in the Philippines. I have not yet explored his YT channel (but I will), but his article comparing the Fujifilm X-T5 to the X100VI for street photography is good.
The shutter tool is valuable for reporting the number of mechanical shutter actuations of a digital camera. Why is this important? I am preparing to sell some of my digital bodies and it is standard practice to report the number of shutter actuations.
I stumbled on W.G. Snuffy Walden several years ago. He turned up on one or two guitar music collections and I noticed his playing. It is quite tasty. Then I learned he scored The Stand. It is a good score.
Rick Oleson maintains an antique web page that has information of interest (at least to me). It is worth a look.
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.
I do not recall where I found this sign. But, I made the capture with the Fujifilm X100V at about f/8. Light post-processing with Photolab7.
I do not recall where I made this image. I found it in my archive from earlier this year. The light and color struck me as I worked through my images (as I am sure it did when I made the capture).
When the Sun does not work for you, find another way. Shot on walkies with the Fujifilm X100V and converted to an Ektachrome E100-like look in DXO Photolab 7.
Yesterday on walkies (hiking in the national forest), I looked for a subject. Nothing was grabbing my attention, so I had to dig a little deeper. While this image is not portfolio quality, it still represents a reason I love hiking in the mountains — the sun filtering to the forest floor through the pines. The interplay of light and shadow soothe me, as does the hike with The Girl.
A new favorite breakfast restaurant here in Springfield, MO. Capture with Fujifilm X100V and Reggie’s Portra 400 film simulation, SOOC.
A week ago DiL took me to breakfast at the subject venue. They produce solid American Diner food and the breakfast was good. I had an appointment to drop off the 4Runner for maintenance and the shop is only a couple of miles from Scramblers. So I decided to treat myself to breakfast.
They were not busy at 0700h this morning so I was seated quickly. Coffee was at hand shortly thereafter. I made my order and working on an image to post to Vero. My food appeared before I finished my edits.
Once again, the food was good and priced reasonably. I enjoyed it, put a little bit in a napkin to pay the dog tax, and then finished my edits and posted my image to Vero while finishing my coffee.
Then it was off the Christian Brothers Auto to have the 4Runner serviced. There is a long list of scheduled maintenance to do. I was on the fence about keeping my 2013 Fifth Gen 4Runner or trading for a new one. My rig has 200,000 miles on it, but has no known mechanical issues.
I have decided to try for another 100,000 miles. So, I am going to clean up a few minor issues and keep running the mileage clock.
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.
