Tag: California

Autumn Morning

Autumn Morning

The other morning – the first of the time change – I headed out with my Nikon V3 (which took this picture), my 6×9 Voigtlander Bessa, and Olympus XA4.  I used the Nikon to consider exposure, as well as to catch a few for here.  The film will go in to the lab for processing later this week.

It was an incredible morning.  The Chumash Trail is a trail along a corridor of native oak trees, which overarch the entire trail, spots and splotches of sunshine breaking through.  The trees are hundreds of years old.  In some trees, small flocks of black and white birds would land, and all of a sudden it was as if it were raining acorns.  It was quite odd, but restful, like rain pattering on leaves.

Blues

blues

Sunday morning we had weather! Like clouds in a normally cloudless sky. Rain. Chilly weather at 72F. And it was heaven.

So, loaded with film and with digital, I walked along the creek, about 50 feet above it on the Moonrise trail. For me, this is a bit of a sketchy trail because it’s a bit treacherous here and there, so always best with a friend. I shot a lot of panos that morning, and took a roll of film, too, with my Canonet QL17. Here is one of the panos of that exquisite morning sky. Click on it a couple of times to see it larger.

Enjoy!

That Strange Light Before It Rains

That Strange Light Before It Rains

If you have ever experienced the scudding light – bright, shadow, dark, bright – as clouds race before the wind, you know what I mean.  Suddenly one patch is brilliant against the ominous dark, then vanishes before your eyes.

This was taken with an Olympus XA4, a very small rangefinder from the 80s.  The XA4, from 1985, sports a five element Zuiko 28mm f3.5 lens focusing to 0.3m (12 inches), with the help of corded measuring devices for macro work.  The cords attach to the camera and extend for measurement.  I acquired on which was new old stock, and it’s quite a fun little 35mm camera.  It is also – I swear – the last film camera I plan to buy (for awhile)!

I had the film developed at a local lab, and scanned it myself with my Pakon 135.