Photography by Naomi Drew
Today is one of those wonderful days where winter is giving way to spring. Here in California where I live it means the air is cooler, sky is blue, the breeze is fresh. Buds are forming on trees that shed their leaves and had them blown away by the east winds. Bulbs are emerging, some already blooming. It’s just a delightful time to be oot-n-aboot – we were oot for a good 3 miles, dogs, and Josh, and the X100V!
Toyon is a bush that grows in Southern California, and has bright red berries in the winter months – hence the name “Christmas Berry”. It’s a beautiful plant with dark, glossy leaves, and reminiscent, too, of holly. Perfect for the winter season!
This is an incredibly over-processed image from a badly under exposed photo. However, I did manage to retrieve the berries, which was the whole point!
I decided to send the Welta Weltur our for a bit of a CLA. The rangefinder / viewer is a bit foggy and makes it difficult to focus easily. That is taken care of by using a smaller f-stop, thus increasing the DOF. I am not sure how this light leak occurred – perhaps when it was being developed.
Taken with Ilford XP Super 400, Welta Weltur from 1937, Xenar lens. Guestimated exposures. Scanned with Epson V600.
In the height of this dry, dry summer, looking back on the green leaves and bright red berries of the toyon is quite refreshing.
Pepper trees are common in rural California. Rather like willows, their branches and leaves flow gracefully toward the grown.
The Glass Aerie 