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 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 cannot count the number of times I have seen the south end of a northbound dog. Shot with the Sony A7Sii and the CZJ 135mm f/3.5 Sonnar at about f/4.
While hiking in the Sierra yesterday, The Girl was on the lookout for chipmunks. I do not know if Alvin called, but she gave a merry chase.
And what did I get? Well, once again I got the south end of a northbound dog. So, I made the capture.
This frame is basically straight out of camera. The only post processing done was to resize the image and export to JPEG.
It was a good hike. I had a good laugh at The Girl. Life is good.
She’s looking for the neighbor dogs. Shot with the Sony A7Sii and a lovely little CZJ 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon wide open.
Late Sunday afternoon I decided that I needed a Blizzard in my life. The Girl agreed that was a good idea. So we loaded up and headed to DQ.
They were stupid busy at 1830h on a summer Sunday evening. They were having trouble getting orders done correctly and the timing was awful.
Maybe it was my mistake for going inside the store and not the drive-through. Lesson learned.
My Blizzard came out quick but the burger took forever. So, I ate dessert first (and saved some for The Girl).
I made the capture after we returned home. I have a new-to-me Carl Zeiss Jena (DDR) 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon that needs some love. I had it mounted to the Sony A7Sii and the image is straight out of camera with only resizing to fit my weblog.
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.
This is a test shot of Lucas with a new-to-me CZJ 50mm f/1.8 Pancolar. It was shot wide open with a Sony A7Sii and the Sony in-camera black and white conversion.
A lovely Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f/1.8 Pancolar in M42 mount arrived a couple of days ago. I have not yet had a chance to shoot it, certainly not to test it. But I did mount it on my Sony A7Sii a few minutes ago and shot one of my test subjects, my Lucas plushie.
The capture was made wide open and the background blur is evident in the shot. The lens is nicely sharp wide open and I think the background blur (bokeh) is very nice for this camera to subject distance. It will be fun to play with this East German lens and I will have to make a point of carrying the A7Sii and this lens (and maybe another) on walkies.
