Weston Light Meter

Mike, Weston Meter - Sierra Nevada  1978

Once I enlarged yesterday's image I couldn't help but notice the Weston light meter hanging around my neck. I've previously written a post on the meter, back in the early days of blogging when I tended to write more than a few sentences per post.

Yes, I still have the meter! Below, some recent photos taken with an iPhone.

Weston Meter (open) - Marin County  2026

Weston Meter (closed, with Zone System note attached) - Marin County  2026

Dogwood Blossoms, Merced River (1996)

Dogwood Blossoms, Merced River - Yosemite  1996

I wanted to find a spot where I could have the river in the foreground with some dogwood blossoms in the dark forest beyond. Took some driving and parking at various pullouts before I found this scene.

 I used a largeish Toyo Field 4x5 camera with a Nikon lens. This image is from a recent scan . . . a vertical crop from a 4x5 horizontal negative.

Roy's Redwoods - Tripod Shots Using a Nikon Z7II

Burnt Redwood (Roy's Redwoods) - Marin County  2026

Redwood Grove (Roy's Redwoods) - Marin County  2026

I've been wanting to try some tripod shots using my Nikon Z7II, a high-res (45 megapixels) camera. The idea being that using a tripod one can set the ISO to the lowest setting (64) and capture some super detailed shots with relatively long exposure times.

It worked! There's a quite high amount of detail available in extreme enlargements (see below). I guess if I was going to make billboard-sized prints I'd have to use a tripod more often. But as of now I don't have any plans to make billboard-sized prints.

Burnt Redwood (crop) - Marin County  2026

Oak and Maple Trees

Oak Tree, Sunrise - Marin County  2025

California Maple - Marin County  2025

Two iPhone photos. I'll sometimes use the iPhone even when I'm carrying a "real" camera in order to let the phone's software manage the dynamic range of the scene.

Aspens - 2

Aspen Trunks - Sierra Nevada  2025

Aspens - Sierra Nevada  2025

The other photographers were all using tripods, of course. Not me. I was relying on my Nikon's "vibration reduction" tech. Alas, it wasn't nearly as effective as the image stabilization tech in my Olympus cameras. The Nikon's sensor is much larger though, so probably can't keep up with my shaky hands, especially in the cold.

Photos taken with a Nikon Z7II.

Aspens - 1

Aspens, Granite - Sierra Nevada  2025

East of Bishop, on the road to South Lake. I had been up here in 2023, so this was another chance for some aspen photos. Of course, others were there as well . . . very cold!

iPhone photos.

Photographers - Sierra Nevada  2025

Wells Fargo / Ansel Adams

Wells Fargo Bank Interior (A. Adams Images) - San Anselmo  2024

Ansel Adams Image ("Pasture, Sonoma County") - San Anselmo  2024

I was recently in the Wells Fargo Bank in San Anselmo and noticed these large Ansel Adams images handing on the wall. I should probably do some investigative reporting and get back to you with the details of how they came to be there.

The Ansel Adams Gallery has the pasture photo for sale as a "framed reproduction."

Photographer

Photographer - Los Angeles  2024

Photographer - Los Angeles  2024

Documenting her companion's bagel order. And actually using a real camera! Wow! I have to give her credit.

(BTW . . . yesterday's dachshund can be seen over by the light pole.)

Also, Shawna was quite taken with the fellow's jeans:

Jeans - Los Angeles  2024

Colfax Sightems - 2

Photo Studio (Colfax) - Washington  2024

We Deliver (Colfax) - Washington  2024

Earlier shots of photo studios: Photo Studios

Dry Lake Bed (Death Valley 1984)

Rocks, Lake Bed - Death Valley  1984

Rocks, Lake Bed, Mountains - Death Valley  1984

I'd like to think that these photos were taken at the famous "Racetrack" in Death Valley. But probably not, since the celebrated moving rocks there are not on any of the other photos on the roll. 

Also, I guess you can notice in the above photos that one sky is clear, and the other one has clouds. This is the result of my experimenting with Photoshop's sky replacement feature. I wouldn't consider using it on a regular basis, but the skies in the scans definitely needed help, being completely covered in dust spots and scratches. The replacement skies were too digitally perfect, so I had to add some digital noise to them.

Below, a 1977 35mm photo definitely taken at the Racetrack.

Rock, Racetrack - Death Valley  1977

Monday Gull Blogging

Gull - Monterey County  2024

Another early morning  photo taken down by the bay. But there were also other bird photographers in evidence.

Woman, Gull - Monterey County  2024

Masa's Birthday!

Maz Taking Photo of Hanna and Nolan - Pismo Beach  2021

Wow!

de Young Museum

Museum Courtyard, Self-Portrait - San Francisco  2023

Ansel Adams Exhibit - San Francisco  2023

Two more museum photos.

Adams, Wiley Art Exhibits

Museum Hall - San Francisco  2023

 

Wiley Painting - San Francisco  2023

Last July: after meeting Margaret at the REI parking lot in Marin we drove over to the de Young museum in San Francisco. There were two large exhibits going on at the time: Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence, and Ansel Adams in Our Time. 

The Adams exhibit required timed reservations. It was quite crowded, and the purpose of the exhibit was not very clear. I've seen better Adams exhibits in the past, to be honest.

The Wiley exhibit was compelling enough, I guess. I was somehow more interested in the economics of the show versus any artistic merit it might have. The paintings were quite large, and since I've had some experience in framing my photos, I kept wondering just how much money the basic raw materials for the pieces cost. Margaret didn't seem to be interested in this particular topic though.

I'm posting a photo of the official explainer below. You know it's official 'cause of its nice use of museum-talk: "cites and subverts this centuries-old process," "deconstructs this chain of associations," "equating light with divinity attributes moral value to color." K.

Wiley Museum Explainer - San Francisco  2023

Photographers: Melrose Avenue #81

Photographer (Melrose Avenue) - Los Angeles  2023

Photographer (Melrose Avenue) - Los Angeles  2023

Photos taken with the small and discreet Canon G5XII. 

Looks like I'll have to work on my down-on-the-sidewalk photo stance.

Somewhat related to earlier 2015 photos.

Coast Camp - Hike Out

Ferns, Pine Branches - Point Reyes  2023

Buckeye Blossoms - Point Reyes  2023

Last year I carried a Nikon Z5 with a 24-200mm zoom on the backpack in and out, but that combo is pretty unwieldy, to be honest. This year I carried the zoom lens in the pack and used a 40mm (prime) lens for the actual hikes in and out. Photos above taken with that lens. Much smaller and lighter!

Presidio - 3

General Kennedy Avenue - San Francisco  2023

Yellow Hydrant - San Francisco  2023

So, it's become much harder to find older areas in the Presidio. A lot of the buildings have been renovated for commercial purposes . . . very boring photographically speaking. 

Oak Branches

 

Oak Tree (Fairfax) - Marin County  2022

Oak Branches (Fairfax) - Marin County  2022

Top photo taken with an iPhone 12 Pro. Bottom with an Olympus E-M1II / 25mm lens combo.

Photo quality might look the same on the web, but the Olympus photo is much, much better if blown up for printing purposes. It's been noticed by many that iPhone photos are way oversharpened. 

Tomales Bay

 

Tomales Bay - Marin County  2021

Taken in color, then converted to black and white. After the fact!

As has been mentioned before, there are those who say that one must visualize the image as black and white before the photo is taken. But I don't subscribe to that rule.

Below, the original image:

Tomales Bay - Marin County  2021

Oak, Fog

 

Oak, Fog - Marin County  2021

Shot at 24mm using a Nikon 24-200mm zoom lens. 

Yes, I copied the upper right hand corner, flipped it horizontally, then pasted the selection into the left hand corner.