• Camera Equipment,  flowers,  Fujifilm X-T3,  natural areas,  Plants

    I learned something yesterday

    July 17, 2020
    Snow-on-the-mountain

    On my walk around Dixon Reservoir I found this most beautiful plant I do not remember ever seeing before. At first I thought it was in the milkweed family because I found it near some mildweeds. But, it’s scientific name is Euphorbia marginata or called Snow-on-the-mountain. I would not recommend trying to say the scientific name if you have a mouth full of peanut butter, just saying. It has grey-green leaves along branches and smaller leaves in terminal whorls with edges trimmed with wide white bands, creating, together with the white flowers, the appearance that gives the plant its common names. I thought they were beautiful!

    When I went to upload this image my laptop could not find any photos, either through Lightroom or Finder. I changed card readers and the same thing. Grabbed the manual and began looking up the card information on the card slots. Wanted to make sure I had the camera set up correctly as it is my first camera with dual card slots. I wanted it to be in the Sequence mode, storing images on the card in slot 1 until full then begin storing to slot 2. I had it set up right. I began to think it was a bad SD card. Put the SD card back in the camera and playback showed all the images. It was then that I found the images were stored on the second SD card. I’ve discovered that if you do not have the SD card all the way in, or not even have a card in slot 1, the camera will default to storing images in slot 2 if there is a card in the slot.

    So, I learned two lessons yesterday. One was the information on this plant and the second one about my dual storage slots on the new Fujifilm X-T3 camera.

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  • bees,  flowers,  fog,  Fujifilm X-T3,  insects,  landscape,  natural areas,  Plants,  trees

    Good morning

    July 16, 2020
    Fog in Rolland Moore Park
    Snow-on-the-mountain
    Backlit sunflowers at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area
    Bees busy pollinating at Reservoir Ridge

    I chased some early morning fog then headed out to one of the natural areas to write and get in a morning walk. It’s about a 5 mile drive to Reservoir Ridge and then found the sun shining brightly there and eerily quiet. I watched the sun burn off the fog along the foothills to the south, nature at work. Everything was wet from the humidity and dew; the split rail fence, the grass, and a spiderweb. The sun and wind will quickly dry things out. Thus begins a morning in the meadow. Makes me smile somewhere inside of me as I experience it.

    The birds now begin to sing as if they were waiting for me. They dart so quickly in the aire and must in order to catch all the quick and nimble flying insects. I watch as the wind slowly moves the fog to my east in a southerly direction. While small clouds along the foothills are moved south by the same wind. I watch a blue-jay perched on the fence hop to the ground in hot pursuit of some insect. He misses on the first couple tries then finds success. Such a beautiful bird dressed in blue, a work of art.

    Now a bit of information about common chicory from Wikipedia. I see these all over the place and finally looked them up. The bees love them. The plant was adopted as a coffee substitute by Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War, and become common in the United States. It was also used in the United Kingdom during the Second World War, where Camp Coffee, a coffee and chicory essence, has been on sale since 1885.

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  • Fujifilm X-T3,  Fujifilm XF35mm f2.0,  leaves,  Plants

    The Work of Nature

    July 15, 2020
    Hops leaves at Marcee and John’s

    These are the leaves of a hops plant that was climbing up the wall at the apartment my sister and brother-in-law were renting in Lake Forest, Washington. The hop is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Although frequently referred to in American literature as the hops “vine”, it is technically a bine; unlike vines, which use tendrils, suckers, and other appendages for attaching themselves, bines have stout stems with stiff hairs to aid in climbing (Wikipedia). Anyway the leaves were stunning in details so I grabbed the camera.

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  • clouds,  Fujifilm X-T3,  landscape,  mountains,  natural areas,  sunsets

    I missed them…

    July 8, 2020
    Sun breaking through the clouds at Reservoir Ridge in the late afternoon 

    My sister and I returned yesterday afternoon from Seattle. We had a great time, always good to see and laugh with family. I saw nephews and nieces I haven’t seen in years. I missed them. As always we ate and we ate and we… However, we did get in some good long walks along the Burke-Gilman Trail that goes for almost 19 miles around Lake Washington. And, no, I only walked about 5 miles of it each day. We had a great time and will share more with you in a later post.

    It was toasty when we arrived, reaching 98 degrees around 4:30 yesterday afternoon. I unpacked, ate a sandwich, bought groceries and had some quiet time. About 6:30 I drove out to Reservoir Ridge Natural Area to sit in the shade of the pine trees. There is a group of about 20 trees where I will sit in a folding camp chair near the parking lot. I will then write, read and get my much needed dose of nature. Think my meadowlarks missed me as much as I missed them. It was good to hear them sing.

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  • clouds,  Family,  Fujifilm X-T3,  landscape,  mountains,  natural areas,  storm clouds

    Congratulations Abbie!!

    June 27, 2020
    Storm clouds to the northwest at Reservoir Ridge

    I took this image last night as storms moved through to the north and the south of us bringing heavy rain, lightning and thunder both directions. Surprisingly we stayed dry. Man, I love the beauty of clouds even though there can be a lot of damage from their power. They never stay the same, always changing.

    I have been surprised with all the birthday wishes from  family and friends. This is my 70th year or just over 25,550 days counting leap years. Thanks to everyone! 

    This afternoon I will be heading to my oldest daughters house for a BBQ and celebrate my oldest granddaughters college graduation. She was not able to walk for her graduation from CSU due to the COVID-19 issue. She has worked hard for this, changed her major three times and did the six year plan. Congratulations Abbie!!!!! I love you. ❤️ 

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  • clouds,  Fujifilm X-T3,  landscape,  Software,  storm clouds

    Passing Storm

    June 25, 2020
    Passing storm at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    This image was taken last night as a nice rain storm was developing in the west. I could see the rain falling in the foothills so I drove out to the natural area. This allowed me to participate in the storm as it built up with wind, lightning, thunder and then the gentle rain. The image is a raw file using Adobe Landscape profile in Lightroom Classic. 

    I’m pleased with how solid the camera feels in my hands. The size and build are the draw even though there is a small weight increase. Also impressed with how snappy and quiet it can focus, which I would expect. The joystick is a joy!! I was pretty sure that it was going to be something I’d like. 

    I must admit I was overwhelmed when I first started reading the manual, even questioning my decision. There seemed so much to learn. I could not believe all the information provided in the viewfinder, to the point of almost forgetting to look at the subject when I first used it. But that has quickly died down by practicing with it. It will become second nature.

    I’ve only shot with raw files so still need to look at the jpeg files. The raw files are Huge! I’ve gone from about 30 meg to 50 meg, an increase of 30%. Glad I upgraded to the 4TB drives a few months ago. I imagine I will be deleting more images because of their size. 

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  • Camera Equipment,  Fujifilm X-T10,  Fujifilm X-T3,  Photography

    Bigger

    June 24, 2020
    Fujifilm X-T10 and Fujifilm X-T3

    My first thing I will mention on the new camera is the size difference. I have been shooting the smaller cameras for about 7 years so this X-T3 seems BIG. In comparison the X-T3 is about 5.5 ounces heavier than the X-T10 (30%), yet it is 13.5 ounces (40%) lighter than my Nikon D300. I’ll also mention that the XF16-80 f4.0 lens is much bigger than the XF18-55mm f2.0-4.0, weighing about 30% heavier. After saying that I must say the camera and lens fit nicely in my hands and comfortably. Oh, and the manual is twice as big!! Study time.

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  • Camera Equipment,  Fujifilm X-T3,  Photography

    It was inevitable…

    June 23, 2020
    Fujifilm X-T3 camera with XF16-80mm f4.0 lens just arrived

    First Tom did it, then Earl did it. So, I did it. I had to! Thought it would be wise to follow suit with two accomplished photographers. As many of you know I’ve been toying with upgrading for quite some time. Well, the time arrived. And, the camera and lens just arrived. Battery is charging. I’ll keep you informed as I get a better grasp on this upgrade. It was inevitable!

     

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  • Camera Equipment,  moon,  Photography,  quotes

    Sigh!

    November 15, 2019
    One  of the first images I made with my first digital camera the Nikon D100

    “Photography is not about cameras, gadgets and gizmos. Photography is about photographers.
    A camera didn’t make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel.”

    Peter Adams

    A few days ago Fujifilm announced the release of the pro Fujifilm X-T3 camera body and the new Fujifilm XF16-80mm f4.0 lens now in a kit. The lens is something I really want and will most likely buy in the future, but I really do not need the pro camera. However, in a very short time I was convincing myself I’d make better images with two new tools and my mind became totally occupied on working out a plan to justify the purchase of both. It took several hours of this mental masterbation before reality checked in and I knew that no lie could justify the purchase of both. Maybe I should post the above quote on my bathroom mirror to help me remember. Or, maybe I should sell my condo and buy the kit. Or, my car. I know, I’ll take out a second mortgage. Sell my oldest grandchild. Sigh!

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