Eastside 2020 - with the S2 Group

Our recent trip to the eastern Sierra Nevada was a wonderful getaway, considering all the chaos we have been dealing with here in California. The extended Covid lockdowns, wild fires, and all the election hype... Sooooo nice to escape!

We ended up with (7) people from the S2 photo group joining us, along with a couple of spouses. (5) campers and a few in hotels, dispersed amongst (4) vehicles. We had a great time, all things considered, as we had to adjust last minute plans to avoid several National Forests, which were closed due to extreme fire danger. And we had to deal with wildfire smoke, that clouded up over Mono Lake, and filtered into a few sunset scenes.

We explored several areas seeking fall colors, and ended up catching a few sunrise and sunsets, including an overnight stay at Alabama Hills. We planned a few photo challenges, and had a few devotional times as well. I truly appreciate the efforts and engagement from the group, and enjoyed the company of a few like minded Christian photographers, all trying to display God's handiwork, through still images.

Our first stop was Red Rock State Park. And although it was meant to break up the drive, it provided an opportunity to capture some very unique formations and colors.

We ended up at Lone Pine, CA for our first night, and captured sunset, a moonrise, and sunrise the next morning. The colors and textures were overwhelming and beg for more days of exploring. I'm sure a return trip will be planned soon!

As an analog film photographer, this is a haven for B&W images, using traditional black and white film. I shot two roles and could have spent several days more, and burned through many rolls of B&W film. (Will need to go back more regularly)

From Lone Pine, we headed north, passing through Bishop and Lee Vining, all the way to Twin Lakes, after finding out that the camp sites near Virginia Lakes were closing early.

Several sunrises, and some color scouting turned up a few fall color images, but we struggled to find good color, as we were a bit early, and further north then originally planned.

But, we were persistent and found a decent band of color near upper Summer Meadow.

We also explored the Virginia Creek area, and caught a bit more detail and some good colors.

We stayed two nights at Twin Lakes, and finally headed home over the Sonora Pass. We had a few more stops and captured more color on this highway 108 route.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with fellow S2 photographers, and hope we all came back with a library of images, to edit, play and explore, for many days to come.

Waiting through the Storm

Not a weather event, but a fire storm! Another huge fire, swept down on Camp Nelson in a fury! And so we wait, watching the social media updates, hoping and praying for protection.

God please protect those fighting this fire, keep them safe and out of harms way.

And I would have to admit, it has brought a few tears. The impact that the Camp Nelson Cabin had on my youth is being revealed each day, as I ponder those years. Summers hanging out with Walt Sommer, and helping with construction projects, and exploring the hillsides. Hiking for hours, just getting home before dark. The yard work, the cool afternoons, cold watermelon taken fresh from our little fake spring. And those Shasta sodas!

And, while I know that the man I became can't be easily taken away... the place sure can! The structures are simply a means of protection. From the elements, and from a few wild animals. Burn them down, and the man they created still remains. At least until the Lord calls me home.

Spending time in deep thought these last few days has quickly left me with this: people matter, material things do not. Those carefree summers were a privilege. I can only pray that I pass some of these memories on to my grandkids!

Fall Color - Trip Planning Nearly Complete!

Really looking forward to getting away, and catching up with the S2 photo group. It has been 5 years since I made it over to the east side of the Sierra Nevada range. A unique place, with beauty and a mix of desert and granite, scrub and forest. Here are a few from my past trips.

"Revisiting" - AKA, bored during COVID Plan-demic

While we wait for those in authority to set us free... I have been revisiting and editing some past images. Here is one of Wildcat Falls, shot on Ektar and converted in post. From 2019. Shot with RB67 Pro S, and C 50mm lens.

Restart 2020

So we are finally getting things going again. After nearly 3 months of sheltering in place, our National Parks are starting to open with limited access. I snagged a pass on one of the first days, and enjoyed a very quiet day in Yosemite National Park. Below are a few of my treasures.

Three Brothers

Cathedral Rocks

Yosemite Falls

These were shot on Ektar 100 in the RB67 ProS. This 50mm C lens (25mm equiv.) is a gem! And Ektar 100 film shines in this environment. I also tried a new to me film, Ilford SFX200. It is a red sensitive film, capable of producing some IR effects. Was not as impressed as I was with the Rollei IR400 film, but a few images came out okay.

Taft Point

Yosemite Valley - Merced River

All in all, it was so nice to get away and enjoy some outside for a change. And the park being at limited capacity was almost surreal! I have never seen it so peaceful in Yosemite National Park. If you live close, grab a pass, and go now!!

A study of tone and texture

In my waiting... for this Covid pandemic to pass... I took to editing a few of the flower shots shown below. These were shot on the RB67 using the 90mm f3.8 (which focuses to nearly half life size) on a nice overcast morning. I converted the Portra 400 shots to Black and White, and tried to create a few square crops. I like the results, and it shows the advantage of having a hybrid workflow. Lots of options!

Well, I finally did it! Self published my first book, titled Developing a Hybrid Workflow. A guide to help others create a workflow to share their analog photography work in a digital world.

You can get it on Blurb, see link below.

https://www.blurb.com/b/10129900-developing-a-hybrid-workflow

One More for April 2020

Strange times cause strange behavior. Such as scouring your library for something to edit.

Came across this image, taken on a dinner walk, while away on a work assignment. Walking back to my hotel, I saw this image, devoid of people, so I walked 20 yards or so out of my way, composed an iPhone image and moved on. Filed it away thinking someday...

Finally picked it up and did a quick edit. Not bad! It was at the blue hour, just after sunset. And thus perfect light, blending artificial and some ambient. Look close and there is a bit of noise... oh well. Next time I'll bring one of my film cameras!

What makes you stop? Are you always looking? Part of having a photographic vision is seeing well, and keeping your eyes open. Fleeting moments pass us by so often. Glad I stopped for this one.

Shelter in place - Roll #2

A few chores at my daughters house, so I brought the RB67 along to photograph her yard, which is in full bloom. These tones with Portra400 are awesome! So good to get out, and honestly surprised with these colors. These scanned great with hardly no corrections. All shot with a 90mm f3.8 non-C lens.

Stuck at Home!

Due to Covid-19, I have been working from home, and needed to take a break, so... below are a few studio images taken with the 120mm Macro on the Pentax 645, just for fun! Let's pray this all ends soon... I'm ready for "normal" whatever that looks like in the future.

Ruth McKenzie Table Mountain Preserve

Had a wonderful day hike with our S2 photo group a few days back. We scheduled a hike during one of the Preserve's "open day" events. Ruth McKenzie Preserve is nearly 3,000 acres, just above Millerton Lake. Managed by the Sierra Foothill Conservancy, the open (free) event drew a decent crowd and was very organized by their team.

We explored the roughly 4 mile loop trail, and detoured up to the top of Table Mountain via the Bolin Gap trail, to take in the views. Nearly 6 miles in total.  And the views did not disappoint!

There were a good amount of wild flowers, considering the lack of rain so far this year. But, the rain did come, and we barely escaped the downpours that came later that afternoon.  And there were a few red bud down in the canyon.

My attempt to capture a few good B&W images paid off. Captured in color with the Pentax 645 on Ektar 100 film, and converted in post, below are a couple of those images.

Up Top

Lone Oak

All in all, a very nice 6 mile hike in a beautiful sierra foothill setting. Definitely recommend this hike to locals in our area. Check out the Conservancy website for event details.

 https://sierrafoothill.org/events-listing/

Testing the new Pentax 645 Macro 120mm

In an effort to refine my Pentax 645 system, I decided to sell the 150mm (a sweet little lens), since I had the 200mm as well, and fill the void with a 120mm Macro lens. This rounded out my kit with the 45mm, 75mm, 120mm and 200mm lenses. A nice combination!

These are equal to 28mm, 50mm, 80mm, and 135mm in your typical full frame digital.

The lens came in great shape, with clean glass, and only a stiff aperture ring, which a VERY small drop of mineral oil cleared up rather easily.

So I headed out to test the new Macro this last week, on a few wild flowers and fruit blossoms. The results were very encouraging.

Almond Buds 

Peach Blossom

Wild Lupin

I can see this could get addictive! Will be having more fun in the future with this lens!

Merced National Wildlife Refuge

Okay, this one was tough! Shooting birds with an RB67 is very difficult!

I arranged the trip for our local photo club, at their suggestions, knowing this one would be difficult for me, the only film shooter in the group. The weekend turned out to align with a full moon, so there was a backup plan in place, if bird photos seemed too fleeting.

I packed up the RB67 kit and threw in the monopod, along with the tripod, and loaded some Portra 400 rated at 800 to keep the shutter speed high. I also grabbed the Think Tank belt system, to allow for more mobility as I explored.

Upon arrival we found lots of birds. Mostly white snow geese, a few egrets and some cinnamon teal ducks. I mounted the Sekor C 360mm F6.3, and put the camera up on the monopod and started exploring. We stopped at the main visitor area and took a few picks.

Strength in Numbers

Gathering our photo club, we slowly drove the 5 mile loop around the refuge, stopping periodically to capture a few more images.

A Hiding Place

Let's Go!

Finally the sun set and the moon rose, and we wrapped up shooting a few sunsets and a few moonrise images before heading home.

Moon over Marsh

A fun day, but a serious test on equipment and vision. The RB67 worked great. (2) rolls provided 20 well exposed frames.  The 360mm (equivalent to 180mm) was fairly easy to use on the monopod. Pushing the Portra 400 to 800 helped to keep the shutter speed at 1/250th or 1/400th of a second, at f8 to f16. Fast enough to get good clarity at that focal length. Overall a good experience. But, for one who prefers the still landscape, this one tested my "general" photography skills.

If you want to visit, plan on the Jan - Feb time frame to catch the migration patterns. Get there early afternoon as the flocks started departing between 3-4pm, and that is a sight to see! And bring a long lens! 200mm-400mm or better. And if you are shooting digital, consider renting a longer lens and a teleconverter.

More Testing - preparing for a busy year!

So, where did January go?  I was hoping to get up to the mountains, only to be thwarted by work and family issues.

But I did manage to acquire two copies of the Sekor non-C 127mm lens for my RB67. Why two copies?  I took a chance on a really cheap copy, that looked to be in great shape, but the seller did not know how to test the lens. We communicated and I took a chance, only to discover the shutter was acting up. So... back to the bay, to find a working shutter. The second copy was rough looking, but the shutter was in good shape, so the dissection began!

After a few nights of cleaning and reassembly, I ended up with a clean and fully functional lens!

Final step? Go out and test in the field. So on a recent sales trip, I took a 2 hour detour to Castle Air Museum in Atwater, CA. Side note: this place is incredible!

Here are a few pics from that day, using TriX @400. Definitely need to go back with more time and film!

This air museum is one of the best I have seen. Almost all the planes are outdoor and easily accessed. And they have a bunch! including the SR71 shown above, and a B36 with H bomb casing, and a B52D along with many others.  $20 admission is a bit steep, but well worth it if you have a good 3-4 hours.