Tag: oak
Behind the botanical gardens are hills covered with grasses and scattered oak trees. And filled with birds, lizards, a few trails, and possibly a few rattlesnakes on a warm, sunny day. On such days, I stick to the trails and walk slowly and look carefully before I move. Thus, a view up a hill to a lovely copse of oak and scrub.
Bronica SQ-AI, 80mm f2.8 Zenzanon PS, Ilford XP2 Super 400. And no snakes.
Yep, another tree. To me, trees are friends I love to visit. They vary like friends, depending on season, on light, on weather, mood. Oak trees are particular favorites of mine.
Sometimes the sun is relentless, heat is oppressive, but today, the fear of wind-whipped fires is no joke. In SoCal it has been a dry summer and fires are raging, not just nearby, but up north. We were awakened this morning to phone calls of closing of schools and potential power shut-offs to prevent further fires. The winds could blow sparks and ignite fires miles away. Let us hope things don’t get to the point of being evacuated – which we have been fortunate to avoid thus far over the years – but off I go in a bit to clean up and to begin sorting out what to take. The wind is about 30-70 mph, depending on where you are, but it is strong enough here, and so filled with dust and ash, that all the windows are closed. The wind I so love is now an enemy.
Yesterday I went out around noon. Bad time, traditionally, to make a picture, but that was the time frame I had. I had two film cameras with me – an OM-1n with an Orange 21 filter and B&W film, and a new-to-me Certo Six out on its maiden voyage and filled with Ektar 100.
As it was hot, I sat down in the shade along a trail. And here, a tree I have so many times along my walk, had a brand new perspective. I think I took it with both cameras, but it was just so beautiful, I took out my cell phone . . . too impatient to wait for film to come back.
How old is this lovely oak? I know there were some here when the Spanish showed up 300 years ago, and they were old then. Sometimes, I wish I could see the world through the eye of a tree.
A tree, a sunny day, a canyon, a 1937 folding Welta Weltur camera, a colored filter, 120 film shot in6x4.5 film, Ilford film, a Schneider Kreuznach Xenar 2.8 80mm lens. Such a delight to get back from the lab (even if I have to do a bit of cleaning up in LR)!
If you look closely, you will see there is blur in the image. I finally figured out that the way I was pressing the exposure button was the fault. I did it too quickly, and the result was a sort of little jerk. Motion and blur. That is why some pictures from this roll are sharper and others softer. Interesting how you have to really think about things differently depending on the camera you are using.
Another image from the roll of Ilford Super XP 400, a C-41 process black and white film. Again, with the Welta Weltur from 1937. And, once more, I am so impressed by the Xenar lens!
I took the Weltur out in a number of situations, using the Sunny 16 rule for the most part. I expect I shot this at 1/250 as it was a bright, sunny day. I also brought my light meter with me, but tried to guess before I measured. I also think I may have used f/8. The reason? More light for the detail in the trunk. Maybe I should write things down so I can see how things really work out – not just guess at how things work out. Shouldn’t be too hard for 12 – 18 pictures!
The Glass Aerie 