Just Some Random Images

 

Playing with Mac: She's a Nice Lens

My inclination to anthropomorphize certain inanimate objects is silly, yet here I am doing it again. I'd like to point out that I have not felt the need to name my 20mm prime - a lens I love - nor have a named my zoom or attributed any personality to either of them. Nonetheless, we have Mac now. And Mac is a she.

Mac, Madge and I wandered around the Conservatory of Flowers after work to take some photos. It became clear very quickly how important a tripod is when using the macro lens. When getting up really close all the shake you have with hand holding becomes more obvious. Despite that, I'm happy with my shots. A few are here. The rest are in my Conservatory of Flowers flickr set.

I love the grain of the clay and the bits of moss.

Mother Nature has a weird sense of humor.

Pink and yellow - how lovely they compliment each other.

Mac likes to get close. You've been warmed.

Yay, Got Myself a Macro Lens

I've been coveting the Panasonic 45mm macro lens for months, but resisted buying it until I'd been using Madge long enough to decide if I really wanted a macro lens. Plus, it's not a cheap piece of glass, which made me hold off even longer than whether or not I really wanted the lens.

I was only going into the photography store to check out some photo technique books, get some new cleaning tools, ask a few questions and do some reconnaissance on lenses. I had no intention of buying a new lens. I swear. Honestly. But once I had her on Madge, well, I just couldn't resist.

Here it is, the Panasonic Leica Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 MEGA O.I.S. lens. Isn't she pretty?

I was visiting The Dave today so I didn't get to play around with her too much, but I did take a few experimental shots using Viddy as my model. And when I say this lens let me get up in his face I do mean right up in his face. Like an inch from his nose.

A shy Vidar. "Oh, no, really, I don't think I'm a good model."

What a lovely eyeball!

Glistening snozzle close-up.

Fur and whisker detail.

Viddy got used to the lens pretty fast. I think his initial shyness was an act.

Can't wait to try her out on some flowers or bugs or some tiny little thing.

 

East Bay Roamings

On Sunday I had a nice visit with my friends out in the east bay. This visit was super special for me given how busy I've been lately. John, Sue and I started off by getting a coffee and taking a short walk in downtown Martinez before meeting up with Bill and Ian, at which point the five of us went off to take photos around Port Costa and Crockett and to grab a bite to eat. It was a good day and a real treat to be together doing something we all enjoy, namely checking stuff out and taking pictures. Highlights of some of the photos I took are below. You can see the full set on Flickr.

Cannoli heaven at the Martinez Farmer's Market.

X marks the spot... Of what, I don't know.

Marina building in Crockett.

In front of the C&H refinery in Crockett. Wish I could walk around that place.

 

Alviso Marsh

Today I went down to my slacker brother's for a visit. Since I arrived a bit too early - I try not to show up before 11:30 a.m. as Slacker likes to sleep in on the weekend - I decided to go out to the Alviso Marina area to try out the new circular polarizer I'd gotten for my 20mm prime. Here are the some of my shots.

I've done a shot like this before, but I love the grass out in the marsh, with these little canals threading their way through.

Some abstract art. At first I thought it was a shuffling zombie.

Pretend Panorama.

Once at my brother's, we chilled out watching movies while I did laundry. I had lots of snugglelishishness with Idunna, a nice treat as normally she only has purrs for The Slacker. Sadly, I had to cut my visit a bit short as I needed to drive up the 680 to John and Sue's for a sleepover. As always, visiting them relaxes me. We had dinner at the local Italian place and then hung out chatting about quilts and fabric and photography. I have the best friends!

After signing off here, I'm going to curl up in the guest bed with my new kindle, a gift received just today from The Slacker, and hopefully get some kitten snuggle action.

 

Snail Mail

I continue to try and keep up with my snail mail correspondence. A while back I confessed my card acquisition compulsion - this continues unabated, I fear. My latest is having a little correspondence pouch that I take with me when I'm going out for the day, or away for the night, just in case I have time to jot off a note or letter. It's a pink "leather" iPad mini case from an Etsy Hong Kong person. I say "leather" because though the vendor claims it's leather, it is like no leather I've seen before. Smooth and subtle like suede, but thicker and softer. It may be leather or it may be some leather byproduct. Regardless, I dig it and it is the right size for cards, stamps, stickers and a nice writing instrument. I came up with a design for my own pouch, and though my idea was a good one, I found I lacked the sewing skills, hand or otherwise, to carry it off without it looking like a first grade art project.

The fruits of my writing labors are bearing actual fruit. Perhaps I shouldn't say "actual fruit" as you may imagine bananas, oranges and pineapples filling up my mailbox. I'm relying on you catching my meaning. Heh. Anyway, as I was saying, fruits of my labors and whatnot... I continue to exchange a lively, interesting and frequent correspondence with my friend in Montana (there's only one and you know who you are) and others are starting to write back to me. I also continue to get great postcards from my world travelling friends! There is something so wonderful about opening the mailbox and finding a postcard or note or letter from someone you know and love nestled amidst the junk mail and bills. A little card with the words "I love you" written in the hand of a dear friend is truly priceless. One day I came home and had THREE separate items in the mailbox; a letter, a postcard, and a Valentine's Day card! All from different people! In one day! I was on Cloud 9 and full of joy!

To and From

An over-flowing pouch of correspondence goodness.

 

Cold Turkey

I've realized how heartless it was of me to make you all go cold turkey after giving you two photos a day, every day, for all of February. Knowing how wrong it was, I will try to make it up to you tonight.

Last weekend I was feeling a bit out of sorts so I cancelled my plans, opting to stay close to home. Luckily for me, I didn't stay indoors all day. I ended up going out to Sutro Baths with Madge and a good friend of mine. It was beautiful out there. The recent rain and storms had made the surf quite rough and the sky alternated between mostly grey clouds to a mix of blue skies and clouds. I took a lot of pictures and finally managed to cull all those down to a grouping of 4 and 5 stars, and from that, produced a set of 20 that I've posted to Flickr. Here is a highlight of those photos. The rest you can see by clicking on the link to the Flickr set at the bottom.

I love these skeleton trees.

Yes, I like to peer through shrubbery. It feels like life.

Sutro cement and rocks. I'm glad I wasn't around when that rock arrived.

A seagull, unfazed by the surf, looks inland. Maybe someone was walking around with a granola bar.

How I feel about all of you.

Sutro Bath Flickr Set

On the topic of photos, a new photography book arrived just a few days ago; a retrospective of Harry Callahan's work. I have been browsing works by various photographers and it seemed I'd like his, so I ordered the book from Amazon. I was not familiar with him previously. Beautiful work. A lot of his images touched me, but I think I liked his photos of the grasses out at Horseneck Beach the most. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who likes to take pictures of grasses waving in the breeze. Now if only I could get my grass photos to have the same power his have.

The more I look at black and white photography the more I understand how much I like intense blacks in mine. I find I'm always bringing up the black when making adjustments to the images.

If you have any recommendations of photographers to check out, please let me know. I'm exploring. On my wish list so far is Aaron Siskind, Diane Arbus (who I am familiar with), Walker Evans, Andre Kertesz and Hiroshi Sugimoto.